Constitution of India

Constitution of India
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 opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the
individual and the unity and integrity of the
Nation.
Adopted by the constituent assembly
on 26.11.1949, came into force on
26.1.1950.

It is a blueprint for future of an ancient

people reborn as a modern state.

It is federal in structure with unitary

features.

President of India is the constitutional

head.
 Constitution

Legislative

Executive
Parliament
GOI GOS
State
Judiciary
Assemblies

SC HC LC
 Jurisdiction of Union and States demarcated
Schedule VII
 
1. Union List
2. State List

 Concurrent: It contains 395 Articles and 10

Schedules
 Federal Constitution

Dual Government

Distribution of powers

Supremacy of the constitution

Independence of judiciary
 Salient Features

Largest written constitution

Partly Federal and partly unitary

Parliamentary type of Govt.

Partly rigid and partly flexible

Fundamental rights

Directive Principles of State Policy

Fundamental Duties

A secular socialist state

Social equality
While we want this constitution to be as solid and
permanent as we make it, there is no permanence in Const.
there shd. be a certain flexibility. If you make anything rigid
and permanent, you stop the nation’s growth, the growth of
a living, organic people. In any event, we wd. not make this
Const. as rigid that it can’t be adapted to changing
conditions. When the world is in turmoil and we are
passing through a very swift period of transition, what we
may do today may not be wholly capable tomorrow.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Directive principles of state policy

• promotion of welfare of the people

1

• equitable distribution of resources & prevention of

2 concentration of wealth

• equal justice and free legal aid

3

• organization of village panchayat

4

• promotion of cottage industries etc.

5
 Fundamental Rights (FRs)

 Citizens of India are guaranteed certain

rights known as Fundamental Rights.

 They are contained in Part III of the Const.

 These rights are concerned with the freedom

of social individual Civil Liberties.
Distinction between ‘citizens’ and ‘persons’

Certain FRs are available to citizens of India whereas

certain are available to persons in general. FRs are
inalienable, are justifiable against the Govt. through
Judiciary
Right to equality

Right to freedom of expression etc.

Right against exploitation

Right to freedom of religion

Cultural and educational rights

Right to constitutional remedies in law courts

 Definition of State
Article 12

State includes –
 The Govt. & Parliament of India
 The Govt. & Legislature of each State
 All local or other authorities

Local authorities relates to :-

a. municipal committees or corporations
b.District Boards
c. Panchayats
d.improvement trusts
e. port trusts
Other authorities:
Includes all authorities created by the Const. or some statute and
on whom powers are conferred by law.
e.g. University

Tests :
Ø  share capital contribution by Govt.
Ø  financial assistance from the Govt.
Ø  monopoly status of the corporation, state conferred
Ø  pervasive state control
Ø  functions of corporation are of public importance
These tests are not all conclusive:

MC Mehta v/s. UOI, even a private corp. was included in other

authorities criteria due to state control and regulation and public
functions
 Equality Before Law
The State shall not deny to any person equality
before law or the equal protection of the laws
within the territory of India (Art. 14)

It implies absence of
Equality special privilege No
man, be he a PM or an
before law ordinary peasant is
above Law
Two distinct
expressions
Equality of treatment in
Equal protection of the equal circumstances.
laws Like shd. be treated
alike
What is prohibited is discriminatory legislation & not
special legislation

The State of West Bengal was carrying on the trade of daily market in certain locality of
Calcutta without obtaining a licence required under sec. 218 of Calcutta Municipal Act, 1951.

Corpn. of C’cutta filed a complaint in Magi. Court for this contravention.

Contention of Govt. : It is not bound by the Act.

Magi. Court upheld this contention.

On appeal to the HC, it overruled this decision.

HC held that GOWB was bound to take out a licence
in the same way as a pvt. citizen was.

“We have no crown. The archaic rule based on the

prerogative and perfection of the Crown has no
relevance to a democratic republic; it is inconsistent
with the rule of law based on the doctrine of equality.”

Corpn. of C’cutta v/s. State of WB

Worded in the form of a prohibition
against state but it is a repository of
a very valuable right of equality
created by Constitution
Equal protection means the right to equal
treatment in similar circumstances both
in the privileges conferred and in the
liabilities imposed.

It is in the nature of devising a

mechanism for peaceful
transformation of the society by
employing a constitutional weapon
 Equality implies absence of discrimination

 Other Equalities Guaranteed:

 
 Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion,
race, caste, sex or place of birth (Art. 15)
 Equality of opportunity in matters of public
employment (Art. 16)
 Abolition of untouchability (Art. 17)
 Abolition of titles (Art. 18)
 Civil Liberties
RIGHT TO FREEDOM

Article 19 - six fundamental rights to all citizens

 
(a) Freedom of speech and expression
(b) Freedom of peaceful assembly and without arms
(c) Freedom to form associations or unions
(d) Freedom to move freely throughout the
territory of India
(e) Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the
territory of India
(f) Freedom to practice any profession or to carry
on any occupation, trade or business
• This is not unfettered freedom

• Reasonable restriction can be imposed by

the Govt.

What is reasonable ?

That which stems from reasons Which are

not arbitrary or capricious Restriction is in
the interest of the general public.
The Court said “The geographical situation and
peculiar culture of the three towns (i.e. Haridwar,
Rishikesh and Muni-Ki-Reti) justify a complete
restriction on trade and public dealing in non
vegetarian food items, including eggs, within the
municipal limits of the towns.

“All citizens are enjoined by fundamental duties

prescribed in Article 51A to respect the faith of each
other and thereby promote harmony and spirit of
common brotherhood in a pluralistic society as India
is.”
Reported in TOI, 12.3.2004
There is no fundamental right in a person
to carry on a trade or business in liquor.
But when State decides to grant such right,
it can not escape the rigours of Article 14

Nandlal V/s State of MP (1987)

“What the Constitution attempts to do is to
strike a balance between individual liberty and
social security. Article 19 gives a list of
individual liberties and prescribed in the
various clauses the restraints that may be
placed upon them by law so that they may not
conflict with public welfare or general morality.”
Right to Life and Personal Liberty

No person shall This right

be deprived of provides
his life or protection
personal liberty It is a against
except according qualified right arbitrary or
to procedure illegal action of
established by the State or any
law. (Art. 21) of its agents
Procedure established by law :
 
The principle of reasonableness, which is an essential element of
equality or non arbitrariness pervading Art. 14 must also apply
with equal force to the procedure contemplated by Art. 21, that is,
the procedure must be ‘right, just and fair’ and not ‘arbitrary,
fanciful or oppressive’. In order that the ‘procedure’ is ‘right, just
and fair’, it should conform to the principles of ‘natural justice’,
that is ‘fair play in action.’

Justice Bhagwati in Maneka Gandhi v/s UOI.

 Following rights finding root in Art. 21
Right to speedy criminal trial and more criminal courts
 
Right to bail

Right to legal aid

Right to human dignity

Right of a prisoner not to be handcuffed except in very special circumstances

Right against use of third degree methods by police

Right of a detenue to have interview with his lawyer and

family members
 Fact of a case
Judgment delivered on 23.3.2006

 A vessel registered in Panama belonging to

Ukraine was spotted in Indian territorial waters by
customs deptt.
 Orders for arrest of the vessel was made.
 Receiver was appointed for valuing the cargo.
 Master of the ship committed suicide on the same
day.
 The crew were kept under arrest till Jan 1, 2000.
Conferring the right to life guaranteed under Article
21, the SC noted “The high court has failed to
appreciate that India has travelled very far from
1950 and that the courts have given way to a
dynamic constructive approach in aspect of social
justice while referring to international conventions
etc.”

“The state action is restrained by principles of

reasonableness, justice and fair play. The principles
enshrined in Article 21 are equally applicable to a
foreigner as it is to a citizen.”
We therefore unhesitantly hold that all the seamen
who were on board the vessel Kobe Queen I also
known as Gloria Kobb are entitled to their full
wages and perks.
 Article 22

Protection against arrest and detention:

Right to be informed of the grounds of arrest

Right to consult and to be defended by a legal

practitioner of the choice of the person detained

Arrested person to be produced before the

Magistrate within a period of 24 hours of such arrest

This does not apply in case of preventive detention

 Public Interest Litigation

A fine combination of public awareness and judicial

activism

Allows person or a group of persons who are not

directly affected by state action to initiate legal
proceedings
 Writ Jurisdiction

High Court – Article 226

Supreme Court – Article 32

Under the Scheme, High Court has more power to here

writs as compared to Supreme Court

Article 32 authorises SC to issue writs for enforcement

of FRs only (Part III)

Art. 226 authorises HC to issue writs for enforcement

of FRs or for any other purpose
 Remedies to enforce FRs

Article 32 is prescribed as soul of the

Constitution of India.

Habeas Corpus Mandamus

An order requiring a person A writ issued commanding

to be brought before a judge the performance of a
or into the court especially to specified official act or duty
investigate the right of the by the person to whom it is
law to keep him in prison addressed
 prohibition Quo warranto

A writ by a superior court to A writ requiring a person to

inferior court forbidding the show by what authority he
latter to continue proceedings exercises a public office
therein in excess of its
jurisdiction

Certiorari

A writ of a superior court

calling forth the records and
entire proceedings of an
inferior court
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