UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL

STUDIES

B.B.A.LL.B. 5TH SEMESTER/Bcom.LLB. 5th/3rd Sem

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1 LLT-211/323

INTRODUCTION TO CONSTITUTION DISCOVER . LEARN . EMPOWER

 Constitutional Law – I
LLT-211/323
Course Outcome
CO Title Level
Number

CO1 Nature of Indian constiution Remember

 
CO2 Preamble Understand
 
CO3 Sources of Indian Constitution Understand

CO4 Salient features of Indian Constitution Understand

CO5 Rule of Law Understand

CO6 Basic Structure Doctrine Understand

CO7 Separation of Power Understand

CO8 Citizenship Understand

2
 Nature of Indian Constitution
• In a Democratic government, Constitution plays a primary role in efficient governance. Constitution is a set of fundamental

principles or established precedents according to which a State can be governed. Constitutions may be classified into two

categories. Such as: Federal or Unitary.

• Is Indian Constitution a federal or unitary in nature? Indian Constitution is an hybrid of both federal and unitary nature of a

Constitution and hence rightly termed as ‘Quasi-federal‘ Constitution. It mean a federal set up where despite having two

clear sets of government – central andthe states, more powers are given to the Central Government.

• Prof. Wheare put-forth his view that to say a Constitution is federal in nature, it should displays federal character

predominantly

3
Contd.
• The debate whether India has a ‘Federal Constitution’ and ‘Federal Government’ has been grappling the Apex court in India

because of the theoretical label given to the Constitution of India, namely, federal, quasi- federal, unitary. The first

significant case where this issue was discussed at length by the apex Court was State of West Bengal V. Union of India. The

main issue involved in this case was the exercise of sovereign powers by the Indian states.

4
 Preamble of Constitution
• WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to
constitute India into a [SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC] and to secure to all its citizens:

• JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the [unity and integrity of the Nation];

• IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of

November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACTAND GIVE TO
OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

5
 Sources of Indian Constitution
• i. Government of India Act, 1935: Federal Scheme, Office of Governor, Judiciary, Public Service Commissions,

Emergency provisions, Administrative details.

• ii. British Constitution: Parliamentary government, Rule of Law, Legislative procedure, Single citizenship, Cabinet

System, Prerogative Writs.

• iii. US Constitution: Fundamental Rights, Independence of Judiciary, Judicial Review, Impeachment of the President,

Removal of Supreme Court and High Court judges and post of Vice-President.

• iv. Irish Constitution: Directive Principles of State Policy, nomination of members to Rajya Sabha and method of election

of President, Federation with a strong centre, Vesting of residuary powers in the Centre, appointment of State Governors by

the Centre and advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

6
 Sources of Constitution
• v. Canadian Constitution: Federation with a strong centre, residuary powers with the centre, appointment of state

governors by the centre and advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

• vi. Australian Constitution: Concurrent List, Freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse joint sitting of the two Houses

of Parliament.

• ix. French Constitution: Republic and the ideals of liberty equality and fraternity in the Preamble.

• x. South African Constitution: Procedure for amendment, the Constitution and election of the members of Rajya Sabha.

• xi. Japanese Constitution: Procedure established by law. The drafted Constitution was finally adopted on November 26,

1949.

7
 Salient Features of Constitution
• The bulkiest constitution of the world: The Indian constitution is one of the bulkiest constitution of the world,

comprising of 395 articles, 22 parts and 12 schedules. So far the constitution underwent 100 amendments (28 May,

2015).

• Rigidity and flexibility: The Indian constitution is combination of rigidity and flexibility, which means some parts of it

can be amended by the Parliament by a simple majority, whereas some parts require a two-third majority as well as not

less than one-half of the state legislatures.

• Parliamentary system of government: The Indian constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government, i.e.,

the real executive power rests with the council of ministers and the President is only a nominal ruler (Article 74).

8
Salient Features of Constitution
• Federal system with a unitary bias
Indian constitution described India as a 'Union of States' (Article 1), which implies that Indian federation is not the result
of any agreement among the units and the units cannot secede from it.
• Fundamental rights and fundamental duties
The Indian constitution provides an elaborate list of Fundamental Rights to the citizens of India, which cannot be taken
away or abridged by any law made by the states (Article 12–35). Similarly, the constitution also provides a list of 11 duties
of the citizens, known as the Fundamental Duties (Article 51A).
• Directive principles of state policy
The Indian constitution mentions certain Directive Principles of State Policy(Article 36–51) which that government has to
keep in mind while formulating new policy.
• Secularism
The constitution makes India a secular state by detaching from religious dogmas (Forty-second Amendment).

9
 Salient Features of Constitution
• Independent judiciary
The constitution provides an independent judiciary (Article 76) which ensures that the government is carried on in
accordance with the provisions of the constitution and acts as a guardian of the liberties and fundamental rights of the
citizens.
• Single citizenship
The Indian constitution provides a single citizenship for all the people residing different parts of the country and there is no
separate citizenship for the states (Article 5–11).
• Bicameral legislatures
The Indian constitution provides a bicameral legislatures at centre consisting of Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and Lok
Sabha (House of the People)(Article 79).

10
Salient Features of Constitution
• Emergency powers

The constitution vests extraordinary powers, known as Emergency Powers in the President during emergencies out of

armed rebellion or external aggression or due to failure of constitutional machinery in the state (Article 352–360).

• Special provisions for minorities

The constitution makes special provisions for minorities, Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes, etc. by granting them certain

special rights and provisions.

11
Rule of Law
• The formal origin of the word is attributed to Sir. Edward Coke, and is derived from French phase ‘la principe de legalite’

which means the principle of legality. The firm basis for the Rule of Law theory was expounded by A. V. Dicey and his

theory on the rule of law remains the most popular. Dicey’s theory has three pillars based on the concept that “a government

should be based on principles of law and not of men”, these are:

• Supremacy of Law: 

• Equality before the Law:

• Pre-dominance of legal spirit: 

12
Rule of Law
• Rule of Law in India:

The Supreme Court of Indian has further strengthened this mechanism through its various judgments, the foremost of them
being, A D M Jabalpur v. Shivkanth Shukla  In this case, the question before the court was ‘whether there was any rule of
law in India apart from Article 21’. This was in the context of suspension of enforcement of Articles 14, 21 and 22 during
the proclamation of an emergency. The answer to the majority of the bench was in negative for the question of law.

In Chief Settlement Commr; Punjab v. Om Prakash:

it was observed by the Supreme Court that, “In our constitutional system, the central and most characteristic feature is the
concept of rule of law which means, in the present context, the authority of law courts to test all administrative action by the
standard of legality. The administrative or executive action that does not meet the standard will be set aside if the aggrieved
person brings the matter into notice.”

13
Rule of Law
• Most famously in the case of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala the Supreme Court held that the Rule of Law is an
essential part of the basic structure of the constitution and as such cannot be amended by any Act of Parliament, thereby
showing how the law is superior to all other authority of men.

14
Basic structure (doctrine) of the Constitution
• Evolution of the Basic Structure

• The word "Basic Structure" is not mentioned in the constitution of India. The concept developed gradually with the
interference of the judiciary from time to time to protect the basic rights of the people and the ideals and the philosophy of the
constitution.

• The First Constitution Amendment Act, 1951 was challenged in the Shankari Prasad vs. Union of India case. The amendment
was challenged on the ground that it violates the Part-III of the constitution and therefore, should be considered invalid. The
Supreme Court held that the Parliament, under Article 368, has the power to amend any part of the constitution including
fundamental rights. The Court gave the same ruling in Sajjan Singh Vs State of Rajasthan case in 1965.

• In Golak Nath vs State of Punjab case in 1967, the Supreme Court overruled its earlier decision. The Supreme Court held that
the Parliament has no power to amend Part III of the constitution as the fundamental rights are transcendental and immutable.
According to the Supreme Court ruling, Article 368 only lays down the procedure to amend the constitution and does not give
absolute powers to the parliament to amend any part of the constitution.
15
Basic structure (doctrine) of the Constitution
• The Parliament, in 1971, passed the 24th Constitution Amendment Act. The act gave the absolute power to the parliament to

make any changes in the constitution including the fundamental rights. It also made it obligatory for the President to give

his assent on all the Constitution Amendment bills sent to him.

• In 1973, in Kesavananda Bharti vs. State of Kerala case, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 24th Constitution

Amendment Act by reviewing its decision in Golaknath case. The Supreme Court held that the Parliament has power to

amend any provision of the constitution, but doing so, the basic structure of the constitution is to be maintained. But the

Apex Court did not any clear definition of the basic structure. It held that the "basic structure of the Constitution could not

be abrogated even by a constitutional amendment". In the judgement, some of the basic features of the Constitution, which

were listed by the judges.

16
Separation Of Power
• he theory of Doctrine of Separation of Power was first propounded by Montesquieu, a French scholar in and 1747 published

in his book ‘Espirit des Louis’ (The spirit of the laws). 

• To avoid this situation with a view to checking the arbitrariness of the government he suggested that there should be clear-

cut division of power between the three organs of the state i.e. Executive, Legislative and the Judiciary.

17
Separation of Power
• The theory of separation of powers signifies three formulations of structural classification of governmental powers:

• The same person should not form part of more than one of the three organs of the government. For example, ministers

should not sit in Parliament.

• One organ of the government should not interfere with any other organ of the government.

• One organ of the government should not exercise the functions assigned to any other organ.

18
Separation Of Power
• Separation of Powers and Judicial Pronouncements in India

The first major judgment by the judiciary in relation to Doctrine of separation of power was in Ram Jawaya v state of

Punjab. The court in the above case was of the opinion that the doctrine of separation of power was not fully accepted in

India.

Then in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain, where the dispute regarding Prime Minister’s election was pending before the

Supreme Court, it was held that adjudication of a specific dispute is a judicial function which parliament, even under

constitutional amending power, cannot exercise

19
Citizenship
• Part II of the Constitution of India (Articles 5-11) deals with the Citizenship of India.

• Article 5 speaks about citizenship of India at the commencement of the Constitution (Nov 26, 1949).

• Article 11 gave powers to the Parliament of India to regulate the right of citizenship by law.

• Thus Citizenship Act 1955 was enacted by the Parliament. It is an act to provide for the acquisition and termination of

Indian citizenship, and the same acts speaks about citizenship of India after the commencement of the Constitution.

20
Citizenship
• Article 5 states that “every person” who has domicile in the territory of India and:

• Who was born in the territory of India or

• Either of whose parents were born in the territory of India or

    Who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than 5 years immediately preceding such

commencement shall be a citizen of India

• Article 6: Rights of Citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from the territory now included in Pakistan

shall be deemed to be a citizen of India at the commencement of this Constitution

21
 Citizenship

• Article 8: These are Rights of Citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India for the purpose of

employment, education, and marriage

• Article 9: Persons who voluntarily acquire citizenship of a foreign state will not be citizens of India.

• Article 10: Every person who is citizen of India under any provisions of this part will be subject to any law enacted by the

Parliament.

22
 ASSESMENT PATTERN
Criteria Weight age of Marks
Internal Assessment 40
Ist hourly test (Unit –I) 06
Midterm test (Unit-I &Unit-II) 12
IInd hourly test (Unit-III) 06
. Element I 03
Element II 03
Element III 04
Element IV 04
Attendance(more than 90%) 02
Mass Bunk -3
Total 40

23
www.cuchd.in Campus: Gharuan, Mohali
 APPLICATION

1. The Constitutional Law help students to understand the Polity application in India.

2. The Students will get acquainted with the Grundnorm in India. The source of all the laws in India.
.

24
www.cuchd.in Campus: Gharuan, Mohali
 REFERENCES- Books
Text Books Author/Publication

The Constitution of India Government of India Publication/ Universal Publication

.
Constitution of India J. N. Panday/ CLA

Reference Books Author/Publication

Shorter Constitution of India D.D.Basu/ Lexis Nexis

Constitution of India H.M.Seervai/ Universal Publication

Constitution of India M.P.Jain/Lexis Nexis

Introduction to Constitution of India B.K.Sharma/PHI

25
www.cuchd.in Campus: Gharuan, Mohali
 REFERENCES- Online Sources

1. https://www.academia.edu/

2. https://www.legalbites.in/

26
www.cuchd.in Campus: Gharuan, Mohali
THANK YOU

For queries
Email: arun.uils@cumail.in