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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Indian Polity

Lecture - 29
Fundamental Duties and the
Parliament
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Fundamental Duties and the Parliament

Meaning of the Concept of Duty:
❖ Duty is an obligation. It is something we owe to others as social beings.
❖ In political theories rights and duties are always present together. In the absence of duties, it is difficult
to exercise rights.
❖ This shows that the enjoyment of rights also involves the fulfillment of certain obligations on the part of the
individual.
❖ Individuals possess rights only as a member of society and they do not have rights in the pre-social stage.
❖ According to Laski, the relationship between rights and duties can be described in the following manner:
1. Everyone must perform their duties so that others can enjoy their rights.
2. As a citizen it is our duty to use rights in such a manner that it contributes to social richness.
3. Enjoyment of rights by an individual also puts an obligation on him to let others enjoy their rights.
4. Since the state protects my rights, it is my duty to perform my obligation towards it.

Views of Gandhi:
❖ For him, rights and duty is an issue of continuity of ends and means. If we aim to have rights it is necessary
to perform duties.
❖ He held that duties are rights in embryonic form.

Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution:

❖ Originally the Indian constitution did not have a chapter on Fundamental Duties.
❖ The Constitution of Western countries does not give a prominent place to duties in the Constitution.
❖ Japan is perhaps the only liberal state which included basic duties in the Constitution.

The Concept of Duties is a Socialist Tradition:

❖ In the Indian context, the concept of Fundamental Duties was added as a result of the 42nd constitutional
amendment Act 1976.
❖ Fundamental Duties were added in Part IV and a new Article 51A came into existence.
❖ It enumerated ten Fundamental Duties. They are non-justiciable in nature.
❖ The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act in 2002 has added the eleventh duty.
❖ The introduction of Fundamental Duties was based on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh
Committee.
❖ During the emergency it was realized that the concept of Fundamental Duties should be incorporated.
❖ The incorporation of Fundamental Duties was not without controversies:
1. Considering the circumstances when the Fundamental Duties were added to the Constitution, political
parties and scholars expressed their doubts about the intention of the government.
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2. Fundamental Duties were not made enforceable in the court of law. They were kept at par with the
Directive Principles. There were no legal sanctions behind their violation, and no punishment or
compulsive provision is mentioned.
3. Scholars like Nani Palkhiwala expressed his doubts in the context that the duties enumerated are
inconsistent.
➢ For example: It is the duty of every citizen to develop a scientific temper and a spirit of inquiry.
Such is possible only when people are educated. We cannot expect the performance of this duty when
the masses are illiterate and society is traditional. The Constitution also does not mention the
measures to be taken to implement such duties.
4. The duties are vaguely defined,
➢ For example: It is the duty of citizens to follow the noble ideals which inspired our freedom struggle.
Everyone knows the different sets of leaders had different ideals, means and methodologies.
➢ Similarly it is the duty of the citizen to preserve the rich and composite culture of India. It is also
not clearly defined.
5. Duties are based on citizenship values. Citizenship values are features of modern societies.
➢ In the modern context, our loyalties are more towards our religion, caste and region, i.e.
primordial loyalties or primary loyalties.
➢ In the Indian context we see that there has been disproportionate emphasis on rights among citizens
rather than on the performance of duties.
❖ In spite of the above weaknesses Fundamental Duties have been accepted as a part of the constitution.
❖ The 44th Amendment Act, which was a reactive step to rectify the excesses of the 42nd Constitutional
Amendment Act, did not make any change.
❖ The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) on the recommendation
of the Verma Committee, suggested that the government should take steps to sensitize people and to create
general awareness with respect to the provision of Fundamental Duties in our constitution.
❖ Some experts also suggested that to give effect to the Fundamental Duties, the Legislature can use the clause
of reasonable restrictions given under Part III.
❖ Government can make laws and prescribe punishment for the implementation of certain duties.
❖ Fundamental Duties are nothing but the codification of the Indian way of life. In fact, these duties are an
inherent part of Indian society, culture and tradition.
❖ Various aspects of Indian culture and tradition exhibit the presence of these duties.
❖ Moreover these duties are a reminder to the citizens that while claiming rights they also need to be conscious
of their duties as rights cannot last long without corresponding obligations.
❖ Unlimited rights only bring chaos and disorganization in society
➢ For example: An individual having only rights and no duties will merely become a critic without
having any constructive contribution to society.
➢ That is why both rights and duties should go hand in hand as both are part of the same coin.
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The Parliament:
❖ The Parliament includes the President, Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
❖ The President is an integral part of the Parliament even though he is not a member of either House of the
Parliament.
❖ The Parliament performs multiple functions.
❖ Its chief function is to legislate law for the administration of the country.
❖ It also exercises political and financial control over the executive.
❖ It provides members to the Council of Ministers.
❖ It acts as a platform for the representatives of the people to express their views and enforce accountability on
the executive.
❖ It also acts as an authentic source of information.

The Rajya Sabha:

The Federal Features of Rajya Sabha:
1. The very nature of the Rajya Sabha, where it acts as the representative body of the states at the federal
legislature level.
2. Under Article 249 and Article 312 the approval for the Parliament to legislate on the state subjects and to
create a new all India services respectively shall have to be given by the Rajya Sabha.
3. Under Article 368 all the Constitutional Amendment Bill shall have to be passed independently by Rajya
Sabha as well by a special majority.
4. All the resolutions seeking the approval of the Parliament for the emergency proclaimed under Article 352,
356 and 360 shall be passed by the Rajya Sabha as well.
5. The Rajya Sabha plays a significant role in the election and the impeachment of the president.

Non - Federal features of the Rajya Sabha:

1. Even though it is the Council of states, representation is given to the union territories of Delhi and
Pondicherry in the Rajya Sabha.
2. Representation of the states in the Rajya Sabha is provided not on the basis of the principle of equality of
states but on the basis of population of the state.
3. There is a provision for the nomination of the members in the Rajya Sabha. The nomination of members is
given by the president on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
Qualification of member of Rajya Sabha:
1. He must be a citizen of India.
2. He should not be less than 30 years of age.
3. Under section 3 of Representation of the People Act 1951 (RPA), he should be a registered voter in any of
the Lok Sabha constituencies in the country.
4. Under section 125 of the RPA 1951 the elections to the Rajya Sabha are now based on the open ballot
system.
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Special powers of Rajya Sabha:

1. Article 249: It empowers the Parliament to legislate with respect to a matters in the State List in the national
interest.
2. Article 312: It says that the Rajya Sabha has the exclusive power to constitute All India Services.
3. Article 67 (b) gives power for removal of vice president
Relevance of Rajya Sabha:
❖ Under Article 368 Rajya Sabha enjoys equal power in passing the bills.
❖ Rajya Sabha prevents Lok Sabha from enacting hasty legislature.
❖ In any Federal set up the upper house of the federal Legislature is a constitutional necessity and there must be
an institutionalized form from the representation provided to the state at a federal legislature level.
❖ Therefore the Rajya Sabha has been created on the principle of equality of the houses.
❖ The Rajya Sabha is the second but not the secondary chamber of the Parliament unlike the legislative
Council which is inferior to the Legislative Assemblies.
❖ Further the Rajya Sabha enjoys equal power in the passage of a Constitutional Amendment Bill, approval
of the emergency proclaimed by the president, the election and the impeachment of the President etc.
❖ It is out of Democratic compulsion when the members of the lower houses are elected directly by the people
that the Lok Sabha enjoys certain Special Powers that are not available to the Rajya Sabha.
❖ The principle of parliamentary democracy also makes it necessary for the Council of Ministers to be
responsible only to the Lok Sabha. These two factors in no way compromise the position of Rajya Sabha in
the federal setup.
❖ The Rajya Sabha also provides the opportunities for the recruitment of talented and experts in the Council
of Ministers in the form of nomination facility available in the Rajya Sabha.
❖ The importance of the Rajya Sabha could be understood from the fact that the Lok Sabha generally agrees
with the policies of the government.
❖ It is the Rajya Sabha (also known as the House of the Elderly) that expresses a fair and balanced opinion
on the policies of the Government and exercises the moral authority over the executives.
❖ It is far more effective in controlling the executive rather than the legal authority exercised by the Lok Sabha.

Lok Sabha:

❖ Earlier it had two categories of members:

1. Nominated members
2. Elected members
➢ The president can nominate not more than two members of the Anglo Indian community if it is
not adequately represented in the Lok Sabha .
➢ The Lok Sabha can have 552 members at maximum. The Parliament by law has provided for 530
elected members for the state and 13 elected members for the union territories.
➢ These members are elected from single member territorial constituencies.
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❖ Now there are only elected members in the Lok Sabha and no nominated members.
➢ The 104 Constitutional Amendment Act did not extend the reservation of the two seats in the Lok Sabha
and in the State Legislative Assemblies reserved for members of the Anglo-Indian community. Thus, the
practice of nominating two members of the Anglo-Indian community by the President of India was
abolished.

Tenure of Lok Sabha:

❖ The Lok Sabha does not have a fixed tenure. It is elected for a normal term of 5 years.
❖ It can be subject to dissolution by the president before the expiry of the 5 years term.
❖ The 42nd amendment act has increased the normal term of the Lok Sabha and legislative assembly to 6 years,
but the 44th Amendment Act had reduced it to 5 years.
❖ When the national emergency is enforced under Article 352 then the Parliament by enacting a law can extend
the term of the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies beyond the normal 5 years term for a period of not more
than one year at a time.
❖ However, the Parliament can enact the law any number of times but each time for a period of not more than
one year, in such cases of extension the life of the Lok Sabha shall not exceed 6 months after the national
emergency comes to an end.

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