Chapter

1
LANDMARKS IN THE
CONSTITUTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA

he Constitution of India, as opted

by the Constituent Assembly in
1949, was not something absolutely
new. It was, to a great extent,
influenced by the Government of India
Act of 1935 that was passed by the
British Parliament. In order to
understand and appreciate the
Constitution, it is necessary to glance
at the constitutional development
during the British rule in India. Some
of the landmarks in the constitutional
development are given in the following
passages.
The foundation of British authority
in India was laid in down through the
establishment of East India Company
in England under a Charter of the
British Queen Elizabeth. Under the
Charter the Company was given an
exclusive right of trading with India. In
the beginning the Company was purely
a trading organization, but later on due
to political circumstances, it acquired
territorial power.

a Council of four members who

exercised their authority jointly, (ii)
the governments of the Presidencies
of Bombay and Madras were subordinated to the government in
Calcutta and (iii) it empowered the
British Crown to establish a Supreme
Court in Bengal with jurisdiction over
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
The Act subjected the legislative
authority of the Governor-General and
Council to certain limitations: (i) the
rules and regulations made by them
were not to be repugnant to the laws of
England, (ii) they required registration
by the Supreme Court which was given
the power to veto them, (iii) there could
be an appeal against them to the British
Government and (iv) the GovernorGeneral and the Council were under
the duty to forward all such rules and
regulations to England and the Kingin-Council was competent to disapprove them at any time within
two years.

Regulating Act of 1773

The Charter Act of 1833

With the expansion of political power

of the Company, it was felt in England
that the affairs of the Company needed
some regulation. As a result, the
Regulating Act of 1773 came into
being. Some of the salient features of
the Act were as follows (i) it set up a
government in Calcutta Presidency
consisting of a Governor- General and

To make the legislative functions of the

government distinct, the British
Government enacted the Charter Act of
1833. It made substantial changes in
the constitutional set up of India. The
sole legislative power in India was
vested in the Governor-General-inCouncil. The Council was to consist of
four members, of whom one was to be

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

a Law Member, who could attend the

Council meetings, as a matter of right,
only when it was to perform legislative
functions. The Councils functions
were, thus, divided into two categories.
When it performed executive functions,
it consisted of the Governor-General
and three members only. But, when it
performed legislative functions, it
consisted of the Governor-General
and the four members. In this way, the
Act laid the foundation of the future
Central Legislature, also called Imperial
Legislative Council.
The Charter Act of 1853
In order to strengthen the legislative
machinery the Charter Act of 1853 was
enacted. The Act further extended the
machinery of legislation. Under the new
Act, the Governor-Generals Council,
when acting in its legislative capacity,
was enlarged by the addition of six new
members. Among these six members,
one was to be an official representative
from each of the four Provinces
viz., Madras, Bombay, Bengal and
North Western Provinces, and the
Chief Justice and a puisne judge of
the Supreme Court. Besides, the
Commander-in-Chief was also given an
extraordinary membership. Thus, the
strength of the Legislative Council
became twelve.
The Act of 1858
The First War of Independence of 1857
brought the era of the East India
Company to an end. In 1858 the
British Crown took over the rights
of the Companys Government in
India in its own hands. The Act
brought substantial changes in the

constitutional set-up. Some of the

important changes were: (i) it abolished
the Board of Directors and the Board
of Control and vested their powers in
one of Her Majestys Secretary (a
Minister in the British Cabinet), (ii) he
was designated as the Secretary of State
for India and was empowered to
superintend, direct and control all the
governmental affairs in India, (iii) the
Secretary of State was to be assisted by
a Council of India, (iv) the GovernorGeneral and Governors of the
Presidencies were to be appointed by
the Crown and the members of their
Councils by the Secretary of State-inCouncil, (v) Lieutenant Governors were
to be appointed by the Governor General, subject to the approval of Her
Majesty and appointments to the
covenanted civil service were to be made
through open competition with the
assistance of the Civil Service
Commission.
Indian Councils Act of 1861
In 1861 the British Government
decided to expand the legislative
Councils. This was done through the
Indian Councils Act of 1861. The main
provisions of the Act were as follows
(i) the Governor-Generals Council was
expanded for legislative purposes by
adding 6-12 new members, to be
nominated for two years, (ii) prior
sanction of the Governor-General was
essential for introducing some
measures, (iii) every Act passed by the
Legislature in India was subject to
approval of Her Majesty acting through
the Secretary of State-in-Council, (iv) the
Governor-General was authorised to
exercise a veto and issue ordinances in

LANDMARKS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA

an emergency and (v) the strength of

the Governor-Generals Council for
executive purposes was raised to five
by addition of one more member.
Indian Councils Act of 1892
In 1892 another Act was passed to
further expand and strengthen the
legislative councils. The main features
of the Act were as follows (i) the
strength of the central and provincial
legislative councils was expanded
by adding 820 new members, (ii) twofifth of these new additional members
were to be non-officials, (iii) the
Governor -General-in-Council was
authorized to make rules subject to the
sanction of the Secretary of State-inCouncil, for discussion of annual
financial statements and for asking
questions.
Indian Councils Act of 1909
During the beginning of the twentieth
century, the British Government was
confronted with three types of
pressures. While on the one hand the
moderates were appealing for more
reforms and the extremists were
agitating for getting Swarajya, the
revolutionaries, on the other hand, were
resorting to terrorist activities to achieve
their goal, i.e. end of the alien rule. In
order to mollify the discontent, to some
extent, the government enacted the
Indian Councils Act of 1909.
The salient features of the Act were as
follows
(a) The Act provided for the expansion
of the Legislative Councils at both
the levels, Central as well as
Provincial.
(b) It maintained the majority of official
members in the Central Legislative

Council. There were four categories

of members i.e. ex-officio members,
nominated officials, nominated
non-officials and elected members.
(c) It provided for non-official majority
in the Provincial Legislatures But
then, the combined strength of
official and nominated non-official
members out-numbered the
elected members.
(d) The Act enlarged the functions of
the Legislative Councils. This Act
(i) empowered the members to
discuss the budget and move
resolutions before it was finally
approved, (ii) they were allowed to
ask supple-mentary questions, to
move resolutions on matters
relating to loans to local bodies,
additional grants and new taxes
and (iii) it also extended to the
members the right to discuss
matters of public interest, adopt
resolutions or demand a division on
them, but the resolutions adopted
by the House were not binding on
the government.
(e) One of the most important and
unfortunate feature of this Act was
the introduction of separate and
discriminatory electorate. The
electorate for returning the representatives to the councils was
divided on the basis of class,
community and interests. For the
provincial councils the electorate
provided for three categories, viz.,
general, special and class (such as
land owners and chambers of
commerce). For the Central Council
one more category viz. Muslim was
added to it.

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

The qualification of the electorate

based on income, property and
education differed from community to
community and region to region.
The Government of India Act
of 1919
During the First World War, Gandhiji
had requested the nation to help the
allies in their war efforts because they
were fighting for the cause of
democracy. After the war was over, the
people were feeling that they would also
get democratic reforms. The Government of India Act of 1919 was enacted
to satisfy the people of India to some
extent.
The salient features of the Act
were as follows : (a) Preamble: The
Act provided for a Preamble that laid
down the basic principles and policies
upon which it was based. According to
it the policy of the British Parliament
was (i) to provide for the increasing
association of Indians in every branch
of Indian administration, (ii) to develop
self governing institutions with a view
to the progressive realisation of
responsible government in British India
as an integral part of the empire; (iii)
the time and manner of gradual
advance towards this goal was to be
decided by the British Parliament
and (iv) accordingly, the Preamble
suggested for a decentralised unitary
form of government.
(b) Distribution of Functions: The Act
divided the functions of government in
two categories: central and provincial.
The provincial subjects were further
subdivided into transferred and
reserved. In the transferred subjects
the Governors were to be assisted by

the ministers responsible to the

legislature while in the reserved
subjects the Governors were to be
advised by the councillors who were not
accountable to the legislature. Thus, in
the provinces a new form of government,
dyarchy, was introduced. Dyarchy
means dual set of governments, e.g.
accountable and non-accountable.
(c) Categories of Members: The Act
provided for three categories of
members: elected, nominated officials
and nominated non-officials. The first
category had about 70% members, the
second had about 10% and the third
category had about 20%. There was
majority of elected members.
(d) The constituencies and franchise: The Act provided for restricted
franchise and communal electorate.
The voting qualification varied from
province to province and within the
same province it differed from rural to
urban areas. The constituencies were
divided into two categories: general and
special. The general constituencies were
demarcated to return Hindus, Muslims,
Christians, Anglo-Indians, Sikhs etc.
Special constituencies were devised to
give representation to land holders,
universities, chambers of commerce etc.
(e) Strength of Central Legislature:
The Act introduced bicameral
legislature at the centre comprising the
Council of States and the Central
Legislative Assembly. The former had
60 members, of whom 33 were to be
elected and 27 to be nominated. The
latter consisted of 145 members, of
whom 104 were to be elected and 41 to
be nominated,

LANDMARKS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA

(f) Powers of Central Legislature:

The central legislature was empowered
to consider, pass or reject legislation on
any of the subjects enumerated in the
Central list. But, the Governor-General
had the last word on any Bill passed
by the Legislature. He possessed the
power to prevent the consideration of a
Bill or any of its part, on the plea that it
was injurious to the peace and
tranquillity of the country. He could
disallow a question in the legislature.
He had the power to withhold his assent
to any Bill passed by the legislature
without which it could not become an
Act. He also had the power to disallow
an adjournment motion or debate on
any matter. He could enact a law, which
he considered essential for the safety
and tranquillity of the empire even if the
legislature had refused to pass it.
The financial powers of the central
legislature were also very much limited.
The budget was to be divided into two
categories, votable and non-votable.
The votable items covered only onethird of the total expenditure. Even in
this sphere the Governor-General was
empowered to restore any grant refused
or reduced by the legislature, if in his
opinion the demand was essential for
the discharge of his responsibilities.
(g) Powers of Provincial Legislatures:
The strength of provincial legislatures
differed from province to province. The
provincial legislative councils were
empowered to legislate on provincial
subjects. However, the Act armed the
Governor with the extensive powers of
legislation. He could stop at any stage
the consideration of a bill on the
ground that it was injurious to safety
and peace of the province. He was

empowered to return any bill to the

house for reconsideration or reserve it
for the consideration of the GovernorGeneral who in his turn could reserve
it for the opinion of the Crown. The
Governor could also veto any bill passed
by the Legislative Council. If the
Council refused to introduce or failed
to pass a bill relating to a reserved
subject, the Governor by his power of
certification could pass it on the plea
that it was essential for the discharge
of his responsibility.
The Act gave the legislative councils
some measure of control over the
finance of the province but its financial
powers were very much narrowed and
circumscribed by the special powers of
the Governor. The budget was divided
into two parts. There were about 70%
non-votable items on which only
discussion could take place in the
house. The remaining 30% of the
budget included such demands for
wants as could be reduced or rejected
by the house, but the Governor
retained the power to restore such
demands by certifying that it was
essential for the discharge of his
responsibilities. In case of emergency
the Governor had the power to sanction
any expenditure on any item.
(h) The Executive Council: It was
responsible to the Secretary of State and
not to the central legislature. The
maximum limit imposed on the
membership of the Governor-Generals
Executive Council was removed. Of the
six members of the Governor-Generals
Executive Council, other than the
Commander -in-Chief, three were
required to be Indians. A pleader of the
Indian High Court was also made

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

eligible for appointment as the Law

member.
(i) Secretary of State for India: The
control of the Secretary of State for
India over the central and provincial
administration was reduced.
The Government of India Act
of 1935
The three Round Table Conferences
convened in London during 1930-32
had made a number of recommendations regarding constitutional
reforms in India. The Government of
India Act, 1935 was the result of these
recommendations. Main features of the
Act were as follows:
(a) It was a comprehensive and
detailed document. It consisted of
321 Sections and 10 Schedules. It
described, in detail, not only the
machinery of the centre but also of
the units.
(b) It, for the first time, introduced a
federal form of polity in India. The
units of federation fall into two
categories: the (British) Indian
provinces and the princely states
(also known as native states).
(c ) The Act divided the functions of the
government in three categories. The
federal list contained 59 subjects,
the provincial list had 54 subjects,
while the concurrent list comprised
of 36 subjects. While the federal and
provincial governments had
exclusive jurisdiction on the
subjects in the federal and
provincial lists respectively, both the
federal and the provincial governments could legislate on the
subjects in the concurrent list. It is
interesting to note that the

jurisdiction of the federal legislature

did not extend to all the subjects
mentioned in the federal list in the
native states. According to the Act,
the ruler of every state was required
to sign an Instrument of Accession
mentioning therein the extent to
which it consented to surrender its
authority to the federal government.
(d) The Act also provided that such a
federation could come into
existence only if as many princely
states (which were given the option
to join or not to join the federation)
would accept to join it as were
entitled to one-half of the states
seats in the upper house of the
federal legislature and having onehalf of the total states population.
(e) The proposed federal polity was to
have a bicameral legislature at the
centre. The upper house was to be
called the Council of States. It was
to consist of 260 members, of whom
156 were to represent the provinces
and 104 the native states. Out of
these 156 representatives of the
provinces 150 were to be elected on
communal lines. While the seats
fixed for Hindus, Muslims and
Sikhs were to be filled by direct
elections, the seats reserved
for Europeans, Anglo-Indian
Community and Indian Christians
were to be filled by an indirect
method through an electoral college
consisting of the members of their
community in the provincial
legislatures. The remaining six
members were to be nominated by
the Gover nor -General. It is
interesting to note that the number
of seats allotted to a state depended

LANDMARKS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA

not on the strength of its population

but on the relative rank and
importance of that state. The
Council of States was to be a
permanent house. One-third of its
members were to retire every third
year.
The lower house was to be called the
Federal Assembly. It was to consist of
375 members, out of which 250 were
to represent the provinces and 125 to
represent the princely states. While the
representatives of the princely states
were to be nominated by their rulers,
those representing the provinces were
to be elected indirectly by the provincial
legislative councils on communal lines.
It is interesting to note that the seats
allotted to the princely states were
disproportionate to their population.
Similarly, the seats allotted to the
various communities in the provinces
were also disproportionate to their
population. The term of the Assembly
was five years but it could be dissolved
earlier also.
(f) The federal legislature could make
laws on all the subjects included in
the federal and the concurrent list.
It was also empowered to legislate
on provincial list in an emergency
or when two or more provinces
requested it to do so. However, its
authority over princely states
extended to those subjects only
which were mentioned in their
Instrument of Accession.
No Bill could become an Act unless
both the houses passed it and also
approved by the Governor-General. In
case of differences between the two
houses, provision for a joint session of
both the houses was made. The

Governor- General had the authority to

approve or disapprove any Bill passed
by the federal legislature. Though both
the houses exercised some control over
the executive, by putting questions and
passing adjournment motions and
other resolutions, the Assembly alone
could pass a vote of no confidence
against the ministers.
Both the houses possessed almost
equal financial powers excepting that
the Money Bill could be introduced only
in the Assembly. But, the Act granted
only limited financial powers to the
federal legislature. The Act divided the
budget into two parts. The first part
covered 80% of the expenditure that
was beyond the control of the federal
legislature. The remaining 20%
required the sanction of the legislature,
but, the Gover nor -General was
empowered to restore the reductions or
sanction any amount rejected by the
legislature.
(g) The Act introduced dyarchy at the
federal level. The federal subjects
were divided into two categories: the
reserved and the transferred.
The reserved subjects included
Defence;
External
Affairs;
Ecclesiastical Affairs and Tribal
Areas. In these matters the
Governor General possessed
discretionary powers i.e., he acted
on the advice of the councillors to
be appointed by him. He was not
even required to consult the council
of ministers in these matters.
Subjects not included in the above
list comprised the transferred
subjects. These subjects were
under the charge of ministers
responsible to the federal

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

legislature. But, there were certain

matters wherein the Governor General possessed the powers
relating to individual judgement.
These were the powers wherein the
Governor-General was required to
consult the council of ministers but
was not bound by their advice.
(h) The Act also provided for a Federal
Court that was to consist of a Chief
Justice and not more than six other
judges. They were to be appointed
by His Majesty and retired at the age
of 65. They could be removed
earlier also on charges of
misbehaviour or infirmity of mind
or body by King of England on the
recommendation of the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council.
The Court had Original, Appellate
and Advisory jurisdictions. It was also
a Court of Record. But, the Court was
not the highest Court of Appeal. Appeal
could be filed against its judgments to
the Privy Council of England.
(i) The Act did away with the dyarchy
introduced by the Government of
India Act, 1919 and introduced
provincial autonomy in the
provinces. Accordingly, the
Governors were required ordinarily
to act on the advice of council of
ministers responsible to the
provincial legislature excepting
when they exercised their
discretionary powers or powers of
individual judgment.
It is interesting to note that the Act
did not enumerate the discretionary
powers of the Governor. The Governor,
at his discretion, decided as to what
were his discretionary powers. Thus,
the Governor could misuse his

authority and make the provincial

autonomy a mockery.
(j) The Act provided for bicameral
legislatures in six provinces and
unicameral in five provinces. The
lower house was to be called
Legislative Assembly and the upper
house, Legislative Council. The
strength of the upper and lower
houses varied from province to
province.
While the Act completely abolished
the categories of the nominated
members from Assemblies, it
continued to have a few nominated
members in the Councils.
The Act suggested direct elections for
both the houses. The basis of the
allotment of the seats to various
communities was on the notorious
communal award, given by Ramsay
Macdonald, as amended by Poona Pact.
The basic principle of the scheme was
that the seats reserved for a community
were to be contested only by persons
belonging to that community and they
were to be elected by members of that
community alone.
(k) The provincial legislatures were
empowered to legislate not only on
the subjects included in the
provincial list but also on those
included in the concurrent list. But
a provincial law on a concurrent
subject held good in so far as it did
not go against a federal law on the
subject. In case of a conflict, the
federal law was to prevail.
There were certain limitations on the
legislative powers of the provincial
legislatures. In some cases prior
permission of the Governor-General
was needed before a Bill could be

LANDMARKS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA

introduced in a legislature. Bills relating

to an Act of the British Parliament or
that of the Gover nor -General or
Governor or affecting the discretionary
powers of the Governor fall in this
category.
Both the houses could exercise some
control over the executive of the
province by putting questions,
supplementary questions or moving
adjournment motions etc. The control
of the Assembly, however, was
substantial in the sense that it could
pass a vote of censure against the
council of ministers.
The legislatures also enjoyed some
limited financial powers. The budget of
the province was divided into votable
and non-votable categories. Votable
items constituted 30% of the
expenditure while non-votable items
comprised 70% of the budget. Even in
the votable category, the Governor
could restore any reduction or cut
passed by the legislature if he
considered it necessary for efficient
administration of the province,
(1) Besides the above, the Act also
provided for the abolition of India
Council, separation of Burma from
India, creation of Federal Railway,
appointments of an Advocate General
and a Financial Adviser.
Cabinet Mission Plan
After the War (i.e. Second World War)
was over, elections were held in
England. Labour Party came to power.
It was sympathetic towards the cause
of India. The British Government sent
a Parliamentary delegation to India to
get first hand information about the
political situation in India. After its

report, the British Government sent a

committee of three members of the
British Cabinet that was authorized to
evolve a formula acceptable to the
prominent political parties of India.
The Cabinet Committee, accordingly,
met different leaders of different political
parties and then offered its recommendations in two instalments. On
May 16, 1946 it announced its
proposals for a long-term settlement
and on June 16, 1946 it outlined a
procedure for the formation of Interim
Government.
Proposals for long-term: The main
provisions of the long-term proposals
were as follows:
(a) There should be a Union of India
comprising provinces and the
princely states.
(b) The Union should have jurisdiction
on Foreign Affairs, Defence and
Communication and should have
necessary powers to raise finances.
(c) The Union should have an executive
and a legislature consisting of
Representatives of both the provinces and princely states.
(d) Any question relating to a major
communal issue in the legislature
should be decided by a majority of
members present and voting
belonging to that community as
well as a majority of all the
members of the legislature present
and voting.
(e) Provinces should be free to form
groups and each group could
determine the provincial subjects to
be taken in common.
(f) The Constitution of the Union and
of the groups should contain a
provision whereby any province

10

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

could, by a majority vote of the

Legislative Assembly call for a
reconsideration of the terms of the
Constitution after an initial period
of ten years and at ten yearly
intervals thereafter.
Proposals for Constitution making
machinery: The main provisions of the
proposals for Constitution making
machinery were as follows:
(a) A constituent Assembly should
be constituted consisting 389
members, 296 representing the
provinces and 93 the princely
states. Each province was to be
allotted a number of seats
proportional to its population. The
total number of seats allotted to a
province was to be divided among
the main communities (General,
Muslims and Sikhs) in proportion
to their population and were to be
elected by members of the same
community in the Legislative
Assembly. The number of seats
allotted to each princely state was
also to be fixed on the basis of
population but the mode of
choosing their representatives was
to be settled in consultation with a
Negotiating Committee.
(b) The members of the Constituent
Assembly, so constituted, would be
divided into the following three
groups:
(i) Provinces not claimed for and
representing Hindu majority
regions viz., Madras, Bombay,
the United Provinces, Bihar and
Orissa.
(ii) Territories claimed for Pakistan
and representing the North-

Wester n Muslim majority

regions viz., Punjab, NorthWestern Frontier Province,
Sindh and British Baluchistan.
(iii) Territories claimed for Pakistan
and representing the NorthEastern Muslim majority
regions viz., Bengal and Assam.
(c) Each group was to settle the
constitution of the provinces
included in it and also whether any
constitution for the group as a
whole to be set up and, if so, the
extent of its powers.
(d) After the group constitutions were
settled, the groups were to
assemble together to settle the
Union Constitution.
(e) After the first general election under
the new constitution, it was to be
open to any province to come out
of any group, in which it was
placed, by a resolution of its
legislature.
British Indian Treaty: A treaty will
be negotiated between the Constituent
Assembly and the United Kingdom to
provide for certain matters arising out
of the transfer of power. It was, however,
hoped that India would decide
to remain a member of the Commonwealth. But at the same time, she was
given the right to go out of Commonwealth, if so desired.
Recommendation for Short-Term
Plan: The Plan envisaged immediate
setting up of an Interim Government
in order to carry on administration
while the constitution making was in
progress. The interim government was
to have 14 members: 6 Congressmen,
5 Leaguers, 1 Indian Christian, 1 Sikh
and 1 Parsee.

LANDMARKS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA

In the Interim Government all the

portfolios were to be held by Indians
and the British Government was to give
full co-operation in the accomplishment of the tasks that confronted the
Interim Government
Evaluation of the Plans: All the
major political parties accepted the
Plan, with all its drawbacks; and
elections were held for a Constituent
Assembly. But differences arose
between the Congress and the League
regarding the interpretation of the Plan.
Though the Plan ruled out Pakistan in
name, it definitely conceded in
substance. This caused trouble and on
July 10, 1946 the League withdrew its
acceptance.
Interim Government and Direct
Action: On August 14, 1946 an Interim
Government was formed under the
leadership of Jawahar Lal Nehru. The
Muslim League did not join it. The
League declared August 16, 1946 as
Direct Action Day. On that day a
systematic killing and looting of the
Hindus began which lasted for four
days. About three thousand people
were killed and thousands worth of
property destroyed. While the carnage
continued in Calcutta, Noakhali, Bihar
and other places, attempts were
continued to bring the League in the
Interim Government. As a result,
League joined the Interim Government
on October 13, 1946. This Government
remained in office till the partition of
India in August 1947.
Mountbatten Plan
As per Cabinet Mission Plan, the
Constituent Assembly was at work
framing the Constitution, but the

11

League members boycotted it. This

made the British Governments task of
transferring power to Indian hands
difficult. Though it declared June 1948
to be the deadline for the transfer of
power, it was felt that it would not be
appropriate for it to transfer power to
an Assembly that was not fully
representative. In order to workout a
formula, acceptable to all sections of
people, for resolving this problem the
British Government appointed
Mountbatten as the Governor-General
of India, who reached India on March
24, 1947. While on the one hand
Mountbatten was negotiating with the
leaders of different parties for evolving
a formula, a strong agitation was
started for the partition of Bengal and
Punjab in the wake of communal riots
and violence at a vast scale. This gave
an opportunity to Mountbatten to
announce his plan for solving the
problem.
It declared that partition of India was
the only possible solution of the Indian
problem. The three disputed Provinces
viz., Assam, Bengal and Punjab would
also be partitioned. A referendum
would be held in the North-Western
Frontier Province to decide whether
that Province would like to join
Pakistan or India. A referendum would
be held in the Syllhat division of Assam
also to determine whether it would like
to remain part of Assam or join East
Bengal that would be a part of
Pakistan.
The Plan indicated a willingness of the
British Government to transfer power
before June 1948. As the Plan was
accepted by all the major parities of India,
a Bill was introduced in the Parliament

12

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

viz., Indian Independence Bill, 1947

which was passed by it and it became
the Indian Independence Act, 1947.
Indian Independence Act of 1947
The main Provisions of the Act are as
follows:
(a) The Act provided for the creation of
two independent Dominions, viz.,
India and Pakistan.
(b) It provided for the partition
of Punjab and Bengal and
separate boundary commissions
to demarcate the boundaries
between them.
(c) Besides West Punjab and EastBengal, Pakistan was to comprise
territories of Sindh, North Western
Frontier Province, Syllhat division of
Assam, Bhawalpur, Khairpur,
Baluchistan and eight other
relatively minor princely states in
Baluchistan.
(d) The paramount authority of British
Crown over the princely states was
to lapse, and they were free to join
the Dominion of India or Pakistan
or remain independent.
(e) The British Government was not to
exercise any authority in future
over the tribal areas and any treaty
or agreement in force, at the time of
passing of the Act, between British
Government and any tribal
authority was also to lapse.
(f) Both the Dominions of India and
Pakistan were to have GovernorGenerals appointed by the British
King. The Act also provided for one
common Governor-General if both
the Dominions so agreed.
(g) The Constituent Assemblies of both
the Dominions were free to frame the

constitution for their respective

countries without any limitation
whatsoever. They were also free to
withdraw from the British
Commonwealth.
(h) For the time being, till the new
constitutions were framed, each of
the Dominions and all the provinces
were to be governed in accordance
with the Government of India Act,
1935 with such modifications,
omissions or additions as may be
done by the Governor-General-inCouncil.
(i) In each of the Dominions, the
powers of the legislature of the
Dominion would be exercisable in
the first instance by the Constituent
Assembly of that Dominion.
(j) The British Government would no
longer possess any control over the
Dominions, provinces or any part
thereof after Independence.
(k) The Governor -Generals would
become the constitutional heads,
empowered to give assent to any
Bill on behalf of the Crown.
(l) The Governor-General was invested
with adequate powers until March,
1948, to issue orders for the effective
implementations of the provisions
of the Indian Independence Act,
1947 and the division of assets
between the two Dominions and to
make suitable changes in the
Government of India Act, 1935 to
remove any difficulty that might
arise in the transitional period.
(m) Those persons who had been
appointed by the Secretary of State
or Secretary of State-in-Council to
a civil service under the Crown in

LANDMARKS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA

India before 15 th August 1947,

would continue in that service after
independence and enjoy the same
privileges and rights in respect of

leave, remuneration, pension,

disciplinary matters and tenure of
office which had been enjoyed by
them before Independence.

Exercises
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

13

What are the salient features of the Indian Councils Act of 1909?
Describe the salient features of the Government of India Act of 1919.
Explain the meaning of Dyarchy. When was it introduced first in India?
What are the main features of the Government of India Act of 1935?
Enumerate the main provisions of the Indian Independence Act of 1947.
Write short notes on the following:
(a) Cabinet Mission Plan
(b) Mountbatten Plan

Chapter

2
INDIAN NATIONAL
MOVEMENT AND
ITS HERITAGE

Introduction

ndia got Independence on 15th

August 1947. It was primarily the
result of the Indian National Movement
led by the Indian National Congress.
Besides the Indian National Congress,
there were other organizations also that
made their contributions to this
Movement. The following passages give
a brief survey of all those forces.
Indian National Congress

Though the Indian National Congress

was founded in 1885; its genesis can
be traced from the various forces at
work since the mid-nineteenth century.
They can be summarized as follows:
(a) Effects of the First War of
Indian Independence (1857): In this
struggle for the first time rulers,
soldiers and leaders from different
parts of India came in close contact
with each other. Though it failed in
achieving its main goal due to lack of
resources,
coordination
and
appropriate planning, it helped in
bringing national consciousness
throughout India.
(b) Impact of the Socio-Religious
Movements: The socio religious
movements of the nineteenth century,
such as Arya Samaj founded by Swami
Dayanand Saraswati, Brahmo Samaj
founded by Raja Rammohan Roy,
Ramakrishna Mission founded by

Swami Vivekanand, Theosophical

Society founded by Madame Blavatsky
and Olcott, played a very important role
in creating a new awakening amongst
tile people of India. They became proud
of their glorious past and looked ahead
for a new resurgence in India.
(c) Effects of the British Rule:
Though the alien rule of the British was
indifferent to the sentiments of the
people, it proved to be a blessing in
disguise. The network of railways and
telegraphs aroused and fostered a
feeling of unity amongst the people
hailing from different parts of India.
(d) Western Education: The spread
of western education brought the
people in touch with the philosophies
of the western thinkers with their
emphasis on nationalism, democracy
and scientific outlook.
(e) Economic Exploitation: The
economic policy of the British
Government in India was based on
economic exploitation. They purchased
raw materials from India at very cheap
rates and sent it to England to feed the
needs of the British industries. The
readymade goods of the British
industries were sold in India at
very high rates. The government
discouraged cottage industries of
India and dumped the Indian
market with goods manufactured in
England.

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

(f) Oppressive Agricultural Policy:

The British Government charged heavy
land revenues on the poor peasants of
India who heavily depended on the
vagaries of nature. This caused a lot of
resentment amongst Indian peasants
against the British rule.
(g) Severe Famines: In the first half of
the nineteenth century there occurred
seven famines, with an estimated total
of one million deaths while in the
second half, there were twenty-four
famines resulting in twenty million
deaths. The British Government did not
come out with any substantial help to
relieve the suffering people.
(h) The Role of Vernacular Press:
When the people of India noted that the
English newspapers were hostile to the
cause of Indians, they started
newspapers in Indian languages. These
newspapers began to expose the antipeople policies of the British
Government. This led the Government
to enact Vernacular Press Act that
restricted the freedom of Vernacular
Press. This provoked a lot of resentment
both in India and in England. This
resulted in its revocation. However, the
British Government adopted other
measures to deny freedom of speech
and expression to the people of India.
(i) Repressive Measures of Lord
L ytton: During the Gover nor Generalship of Lord Lytton steps were
taken which caused bitter feelings
against the British Government. While
there was a severe famine in India, in
1876, which took away toll of
thousands of Indian life, Lord Lytton
held a durbar at Delhi in 1877 to
announce that Queen Victoria had
assumed the title of the empress of

15

India which drained the Indian treasury

of millions of rupees. Lord Lytton drew
India which drained the Indian treasury
of millions of rupees. Lord Lytton drew
India into an Afghan war that caused
enormous loss to India in the form of
men and money. While on the one hand
he imposed heavy penalties on Indians
for bearing arms without licence, there
was no such restriction on the
Europeans. The people of India took
this as an insult.
(j) Ilbert Bill Controversy: According
to the then existing law, an Indian
Magistrate was not empowered to try
and punish Europeans. The Bill wanted
to remove this discrimination against
the Indians. The European Community
organized such a strong opposition
against it that it was ultimately
withdrawn. This caused a feeling in the
minds of the people that they could not
get justice from the British Government
and that agitation was a means through
which one could get ones advance
redressed.
Birth of Indian National Congress
It is obvious from the above that there
was a lot of discontent against the
British Government in India. It was felt
by some observers that if this
discontent was not contained in time it
might lead to another outburst like the
uprising of 1857. They felt that there
was a need of a counter part of His
Majestys Opposition in India that
could give the discontent an outlet.
Mr. A.O. Hume belonged to this school
of thought. He felt that it would be a
great advantage to the country if
leading Indian politicians could be
brought together once a year on friendly

16

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

footing to discuss social matters. He

discussed this idea with Lord Dufferin,
the then Governor-General of India and
got an encouraging response.
Accordingly, a meeting was convened
in Bombay on December 28, 1885 that
was presided over by W.C. Bonnerji.
This meeting decided to form an All
India organization by the name of
Indian National Congress. In the very
first meeting, the Congress passed
resolutions demanding various political
and economic reforms in India. Though
Mr. Hume wanted the Congress to
confine itself to social reforms only, yet
it emphasized political and economic
reforms. Thus, in 1885 a firm
foundation was laid for an organised
Indian National Movement.
Extremist Movement
The policies that were followed by the
Indian National Congress during 18851918 are called moderate or liberal
policies. Some of the members of the
Indian National Congress, however,
were not satisfied with these policies.
They wanted to give the policies an
aggressive colour. They are known by
the name of extremists.
Difference between the liberals or
moderates and the extremists: The
moderates believed in the just sense of
the British people. They felt that the
British people were not aware of the
miserable conditions of the Indian
people and felt that once the British
people came to know of their problems,
they would be solved. They, therefore,
believed in submitting petitions,
prayers, sending delegations, writing
articles in newspapers etc. The

extremists, on the other hand, believed

that when a foreign power rules over
another people, it is not in the interest
of the people ruled but the rulers
themselves. According to them, the
foundation of a foreign rule was
exploitation. It is through processions,
protest meetings, boycott of foreign
goods, strikes, picketing, use of
Swadeshi goods and demanding
Swarajya that a foreign government
could be forced to concede their
demands.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale led the
moderates, Bal Gangadhar Tilak the
extremists. The difference in the
approach between the two clearly
brings out the difference between the
moderates and the extremists. In the
words of Pattabhi Sitaramayya,
Gokhales plan was to improve the
existing condition, T ilaks was to
reconstruct it; Gokhale had necessity
to work with the bureaucracy, Tilak
had necessity to fight it; Gokhale stood
for co-operation, wherever possible and
opposition wherever necessary, Tilak
inclined towards a policy of obstruction;
Gokhales ideal was love and service,
Tilaks was service and suffering;
Gokhales method sought to win the
foreigner, T ilaks to replace him;
Gokhales objective was selfgovernment for which the people have
to fit themselves by answering tests
prescribed by the English, Tilaks
objective was Swaraj which was the
birthright of every Indian and which he
should have without let or hindrance
from the foreigner; Gokhale was on the
level of his age, Tilak was in advance of
his time.

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

Cause for the Birth and Growth of

Extremist Movement: The birth and
growth of extremism in the first decade
of the twentieth century was the result
of so many factors which could be
summarized as follows:
Discontent over the Councils Act of
1892: The reforms introduced by this
Act were inadequate and disappointing.
The Councils were still dominated by
the official nominees who seldom
opposed governments repressive
measures. Even the elected members
were ineffective as they were elected by
the vested interests.
Revival of Hinduism: The three
extremist leaders viz. Bal (Bal
Gangadhar Tilak), Pal (Vipin Chandra
Pal), Lal (Lala Lajpat Rai) inspired
revival of Hinduism. Bal initiated
the worship of Lord Ganesh
in Maharashtra and celebrated
Ganeshotsav for about a fortnight
wherein in the guise of religious
worship speeches and debates were
organized to inculcate the spirit of
nationalism. The same was the case in
Bengal where Vipin Chandra Pal
initiated the worship of Kali and Durga
and celebrated Durgotsav for about a
fortnight wherein in the guise of
religious worship debates and
discourses were organized to encourage
the feeling of nationalism amongst the
people of Bengal, particularly the
youth. These activities created a new
awakening in the country.
Economic
Exploitation: The
economic policies of the British
Government in India were such that the
poor people of India became poorer day
by day. The leaders like Dadabhai
Naoroji and Ramesh Chandra Dutta,

17

through their writings, exposed the

exploitative policies of the British
Government. This aroused discontent
against the British Government.
Famine: A big famine occurred in
India in 1896-97. It affected about
twenty million people spread over in
different parts of India. The government
did nothing to provide relief to the
starving masses. This also created a
severe discontent in the minds of the
people of India against the British rule.
Plague: When famine was taking its
tolls, there spread a severe plague in
Poona. The failure to check the spread
of plague infuriated the people to such
an extent that one Damodar Hari
Chapekar shot dead Rand, the
Commissioner of Poona. Chapekar was
hanged and many innocent people were
brutally punished. This caused a lot of
resentment in the minds of the people
of India.
The Repressive Policy of Lord Curzon
and other Gover nor-Generals:
During the Governor-Generalship of
Elgin several unpopular measures were
enacted to harass the people. During
his regime a great famine broke out.
Instead of helping the people, the
treasury was emptied in expanding the
forces and on holding a splendid
Darbar in Delhi. According to one
author if even half of the vast sum
spent in connection with the Delhi
Darbar had been made over for the
purpose of famine relief, it might have
been the means of saving millions of
men, women and children from death
by starvation.
The events, which occurred during
the Governor -Generalship of Lord

18

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Curzon, added insult to injury. During

his regime Calcutta Corporation Act,
the Official Secrets Act and the Indian
University Act were passed which
curtailed the freedom of the people of
India. His opinions regarding the Indian
culture were highly insulting to the
people of India. His derogatory
speeches caused a lot of discontent in
the minds of the Indian People.
Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi
Movement: During Lord Curzons rule
the Province of Bengal was partitioned.
There was a sinister motive behind it.
He wanted to favour the Muslims by
creating a Muslim majority province by
partitioning Bengal. There was a
spontaneous reaction against it. The
people decided to boycott the foreign
goods and use Swadeshi goods. They
also organized bonfire of imported
goods. The Government adopted severe
repressive measures to suppress the
agitations. This resulted in a lot of anger
against the British Regime.
Foreign Events: Several events that
occurred in Europe in the later part of
the nineteenth century also inspired the
youth of India to work for the
emancipation of India. The defeat of
Italy at the hands of Abyssinia in 1896
and Russia by Japan in 1905 also gave
a new stimulus to Indian Nationalism.
The factors mentioned above gave birth
to a radical wing in the Congress party.
They wanted a change in the moderate
policy of the Congress. To some extent
they succeeded. For instance, Gopal
Krishna Gokhale, in his presidential
address at Banaras in 1905, condemned the partition of Bengal and
supported the Swadeshi Movement.

But then, the moderates could not go

too far in this direction. As a result, the
Congress was divided into two groups:
the extremist and the moderates. At the
Surat session of the Indian National
Congress in 1907 there was a formal
split in the Congress. The extremists left
the Congress and carried on their
programmes independently.
Revolutionaries
The youth of the country was not
satisfied with the policies of the
extremists also. They had a firm belief
that even these policies were not going
to get them Swarajya, For the success
of their mission they believed in the cult
of pistol and bomb. Hence they
organized themselves into a number of
societies on the model of Secret
Societies of Italy and Russia. They
secretly trained the young recruits in
physical exercises, use of weapons and
religious practices of Shakti Cult. They
also tried to make inroads into military
camps and sow seeds of hatred against
the British bureaucracy.
The British authorities dubbed the
revolutionaries as terrorists. They were
terrorists only in the sense that they did
terrorise those English officers who had
adopted severe repressive measures
and committed brutalities on innocent
people. Their activities did serve eyeopeners to the British imperialists. The
revolutionaries retaliated only when
their national pride was hurt or when
the ladies were insulted. Their goal was
very noble. They had faith in
democracy. Their ideal was to setup the
rule of the farmers and workers and to
remove all social and economic
disparities.

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

Some of the prominent leaders

of the revolutionary movement
were: Barindra Kumar Ghosh,
Bhupendranath Dutta, Shyamji
Krishna Verma, Chapekar brothers,
Savarkar brothers, Hardayal, Bhai
Parrnanand, Ram Prasad Bismil,
Sardar Bhagat Singh, Chandra
Shekhar Azad, Yeshpal and Rashbehari
Ghosh.
The outburst of activities of these
revolutionaries greatly alarmed the
British Government who adopted a
three-fold policy of repression, reform
and division. Repression took the form
of committing brutalities on the
revolutionaries. Reform took the form
of constitutional reforms such as
Morley-Minto Reforms (Indian Councils
Act, 1909), Montagu-Chelmsford
Reforms (Government of India Act,
1919) and the Government of India Act,
1935. Division took the form of
encouraging the establishment of
Muslim League and introducing
communal electorate.
Muslim Communalism
When the Indian National Congress was
established in 1885, it not only enjoyed
the blessings of the powers that be,
those days. The Governors of the
provinces, where its sessions were held,
used to grace the occasions by their
presence. But when the Indian National
Congress began to lay emphasis on
various proposals of political and
economic reforms, the attitude of the
British Officials changed. They began
to frown on the Indian National
Congress. But, in spite of the hostile
attitude of the officials, the Congress
gained influence amongst the masses.

19

This led the British officials to conspire

against the Indian National Congress.
They adopted the policy of divide and
rule and encouraged the leaders of the
Muslim community to keep away from
the activities of the Congress. They were
encouraged in this matter by Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan and his Aligarh
Movement, which was trying to
establish a rapport between the Muslim
community
and
the
British
Government in India. It is to be noted
that the British officials used to look to
the Muslim community with suspicion.
They felt that the uprising of 1857 was
primarily an act of the Muslim
community because the British had
snatched away power from the Mughal
rulers. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan wanted
to remove this stigma from the Muslim
community. This was a golden
opportunity to the British. They
encouraged him and the officials of the
Anglo-Indian-Mohammedan College,
Aligarh, founded by him, to make a
representation to the Government for
separate electorate for the Muslims.
Accordingly, a delegation, under the
leadership of Agha Khan, met the then
Governor -General and put forward
their demand for separate electorate for
the Muslims in the proposed
constitutional reforms. The attitude of
the Governor-General was sympathetic
to their demands.
Birth of All India Muslim League:
The success of the Muslim deputation
that met the Gover nor -General
enthused the Muslims to start a
separate political organisation of their
own. Accordingly, on 30th December
1906, the Muslim League was formed.
The objectives of the League were

20

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

defined as follows: (i) to promote among

the Muslims of India a feeling of loyalty
to the British Government and to
remove any misconception that may
arise as to the intention of the
government with regard to any of its
measures, (ii) to protect and advance
the political rights and interests of the
Muslims of India and to respectfully
represent their needs and aspirations
to the Government and (iii) to prevent
the rise among the Muslims of India of
any feelings of hostility towards other
communities without prejudice to the
aforementioned objects of the League.
It is clear from the above that the
primary objective of the League was
anti-Congress and pro-British. It stood
for separate representation for Muslims
in the Legislative Councils and weightage in the appointments in the
government jobs.
Changes in the Policy of Muslim
League: The Muslim League, however,
could not command support from the
entire Muslim Community. Some of the
top leaders like Mr Jinnah, Maulana
Mohmmad Ali and Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad did not agree with the
communal character of the League.
Under the pressure of these eminent
Muslim leaders the League was
compelled to modify its constitution
and effect certain changes in its aims
and objectives. The Muslim League gave
up its dogmatism and drifted closer to
the Congress creed. It included the
promotion of goodwill between the two
major communities and the attainment
of Swarajya under the patronage of the
British Crown in its aims and objects.

Another reason responsible for the drift

of the League towards the Congress was
that Turkey had joined hands with
Germany and fought against the British
during the First World War. Indian
Muslims, who accepted the Emperor of
Turkey as their Khalifa (religious guru)
began to look upon the British as their
enemies. Thus began a new chapter in
the history of the League. Both the
Congress and the League held their
annual sessions at Lucknow and
formulated a scheme for post-war
reforms known as Congress-League
Scheme or Lucknow Pact.
Muslim Leagues Attitude towards
Khilafat Question: In the First World
War the Sultan of Turkey sided with
Germany. The Muslims of India were
afraid that in case of defeat of Axis
powers, Turkey might be disintegrated.
As the Sultan of Turkey was the Khalifa,
the Muslims of India were opposed to
the British efforts in the War. After the
War was over the suspicion of the
Muslims proved true. The Turkish
Empire was disintegrated. This caused
a lot of discontent amongst the
Muslims. As the Indian National
Congress supported the cause of
Khilafat and made it an issue for the
Non-Cooperation Movement, the
Muslims came closer to the Congress.
But this did not last for a long time.
Communal riots in the Malabar District
spoiled the whole atmosphere. When
the Non-Cooperation Movement was
withdrawn because of the Chauri
Chaura incident, the communal forces
became very active in the politics of
India.

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

Muslim Leagues Attitude towards

Simon
Commission:
In
the
Government of India Act of 1919, there
was a provision for the review of the
working of the Act after a lapse of ten
years. The Government, however,
appointed a Commission, viz. Simon
Commission, two years earlier than the
due time. As all the members of the
Commission were English people, the
Indian National Congress felt that it was
an insult to the Indian people and
decided to boycott it. In the League,
however, there were two views, one in
favour of cooperating with it, and other
stood for its opposition.
Muslim League on Nehru Report: In
1928 an All Parties Conference was
held which appointed a committee
under the chairmanship of Motilal
Nehru to draft a constitution for the
future political set up in India. Its report
(the Nehru Committee Report) provided
for joint electorate with reservation of
seats for the Muslims. The League was
divided on the joint electorate. However,
those who were opposed to it
dominated the League.
Jinnahs
Fourteen
Points:
Mr Jinnah, who did not agree with
Nehru Report, put forward his
demands, which he called minimum,
for any political settlement in India.
These demands are called Jinnah s
fourteen points, which were presented
before and ratified by the Muslim
League. Some of the main points were:
(i) the form of any Constitution to be
drawn for free India should be federal
with the residuary powers vested in the
provincial government, (ii) the
minorities should be adequately
represented in all the Legislative

21

Assemblies and Local Bodies, (iii) onethird of the total seats in the Central
Assembly should be reserved for the
Muslims, (iv) representation of all the
communities should be on the basis of
separate electorate; it should, however,
be open to any group to abandon the
system of separate electorate in favour
of joint electorate, (v) no legislature or
an elected body should adopt a Bill or
a resolution which was opposed by
three-fourths of the members of that
community in that body on the ground
that it was injurious to the interests of
that community, (vi) adequate share
for Muslims should be provided
in the constitution of all services,
subject to requirements of efficiency,
(vii) adequate safeguards and state help
should be given for the protection and
promotion of Muslim culture, religion,
language, education, laws and religious
institutions, (viii) at least one-third of
total number of ministers in the central
and provincial cabinets should be
drawn from Muslim community and
(ix) no change in the Constitution
should be made by Central Assembly
except with the concurrence of the units
constituting the Indian federation.
Leagues Demand for Pakistan: The
idea of Pakistan was conceived by
Mohd. Iqbal in 1930. He dreamt of a
consolidated North-West Indian
Muslim State. However, it was Rahmat
Ali who gave the idea a precise form. In
March 1940 the Muslim League passed
a resolution, at its Lahore session,
which stated that no constitutional
scheme would be workable in
this country or acceptable to
Muslims unless it is designed on the
following basic principles, viz., that

22

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

geographically contiguous units are

demarcated into regions which should
be constituted with such territorial
readjustments as may be necessary;
that the areas, in which the Muslims
are numerically in majority, should be
grouped to constitute an independent
state. The League resolved that the
British Government, before leaving
India, must effect the partition of the
country into Indian Union and
Pakistan. The basis of Leagues demand
was its mischievous Two-Nation
Theory. According to this theory the
Hindus and the Muslims are not two
communities but two nations.
In 1942, when the Congress
launched the Quit India Movement, the
Muslim League, instead of supporting
it, co-operated with the government to
crush it. In the general elections held
in 1946, the League captured majority
of Muslim seats. It is to be noted that
in the elections of 1937, the Muslim
Leagues performance was not so good.
Encouraged by its enormous success,
the Muslim League launched its
campaign for the formation of Pakistan
with greater enthusiasm. When the
Cabinet Mission Plan did not indicate
the formation of Pakistan, the Muslim
League resorted to direct action which
resulted in communal riots throughout
India and chaos was created to such
an extent that the Congress, which was
totally opposed to the idea of partition,
accepted the Mountbatten Plan for the
partition of India into two dominions
viz., India and Pakistan.
Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22)
In 1920 the Indian National Congress
decided to launch a movement against

the British Government known as the

Non-Co-operation Movement. There
were several reasons for it. They can be
summarised as follows:
Disappointment and Dissatisfaction
of the people : During the First World
War (1914-18) the people of India
helped the British Government with
men and money both. After the war was
over the people of India expected that
they would also get their due rights and
democracy would be introduced in
India. But what they got was Dyarchy
wherein the real powers belonged to the
irresponsible executive councillors and
the responsible ministers were
handicapped by paucity of funds. Not
only this, before the war was over the
process of retrenchment in the army
had already started. In order to
suppress the possible agitation due to
the unemployment to be caused by the
policy of retrenchment the Government
introduced two Bills viz. Rowlatt Bills
which aimed at arresting the people for
unlimited period without assigning any
reason and without giving them any
protection of defense through legal
experts. This caused a lot of
disappointment and dissatisfaction in
the minds of the people of India.
The Tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh:
When Gandhiji started a countrywide
agitation against the Rowlatt Act, the
people of Punjab organised a public
meeting at Jallianwala Bagh in
Amritsar to support Gandhijis move.
The place was enclosed on all sides by
the back walls of the houses. It had only
one entrance gate that was so narrow
that no carriage could pass through it.
The martial law administrator General

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

Dyer allowed the people to assemble at

the place and when it was packed to
full capacity, he along with a contingent
of hundred Indian and fifty British
soldiers reached the venue of the
meeting. He ordered the soldiers to open
fire without giving any warning to the
crowd to disperse. The firing stopped
only when the ammunition was
exhausted. This massacre caused a lot
of hatred in the minds of the people of
India.
Hunter Committee Report: Due to the
pressure of public opinion the
Government of India appointed a
committee, viz. Hunter Committee to
investigate into the Jallianwala Bagh
Tragedy. Even before the submission
of the report of this Committee the
Government of India passed an
Indemnity Act that absolved all the
officials of any trial and punishment in
connection with the tragedy. The report
of the committee also tried to whitewash the conduct of the British officers.
This caused a lot of resentment in the
minds of the people of India.
Khilafat Question: The Sultan of
Turkey was recognized by the Muslims
of India as their spiritual head. In the
First World War, Turkey had joined
hands with Axis powers. The Muslims
had a suspicion that in case of defeat
of Axis powers Turkey could be
dismembered. In order to secure the
support of the Muslims of India the
British Government had assured that
no change would be made in the status
of the Khalifa (the spiritual head of the
Muslims). But when the war was over
the British Government did not honour
its promise and dismembered Turkey.
This caused a lot of dissatisfaction in
the minds of the Muslims of India.

23

As a result of the above-mentioned

reasons, the Congress decided to
launch a political agitation viz., Nonco-operation Movement, against the
British Government.
Policies and Programme of Non-cooperation Movement: The aim and
objective of the Non-co-operation
Movement was to boycott all the
political, economic and social
institutions connected with the British
Government in India and instead,
establish parallel national institutions.
Some of the main items of the
programme are as follows: (i) surrender
of the titles and honorary offices and
resignation of members occupying
nominated seats in local bodies, (ii)
boycott of governmental and semigovernmental educational institutions
and establishing parallel national
educational institutions, (iii) boycott of
election to the new councils and refusal
by the voters to vote at the elections,
(iv) boycott of foreign goods and use of
swadeshi goods, (v) refusal to attend
official durbars, (vi) boycott of British
courts by lawyers and litigants and
instead establish Panchayats to solve
the disputes, (vii) refusal by soldiers,
clerks and workers to serve in
Mesopotamia, (viii) popularisation of
Charkha-plying and yarn-spinning, (ix)
promotion of communal harmony and
(x) the removal of untouchability.
Progress of the Movement: The
response to the programme of the Noncooperation Movement was very
enthusiastic. Thousands of students
boycotted their educational institutions. For their benefit several
national educational institutions were
established. Even lawyers of great

24

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

standing and lucrative practice gave up

their profession and dedicated
themselves to political work. A number
of people surrendered their official titles
and resigned from the honorary offices.
Boycott of the elections for the newly
constituted legislative councils was
also, to a great extent, successful,
though some moderate leaders,
Zamindars and Jagirdars contested the
elections. The programme of boycott of
foreign goods was very popular and
people organised bonfire of foreign
clothes and garments.
Though the movement, by and large,
was peaceful, yet a few stray incidents
of violence also took place. For instance,
the Moplahs in Malabar district took
law in their own hands and killed not
only Europeans but also thousands of
Hindus. Similarly, when the Prince of
Wales landed in Bombay on 17th
November 1921 there was a clash
between the loyalists, who turned up
to receive the Prince and the boycotters
which resulted in brick-batting and
outbreak of violence. But, violence
reached at its zenith in Chauri Chaura
in U.P. when an excited mob attacked
a police outpost on February 5th, 1922
and killed a few constables. Gandhiji,
apprehending similar troubles in other
parts of the country, announced the
suspension of the Movement. Though
this caused a lot of resentment amongst
the leaders and workers of the
Congress, nothing substantial could be
done in the matter and the Movement
came to an end.
Swarajist Party
The removal of Gandhiji from the
political scene because of his arrest,

caused a gap left in the leadership of

the Congress. The failure of the Nonco-operation Movement created
bitterness in the minds of the
Congressmen. There was confusion
and gloominess. The nation wanted a
concrete programme and political
guidance that were finally supplied by
a set of leaders who had opposed
Gandhijis boycott of councils. The
Congress was split in two sections. One
section was opposed to any change in
the programme of Non-co-operation
while the other section wanted to make
a change in it. Their argument was that
the boycott of the councils was an utter
failure. The moderates and the
reactionaries contested the elections
and occupied seats in the councils. As
a result, the Congress failed in its
objective. This group, therefore, wanted
to change its strategy. Instead of
boycott, it wanted to contest elections,
reach in the councils and obstruct its
activities from within. In the beginning
the no-changers dominated the scene,
but later on Gandhiji gave a green
signal to the changers on the condition
that they would contest the election as
a part of the Congress organisation. As
a result, the Swarajist Party was
founded.
Principles and Programmes of the
Swarajist Party: The party wanted to
contest elections, enter the councils and
non-co-operate with the Government
from within the councils. If the party
would get majority in the councils they
would reject the Government Bills, as a
result of which, the Governors would
be forced to use their extraordinary
powers of certification and put the
rejected Bills on statutory books.

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

Similarly, they would reject the budget

and thereby force the Governors to use
their extraordinary power of restoration
whereby the rejected budget would be
restored. In this way the party would
be able to expose the non-democratic
provisions of the Government of India
Act, 1919. In case they would not get
majority in the councils they would
create obstructions in the passage of
Bills and in the passing of Budgets.
They felt that as a result of their
activities the moderates and the
reactionaries would fail in their mission
to co-operate with the Government.
Success and Work of Swarajist
Party: The Party contested the elections
in 1923 and secured clear majority in
the Central Legislative Assembly and in
the Legislative Councils of Bengal and
Central Provinces. In several other
provinces, although it failed to get a
clear majority, they formed strong
opposition groups. Under the
leadership of Moti Lal Nehru and C.R.
Das, the party played a very important
role in the Councils and the Central
Assembly. The party, in co-operation
with other groups in the Assembly, was
able to secure the post of presiding
officer of the Central Assembly for
Vitthal Bhai Patel. As a result of the
activities of the party, the Congressmen
got a good diversion and the Congress
remained in the lime light of people of
India.
Simon Commission and its Report
In the Government of India Act, 1919,
there was a provision for the review of
the working of the Act after the lapse of
ten years. The Government, however,
appointed a Commission, viz. Simon

25

Commission, two years earlier than the

due time. As all the members of the
Commission were English people, the
Indian National Congress felt that it was
an insult to the Indian people and
decided to boycott it.
The Commission was asked to
enquire into the working of the
Government of India Act, 1919 and to
find out how successfully or otherwise
the dyarchy was working in the
provinces. It was also to report on the
functioning
of
representative
institutions and whether it was
desirable or not to make further
progress towards a fully responsible
government.
When the Commission landed in
Bombay on February 7th, 1928 it was
greeted with black flags and wild
demonstrations. The same was
repeated at every place the Commission
visited. In view of the disturbances all
over the country, the government made
an announcement to the effect that
committees elected by central as well
as provincial legislatures would also be
associated with the Commission. This,
however, did not satisfy the people.
The Commission submitted its
report in May, 1930. Its main
re-commendations were as follows:
(i) abolition of dyarchy and introduction
of provincial autonomy; (ii) the
Governors and the Governor-General
should be given special powers;
(iii) franchise should be extended to the
extent that at least 10-15 percent of the
people should be able to get right to
vote; (iv) retention of the communal
electorate and special representation of
the minorities; (v) introduction of
dyarchy at the Centre; and (vi) the

26

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Commission suggested the desirability

of the reconstitution of the central
legislature on federal principle, having
representatives from all the provinces
and those princely states which
consented to join the proposed
federation, the method of election for
both the houses should be indirect.
Though the Report did not satisfy the
people and was bitterly criticized by
various leaders, it became the basis for
the Government of India Act of 1935.
Nehru Committee and its Report
In response to the challenge by the
Simon Commission to draft a
constitution acceptable to all the
parties, the All India National Congress
convened an All Parties Conference in
February, 1928. Twenty-nine political
parties participated in it. The
Conference appointed a committee
under the presidentship of Motilal
Nehru to draft a constitution.
The main recommendations of the
Committee are as follows: (i) dominion
status should be the immediate goal
and the government should be made
fully responsible; (ii) future constitution
should be federal in nature wherein the
provinces should be given as much
autonomy as was safely possible,
residuary powers should reside with
the centre and the provincial
legislatures should be unicameral;
(iii) communal electorate should be
done away with but there could be
reservation of seats for the minorities;
(iv) the state should be secular and
provide for cultural autonomy;
(v) sovereignty of people should be given
a recognition and fundamental rights,
particularly the right to equality and

freedom of faith, should be granted to

them; (vi) parliament should be
bicameral wherein the lower house viz.
House of Representatives, should be
elected directly by the people on the
basis of adult franchise and the upper
house, viz., the Senate, should be
elected indirectly; (vii) the GovernorGeneral should act in accordance with
the Constitution and his Executive
Council should have a Prime Minister
and six ministers, who should be
collectively responsible to the Dominion
Parliament; and (viii) a Supreme Court
should be set up with the power to
interpret the Constitution and to decide
disputes between the provinces. There
should be no appeal against its
judgment to the Privy Council.
Though the All-Parties Conference at
Lucknow accepted the Report
unanimously, differences arose in
almost all the parties when they began
to scrutinise it separately. The Congress
accepted it only on the condition that
the British Government would accept
it in its entirety on or before 31st
December 1929. In the event of its nonacceptance by that date or its earlier
rejection, the Congress would
organize non-violent, non-cooperation
movement and would declare complete
independence as its goal.
Civil Disobedience Movement
(1930-32)
The Congress was fully dissatisfied with
the way the government proceeded
with the Simon Commission. It was also
not happy when the government
rejected the Report of the Nehru
Committee. There was a lot of discontent
amongst the peasants of Gujarat where
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel led a

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

movement of the peasants against the

arbitrary rule of the provincial
government. Similarly, there was
discontent amongst the people of Bihar
because of the high handedness of the
provincial government. When the
communist leaders assumed the
leadership of peasants and workers, the
government put them behind the bars
and tried them for sedition. As a result,
Gandhiji felt that there was a need for a
new popular movement against the
British rulers. He, therefore, launched the
Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.
The movement resorted to all the
items of the programme of Non-cooperation Movement of 1919. In
addition a new item was added viz.,
violation of salt law. The movement was
launched by the famous Dandi march
of Gandhiji in March 1930. He marched
on foot from Sabarmati Ashram to the
seashore and covered a distance of two
hundred miles in twenty-four days.
Hundreds of Congress workers joined
him on his way to Dandi. During this
march there arose a new political
awakening amongst the masses of
India. In the beginning the Government
of India did not take the movement
seriously but when the movement
became very popular the government
adopted repressive measures. As a
result, thousands of Congressmen
offered for Satyagrah and all the jails of
India were filled with the Satyagrahis.
First Round Table Conference:
While the Congress was active with the
above-mentioned Movement in India
there was a lot of activity going on in
England. In accordance with the recommendations of Simon Commission,
a Round Table Conference was

27

summoned in 1930 to discuss the

scheme for future political reforms,
wherein political parties and some top
Indian leaders were invited to
participate. The Congress party
boycotted the Conference. The
Conference, however, took some
important political decisions and
appointed various committees to
workout the details.
Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) and the
Second Round Table Conference:
After the first Round Table Conference,
efforts were made to seek the
Co-operation of Gandhiji and the
Congress for the Second Round Table
Conference. There were negotiations
between Gandhiji and Lord Irwin. As a
result, there was an agreement between
the two. The Congress decided to
postpone the Civil Disobedience
Movement and the Government
promised to withdraw the suppressive
measures and release the Satyagrahis.
The Congress participated in the
Second Round Table Conference in
which Gandhiji represented the
Congress. Though the presence of
Gandhiji created a lot of enthusiasm,
serious differences came to the floor of
the Conference particularly on the
issue of representation of the Scheduled
Castes. B. R. Ambedkar insisted on
separate electorate and representation
for the Scheduled Castes. Gandhiji did
not agree to it. The matter was
ultimately left to the Prime Minister of
England to give his decision in the
matter.
Communal Award and Poona Pact:
When the Prime Minister of England
gave his award in favour of separate
electorate and separate representation

28

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

for the Scheduled Castes, Gandhiji

opposed it and went on fast unto
death. This created a lot of anxiety
throughout the nation. Efforts were
made to bring a compromise between
Ambedkar and Gandhiji that resulted
in Poona Pact. According to this Pact it
was agreed by Gandhiji and Ambedkar
to retain joint electorate but the
number of reserved seats for the
Scheduled Castes, as fixed by the
award in the provincial legislature, was
doubled and all the members of the
Depressed Classes registered in the
general electoral roll in a constituency
formed an electoral college. This small
body was to elect a panel of four
candidates for each of the reserved
seats by the method of single
transferable vote. One of these
candidates was to be elected for the
reserved seat by the joint electorate. As
a result of this agreement Gandhiji
broke his fast.
Resumption of Civil Disobedience
Movement (1932-34): Meanwhile
Gandhiji, after his return from the
Second Round Table Conference, had
already resumed Civil Disobedience
Movement. While on the one hand the
Satyagrahis were active in the
Movement, the government was
resorting to repressive measures. In the
wake of the Communal Award and
Gandhijis fast, the movement became
somewhat passive. Gandhiji took up
the programme for removal of
untouchability from society. His
followers also began to take active
interest in this programme. When a
famine occurred in Bihar in 1934, the
workers of Congress began to take
active interest in the relief measures.

Thus, the Civil Disobedience Movement

gradually came to an end.
Quit India Movement (1942)
Most of the Indians were not surprised
at the failure of the Cripps Mission.
They felt that Cripps was sent to India
to mollify China and the U.S.A. who
were pressurising the U.K. to make
honourable offer to India to meet its
national demands. The British
Government wanted to demonstrate
to the world that it could not hand
over power to Indians because of
disunity amongst them. However, this
failure caused a sense of indignant
frustration amongst the masses. The
atmosphere was gloomy and inaction
was suicidal. So Gandhiji evolved the
idea of Quit India in his articles in the
Harijan.
Quit India Resolution: The Congress
Working Committee approved the idea
and passed the famous Quit India
Resolution. The resolution demanded
the immediate, complete and
unconditional withdrawal by the
British government regardless of the
consequences. The Congress Working
Committee authorised Gandhiji to take
the lead and guide the nation in the
steps to be taken in the coming
struggle.
The Resolution was put before the All
India Congress Committee on August
8, 1942 for its approval. While
speaking on the resolution, Gandhiji
declared that it was a decision to do or
die and stated that it was going to be
the last struggle of his life to win the
freedom of India.
The Resolution was to be put before
the plenary session of the All India

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

National Congress on August 9, 1942.

But, before it could be done, the
Government arrested all the top leaders
of the Congress on the night of August
8, 1942. This precipitated the crisis. In
the absence of the leaders, the people
resorted to hartals, processions and
meetings. These activities of the people
were suppressed ruthlessly. In the face
of such provocations, public, at some
places, resorted to violence. The
Congress Socialist Party, a left wing
organization within the Congress,
encouraged such activities by
interpreting the Quit India Resolution
in its own ways. In return, the
Government started a veritable reign of
terror. As a result thousands of people
were injured, thousands were killed and
other thousands were arrested. In
about three months the Government
succeeded in crushing this uprising.
Indian National Army
While on the national front people were
actively involved in the Quit India
Movement, outside India, Subhash
Chandra Bose and his Indian National
Army were carrying on their activities
for the liberation of India. Bose was a
congressman who did not have much
faith in the Congress cult of nonviolence. In 1941, on the advice of Vir
Sarvarkar, the revolutionary, he slipped
away from India and reached Germany.
On an invitation from Rasbehari Bose,
the famous revolutionary, he reached
Japan to lead the Indian National Army.
Rasbehari Bose formed the Army for
liberation of India. In 1943, Subhash
Chandra Bose formed a Provisional
Government of Free India. It was given

29

official recognition by the free

governments of Japan, Germany, the
Philippines, Korea, China and the Irish
Republic. Meanwhile the Japanese
Army had invaded and conquered
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In
1943, the Japanese Government
handed over the administration of these
Islands to Netaji Subhash Chandra
Bose who renamed them as Shahid
Island and Swarajya Island
respectively. In 1944 Subhash attacked
and liberated some parts of northeastern India. But in 1945, world
politics suddenly took an unexpected
turn. Germany laid down arms on 7th
May, 1945 and Japan had to surrender
on 13th August, 1945 due to the
dropping of two atom bombs on the
Japanese towns of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. On receiving the news
Subhash hurried from Bangkok by a
plane to Tokyo. It seems the plane
crashed on the Formosa Island and
nothing is known about the
whereabouts of Netaji. After the War
was over, the personnel of the Indian
National Army were arrested. A trial of
three of its officers viz., Major General
Shah Nawaz, Sehgal and Dhillon took
place in the Red Fort in which Jawahar
Lal Nehru, along with others, pleaded
the case of the accused. This generated
interest not only among the masses but
also in the defence forces who appeared
to be in favour of the release of these
freedom fighters. As a result, the British
Government decided to set them free.
It was a sign of changing times and
indication of the loosening grip of the
British Government over the Indian
army.

30

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Mutiny in the Air Force and the

Navy (1946)
For some time there prevailed
discontent amongst the Indian soldiers
against their English officers. This
discontent reached such a stage that
personnel in the Air Force in Karachi
declared a strike on January 20, 1946.
The fire spread to the aerodromes at
Bombay, Lahore and Delhi. Nearly
5200 employees of the Air Wing struck
work. The Naval forces followed suit.
Nearly 5000 personnel of the Navy went
on strike on February 19, 1946. They
also displayed the badges of the Indian
National Army on their breasts. The
strikers attacked the English officer in
Bombay. When bullets were shot at
them, they also replied in bullets. All
discipline was shattered. It was a
sufficient hint to the British that they
should leave India before it was too late.
Conclusion
The above description makes it quite
clear that when British left India on
15th August, 1947 it was the
cumulative effect of the various
nationalist forces that were active from
the mid nineteenth century. There is no
doubt that major share goes to the
Indian National Congress which played
a very important role in the national life
of India, particularly after the advent
of Gandhiji on the political scene, but
the role played by the Extremist, the
Swarajists, the Revolutionaries, the
Indian National Army and the Mutiny
of Air Force and Navy cannot be
ignored.
Heritage of National Movement
The leaders of the Indian National
Movement, by their examples, have set

certain norms of behaviour that have

become our national heritage. The
norms can be summarized as follows:
(a) Peace and Non-violence: The
Indian National Movement was
predominantly peaceful and nonviolent. Non-co-operation, civil
disobedience and satyagrah were the
main weapons of this movement.
Instead of using violent means it
resorted to win over the opposition by
means of appealing to its good sense.
(b) Democracy: From the very
beginning our leaders were demanding
democratic reforms in India. They had
full faith in the universal adult franchise
and opposed all sorts of discrimination
based on caste, creed, colour, sex,
religion, race, place of birth etc. They
fully supported the demand of
inalienable fundamental rights of
human beings.
(c) Secularism : Our leaders were fully
committed to make India a secular
nation. Their concept of secularism,
however, was different from the concept
prevalent in most of the European
countries. They did not support the
anti-religious and non-interventionist
models of secularism. They had equal
respect for all religions and so their
secularism stood for sarv dharm sam
bhav.
(d) National Integration: Prior to the
advent of the British, Indians lived in
harmony. The British adopted the
policy of divide and rule that aroused
communal and sectional feelings. Our
leaders stood for equality of all people
irrespective of any other consideration.
They laid emphasis on national
integration of all sections of society.

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND ITS HERITAGE

(e) Upliftment of Harijans: Our

leaders laid emphasis on social
equality. They did not believe in social
dis-crimination. Removal of untouchability was one of the main items
of the constructive programme of the
Congress. Gandhiji founded the all
India Harijan Sevak Sangh and
through a journal Harijan he
propagated the cause of the Scheduled
Castes. In the later years of his life he
used to stay in Harijan Colonies so that
all his countymen could emulate his
example for the upliftment of Harijans.
(f) Emancipation of Women: With the
entry of Gandhiji in Indian politics our
leaders strongly supported the cause of
emancipation of women. Gandhiji
brought Indian women out of purdah.
Thousands of women participated
actively in the freedom struggle. They went
to jails and faced lathi charge as well as
firing at the hands of the then rulers.
(g) Promotion of Cottage Industries:
As our leaders stood for the cause of
downtrodden and poor peasants, they
supported the policy of establishing and
promoting cottage industries.
Gandhijis charkha became a symbol
of cottage industries. Promotion of

31

gramodyog and use of Khadi are the

legacies of Gandhian era of our
liberation movement.
(h) Rural upliftment: As India is
predominantly a land of villages, our
leaders fully supported the programme
of rural upliftment. This was also
included in the constructive programme
of the Congress.
(i) Anti-racial: Our leaders were
always opposed to all forms of
racialism. They always supported
those people who were fighting against
racialism.
(j) Anti-Imperial and Anti-colonial:
The leaders of our national movement
have taken a consistent stand on
imperialism and colonialism. They
always stood against all forms of foreign
rule. They always supported those
people who were fighting for their
liberation from imperial or colonial rule.
(k) Unity in Diversity: Our national
leaders strongly supported the cause
of national unity but they did not
oppose diversities. In fact, they stood
for unity in diversity. Their support for
federal form of government was based
on this policy.

Exercises
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Enumerate the causes that led to the birth of Indian National Congress.
Distinguish between the policies of the moderates and the extremists.
What are the causes that led to the growth of extremism in India?
Enumerate the causes that led to the rise of communalism in India.
Explain the programme of the Non-Co-operation Movement.
What were the policies and programmes of the Swarajist Party? To what extent
did it achieve its goal?
Describe, in brief, the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930-32 launched by
Gandhiji.

32

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

8.
9.
10.

Describe the Quit India Movement of 1942.

Describe, in brief, the values inherited from the Indian National Movement.
Write notes on:
(a) Simon Commission and its Report
(b) Nehru Committee and its Report
(c) Policy of Divide and Rule
(d) Communal Electorate

Chapter

3
INDIAN CONSTITUTION
PREAMBLE, SALIENT FEATURES
AND INDIAN FEDERATION

Preamble to the Indian

Constitution

he term preamble literally means

preface, preliminary statement or
introduction. The Preamble to the
Indian Constitution deals with the aims
and objectives, the targets and ideals;
and the basis and foundations of the
Indian Constitution.
The Preamble is directly related to
the Objective Resolution passed by the
Constituent Assembly on January
22, 1947. Some of the important
provisions of the Resolution were as
follows : (1) This Constituent Assembly
declares its firm and solemn resolve to
proclaim India as an Independent
Sovereign Republic and to draw up for
the future governance a constitution;
(ii) wherein all power and authority of
the Sovereign Independent India,
its constituent parts and organs
of government are derived from the
people; (iii) wherein shall be
guaranteed and secured to all the
people of India justice social,
economic and political; equality of
status, of opportunity, and before the
law; freedom of thought, expression,
belief, faith, worship, vocation,
association and actions, subject to law
and public morality, and (iv) wherein
adequate safeguards shall be provided

for minorities; backward and tribal

areas, and depressed and other classes.
B.N Rau, the constitutional advisor
to the Constituent Assembly, prepared
a draft of the Preamble based on this
Resolution. The Drafting Committee
considered this draft and after making
some changes adopted it at the stages
of the working of the Constituent
Assembly so that it was in conformity
with the constitutional provisions.
The Preamble states that 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 twentysixth day of November, 1949, do
hereby Adopt, Enact and Give to
Ourselves this Constitution.
Now, if we analyse the Preamble, the
first thing that we note is that it refers
to The People of India who have
adopted, enacted and given to
themselves this Constitution. The
implication of this terminology is that
it declares the people of India to be the
sovereign authority. It is to be noted

34

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

that the leaders of our national

movement always emphasised the
sovereignty of Indian people.
This Constitution was drafted and
adopted by a Constituent Assembly
that was not elected directly by the
people. In fact, the Legislative
Assemblies of the Indian Provinces
elected it indirectly. The Assemblies
themselves were elected in 1946
according to the provisions of the
Government of India Act, 1935. The Act
had provided for a restricted franchise.
Most of the representatives of the
princely states in the Constituent
Assembly did not enjoy even this much
representative character. In spite of
these limitations, the Constituent
Assembly could be called real
representative of the people because it
had representation of almost all shades
of opinions. It was possible because of
the magnanimity of those who ruled
over India then. They saw to it that all
sections of people of India have a place
in the Constituent Assembly.
Another important feature of the
Preamble is that it aims at making India
a sovereign, socialist, secular,
democratic Republic. Sovereignty
implies that India is absolutely free
from any other authority, internal or
external. Though some critics are of the
opinion that the membership of
the Commonwealth compromises
this status, yet it is not true. The
Commonwealth has undergone a
sea-change from its original position
and now it is purely a voluntary
association of independent and
sovereign States.
The terms socialist and secular were
added in the Preamble by the

Constitution
(Forty
Second
Amendment) Act, 1976. The term
socialist indicates the incorporation
of the philosophy of socialism in
the Constitution. It is to be remembered
that K.T. Shah, a member of the
Constituent Assembly proposed in the
Assembly, had the inclusion of this
term in the Preamble. But Nehru had
strongly opposed it because according
to him, they had already provided for
the substance of economic democracy
in the Constitution in chapters on
Fundamental Rights and Directive
Principles of State Policy and there was
no need for the inclusion of such terms
that were likely to be interpreted
differently by different people.
Similarly, there was also a proposal
in the Constituent Assembly for
inclusion of the term secular in the
Preamble, but it was also opposed on
the ground that there was no fixed
meaning attached to this term. However
leadership, in 1976, felt the need for
inclusion of this term in the Preamble.
It is noteworthy that the term
secular, as interpreted by the courts in
India, means that the State shall not
discriminate between different religions
and all shall be treated equally.
The term democratic implies that the
Governments are elected and
accountable for their deeds to the
people of India. Elections have to be
held at regular intervals and people are
allowed to exercise their franchise freely
and fairly. It also means that there shall
prevail the rule of law and no one could
act arbitrarily.
The term Republic implies that the
Head of the State gets his office by
election by the people and not by
hereditary claims.

35

INDIAN CONSTITUTION

The Preamble also aims at securing

to all citizens Justice: social, economic
and political. Though it is not easy to
give a precise meaning of the term
justice, by and large, it can be stated
that the idea of justice is equated with
equity and fairness. Social justice,
therefore, would mean that all sections
of society, irrespective of caste, creed,
sex, place of birth, religion or language,
would be treated equally and no one
would be discriminated on any of these
grounds. Similarly, economic justice
would mean that all the natural
resources of the country would be
equally available to all the citizens and
no one would suffer from any
undeserved want. Similarly, Political
justice entitles all the citizens equal
political rights such as right to vote,
right to contest elections and right to
hold public office etc.
The Preamble also keeps liberty of
thought, expression, belief, faith, and
worship as its ideals. It means that the
citizens would be free to follow a
religion of their own choice and express
their views freely and frankly. The
State would not interfere in all these
matters.
The Preamble also provides for
equality of status and opportunity. It
implies that all the citizens would be
able to make full use of their talents
without any interruption and develop
their personality to the maximum
extent possible.
Lastly, the Preamble also aims at
developing fraternity assuring the
dignity of individual and the unity and
integrity of the nation. It means that
the common brotherhood, to be
developed in India, would be based on

the dignity of the individual without any

consideration of his status in society.
Similarly, such a brotherhood should
also lead to the unity and integrity of
the nation.
In nutshell, the Preamble aims at a
social order wherein the people would
be sovereign, the government would be
elected by and accountable to people,
the powers of the government shall be
restricted by the rights of people and
people would have ample opportunities
to develop their talents. Though the
Preamble is not technically enforceable
through courts of law, it is useful in
interpreting the various provisions of
the Constitution and acts as a beacon
in conflicting situations.

Indian Constitution:
Salient Features
Introduction
The salient features of the Indian
Constitution are of two types. There are
some features that are unique to this
Constitution; no previous constitution
possessed them, while there are others
which, though not peculiar, are still
important characteristics.
UNIQUE FEATURES
Framed by the People of India: This
Constitution has been framed by the
representatives of the people of India
through a Constituent Assembly
during 1946-1949. Prior to it, the
British Parliament enacted all the
constitutions. The Constituent
Assembly, however, was elected

36

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

indirectly by the Provincial Legislative

Assemblies that were themselves
elected on a restricted franchise. The
representatives of the princely states
were the nominees of their rulers. In
spite of it, the Constituent Assembly
could be called a representative body
because the then ruling party at the
Centre had decided to give representation to all sections of society as
well as to all shades of opinion.
Derived from Various Sources: It is
a unique document that was derived
from various sources. Our constitution
makers were inspired to draft the
provisions regarding Fundamental
Rights and Supreme Court from the
U.S.A, Directive Principles of State
Policy from Ireland, Emergency from
Germany, Distribution of legislative
powers
from
Canada,
and
Parliamentary Institutions from the
United Kingdom. Besides, they
borrowed extensively from the
Government of India Act, 1935.
Sovereignty of the People: The
Constitution declares the people of
India to be the supreme authority. Prior
to it, the supreme authority lay in the
British Parliament. Even the Indian
Independence Act, 1947 through
which India got independence
recognized the supremacy of the British
Parliament. The term Sovereignty
implies that the people of India are not
subordinate to any other external
agency. The membership of the
Commonwealth of Nations, sometimes,
is misinterpreted as a limitation on the
sovereignty of the people of India. This,
however, is not correct. The
Commonwealth has now undergone a

sea-change. It is now purely a voluntary

association of independent sovereign
States.
Republican Polity: The Constitution
provides for the republican form of
polity in India. Prior to it, the British
king was the Head of the State who
owed his office to the laws of
inheritance. It is note-worthy that in
Ancient India there existed republican
governments in a number of parts for
about one thousand years. But in
modern times there was not a single
territory where republican form of
government prevailed.
Secular Polity: This Constitution
provides for a secular polity in India.
Though the term secular has not been
defined in the Constitution anywhere,
the substance of secularism can be
deduced from various provisions of the
Constitution. It has been used in the
sense of absence of discrimination on
grounds of religion and equal respect
for all religions. Prior to it, the
Government of India Act, 1935 had
provided for a separate department of
Ecclesiastical Affairs.
Fundamentals Rights and Duties:
The Constitution provides for
Fundamental Rights and Fundamental
Duties of the citizens of India. No
previous constitution provided for
them. The leaders of the Indian National
Movement always demanded for the
inclusion of Fundamental Rights in
the Constitution of India. The
Constitution initially did not provide for
Fundamental Duties. This provision
was inserted in the Constitution
through the Constitution (Forty Second
Amendment) Act, 1976.

INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Directive Principles of State Policy:

The Constitution provides for the
Directive Principles of State Policy. No
previous constitution had such a
provision. Though the Instrument
of Instructions attached to the
Government of India Act, 1935, appears
to be analogous to the Directives, the
aims and objects of the two are very
different. It is to be noted that the
leaders of the Indian National
Movement had made various promises
regarding the Fundamental Rights that
the citizens of free India would enjoy.
But when India got independence in
1947, the leaders realised that they did
not possess sufficient means to grant
those rights, particularly economic and
social rights, immediately. But at the
same time they did not want to go back
upon their promises. They, therefore,
decided to put the Fundamental Rights
into two categories: (i) those that were
granted immediately and (ii) those that
would be granted in future if and when
they were capable to do so. The first
were included in Chapter Ill entitled
Fundamental Rights and the second
were included in Chapter IV entitled
Directive Principles of State Policy. The
rights included in Chapter IV are nonenforceable through courts of law but
they are the fundamental principles of
governance which the State (i.e. the
Government and Parliament of India;
the Government and the Legislature of
each of the States and all local or other
authorities within the territory of India
or under the control of Government of
India) is required to take cognisance of.
Judicial Review: The Constitution
provides for the judicial review of the
Acts of Legislatures (of both, the Union

37

and States) as well as of the activities of

the executives (Union and State). Prior
to it, there was no such provision. This
provision keeps the legislative and the
executive branches of governments
under restraint and they cannot
exercise their authority arbitrarily.
Universal Adult Franchise: It
provides for the universal adult
franchise. Prior to it all the constitutions
provided for restricted franchise.
According to the Government of India
Act, 1935, which granted the largest
amount of franchise, only 14% of the
people had a right to vote. It is
noteworthy that most of the western
democracies had taken a number of
decades to grant such a right to their
citizens. It is really a very revolutionary
step taken by the Constituent Assembly
to grant universal adult franchise by a
stroke of pen.
Recognition of Hindi as an Official
Language:
The
Constitution
recognises Hindi as the official language
of the Indian Union. Prior to it, English
was the only official language of India.
Besides Hindi, the Constitution also
recognises seventeen other Indian
languages as regional languages.
Unique Blend of Rigidity and
Flexibility: The Constitution provides
for an amending procedure. Prior to
it, there was no provision for an
amendment of the prevalent
constitution. The British Parliament
alone was entitled to do it. The
procedure for an amendment is a
unique blend of rigidity and flexibility.
Some provisions of the Constitution can
be amended by simple majority of the
two Houses of Parliament, though
technically they are not treated as

38

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

amendments in the constitution, others

require absolute majority of the total
strength of the two Houses of
Parliament and two-thirds majority of
the members present and voting and
still others require an additional
support by half of the States
legislatures. For instance, a change in
the name or territory of a State can be
made through an ordinary law enacted
by the two Houses of Parliament;
whenever there is a change proposed
in the federal character of the
Constitution, absolute majority of the
total strength of the two Houses of
Parliament and two-thirds majority of
the members present and voting and
also ratification by at least half the State
Legislatures is required; in all other
matters a resolution passed by an
absolute majority of the two Houses of
Parliament and two-thirds majority of
the members present and voting is
sufficient for any change in the
Constitution.

Other Features
Comprehensive Document: It is a
comprehensive document having
395 Articles and twelve Schedules.
Originally
there
were
only
eight Schedules. Later on, various
Constitution Amendment Acts added
four new Schedules. Prior to it, the
Government of India Act, 1935, was
also an extensive document having
321 Sections and ten Schedules.
Parliamentary
Democracy:
It provides for a full-fledged
Parliamentary Democracy. Prior to it,
steps were taken in this direction,
particularly by the Government of
India Act, 1935, which provided for

Provincial Autonomy, but there were so

many restraints laid down that full
Parliamentary Democracy could not be
evolved. In a parliamentary democracy
elections are held at regular intervals
for choosing the representatives of the
people. The representatives control the
executive and the Council of Ministers
who in turn is collectively responsible
to them.
Federal Form of Polity: It provides
for a federal form of polity. Though the
Government of India Act, 1935, had
also provided for the establishment of
a federal form of government, due to
strong opposition, particularly from the
princely states, it could not take a
practical shape. Even after the
establishment of a federal form of
government, according to the provisions
of the Constitution, there are critics who
are dissatisfied with it as it is fully loaded
with strong centralising tendencies. In
fact, some critics go to the extent of calling
it a Unitary Constitution with some
Federal features rather than a Federal
Con-stitution with strong unitary
tendencies.
Affirmative Action: The Constitution
provides for affirmative action by the
State to improve the conditions of the
weaker sections of society by providing
reservations in the legislatures and
government jobs. Prior to it the Indian
Councils Act, 1909, the Government of
India Act, 1919, and the Government
of India Act, 1935, also had provided
for the policy of reservation.
Emergency
Provisions:
The
Constitution makes provisions for
national emergency, failure of
constitutional machinery and financial
emergency. Prior to it the Government

INDIAN CONSTITUTION

of India Act, 1935, also had, more or

less, similar provisions. By national
emergency we mean an emergency
which is declared when the President
is satisfied that the security of India
or of any part thereof is threatened
by war or external aggression or
armed rebellion, he may proclaim
an emergency. In such a situation
the federal character of the Constitution takes the shape of a unitary
constitution.
By failure of constitutional
machinery we mean a situation where
President feels satisfied that it is not
possible to carry on the Government of
a State according to the provisions of
the Constitution, he can impose
Presidents rule in that State. The
executive authority of the State
becomes subordinate to the Union
executive and the legislative authority
of the State becomes subordinate to
Parliament.
By financial emergency we mean a
situation when the financial stability of
the nation or of any part thereof is at
stake, then President may declare a
financial emergency. Such a
declaration authorises the President to
issue directions to States with regard
to the way they must manage their
financial affairs. It also authorises
President to reduce salaries, allowances
etc., of all such office holders who get
them from Consolidated Fund of India
and ordinarily are not subject to
reduction.
Independent Agencies
The Constitution also provides for some
Independent Agencies to perform
functions allotted to them. Prior to it,

39

the Government of India Act, 1935 also

had provided for such Agencies. Some
of the Agencies, provided by the
Constitution are as follows:
(i) Election Commission for conducting
free and fair elections of the Union
and States Legislatures and of the
President and Vice President of
India. Provisions have been made
to make the members of the
Commission free from executive
control.
(ii) Comptroller and Auditor General to
keep a watch on the finances and
accounts of the Union and States.
Provisions have been made to keep
him free from any control of the
executive of the Union or States.
(iii) Union and State Public Service
Commissions
to
conduct
examinations and interviews for
recommending candidates for
appointments in higher services in
both the Centre and the States.

Indian Federation and

its working
Introduction
As stated earlier, the Government of
India Act 1935, for the first time,
provided for a federal form of
government in India. But due to strong
opposition, particularly from the
princely states, it could not come into
existence. Our constitution makers,
however, were not discouraged by the
past experience and again provided for
it in the new Constitution. There are,
however, different opinions regarding

40

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

the character of our polity. Some people

are of the opinion that it is a federal
polity with strong unitary tendencies,
while there are others who feel that it is
primarily a unitary polity with some
federal features. Prof. K. C. Wheare,
who is regarded as an authority on the
subject, calls it a quasi-federal polity.
It is, therefore, necessary to know as to
what are the features of a federal polity
and then examine whether Indian polity
can be termed as federal or not.
Generally speaking, when two or
more than two independent states
having some common features, which
bind them together, combine themselves, through a written agreement, to
form a new common state, to achieve
some common goal, by assigning
sovereign powers to it in certain
subjects, in which it has an exclusive
jurisdiction, while retaining all other
subjects with themselves, they are
supposed to have formed a federal
polity.
Now, if we apply the above criteria
strictly, very few federal polities in the
world would stand the test. The
question then is: what are the essential
elements without which no polity can
be called federal? Prof. K. C. Wheare in
his work Federal Government refers
about the federal principle without
which no polity can be called federal.
According to him when the field of
government is divided between the
federal and state governments, neither
of which is subordinate to the other, but
are coordinate and independent within
the sphere allotted to them, then this
arrangement represents the federal

principle. Then the question arises: are

we to confine the term federal only to
such polities where the federal
principle has been applied completely
and without any exception? According
to Wheare exceptions are permissible
provided federal principle is retained
predominantly.
Now, if we look at the federal
principle we find that following are the
most essential features:
There should be a clear-cut division
of power between the central (federal or
union)
government
and
the
governments of the units (i.e, states or
provinces). This division must be done
by a common agreement in writing. In
other words. there should be a written
constitution that should be the source
of power of both the federal and the
state governments. This agreement, i.e.
constitution cannot be changed
unilaterally by either federal or state
Governments. In other words, the
constitution should be rigid. There
should be supremacy of the
constitution. This means that all the
authorities of the union and states,
such as legislature, executive and
judiciary should be subject to the
authority of the constitution. There
should be an impartial judiciary, such
as Federal/Supreme Court, to decide
disputes between different governments
(i.e. federal and state or state and state)
and give interpretations of the
constitution in case of any dispute.
Let us examine the provisions of the
Indian Constitution in the light of the
above criteria.

INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Division of Power: There is a clearcut division of power between the Union

and States. Seventh Schedule of the
Constitution provides for three lists (i)
the Union list comprises 97 subjects
wherein the Union government has
exclusive jurisdiction; (ii) the State list
has 66 subjects wherein the States have
exclusive jurisdiction, while (iii) the
Concurrent list has 47 subjects
wherein both the Union and States
have jurisdiction but in case of conflict
between the two, law of the Union
prevails.
Written Constitution: The source of
power of both the Governments, Union
and States, is the written constitution
enacted by the Constituent Assembly.
Rigidity of the Constitution: The
procedure
of
amending
the
Constitution regarding the federal
principle is rigid. It requires not only
the absolute majority of the members
of the two Houses of Parliament and
two-thirds majority of the members
present and voting but also
endorsement of the Legislatures of at
least half the States.
Supremacy of the Constitution: The
Constitution is supreme. All the
authorities of the Union and States such
as Legislatures, Executives and
Judiciary, get their powers from the
Constitution and are subordinate to it.
Impartial Judiciary: The Constitution provides for a Supreme Court
which is the highest authority in India
regarding the interpretation of the
Constitution. It possesses Original
jurisdiction in disputes arising between
Union on the one hand a State or more

41

than one State on the other, or between

one State on the one hand and another
State or more than one State on the
other.
It is, thus, clear that the Indian
Constitution possesses almost all the
essential characteristics of a federal
polity. But then there are certain factors
that deviate from the generally accepted
norms of federalism. They can be
summarised as follows:
(a) Ordinarily, in a federal form of
government, the Units of federation
have their own identity and their
own constitution which they can
change as per their requirements,
but in India it is not so. The
Parliament of India can change not
only the territories of a State, but
also its name through an ordinary
law. The States do not have a
separate constitution of their own
and cannot make any change in the
Constitution by themselves.
(b) The distribution of powers heavily
tilts in favour of the Union. The
Union list comprises the largest
number of items. In the Concurrent
list also the Centre supercedes the
powers of the States. Thus the
Centre dominates in about
two-thirds of the total number of
subjects of the three lists together.
Some of the items in the Concurrent
list, such as economic and social
planning or social security etc. are
of such potentiality that they can
substantially minimize the powers
of the State Legislatures. In fact, the
Planning Commission, which is an
extra constitutional body, plays a

42

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

very vital role in the distribution of

finances under the Five Year Plans.
Not only this, generally in a classical
federation the residuary powers
belong to the States but in India
they belong to the Union.
(c) Even in the State list the
Constitution permits the Union
Legislature to enact a law if the
Upper House of Parliament (Rajya
Sabha), passes a resolution,
supported by not less than twothirds of the members present and
voting, that it is necessary or
expedient in the national interest
that Parliament should make a law
with respect to any matter
enumerated in the State list, it
would be competent for Parliament
to make law for the States with
respect to that matter to be
operative for such period, not
exceeding one year, as may be
specified therein. The operation of
such legislation can be extended for
an additional period of one year at
a time by resolution of Rajya Sabha
passed in the same manner as the
first resolution.
(d) Not only this, laws passed by the
State Legislature, on a subject on
the state list, may be reserved for
the consideration of the President
by the Governor; some of them have
to be specifically reserved and some
of them cannot be even introduced
or moved in the State Legislature
without the previous sanction of the
President.
(e) Though Law and Order is a State
subject, the Centre deploys Central
Reserve Police in States, whenever

it deems necessary, without the

concurrence of States. In fact, some
times it deploys them against the
wishes of and in spite of protest by
the State governments. It is
noteworthy that the Opposition
protests such moves of the Centre
but when it suits (for instance, on
Ayodhya and Gujarat issues) it
demands for such a deployment.
(f) Governors of the States are
appointed by President and they
hold their office during his pleasure
and to the extent they exercise their
powers in their discretion, are
answerable to him.
(g) The Union Government is
empowered to issue administrative
directions to the States in relation
to certain matters (such as to
ensure compliance with the laws
made by Parliament or such as not
to impede or prejudice the exercise
of the executive power of the Union).
The directions are binding on the
States. The Constitution provides
adequate means for securing the
compliance with the directions by
the States. Non-compliance can be
treated as a failure of the
constitutional machinery and
entitle the President to impose,
what in common parlance is called,
Presidents rule in that State.
(h) The Constitution has distributed
the financial resources in such a way
that States have to seek grants from
the Union Government. The
President of India also appoints the
Finance Commission of India, which
recommends allocation of such
grants.

INDIAN CONSTITUTION

(i) During a period of Emergency

(declared under Article 352 of the
Constitution) the Union Parliament
can make laws in relation to matters
in the State list, give directions to
States as to how they should
exercise their authority in matters
which are within their charge,
empower the Union officers to
exercise executive authority on
matters in the State list and
suspend the financial provisions of
the Constitution.
(j) In case of failure of constitutional
machinery in a State (under Article
356 of the Constitution) the
President can assume all the
functions of the Government of the
State, including the powers of the
Governor, but not the powers of the
High Court. He can also authorize
the Parliament to exercise the
powers of the State legislature.
(k) Similarly, in case of financial
emergency (declared under Article
360 of the Constitution) he can
issue necessary directions,
including orders for the reduction
of salaries and allowances of public
servants belonging to the Union and
the States. All Money Bills, passed
by the State Legislature during
such an emergency, are also
subject to the control of the Union.
(l) Ordinarily, in a federation there
prevails dual citizenship, the
citizenship of the Union and that of
the State. But in India there is no
such provision. The Constitution
provides for single citizenship. In
fact, in India the Constitution grants

43

freedom to every citizen to settle

down in any part of India.
(m) Normally, in a federation, there
prevails dual judicial system. The
Federal Courts are separate from
the State Courts and the States have
their own highest courts against
whose judgments there is no appeal
in any other court. But, in India
there is unified judicial system
where the Supreme Court of India
is the highest court of appeal, both
in the Union and the States
subjects.
(n) Ordinarily in federations, there is
separation of public services. The
Federal Government has its own
public services while the states have
their own distinct services. But in
India, there are All India services.
The personnel of these services,
though assigned to a particular
State, are called on deputation by
the Union Government for a fixed
period. This develops a spirit of
common brotherhood amongst
them and thus weakens the federal
principle.
The above description makes it quite
clear that the constitution makers
intended to make the Centre very
strong. The distribution of legislative,
executive and judicial powers between
the Centre and the States amply proves
it. During emergency the federal polity
virtually becomes unitary in character.
The question then arises as to why the
constitution makers were reluctant to
accept the norms of federal principle.
The following factors are responsible for
it: (i) When the Constituent Assembly

44

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

was drafting the Constitution, there

prevailed anarchic conditions in India.
Communal forces were very active due
to the partition of India. Communist
forces were also active in some parts of
India. In some areas of Warangal and
Nalgoda districts the writ of the Madras
Government did not prevail. There was
some talk in the news papers of those
days about a plot of seceding some
parts of India and joining hands with
the then East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to
form an independent BangIa speaking
nation. The States, it was felt, would not
be able to face such challenges.
(ii) At the time of independence, India
had a decentralised unitary form of

Government. The feeling of Indian

nationalism inspired the people. In fact,
the election of Provincial Legislative
Assemblies in 1946 was fought and
won by the Indian National Congress
on the platform of United India.
Not only Congress, almost all the
political parties then, were inspired and
guided by the strong feeling of
nationalism.
(iii) There is a general trend in favour
of centralization in almost all the
federations in the world. The
development in modem means of
transportation and communications
and technological developments all
favour this trend.

Exercises
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

What do you mean by the term Preamble?

Examine, in brief, the aims and objectives of the Constitution as laid down in
the Preamble.
Describe, in brief, the salient features of the Indian Constitution.
When and how a federation is formed?
Describe the distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the
States.
What are the federal features of the Indian Constitution? Explain.
Examine the unitary tendencies in the Indian federation?
Write short notes on :
(a) Secular Polity
(b) Universal Adult Franchise
(c) Independent Agencies in the Indian Constitution

Chapter

4
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, FUNDAMENTAL
DUTIES AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES
OF STATE POLICY

Fundamental Rights
Introduction

an partly is and wholly hopes to

be a god. If proper environment
is made available to a man he can
develop the godly qualities in him.
Rights provide that environment.
Rights have been described as those
claims of an individual that are
necessary for the development of his
ownself and recognized by society or
State. Some of the rights that are
recognized by the State and enshrined
in the Constitution are called
Fundamental Rights. Fundamental
Rights are those rights of an individual
that are enforceable through courts of
law.
During the national struggle our
leaders indicated that in the
constitutional set up in free India
people would be granted certain rights.
In fact, in the various schemes relating
to future constitutional set up, there
were references of particular rights that
the people of India should be granted.
The Commonwealth of India Bill
(1925), the Nehru Committee Report
(1928), the memorandum of the
National Trade Union Federation
submitted to the Joint Committee on
Indian Constitutional Reforms (193233), the Memorandum submitted by

M. Venkatarangaiah to the Sapru

Committee and the Sapru Committee
Proposals provided for various
Fundamental Rights that the people of
free India should get.
The Fundamental Rights that are
provided in the Constitution can be
divided into six categories that are as
follows:
Right to Equality (Articles 14-18):
There are five Articles in the
Constitution relating to it. Article 14
provides for equality before law or equal
protection of law to all persons within
the territory of India. Article 15 prohibits
the State from discriminating between
citizens and citizens on grounds of
religion, race, caste, sex or place of
birth. Article 16 provides for equality
of opportunity to all citizens in matters
of public employment. Article 17
provides for abolition of untouchability.
Article 18 provides for abolition of titles.
These rights, however, do not
prohibit the State from making special
provisions in the interest of women,
children, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes and socially and educationally
backward classes. Similarly, residential
qualifications may be prescribed for
appointments in the services of the
States.
The purpose of this category of
Fundamental Rights is to establish rule
of law in India; that is to say, all the

46

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

citizens should be treated equally before

law, no one should get any privilege or
earn any disability on grounds of
religion race, caste, sex or place of birth
etc. It aims at abolition of feudal
inequalities prevalent in society.
Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22):
There are 4 Articles in this category
of Fundamental Rights. Article 19
provides for six freedoms:(i) freedom
of speech and expression, (ii) freedom
to assemble peaceably and without
arms, (iii) freedom to form Associations or Unions, (iv) freedom to
move freely throughout the territory
of India, (v) freedom to reside and
settle in any part of the territory of
India and (vi) freedom to practise any
profession or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business.
The purpose of this Article is to
provide a proper atmosphere for the
proper functioning of democracy in
India. Reasonable restrictions, however,
can be imposed on these freedoms by
the State.
Reasonable restrictions can be
imposed by the State on the freedom
of speech and expression in the interest
of the sovereignty and integrity of India,
the security of the State, friendly
relations with foreign states, public
order, decency or morality or in relation
to contempt of court, defamation or
incitement to an offence. These
restrictions clearly exhibit that in the
name of freedom of speech and
expression one cannot get a license.
Reasonable restrictions can be
imposed on the freedom to assemble
peaceably and without arms in the
interest of the sovereignty and integrity
of India or public order. Similarly

freedom to form associations or

unions is also subject to reasonable
restrictions in the interest of the
sovereignty and integrity of India or
public order or morality.
Freedom to move freely thro-ughout
the territory of India and the freedom
to reside and settle in any part of the
territory of India are, similarly, subject
to reasonable restrictions in the interest
of general public or for the protection
of the interest of any Scheduled Tribe.
Freedom to practice any prof-ession,
to carry on any occupation, trade or
business are also, similarly, subject to
reasonable restrictions in the interest
of the general public. The State is also
permitted to lay down the professional
or technical qualifications necessary
for practicing any profession or carrying
on any occupation, trade or business.
Now, if we look at the restrictions
imposed on these freedoms, we feel that
these restrictions are necessary.
Without these restrictions chaos may
prevail in society. There was, however,
one fear that the State may misuse its
powers. In order to remove this fear, the
Constitution provides that the
restrictions should be reasonable. The
reasonableness is to be decided by the
courts of law and not by the
government.
Article 20 provides for protection in
respect of convictions for offences.
According to this Article no one can be
convicted for an act that was not an
offence at the time of its commission,
and no one can be given punishment
greater than what was provided in law
prevalent at the time of its commission.
It also provides that no one can be
prosecuted and punished for the same

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES, DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

offence more than once and no one can

be forced to give witness against his
ownself.
Article 21 provides for the protection
of life and personal liberty. According
to this Article no one can be deprived
of his life or personal liberty except
according to the procedure established
by law.
Article 22 provides for protection
against arrest and detention in certain
cases. According to this Article
whenever a person is arrested, he
should be informed, as soon as may be,
of the grounds for his arrest and should
be allowed to consult and to be
defended by, a legal practitioner of his
choice. It also provides that the arrested
person should be produced before the
nearest magistrate within a period of 24
hours of such an arrest excepting a
person who has been arrested under a
preventive detention law.
A person arrested, under a preventive
detention law is not, however, helpless.
His case has to be referred to an
Advisory Board, consisting of persons
having qualifications fit for
appointment as a Judge of a High
Court, within a period of three months
of his arrest. He can be retained in
detention beyond three months only
when the Advisory Board approves it.
It is clear from the above that the
constitution makers wanted to protect
the people from the arbitrary rule of the
executive.
Right Against Exploitation (Articles
23-24): There are two Articles regarding
this Right. Article 23 protects the
people from forced labour. This Article
prohibits traffic in human beings and
forced labour. However, the State can

47

impose compulsory service for any

public purpose.
Article 24 prohibits employment of
children, below the age of 14 years, in
factories or mines or in any other
hazardous employment.
The purpose of this Right is to protect
the people from exploitation. It is to be
noted that the term traffic in human
being means a trade in which men or
women are sold and purchased as
material goods.
Right to Freedom of Religion
(Articles 25-28): There are four
Articles in this Right. Article 25 relates
to freedom of conscience and free
profession, practice, and propagation
of religion. According this Article, every
one is free to follow his own conscience
and follow and practice any religion of
his own choice. However, the State has
the power to regulate any economic,
financial, political or other secular
activity associated with religious
practice. The State can also impose
restrictions on this Right on grounds
of public order, morality and health.
The State is also empowered to provide
for social welfare and can also throw
open the Hindu religious institutions
of public character to all classes and
sections of Hindus.
It is clear from the above that the
State in India generally does not
interfere in the religious affairs of
any community. But it can interfere
on grounds of public order,
morality, health or any other secular
requirement.
Article 26 provides for freedom to
manage religious affairs. According
to this Article every religious denomination is free to establish and manage

48

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

institutions for religious and charitable

purposes and acquire and manage
property for running such institutions.
However, the State can impose
restrictions on this freedom on grounds
of public order, morality and health.
Article 27 provides for freedom as to
payment of taxes for promotion of any
particular religion. According to this
Article no one can be forced to pay a
tax the proceeds of which are utilized
to promote or maintain a particular
religion.
According to Article 28 no religious
instruction can be provided in any
educational institution that is
maintained wholly out of the State
funds. However, such restriction will
not operate in educational institutions
that have been established under an
endowment or trust which requires that
religious instruction shall be imparted
in such institutions.
Article 28 also provides that no
person can be required to take part in
any religious instruction that may be
imparted or to attend any religious
worship that may be conducted in
educational institutions recognized by
the State or receiving aid out of the
State funds.
It is clear from the above that these
Articles aim at giving Indian polity
a secular character. The secular
character of Indian polity, however, is
different from secularism as prevalent
in other countries of the world. The
State in India is neither religious nor
anti- religious. It is also not noninterventionist.
Cultural and Educational Rights
(Articles 29-30): Article 29 protects
the interests of minorities. According to

this Article any minority having a

distinct language, script or culture of
its own has a right to conserve it. No
citizen of India can be denied admission
to any educational institution
maintained by the State or receiving
aid out of the State funds on grounds
only of religion, race, caste, language
or any of them.
Article 30 provides for the right of
minorities to establish and administer
educational institutions of their own. If
the State acquires any property of any
educational institution established and
administered by a minority, it can be
done by providing such compensation
as would not restrict or abrogate the
right of the minorities. The State
shall not discriminate against any
educational institution, owned or
managed by a minority, while giving
grants, simply because it is a minority
institution.
Right to Constitutional Remedies
Article 32 provides for the security of
the Fundamental Rights. The Supreme
Court, under this Article, is empowered
to issue directions, orders or writs for
the enforcement of the Fundamental
Rights granted under this Part of the
Constitution. The Article particularly
mentions the writs of habeas corpus,
mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto
and certiorari.
Habeas Corpus: This writ is, in form,
an order issued by the court calling
upon the person/authority by whom a
person is alleged to be kept; without
legal justification, in confinement, to
bring such a person before the Court
and to let the Court know on what
ground the person is confined. If there

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES, DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

is no legal justification for the detention,

the person is ordered to be released.
Mandamus: This writ is a judicial
remedy which is in the form of an order
from the Court to any government,
court, corporation or public authority
to do or to refrain from doing some
specific act which that body is obliged
under law to do or refrain from doing,
as the case may be, and which is in the
nature of a public duty and in certain
cases a statutory duty.
Prohibition: This writ commands the
court or tribunal to whom it is issued
to refrain from doing something that it
is about to do.
Quo Warranto: This writ is issued to
prevent a person who has wrongfully
usurped an office from continuing in
that office. The writ calls upon the
holder of the office to show to the court
under what authority he holds the
office. If the court determines that the
person is holding the office illegally, it
would pass the order of ouster that
must be obeyed by him.
Certiorari: This writ is issued to
inferior courts, tribunals or authority
to transmit to it the record of
proceedings pending with them for
scrutiny and, if necessary, for quashing
the same. It is to be noted that the High
Courts of the States are also empowered
to issue such writs (under Article 226
of the Constitution). If any party goes
to a High Court for the enforcement of
his Fundamental Rights, then he cannot
go simultaneously to the Supreme
Court as well. In such a situation, he
can go to the Supreme Court only in
an appeal against the judgment of the
High Court.

49

It is to be further noted that

Parliament may, by law, empower any
other court without prejudice to the
powers of the Supreme Court, to
exercise within the local limits of its
jurisdiction all or any of the powers
exercisable by the Supreme Court
under Article 32(1).
Some Noteworthy Features of the
Fundamental Rights: It is to be noted
that there are some noteworthy features
of the Fundamental Rights. They can
be summarized as follows:
(a) The Fundamental Rights are of two
categories. Some are available to
citizens only while others are
available to all persons, citizens as
well as non-citizens. The rights
granted under Articles 15, 16, 19
and 29 are available to citizens only
while all other rights are available
to all persons, citizens as well as
non-citizens.
(b) The Fundamental Rights are
available against the State as
defined in Article 12 of the
Constitution. This means that the
Fundamental Rights are available
only against the executive and
the legislative branches of the
governments and not against the
judicial branch. They are not
available against the private
persons also.
(c) Similarly, Parliament has the power
to determine, by law, the extent to
which the Fundamental Rights are
available to the personnel of the
armed forces and those connected
with intelligence agencies.
(d) When there is a Proclamation of
Emergency under Article 352 on

50

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

grounds of war or external

aggression (but not on ground of
armed rebellion) the operation of
Article 19 (i.e. the Right to Freedom)
remains suspended.
The President can suspend operation
of other Rights (excluding the Rights
under Articles 20 and 21 i.e. Protection
in Respect of Conviction for Offences
and Protection of Life and Personal
Liberty) also by a separate order (issued
under Article 359) during the
prevalence of Emergency.
(e) The Parliament is also empowered,
by making a law, to indemnify any
person, in the service of the State,
in respect of any act done by him in
connection with the maintenance or
restoration of order in any area
where martial law is in force.
(f) Initially in the Constitution there
was one more category of
Fundamental Rights viz, Right to
Property that was omitted by
the Constitution (Forty-Fourth
Amendment) Act, 1978. This Right
has created lots of problems for the
State. As it came in conflict with the
programme of socio- economic
reforms of the then government, it
was removed from the list of
Fundamental Rights and made a
legal right, thereby losing the
special status and protection of a
Fundamental Right.
(g) Article 13 states that any law that
takes away or abridges any of the
Fundamental Rights would be void.
But a question arose as to what
would happen if a Constitution
(Amendment) Act is passed which
provides for taking away or
abridging a Fundamental Right. In

the beginning the Supreme Court

was of the opinion that the restriction
imposed by Article 13 did not
apply in the case of Constitution
(Amendment) Act. However, later on,
the attitude of the Supreme Court
changed. It was of the view that the
restriction applied to Constitution
(Amendment) Act as well. This
created a lot of controversy. In order
to remove this controversy, the
Parliament passed the Constitution
(Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Act,
1971. This Act clearly states that the
restrictions imposed by Article 13
would not apply to the Constitution
(Amendment) Act. The validity of
this Constitution (Twenty-Fourth
Amendment) Act of 1971 was
challenged in Keshwanand Bhartis
case. In this case the Supreme Court
declared the Amendment Act as
valid. It means that the restriction
imposed by Article 13 does not
apply to a Constitution (Amendment)
Act. But, the Supreme Court added
a rider to it. It stated that Parliament
may amend any provision of the
Constitution that takes away or
abridges any of the Fundamental
Right but it cannot change the basic
structure of the Constitution The
Supreme Court, however, did not
clearly lay down as to what were the
basic structures; though it did give
some illustrations which are as
follows: (i) supremacy of the
Constitution, (ii) republican and
democratic form of government, (iii)
secular character of the Constitution
(iv) separation of powers between the
legislature; the executive and the
judiciary and (v) federal character of
the Constitution.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES, DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

It is, however, to be noted that the

list given above is illustrative and not
exhaustive. It is the Court that will
determine in each case whether a
particular feature of the Constitution
can be termed as basic or not.

Fundamental Duties
Introduction
In modern times generally there is no
provision for Fundamental Duties in
the constitutions of the world. There are
hardly a few constitutions that have
such a provision. In ancient times,
however, the position was very different.
In those days emphasis was laid on
duties, rather than rights. It was felt
that if everyone performs his duties,
then the rights would automatically be
safeguarded. But in 1976 the Indian
Parliament felt that there was a need
for inclusion of a list of Fundamental
Duties in the Indian Constitution.
Accordingly, Constitution (FortySecond Amendment) Act, 1976, was
passed which added a new part, viz.
Part IV A, and a new Article, 51 A, to
the Constitution of India. The new Part
was entitled as Fundamental Duties
and it gives a list of ten Fundamental
Duties.
The ten duties are as follows:
(1) To abide by the Constitution and
respect its ideals and institutions,
the National Flag and the National
Anthem.
(2) To cherish and follow the noble
ideals which inspired our national
struggle for freedom.

51

(3)

To uphold and protect the

sovereignty, unity and integrity of
India.
(4) To defend the country and render
national service when called upon
to do so.
(5) To promote harmony and the
spirit of common brotherhood
amongst all the people of India
transcending religious, linguistic
and regional or sectional
diversities; to renounce practices
derogatory to the dignity of
women.
(6) To value and preserve the rich
heritages of our composite
culture.
(7) To protect and improve the
natural environment including
forests, lakes, rivers and wild life
and to have compassion for living
creatures.
(8) To develop the scientific temper,
humanism and the spirit of inquiry
and reform.
(9) To safeguard public property and
to abjure violence.
(10) To strive towards excellence in all
spheres of individual and
collective activity so that the nation
constantly rises to higher levels of
endeavour and achievement.

Implications
Now, let us examine these duties and
find out the implications for the citizens
of India. Abide by the Constitution: It
implies that every citizen should act
according to the provisions of the
Constitution. He should not do any
thing that is prohibited by the
Constitution. Some of the important

52

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

prohibitions by the Constitution are as

follows: the practice of untouchability
(Article 17), traffic in human beings
(Article 23), abusing the health and
strength of workers and the tender age
of children (Article 39) and slaughter
of cows, calves and other milch and
draught animals (Article 48).
Respect its Ideals: The ideals of the
Constitution are given in the Preamble.
The Preamble aims at securing Justice
(social, economic and political), Liberty
(of thought, expression, belief, faith and
worship), Equality (of status and of
opportunity) and Fraternity (assuring
the dignity of the individual and the
unity and integrity of the Nation).
Respect its Institutions: Some of the
important institutions of the
Constitutions are President, Vice
President, Cabinet , Prime Minister,
Parliament, Supreme Court, Attorney
General, Comptroller and Auditor
General, Union Public Service
Commission, Election Commission,
Governor, Chief Minister, High Court etc.
Respect the National Flag and the
National Anthem: There are certain
rules framed by the Government with
regard to respecting the National Flag
and the National Anthem. Every citizen
is expected to follow these rules. One of
the rules requires that when the
National Flag is unfurled or the National
Anthem is sung, every citizen should
remain in the position of attention and
no one should make any move or
murmur anything to anyone.
Cherish and Follow Noble Ideals of
National Struggle: During our
national struggle our leaders laid down
certain noble ideals. Some of the
important ideals are removal of

untouchability, emancipation of
women, national integrity, unity in
diversity, anti-colonialism, antiimperialism, anti-racialism, democracy,
secularism etc.
Uphold and Protect Sovereignty,
Unity and Integrity of India: It
implies that every citizen should give
priority to the national interest. All other
considerations such as religion, race,
language, caste, sex, and place of birth
should get a subordinate position. He
should do nothing which endangers the
Nation.
Defend the Country: Whenever there
is a war or an external aggression, every
citizen should come forward to defend
the country and if there is a need, he
should join armed forces.
Promote Harmony and Spirit of
Common Brotherhood: India is a
multi-racial, multi-linguistic, multireligious and multi-cultural country. In
spite of various diversities, there is a
need for developing harmony between
different races, languages, religions
and cultures. We should promote the
spirit of common brotherhood.
Renounce Practices Derogatory to
Women: Since ages women in India are
being given a very low status in society.
Infanticide, dowry and sati system are
some of the most derogatory practices
that bring down the dignity of women.
It is the duty of every citizen to
renounce these evil practices.
Value and Preserve Rich Heritage
of our Composite Cultures: Though
we have varieties of cultures prevalent
in different parts of India based on
race religion, language, region and
customs, there prevails a fundamental
basic unity amongst all the cultures.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES, DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

It is because of the accommodative

character of the Indian people that
culture of one section of society has
been greatly influenced by the
cultures of other sections of people.
This heritage needs to be preserved
and valued. It is the duty of every
citizen to work for and develop the
composite culture of India.
Protect and Improve Natural
Environment: Due to pressure of
population and the greed of mankind,
careless exploitation of these resources
have created environmental problems.
There is the need of a balanced
development. This necessitates the
protection and improvement of natural
environments such as forests; lakes;
rivers and wild life.
Develop Scientific Temper, the
Spirit of Inquiry and Reform: India
has been a land of superstitions and
blind faith. This needs a rapid change.
We should develop a rational outlook
and reform our society through the
spirit of inquiry. We should develop a
scientific temper which could co-relate
cause and effect.
Develop Humanism: While developing
rational outlook and scientific temper
we should not ignore humanism that
is the basis of all progressive societies.
Safeguard Public Property and
Abjure Violence: Of late, there has
developed a tendency to destroy public
property to register ones protest
against a particular policy of the
government.
People should not forget that the
property does not belong to those who
are in power. It is, in fact, their own
property that they are destroying.
Similarly, violence has also become a

53

weapon of protest. This needs a change.

We should not forget that Mahatma
Gandhi succeeded in ending an alien
rule through the method of nonviolence.
Strive towards Excellence: Our
nation cannot reach the top of the
developed world unless every citizen
individually as well as collectively
strives to achieve excellence in life.
Everyone should ask himself as to what
has he done to achieve excellence in his
own field of activity.

Utility
A question here arises as to what
purpose does this inclusion of
Fundamental Duties in the body of the
Constitution serve? Prima facie, it does
not serve any purpose unless laws are
enacted to punish those who disobey
them. But like the Directive Principles
of State Policy, they can be useful in
interpreting the various provisions of
the Constitution. The judiciary can
adopt the principle of harmonious
construction, as it did in cases relating
to Directive Principles of State Policy.
The legislatures can resort to them for
legislation to implement them. The
executives can rely upon them to justify
actions regarding the practical
application of these duties.

Directive Principles of
State Policy
One of the most noble features of the
Indian Constitution given in Part IV
deals with the Directive Principles of
State Policy. It is one of the few

54

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

constitutions of the world that has

incorporated such provisions as a part
of the main body of the Constitution.
The other countries that have such
provisions are: Austria, Spain, Brazil,
France, Italy, Bur ma and West
Germany. However, our constitution
makers were inspired to include these
provisions in the Constitution by the
Constitution of Ireland.
One of the main objectives of the
constitution makers in including such
a provision in the Constitution was to
lay down certain principles for the
guidance of the Governments. While
formulating their policies the
Governments are expected to act
according to these principles.
During the freedom struggle of India
our national leaders had made
promises regarding the fundamental
rights that the citizens of free India
should get. These fundamental rights
included not only civil and political
rights but also social and economic
rights. But when India got
independence the leaders realized that
it would not be possible for them to
grant immediately some of the social
and economic rights that they had
promised in the past. But at the same
time they did not want to go back on
their past promises. They wanted some
way to get out of this hurdle. They
assigned this task to a sub-committee
of the Constituent Assembly. The subcommittee suggested that the
Fundamental Rights should be divided
into two categories. Some rights could
be granted immediately and others
may be granted in future, if and when
the country was in a position to grant

them. This was the genesis of the two

Parts of the Constitution. Part Three
of the Constitution deals with
Fundamental Rights while Part IV
relates to Directive Principles of State
Policy.
Distinction between Fundamental
Rights and Directive Principles of
State Policy
One of the main distinctions between
Fundamental Rights and Directive
Principles of State Policy is that while
the Fundamental Rights are enforceable through courts of law, the
Directive Principles are not enforceable.
Another distinction between the two is
that while the Fundamental Rights
prohibit the State from doing certain
things, the Directives are affirmative
instructions to the State to do certain
things. While there is dominance of civil
and political rights in the Fundamental
Rights, economic and social rights are
predominant in the Directive Principles.
Nature of the Directive Principles
In view of the non-enforceability, the
Directive Principles have been
described by some critics as pious
expressions or resolution made on the
new years day. To others they appear
as an Instrument of Instructions.
These expressions, however, betray the
ignorance of the critics about the legal
utility of the Directives. Though they are
non-enforceable, the Directives are the
fundamental principles of governance
and all the branches of government: the
executive, the legislature and the
judiciary, have to take cognisance of
them. In fact, the Judiciary has

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES, DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

followed the principle of harmonious

construction between the Fundamental
Rights and the Directive Principles of
State Policy. Not only this, the Judiciary
has also taken the help of the Directives
while interpreting the various
provisions of the Constitution. While
dealing with the relationship between
the Fundamental Rights and the
Directive Principles, Chandrachud,
Chief Justice of India then, stated in
Minerva Mills case, the Indian
Constitution is founded on the bedrock
of the balance between Parts Ill and IV.
To give absolute primacy to one over
the other is to disturb the harmony of
the Constitution. This harmony and
balance between Fundamental Rights
and Directive Principles is an essential
feature of the basic structure of the
Constitution.
Similarly, the executive has also
resorted to them while justifying its
(executive) actions. For instance, in the
case of Champakam Dorairajan vs. the
State of Madras, while defending the
Communal Order of the Madras
government, the plea was taken that it
was done to promote the interests of the
weaker sections of society as per
Directive Principle of State Policy
provided in Article 46 of the
Constitution of India.
The Parliament also referred them
while justifying its legislative measures.
For instance, in cases of Shankari
Prasad
and
Golaknath,
the
Government of India pleaded before the
Supreme Court, while defending the
Constitution (First Amendment) Act,
1951 and the Constitution (Fourth

55

Amendment) Act, 1955 respectively,

that they were enacted to give effect to
the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Now, if we look to the various
Directive Principles, we find that they
are related to political policies, social
policies, economic policies, educational
and cultural policies and health
policies.
Directives relating to political
polices
According to the Directives relating to
political policies (i) the State is required
to take steps to organise Village
Panchayats and endow them with such
powers and authority as may be
necessary to enable them to function
as units of self-government, (ii) the
State should endeavour to secure for
the citizens a Uniform Civil Code
throughout the territory of India, (iii)
the State is required to take steps to
separate the judiciary from the
executive in the public services of the
State and (iv) the State is required to
(a) promote international peace and
security; (b) maintain just and
honourable relations between nations;
(c) foster respect for international law
and treaty obligation in the dealings of
organized peoples with one another
and (d) encourage settlement of
international disputes by arbitration.
It is clear from the above that the
political Directives aim at a social order
where there is decentralization of
authority and all the citizens are
governed by the same laws in the civil
field without any distinctions of religion
and where justice is secured through

56

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

separation of powers and where relation

between nations are based on
principles of international peace and
security.
Directive relating to social policies
The State is required to promote with
special care the educational and
economic interests of the weaker
sections of society and, in particular, of
the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes and to protect them
from social injustices and all forms of
exploitations. This Directive aims at a
social order where Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and other weaker
section of society are given special
protection so as to make them equal
partners in the national life.
Directives relating to economic
policies
The State is required to direct its policy
towards securing that: (i) the ownership
and control of material resources of the
community are so distributed as best
to sub-serve the common good, (ii) the
operation of the economic system does
not result in the concentration of wealth
and means of production to the
common detriment, (iii) the citizens,
men and women equally, have the right
to an adequate means of livelihood,
(iv) there is equal pay for equal work
for both men and women, (v) the health
and strength of workers, men and
women, and the tender age of children
are not abused and citizens are not
forced by economic necessity to enter
vocations unsuited to their age or
strength, (vi) the participation of

workers is ensured in the management

of undertakings, establishments or
other organizations engaged in any
industry by suitable legislation or in
any other way, (vii) children are given
opportunities and facilities to develop
in a healthy manner and in condition
of freedom and dignity and that
childhood and youth are protected
against exploitation and against moral
and material abandonment, (viii) the
right to work, to education and to
public assistance in cases of
unemployment, old age, sickness and
disablement, and in other cases of
undeserved want is ensured within the
limits of its economic capacity and
development, (ix) suitable provision is
made for just and humane condition
of work and for maternity relief, (x) all
workers, agriculture, industrial or
otherwise, secure work, a living wage,
condition of work ensuring a descent
standard of life and full enjoyment of
leisure and social and culture
opportunities by suitable legislation or
economic organization, or in any other
way and, in particular, the State should
endeavour to promote cottage
industries on an individual or cooperative basis in rural area, (xi) that
agriculture and animal husbandry are
organized on modern and scientific
lines and steps taken for preservation
and improvement of the breeds and
prohibition of the slaughter, of cows
and calf and other milch and draught
cattle, (xii) that the operation of the legal
system promotes justice, on a basis of
equal opportunity, and provision is

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES, DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

made for free legal aid, by suitable

legislation or schemes or in any other
way, to ensure that opportunities for
securing justice are not denied to any
citizen by reason of economic or other
disabilities.
It is clear from the above that the aim
of economic Directives is to bring a
social order where there is no
concentration of economic power and
the whole economic system is based on
the good of community at large and
wherein every one is guaranteed the
right to work and participation in
management and to adequate means
of lively hood, a living wage, equal pay
for equal work, public assistance in
cases of unemployment, old age,
sickness and disablement and in other
cases of undeserved want, just and
human condition of work, maternity
relief, decent standard of life, full
enjoyment of leisure, social and
cultural opportunities, free legal aid and
wherein agriculture and animal
husbandry are organised on modern
and scientific lines.
Directives relating to educational
and cultural policies
One of the Directives requires the State
to provide, within a period of ten years
from the commencement of the
Constitution, for free and compulsory
education for all children until they
complete the age of fourteen years.
Another Directive states that it shall be
the obligation of the State to protect
every monument or place or object of
artistic or historic interest, declared by
or under law made by Parliament to be

57

of national importance, from spolaition

(extortion), disfigurement, destruction,
removal, disposal or export as the case
may be.
It is clear from the above that these
Directives aim at a social order
where every citizen gets Elementary
education free of charge and wherein
the cultural heritage of the past is
preserved.
Directives regarding health policies
There are two Directives in this
category. The first requires the State
to regard the raising of the level of
nutrition and the standard of living of
its people and the improvement of the
public health as among its primary
duties and, in particular the State is
required to endeavour to bring about
prohibition of the consumption, except
for medical purposes of intoxicating
drinks and of drugs which are injurious
to health. The second requires the
State to endeavour to protect and
improve the environment and to
safeguard the forests and wild life of the
country.
It is clear from the above that the
Directives aim at a social order where
every citizen gets nutritious food and
maintains a good standard of life by
keeping his health sound and by
restraining himself from the
consumption of intoxicating drinks and
drugs injurious to health and by
protecting and improving environment
and by safeguarding the forest and wild
life of the country.
To sum up, we can say that the
Directive Principles of State policy aim

58

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

at ushering a new social order. Such a

social order may be given different
names by different schools of thought.
To some it may appear socialistic,
liberal or Gandhian, while to others it
may appear merely an extension of
democracy to economic and social
fields. The contents of the Directives
clearly indicate that the Constitution
makers wanted to achieve the golden
mean between the liberal ideas of
democracy and the Fabian ideas of
equality. They wanted the new social

order to be achieved through

democratic means and that is why they
have made it an obligation of the State
to endeavour to achieve it through
normal democratic machinery. Three
different schools of thought, Liberalism,
Socialism, and Gandhism inspired the
Constitution makers, and they have
tried to combine all the three in the best
possible form. The best and the most
non- controversial title of such an order
could be a Just Social Order.

Exercises
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

Why are the Rights granted to the citizens of India called Fundamental
Rights? Explain their importance.
What constitutes the Right to Equality?
Describe, in brief, the Right to Freedom as granted to the citizens of India.
How is the Right to Freedom of Religion related to secularism?
What are the Educational and Cultural Rights granted to the citizens of
India?
What is the significance of providing the Right to Constitutional Remedies?
Enumerate any five Fundamental Duties that a citizen of India is required to
obey.
Explain the implications of any five Fundamental Duties.
What do you mean by the Directive Principles of State Policy?
Distinguish between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State
Policy.
Examine the nature of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Explain any Three writs which the Supreme Court is empowered to issue for
the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
Write short notes on:
(a) Protection against Arrest and Detention
(b) Right against Exploitation
(c) Protection of Interests of Minorities
(d) Economic Policies
(e) Social Policies
(f) Health Policies

Chapter

5
GOVERNMENT
AT THE CENTRE

Parliament of India

he legislative authority of the

Union is vested in the Parliament
of India. The Parliament consists of the
President and the two Houses, the
Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the
Lok Sabha (House of the People).
The President of India is an essential
part of the Parliament. He not only
summons and prorogues the two
Houses but can also dissolve the Lok
Sabha. Without his assent no bill passed
by the two Houses can become an Act.
He has the right to address either House
or both the Houses assembled together.
He may send messages to either House
regarding any Bill pending before it and
the Houses are required to deliberate
upon it.
At the commencement of the first
session after the general election to the
Lok Sabha and at the commencement
of the first session of each year, the
President addresses both the Houses
assembled together and informs them
of the policies and programmes to be
pursued. The Houses are required to
deliberate upon the matters referred to
in such addresses.
If at any time, when both the Houses
of Parliament are not in session,
the President is satisfied that
circumstances exist which render it

necessary for him to take immediate

action, the President may issue an
ordinance which has the same force and
effect as that of an Act of Parliament.
Such an ordinance, however, should be
laid before both the Houses of
Parliament and approved by them
within six weeks of their assembly. If
the ordinance is not approved within
six weeks referred to above, it shall cease
to operate.

Rajya Sabha
It is the upper house of the Parliament.
It consists of 12 members nominated
by the President from amongst those
persons who have special knowledge or
practical experience in such matters as
literature, science, art, and social
service and not more than 238
representatives from the States and the
Union Territories. Hence, the total
number of Rajya Sabha should not
exceed 250.
The representatives of each State are
elected by the elected members of the
Legislative Assembly of that State in
accordance with the system of
proportional representation by means
of single transferable vote. The
representatives of each Union Territory
are chosen in such manner as
Parliament by law prescribes.
According to the Representation of the

60

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

People Act, 1950 an electoral college is

constituted in each Union Territory for
the purpose.
Any citizen of India, who is not less
than 30 years of age and who possesses
such other qualifications as may be
prescribed by or under any law
made by the Parliament can be elected
to the Rajya Sabha. No candidate
should possess any of the following
disqualifications: (i) if he holds any office
of profit (excepting of a Minister under
the Government of India/any State/
Union Territory), (ii) if he is of unsound
mind and (iii) if he is an insolvent. The
tenure of every member of Rajya Sabha
is six years but every second year one third of its members retire and fresh
elections are held for those seats. The
House is not subject to dissolution.
The Vice President of India is the
ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He
presides over its meetings and conducts
its business. In his absence, the Deputy
Chairman, who is elected by the House,
performs his functions.
One-tenth of the total number of
members forms the quorum of any
meeting of the House.

Lok Sabha
It is the lower house of the Parliament.
It consists of not more than five hundred
thirty members elected directly by the
people of the States and not more than
twenty members representing the
Union Territories chosen in such a
manner as the Parliament may, by law,
provide. Seats shall be reserved for the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes in proportion to their
population. The President of India can

nominate not more than two members

of the Anglo-Indian community, if it is
not adequately represented in the Lok
Sabha.
Each State is allotted a number of
seats in proportion to its population.
Each State is divided into territorial
constituencies so that the ratio between
the population of each constituency
and the number of seats allotted to it,
as far as practicable, is the same
throughout the State.
The members of Lok Sabha are
elected on the basis of universal adult
franchise. Anyone who is a citizen of
India, and has attained eighteen years
of age and whose name is in the voters
list is entitled to cast vote in the election
to the Lok Sabha.
To get oneself elected to the Lok
Sabha one needs to be a citizen of India,
must be not less than twenty-five years
of age and possesses such other
qualifications as may be prescribed
by or under any law made by the
Parliament. A person shall be
disqualified for being chosen as, and for
being, a member of Lok Sabha if he
holds an office of profit under the
Government of India or the Government
of any State, other than an office
declared by the Parliament, by law, not
to disqualify its holder; is of unsound
mind and is an insolvent or is not a
citizen of India or has voluntarily
acquired the citizenship of a foreign
State or is so disqualified by or under
any law made by the Parliament.
The tenure of the Lok Sabha is five
years but the President is empowered
to dissolve it earlier also. While a
Proclamation of Emergency (under

61

GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

Article 352) is in operation the term of

the Lok Sabha can be extended by the
Parliament, by Law, for a period of one
year at a time.
The House elects its own presiding
officer, called Speaker, who conducts its
business. In his absence from the
House, Deputy Speaker, who is also
elected by the House, performs his
functions. The functions of the Speaker
are as follows: he presides over the
meetings of Lok Sabha and conducts
all its proceedings except when the
resolution for his removal is under
consideration; he determines the order
of business and prescribes the time
limit for the speeches which are
invariably addressed to him; he
maintains order and discipline in the
House; he prevents the use of
unparliamentary language in the
House; he can name the member for
suspension or ask him to leave the
House or order his physical removal by
the Marshal of the house if a member
disregards or flouts his ruling; he can
suspend the business of the House if
the House becomes unmanageable and
the members are unruly; he enforces
the rules of conduct; he gives his ruling
whether a resolution or a question is
admissible or not; he protects the
members against the violation of their
privileges; ordinarily he does not vote
but when the house is divided equally
on any issue he exercises casting vote,
he decides whether an adjournment
motion moved by a member is
admissible or not; he decides whether
a Bill is a Money-Bill or not; he presides
over the joint sitting of both the houses
of Parliament. One-tenth of the total

number of members forms the quorum

of any meeting of the House.

Powers and Functions

The primary function of the Parliament
is legislation. It has an exclusive power
to legislate on the subjects mentioned
in the Union List as well as all the
residuary subjects (subjects not
included in any of the three lists). It
shares the power of legislation on
subjects in the Concurrent List with the
State Legislatures. Both of them can
legislate on them but if there is a conflict
between the laws passed by the
Parliament and that of a State
Legislature) the law of the Parliament
prevails to the extent of inconsistency.
Law making Procedure
The Bills introduced in, and passed by
the Parliament are of two types:
Ordinary or Non-Money Bills and
Money Bills. The procedure for passing
a Money Bill is different from that of an
Ordinary Bill. An Ordinary Bill can be
introduced first in either of the two
Houses. Every Ordinary Bill, before it
becomes an Act, has to pass through
the following stages.
The draft of the proposed Bill has
to be sent to the Secretariat of the
House. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
or the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, as the
case may be, after consulting the
Business Advisory Committee,
determines the day and time when the
Bill is to be moved in the House. On the
appointed day and time, the mover
seeks the permission of the presiding
officer to move the Bill. On receiving his
assent, the mover reads the title of the

62

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Bill and gives a short speech

highlighting the aims and objectives of
the Bill. If there is no opposition from
anyone, the Bill is supposed to have
been passed in the First Reading.
Ordinarily, there is no opposition at this
stage, because it only implies that the
House has consented to consider the
Bill in details. But there are some
occasions when the opposition is not
prepared to even consider the Bill. In
such a situation, the presiding officer
allows a full debate and then the Bill is
put to vote. If the House approves it, it
is supposed to have been passed in the
First Reading.
The Bill is moved again by the mover
after an interval of some time (generally
of two days). This stage is called Second
Reading wherein there is a general
discussion, after this there are three
alternatives. The House may decide to
discuss the Bill in details, clause by
clause and also vote each and every
clause. Alternatively, the House may
decide to circulate the Bill for eliciting
the public opinion. Then, the Bill is
published in the Government Gazette
inviting public reactions on it. The gist
of the public opinion is then circulated
amongst the members of the House.
The House discusses the Bill in details
in the light of the public opinion and
then votes it clause by clause.
There is, however, another
alternative. The House may decide to
refer the Bill to a Select Committee
consisting of such members of the
House as have special interest in the
subject. The presiding officer
constitutes such a Committee having

20-30 members. The Committee makes

a thorough scrutiny of the Bill and
suggests various changes, if any, and
then submits its report to the House.
Thse House considers the report and
then discusses and votes the Bill in
detail clause by clause. If the House
approves it, it is supposed to have
crossed the report stage.
After an interval of some time the Bill
is again put before the House for final
or Third Reading. At this stage, there is
only a general discussion and no
amendment, excepting some verbal
changes, is permitted. If the House
approves the Bill at this stage the Bill
goes to the other House.
In the other House also the Bill has
to undergo all the stages referred to
above. If the other House also approves,
it goes to the President for his assent.
However, if the two Houses differ, the
President may call a Joint Session of
the two Houses. If the Bill is passed by
a majority, the same is treated to be
passed by the two Houses.
Procedure in Financial Matters
The famous saying one who controls
the purse controls the mind is fully
applicable in the case of Parliament.
Parliament exercises full control over
the finances of the Union Government.
In the beginning of every financial year
an Annual Financial Statement or
the Budget, showing the receipts
and expenditure, is laid before the
Parliament.
The Budget is prepared in two parts,
Railway Budget and the General
Budget. Former is presented by the

GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

Railway Minister while the latter by the

Finance Minister.
The Budget shows separately the
expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, which can be
discussed but not voted upon and the
sums required to meet other
expenditure proposed to be met from
the Consolidated Fund of India, which
are discussed and voted upon by the
two Houses.
The Expenditure charged on the
Consolidated Fund of India includes
emoluments and allowances of
President of India; salaries and
allowances of the Chairman and
Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha,
Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the
Lok Sabha, Comptroller and AuditorGeneral of India, Judges of the
Supreme Court and High Courts
and debt charges relating to the
Government of India.
The other expenditure proposed to
be met from the Consolidated Fund is
presented in the form of Demand for
Grants. The General discussion on
these Demands begins after the address
to the Lok Sabha by the Finance
Minister who, in his speech discuses
the financial position of the country and
expounds the financial policy of the
Government. Along with the Budget, a
Finance Bill is also presented which
relates to levying of new taxes or
enhancing or reducing existing taxes.
The Budget speech by the Finance
Minister is followed by a general
discussion on the Budget as a whole.
After the discussion is over, the
estimates are submitted to the House

63

in the form of demands for grants under

particular heads. They are put forward
by the Ministers of the respective
departments. Members discuss the
demands and may ultimately assent to
the demands or refuse them altogether
or reduce the amount that is
demanded. The House has no power to
increase the amount demanded. When
all the Demands have been voted by the
Lok Sabha, both the charged and noncharged expenditures are put together
and incorporated in a Bill called the
Annual Appropriation Bill. It is
presented before and passed by the Lok
Sabha in the same manner as any other
Bill. Then it is certified by the Speaker
as a Money Bill.
A bill is considered to be a MoneyBill if it contains provisions with regard
to: (a) the imposition, abolition,
remission, alteration or regulation of
any tax; (b) the regulation of borrowing
of money or giving of any guarantee by
the government of India; (c) the custody
of the Consolidated Fund or
the Contingency Fund; (d) the
appropriation of money out of the
Consolidated Fund and (e) the receipt
of money out of the Consolidated Fund
or the public account. If there arises
any controversy as to whether a
particular Bill is a Money-Bill or not;
the decision of the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha is final.
A Money Bill cannot be introduced
in the Rajya Sabha. After a Money Bill
is passed by the Lok Sabha, it is sent
to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendation. The Rajya Sabha,
however, has to return the Bill with its

64

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

recommendations within fourteen days

from the date of its receipt. If it does not
return the Bill to the Lok Sabha within
fourteen days, the Bill is supposed to
have been passed by both the Houses
in the form in which it was passed by
the Lok Sabha. However, if the Bill is
returned by the Rajya Sabha to the Lok
Sabha within this period with its
recommendations, the Lok Sabha has
the authority either to accept or reject
any of these recommendations. The Bill,
thereafter, is deemed to have been
passed by both the Houses of
Parliament. It is, then, sent to the
President for his assent who cannot
withhold it.
Control over the Executive
The Council of Ministers is collectively
responsible to the Lok Sabha. The Lok
Sabha is empowered to pass a vote of
censure against the Ministry. Whenever
such a motion is passed, the Ministry
has to resign.
Both the Houses exercise control over
the executive through asking questions,
discussing matters of urgent public
importance, moving call-attention
notices and adjournment motions, and
also by appointing various committees
such as Public Accounts Committee,
Estimates Committee, Committee on
Public Undertakings, Committee on
Government
Assurances,
the
Committee on Privileges, the Committee
on Subordinate Legislation etc. All
these activities keep the executive alert.
Constitutional Amendments
An amendment to the Constitution of
India can be initiated by an

introduction of a Bill in either House of

the Parliament. The Bill has to be
passed in each House by a majority of
the total number of members of that
House and a majority of not less than
two-thirds of the members present and
voting.
But if such an amendment seeks to
make changes in the federal character
of the Constitution, the amendment
also requires to be ratified by the
Legislatures of not less than one-half
of the States. Changes in the federal
character are effected by changes in
election process of the President, extent
of executive power of the Union or
States, power of the Parliament to
constitute High Courts for Union
Territories, constitution and powers of
the Supreme Court and High Courts,
distribution of legislative powers
between the Union and the States, the
representation of the States in the
Parliament and power of Parliament to
amend the Constitution and the
procedure thereof.
After a Constitution Amendment Bill
is passed by both the Houses of the
Parliament (and also ratified by not less
than one-half of the States in case it
affects the federal character), it is
presented to the President who gives his
assent and thereafter the Constitution
stands amended.
It is note worthy that ordinarily,
there are no limits on the powers of
Parliament to amend the Constitution
by way of addition, variation or
repealing any provision of the
Constitution. However, according to a

65

GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

Supreme Court ruling, the basic

structure of the Constitution cannot be
amended.
Other Powers
The elected members of the two Houses
of Parliament, along with the elected
members of the State Legislative
Assemblies form the Electoral College
that elects the President of India. The
two Houses also possess the power to
remove the President from his office
through the process of impeachment.
They elect the Vice President of India
and also have the power to remove the
Comptroller and Auditor General of
India and the Chief Justice and other
Judges of the Supreme Court as well
as that of the High Courts through a
special procedure and voting.
Committees of Parliament

As the Parliament is an unwieldy body

for prompt and convenient transaction
of vast business of Parliament and it
cannot examine many complex and
intricate issues efficiently, a device has
been evolved to solve this problem. The
device is the formation of Parliamentary
Committees.
Broadly speaking, these committees
are of two kinds Ad hoc Committees
and Standing Committees. The former
are appointed as and when the need
arises, they cease to exist as soon as
they complete the work assigned to
them. The latter are elected or
appointed every year or periodically
and their work goes on more or less on
a continuous basis.

Ad hoc/Select Committees
The ad hoc Committees are constituted
from time to time either by Lok Sabha
or by the Speaker to enquire into and
report on specific subjects. The number
of the Select Committees is not fixed.
Its number increases or decreases
according to the necessity of work of the
House. The House appoints the
members of the Select Committees. The
Select Committee examines every Bill
very minutely, collects all data relating
to it and examines witnesses. After this
it submits its report to the House and
is dissolved when it is no longer needed.
Standing Committees
Among the Standing Committees, the
three financial committees, viz.
Committee on Public Accounts,
Estimates Committee and Committee
on Public Undertakings, constitute a
distinct class, which keep a vigil over
government spending.
Public Accounts Committee: It
consists of 15 members elected by Lok
Sabha and elected by Rajya Sabha for
a period of one year. The Rajya Sabha
members are treated as associate
members who do not enjoy the right to
vote. It scrutinises the appropriation
accounts of the Government of India
and the reports of the Comptroller and
Auditor-General of India. It ensures
that public money is spent in
accordance with Parliaments
decisions and calls attention to cases
of waste, extravagance, loss or nugatory
expenditure or lack of financial
integrity in public services.

66

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Estimates Committee: It consists of

30 members elected by, Lok Sabha
every year. The Chairman of the
Committee is appointed by the Speaker
from amongst its members. It reports
on what economies, improvements
in organization, efficiency or
administrative reform may be effected.
It also examines whether the money is
laid out within the limits of the
estimates. It suggests the form in which
the estimates should be presented
to Parliament also suggests
alternative policies in order to bring
about efficiency and economy in
administration.
Committee on Public Undertakings:
This Committee consists of fifteen
members, out of which ten are elected
by members of Lok Sabha and five from
Rajya Sabha according to proportional
representation by single transferable
vote system. Its Chairman is appointed
by the Speaker. The Committee checks
the accounts of public undertakings
and examines their working and other
financial matters and the reports of
Comptroller and Auditor-General of
India. It is clear from the above
description that Parliament is a most
powerful institution of Indian
democracy. It is the supreme law
making body of India to which the
Union Council of Ministers is
collectively responsible. It can also
amend the Constitution of India. This,
however, does not mean that it is
all-powerful. Though we have
parliamentary democracy in India, we
also have Judicial Review that means
that an Act of Parliament can be

declared null and void by the judiciary.

If fact, our Constitution has adopted
the doctrine of checks and balances
between the legislative and judicial
wings of the government.

President of India
The executive authority of the Union is
vested in the President of India who
exercises it directly or through the
officers subordinate to him.
The President of India is elected by
an electoral college consisting of the
elected members of the Legislative
Assemblies of the States and the
elected members of the two Houses of
Parliament. The election is held in
accordance with the system of
proportional representation by means
of single transferable vote system. The
Constitution provides a special
procedure to determine the value of a
vote cast by each elector. The value of a
vote cast by an elected member of a
State Legislative Assembly is
determined by dividing the population
of the State by the total number of
elected members of that State, the
quotient obtained thus is further
divided by one thousand. The quotient
arrived at now, would be the value of
his vote. For instance, let us take the
case of a State whose population is
60,00,000 and the strength of the
elected members of the Legislative
Assembly is 400. Now, according to the
formula referred above, the value of
each vote would be: 60,00,000 to be

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GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

divided by 400 l000. Thus, each

elected member of this State Assembly
will cast only one vote, but the value of
his vote would be 15. The value of the
vote of all the elected members of the
Legislative Assemblies of all the States
obtained thus would form the voting
strength of the Legislative Assemblies.
This voting strength of the Assemblies
would be divided by the total number
of elected members of the two Houses
of Parliament. The quotient obtained
thus would be the value of each vote of
elected member of the two Houses of
Parliament. The value of vote of all the
elected members of the two Houses
obtained thus would form the voting
strength of the two Houses of
Parliament. Now, the result of the
election of the President would be
determined by the value of a sum total
of all the votes cast by all the elected
members of the Legislative Assemblies
and that of the two Houses of
Parliament.
A question here arises as to why
such a complicated procedure has been
adopted? One reason is the objective of
bringing uniformity in the scale of
representation of the elected members
of different States. Though the seats
allotted to each State Assembly is based
on the proportion of population but
then, the Constitution also lays down
the minimum and maximum strength
of a Legislative Assembly irrespective of
any consideration of population. This
creates an imbalance in the scale of
representation between different States.
This imbalance can be removed by the
procedure prescribed above. Another

reason is the objective of bringing parity

in the voting strength of the two Houses
of Parliament on one hand and the
Legislative Assemblies of all the States
on the other.
Qualifications
Any person who: (i) is a citizen of India,
(ii) has completed the age of 35 years,
(iii) is qualified for election as a member
of Lok Sabha, (iv) does not hold office
of profit under Government of India or
Government of any State or under any
local authority, can contest election for
the office of the President of India.
However, President, Vice President, the
Governor of any State or a Cabinet
Minister, whether at the Centre or the
State, is not debarred from becoming a
candidate for contesting the election for
the office of the President.
Oath
Before entering upon his office the
President is required to take an oath in
a prescribed form in the presence of
Chief Justice or the senior most Judge
of the Supreme Court of India.
Procedure for his Removal
The President holds office for a term of
five years from the date on which he
enters upon his office. He may resign
from his office. He can be removed at
any time from his office through the
process of impeachment for violation of
the Constitution. For this purpose a
charge must be levelled in either House
of the Parliament. It must be in the form
of a resolution signed by at least onefourth of the total number of members
of that House and moved only after

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

giving a clear notice of fourteen days. If

the resolution is passed by a majority
of not less than two-thirds of the total
membership of that House, the matter
goes to the other House that
investigates it. The President shall have
the right to appear or to be represented
at such an investigation. If, as a result
of such investigation, a resolution is
passed by a majority of not less than
two-thirds of the total membership of
that House (which investigated the
charges), stating that the charge has
been sustained, then the President
stands removed from his office from the
date on which such a resolution has
been passed.
Executive Powers
All the executive functions of the Union
government are carried on in the name
of the President. It is he who appoints
the Prime Minister. According to the
Constitution he can appoint only such
person to the post about whom he feels
that he would be able to command the
confidence of the majority of the
members of Lok Sabha. The wellestablished convention is that he calls
the leader of the majority party or an
alliance of parties (if there is no one
single party having majority) to form
the Ministry. He appoints other
Ministers and distributes portfolios
amongst them on the advice of the
Prime Minister. Besides, he also
appoints Attorney General, Comptroller
and Auditor General, Chairman and
members of the Union Public Service
Commission, Chief Justice and other
Judges of Supreme Court and High

Courts, Governors of States and Chief

Commissioners of Union Territories,
members of Finance Commission,
Language Commission and Election
Commission, Ambassadors and other
Diplomatic Agents of India to other
countries.
He also appoints Inter State
Council, a Commission to report on the
administration of Scheduled Areas, a
Commissioner for Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled T ribes, Backward
Class Commission, and Minority
Commission.
The President has a right to be
informed of all the affairs of the Union
Government. If the President so
requires, he can get submitted any
matter for the consideration of Council
of Ministers on which a decision has
been taken by a Minister but which has
not been considered by the Council.
Legislative Powers
As President is an inseparable part of
Parliament, he possesses some
legislative powers, such as summoning
and proroguing the two Houses of
Parliament, dissolving the Lok Sabha,
addressing the Joint Session of the two
Houses, sending messages to either or
both the Houses, assenting the Bills
passed by the two Houses, calling Joint
Session of the two Houses in case of
differences of opinion between them
with regard to any non-Money Bill,
promulgation of an ordinance etc. He
also has the power to nominate twelve
members to Rajya Sabha and not more
than two members of the Anglo-Indian
Community to the Lok Sabha if he feels,

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GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

after a general election, that the AngloIndian Community is not adequately

represented in the Lok Sabha.
Judicial Powers
Besides the appointment of Chief
Justice and other Judges of the
Supreme Court, the President
possesses the power to grant pardons,
reprieves, respites or remissions of
punishment or to suspend, remit or
commute the sentence of any person
convicted of any offence (i) in all cases
where the punishment or sentence is
by a Court Martial; (ii) in all cases where
the punishment or sentence is for an
offence against any law relating to a
matter to which the executive power of
the Union extends and (iii) in all cases
where the sentence is a sentence of
death.
It is to be noted that the terms
pardons, reprieves, respites,
remission and commutation, carry
different meanings. A pardon is an act
of grace. It cannot be demanded as a
matter of right. A pardon not only
removes the punishment but also
places the offender in the same position,
as if he had never committed the
offence. The power to grant pardon is
purely an executive function. Reprieve
means a temporary suspension of the
punishment fixed by the law. Respite
means postponement of the execution
of a sentence to future. Remission
means reduction in the amount of
punishment without changing the
character of punishment e.g. a life
sentence is reduced to imprisonment
for ten years. Commutation means

changing a punishment to one of a

different sort than that originally
proposed e.g. a death sentence is
changed into life imprisonment.
Financial Powers
Every financial year the Finance
Minister, on behalf of the President,
lays an Annual Financial Statement
before both the Houses of Parliament.
A Money Bill cannot be introduced or
moved in Lok Sabha except on the
recommendation of the President. A Bill
involving expenditure from the
Consolidated Fund of India cannot be
passed by either House of Parliament
unless President has recommended for
it to that House. No demand for a grant
can be made except on the
recommendation of the President.
Military Powers
The supreme command of the defence
forces is vested in the President but its
exercise is to be regulated by law. The
Parliament can make any law with
regard to navy, army, air force and any
other armed force of the Union. The
Parliament can make any law in regard
to war and peace. The President cannot
declare war or deploy forces of the
country without the sanction of the
Parliament or in anticipation of the
sanction of the Parliament.
Powers regarding Foreign Affairs
All the diplomatic business is
conducted in the name of the President.
He appoints ambassadors and other
diplomatic agents of India accredited to
other countries. Diplomatic agents

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

accredited to India present their

credentials to the President. All
international treaties and agreements
are also conducted in his name but they
are to be ratified by the Parliament
later on.
Emergency Powers
The Constitution envisages proclamation of emergency by the
President in three types of cases:
(i) Emergency due to war, aggression
or armed rebellion: When the
President feels satisfied that the security
of India or any part thereof is threatened
or there is an imminent danger of such
a threat by war or external aggression
or by armed rebellion he can proclaim
an emergency under Article 352. In
order to ensure that such a
proclamation has been made only after
due consideration, it has been provided
that the decision of the Union Cabinet
recommending such a proclamation
has to be given in writing to the
President. Every such proclamation
must be laid before each House of
Parliament and receive approval of both
the Houses within thirty days. However,
if such a proclamation has been issued
at a time when Lok Sabha stands
dissolved, it shall remain in force if
approved by the Rajya Sabha within
thirty days. The newly constituted Lok
Sabha must approve it (within 30 days
of its first sitting). It shall remain in force
till six months (from the day when such
a resolution was passed by the Lok
Sabha). It is noteworthy that the
resolution of the approval of each
House should be passed by absolute
majority of the total number of its

members and by two-thirds majority of

the members present and voting. If and
so often, a resolution approving the
continuance in force of such a
Proclamation is passed by both the
Houses of Parliament, the Proclamation
shall, unless revoked, continue in force
for a further period of six months from
the date on which it would have ceased
to operate.
Effects of the Proclamation of
Emergency under Article 352:
While a proclamation of emergency is
in operation (i) the executive authority
of the States becomes subordinate to
the Union, (ii) the legislative authority
of the Parliament extends to the making
of laws on the State List, (iii) the
operation of Article 19 relating to Right
to Freedom remains suspended and, (iv)
the President is authorized to suspend
by an order, the right to move any court
of law for the enforcement of such of the
Fundamental Rights, excepting those
in Article 20 and 21, as are mentioned
in that order.
(ii) Failure of Constitutional
Machinery: On receiving a report from
the Governor of a State or otherwise (i.e.
when the Governor does not send any
such report) if the President feels
satisfied that it is not possible to carry
on the government of that State
according to the provisions of the
Constitution, the President (under
Article 356) may issue a proclamation.
Under such circumstances he may
assume all or any of the executive
powers of the State. He may declare that
the legislative authority of the State shall
be exercised by or under the authority
of Parliament. He may suspend

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GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

operation of any provision of the

Constitution relating to any authority
in the State excluding that of a High
Court. Every such proclamation must
be laid before each House of Parliament
and receive approval of both the Houses
within two months. However, if such a
proclamation has been issued at a time
when Lok Sabha stands dissolved, it
shall remain in force, if approved by
Rajya Sabha, within two months, till
one month after the first sitting of the
newly constituted Lok Sabha. If the new
Lok Sabha also approves it, (within
thirty days of its first sitting) it shall
remain in force till six months. It may
pass the resolution approving its
continuance for another six months.
Such a proclamation shall in no case
remain in force for more than three
years. It is, however, to be noted that
Parliament is not allowed to pass any
such resolution extending a
proclamation beyond a period of one
year unless (i) a proclamation of
Emergency (under Article 352) is in
operation at the time of passing such a
resolution and (ii) the Election
Commission certifies that on account
of difficulties in holding general election
to the Legislative Assembly of the State
concerned, continuance of the
proclamation (regarding failure of
constitutional machinery) is necessary.
(iii) Financial Emergency: If the
President is satisfied that a situation
has arisen whereby the financial
stability or credit of India or any of its
part is threatened, he may proclaim a
financial emergency (under Article
360). Every such proclamation must be

laid before each House of the

Parliament and receive approval of both
the Houses within two months.
However, if such a proclamation has
been issued at a time when the Lok
Sabha stands dissolved, it shall remain
in force, if approved by Rajya Sabha
within two months, till one month after
the first sitting of the newly constituted
Lok Sabha. If the new Lok Sabha also
approves it (within 30 days of its first
sitting) it shall remain in force till six
months (from the day when such a
resolution was passed by Lok Sabha).
Effects of the Proclamation under
Article 360: While a proclamation
under Article 360 is in operation, the
executive authority of the Union shall
extend to giving directions to any State
to observe such canons of financial
propriety as may be specified in the
directions. It may also include a
provision requiring all Money Bills to
be reserved for the consideration of the
President after the State Legislature
passes them. The President may issue
directions for the reduction of salaries
and allowances of all or any class of
persons serving the State including the
Judges of the Supreme Court and High
Courts.
Position of the President
If we look at the list of powers
enumerated above; it would appear
that, President of India is a very
powerful figure. But, the reality is quite
different. As we have adopted a
parliamentary form of government
wherein the Council of Ministers is
answerable to the Parliament, the

72

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

powers really belong to the Ministry and

not to the President. In spite of it, there
a rose a controversy with regard to the
powers of president. No less a person
than Dr Rajendra Prasad, who was not
only the first President of India but also
the Chairman of the Constituent
Assembly, raised this controversy as
early as September 18, 1951. He sent
a note to the Prime Minister in which
he expressed his desire to act solely on
his own judgement, independent of the
Council of Ministers, when giving
assent to Bills, sending messages to
Parliament and returning Bills to
Parliament for reconsideration.
Dr Rajendra Prasad while laying the
foundation stone of Indian Law
Institute reiterated his stand by stating
that, A close study should be made of
the powers of the President of India
under the Constitution, that in equating
the powers of the President with those
of the British monarch the Constitution
was being wrongly interpreted; that
there is no provision in the Constitution
which, in so many words, lays down
that the President shall be bound to act
in accordance with advice of the Council
of Ministers. In Great Britain there is
an unwritten Constitution while in
India there is a written Constitution.
While in England there is hereditary
Head of State, in India there is an
Elected Head of the State who is reeligible for election. He is, accordingly,
answerable to his constituents for his
official acts which implies that he must
have freedom to act as he thinks right
and be in a position to justify the action
if the provision of re- election can have
any substance.

Such controversies continued in the

subsequent years. As a result, the
Parliament passed the Constitution
(Forty second Amendment) Act, 1976,
which clearly states that the President
shall, in the exercise of his functions,
act in accordance with such advice.
(i.e. the advice given by the Council of
Ministers). In spite of this Act, the
controversy regarding the actual
position of President has not stopped.
Even prior to this Act, President
generally used to act on the advice of
the Council of Ministers. The
Amendment has only given a legal
colour to the actual practice. The real
question is what would be his position
during the extraordinary situations?
We are not referring here to the period
of emergency, though during
emergencies also President has to act
on the advice of the Council of Ministers,
otherwise it may lead to a constitutional
deadlock. We are referring here to
extraordinary situations. For instance,
if there is no clear-cut majority of a
party or an alliance of parties in Lok
Sabha and there are two claimants for
the post of Prime Minister, whom shall
the President call for assuming office?
Shall he be guided by his own
conscience or by the out-going Council
of Ministers? Similarly, if the party in
power loses majority in Lok Sabha and
the Prime Minister advises the President
to dissolve Lok Sabha, is the President
bound by such an advice?
If the ruling party commands a thin
majority in both the Houses of
Parliament, it may not be able to take
bold decisions. If it does not command

GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

support from more than half the State

Legislatures, the President may create
situations that are not favourable to the
Ministry.
Thus, it is quite clear that ordinarily
(including the duration of emergency)
President has to act as a constitutional
head but extraordinary situations may
give him opportunities to exercise his
powers according to his own sweet will.

Vice President
The Constitution states that there shall
be a Vice President of India. The
Constitution makes a distinction
between the two categories of functions
that the Vice Presidents is required to
perform. When the office of the President
is vacant by reason of his death,
resignation or removal the Vice
President becomes the Acting President.
But when the President is unable to
discharge his functions due to absence
or illness, the Vice President discharges
his functions as officiating President.
The Vice President is elected by the
members of both the Houses of
Parliament assembled at a joint
meeting. The election is held in
accordance with the system of
proportional representation by means
of single transferable vote. All doubts
and disputes related to the election of
a Vice President shall be decided by the
Supreme Court.
Any person who is a citizen of India,
has completed the age of 35 years, is
qualified to be elected a member of

73

Rajya Sabha and does not hold any

office of profit under the Government
of India or any State or local authority,
can be elected to the office of Vice
President.
Before entering upon his office, the
Vice President is required to take an
oath before the President or some
person appointed by him.
The Vice President holds office for a
term of five years from the date on
which he enters upon his office. He may
send his resignation addressed to the
President. He can be removed from his
office by a resolution of Rajya Sabha
passed by a majority of members of the
House and agreed to by Lok Sabha.
However, such a resolution can be
moved only by giving at least fourteen
days notice.
It is interesting to note that a
peculiar situation arose when V. V. Giri
was the Vice President of India and he
was required to act as President
because there occurred a vacancy in
the office of the President due to the
death of President Zakir Hussain. When
the schedule for the election of the
President was announced V. V. Giri
decided to contest for it. But before
filing his nomination he wanted to
resign from his post. Now, the question
arose as to from which post should he
resign? Should he resign from his
substantial post of Vice President or
should he resign from the post he was
holding at that time i.e. Acting
President. When he consulted the legal
experts, he was advised to resign from
his substantial post i.e. Vice President
of India. According to the Con-

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

stitutional provision the resignation

letter was to be addressed to the
President of India. But he himself was
holding the office of President of India.
What to do in such a situation? The
legal experts advised him to address the
resignation letter to the President and
put it on his table and to simply walk
out of the office. He, accordingly, did
this and saved himself from the
embarrassing position.
The Vice President receives such
salaries and allowances as are fixed by
Parliament. Whenever he acts or
officiates as President he does not
function as the Chairman of Rajya
Sabha and is entitled to all the powers,
allowances and privileges of the
President. After getting elected as
President, he cannot remain a member
of either House of Parliament or of a
State Legislature.
The Vice President is the ex-officio
Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He presides
over the meetings of Rajya Sabha and
conducts all its proceedings except
when the resolution for his removal is
under consideration. He enforces the
rules of conduct. Whenever there is a
division in the House on any issue, he
counts the votes and declares the
results. He gives his ruling whether a
resolution or a question is admissible
or not. Ordinarily, he does not vote but
when the House is divided equally on
any issue, he exercises casting vote. He
decides whether an adjournment
motion moved by a member is
admissible or not. He acts as the
Chancellor/Visitor of the Central
Universities of India.

Central Council of
Ministers
The Constitution provides for a Council
of Ministers, with Prime Minister as its
head, to aid and advise the President.
The President is required to act
according to its advice.
The President first appoints the
Prime Minister and then on his advice
appoints the other Ministers. The
President appoints such a person as
Prime Minister about whom he feels
that he would be able to get support of
the majority of members of Lok Sabha.
If a party commands absolute majority
in Lok Sabha and elects its own leader,
the President has to appoint him as the
Prime Minister. If no party commands
absolute majority but two or more than
two parties combine together and form
an alliance with a common programme
and that alliance is able to command
absolute majority in Lok Sabha, the
leader of such an alliance is called upon
by the President to assume the office of
Prime Minister.
The President then asks the Prime
Minister to give a list of persons whom
he would like to appoint as members
of the Council of Ministers. The
President has to appoint such persons
as Ministers, who have been so
recommended by the Prime Minister.
There are three categories of
MinistersCabinet Ministers, Ministers
of State and Deputy Ministers. Cabinet
is a small body of Ministers who occupy
a prominent position in the party and

GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

hold important portfolios. It meets off

and on and takes all important policy
decisions of the government. A Cabinet
Minister is the head of one or more
departments. The Ministers of State,
again, are of two categories. Some
Ministers of State have an independent
charge of their Ministry while others act
under the supervision of a Cabinet
Minister. Sometimes they may be called
to attend meetings of the Cabinet when
an important issue pertaining to their
department is discussed. Deputy
Ministers work under the supervision
of either a Cabinet Minister or a Minister
of State. Their main function is to assist
the Cabinet Minister or Minister of
State, as the case may be, in performing
their functions.
Position of The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister occupies a unique
position in the Council of Ministers. It
is he who chooses other Ministers.
Whenever there is a conflict between a
Minister and the Prime Minister, the
Minister has to give way to the Prime
Minister. The Prime Minister may ask
any Minister to resign from his post. If
he does not do so, the President may
remove him from Council of Ministers
on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister presides over
meetings of Council of Ministers. It is
he who communicates the decision of
the Council of Ministers to the
President. Whenever the President
wants to communicate to the Council
of Ministers, he does so through the
Prime Minister. Prime Minister is the
chief spokesman of the government.

75

It appears from the above that the

Prime Minister is very powerful but
actually it is not so. While forming his
Council of Ministers he has to take a
number of considerations such as
representation of different sections of
society, different geographical regions,
different ideological groups in the party
etc. As a result of these considerations,
the choice of the Ministers for the Prime
Minister becomes very limited. By and
large, it can be stated that about half
the members of Council of Ministers are
there because the Prime Minister wants
them, but about half the members are
there because the Prime Minister has
no other alternative. It is because of
these things that the Prime Minister is
called primus inter pares which means
that he is first amongst the equals.
The Council of Ministers meets very
rarely. It is the Cabinet that meets
frequently. The Cabinet takes all the
major policy decisions. But the Council
of Ministers takes the responsibility for
those decisions. It may be that an
individual Minister may differ on a
particular decision but he cannot
express it publicly unless he first
submits his resignation from the
Council of Ministers. The Council of
Ministers is collectively responsible to
the Lok Sabha. It implies that a censure
motion against one Minister amounts
to no confidence against the whole
Ministry in which case all the members
including the Prime Minister have to go
out of office. The members of both the
Houses of Parliament keep control over
Ministers by asking questions and
supplementary questions and by moving

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

adjournment motions, call : attention

notices, and by appointing various
committees such as Public Account
Committee, Estimates Committee,
Committee on Government Assurances,
Committee on Public Undertakings,
Committee on Privileges, Committee on
Subordinate Legislation etc.
The Council of Ministers takes policy
decisions on all matters of
administration. It supervises the
execution of all policy decisions. It
prepares Bills and pilots them in the two
Houses of Parliament so that they
become laws. It prepares the Budget
and regulates income and expenditure
of the Union Government. It formulates
foreign policy and conducts its affairs
with other countries.

Supreme Court
of India
The highest judicial authority in India
is the Supreme Court. It consists of a
Chief Justice and several other judges.
The number of other judges is decided
by the Parliament by law. Originally the
Constitution provided for seven other
judges only. The Parliament increased
the number several times. At present,
the number of other judges is twentyfive.
Every judge of the Supreme Court is
appointed by the President after
consulting such of the judges of the
Supreme Court and of the High Courts
as President deems necessary.
However, while appointing other judges

the President has to consult the Chief

Justice of India.
Only such a person can be appointed
a judge of the Supreme Court who is a
citizen of India and has been a judge of
a High Court for at least five years or
has been an advocate of a High Court
for ten years or is, in the opinion of
President, a distinguished jurist.
The judges of the Supreme Court are
paid such salaries as are determined
by the Parliament by law. They are also
entitled to such privileges and
allowances and to such rights in
respect of leave of absence and pension
as are determined by the Parliament
from time to time. However, the
Parliament cannot make any change,
after their appointment, in the salaries,
allowances, privileges, leave of absence
and pension etc. of the judges adversely
affecting them except in case of financial
emergency. Every judge of the Supreme
Court including the Chief Justice holds
office until he attains the age of sixtyfive years. He, however, can resign his
post any time by submitting his
resignation to the President. He can also
be removed from his office by the
President if each House of Parliament
presents an address to him, supported
by a majority of the total membership
of that House, and by a majority of not
less than two-thirds of the members of
that House present and voting, for such
removal on the grounds of proven
misbehaviour or incapacity.
Every person appointed to be a judge
of the Supreme Court is required to
take an oath of office before he enters
upon his office, before the President or
some person appointed by him.

77

GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

No person who has held office as a

judge of the Supreme Court cannot
plead or act in any court or before any
authority, within the territory of India.
When the office of the Chief Justice
of India is vacant or when the Chief
Justice is by reason of absence or
otherwise unable to perform his duties,
the same shall be performed by one of
the other judges as the President may
appoint for the purpose.
If at any time there is no quorum in
the Supreme Court for performing its
duties, the Chief Justice, with the
previous consent of the President and
after consultation with the Chief Justice
of the High Court concerned, may
request one of the judges of a High
Court, who otherwise is qualified to be
appointed a judge of the Supreme
Court, as its ad-hoc judge, for such
period as may be necessary.
The Chief Justice of India may, at any
time, with the previous consent of the
President, request any retired judge of
the Supreme Court or that of a High
Court (who otherwise is qualified to be
appointed a judge of the Supreme
Court) to sit and act as a judge of the
Supreme Court. Such a person will be
entitled to allowances as the President
may determine and shall have all the
jurisdiction, powers and privileges that
are enjoyed by regular judges.
Original Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court hears directly any
dispute, (i) between the Government
of India and one or more States,
(ii) between the Government of India

and any State or States on one side and

one or more States on the other or (iii)
between two or more States. Such a
dispute should, however, involve some
question of law or fact on which the
existence or extent of a legal right
depends. The treaties concluded
between the Centre and the princely
states are excluded from the Courts
original jurisdiction.
Appellate Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court hears appeals
against the judgement of a High Court:
In certain cases where a High Court
certifies, in a civil or criminal case, that
the case involves a substantial question
of law as to the interpretation of the
Constitution or where the Supreme
Court grants special leave for such an
appeal.
In civil case where a High court
certifies that the case involves a
substantial question of law of general
importance and in the opinion of the
High Court the said question needs to
be decided by the Supreme Court.
In criminal cases where the High
Court has, on appeal; reversed an order
of acquittal and sentenced the accused
to death or where the High Court has
transferred the case from subordinate
court to itself, and then convicted the
accused and sentenced him to death
and where the High Court certifies that
the case is a fit one for appeal to the
Supreme Court.
Advisory Jurisdiction
If at any time it appears to the President
that a question of law or fact has arisen

78

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

or is likely to arise which is of such a

nature and of such public importance
that it is expedient to obtain the opinion
of the Supreme Court upon it he may
refer the question to the Court for
consideration and the Court may, after
such hearing as it thinks fit, report to
the President its opinion thereupon.
However, this advice of the Court is
binding neither on the President nor on
the parties affected by the opinion.
Review of Judgements
The Supreme Court is empowered to
review any judgement pronounced
by it.
Enforcement of Supreme Courts
Orders and Decrees: The decisions
of the Supreme Court are binding on
all the courts in India. All the civil and
judicial authorities are required to
assist and aid the Court in the
execution of its orders.
Guardian of the Constitution: The
principal function of the Supreme Court
is to act as the guardian of the
Constitution, particularly relating to the
Fundamental Rights guaranteed to the
citizens. The Supreme Court has
concurrent right with the High Courts
to issue directions, orders and writs for
enforcement of Fundamental Rights,
particularly the writs of habeas corpus
mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, and
quo warranto.

Court of Record
The judgments of the Supreme Court
are recorded and considered
authoritative and serves as cases, laws
or precedents.
Contempt of Court
The Supreme Court can start contempt
proceedings against anyone who
indulges in malicious propaganda
against the judges or tries to influence
the judges.
Public Interest Litigation
Till recently the judiciary, including the
Supreme Court, entertained litigation
only from those parties that were
affected directly by it. But during the
last few years, a new practice has been
started. People, who are not involved
directly in the case, may file litigation,
if it is in the general public interest. It
is the privilege of the Court to entertain
or not the application for Public Interest
Litigation.
To sum up, we can say that the
Supreme Court is a powerful institution
of the Indian federation. It not only
protects the interests of units of
the federation but also guarantees
the enforcement of constitutional
provisions. It safeguards the
Fundamental Rights of the citizens and
keeps a check both on the executive
and the legislative wings of the
government.

GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE

79

Exercises
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.

The President is an essential part of the Parliament. Do you agree with this
statement?
What is the difference between a Money Bill and an Ordinary Bill? How is a
Money Bill passed?
Describe the procedure of law making in Indian Parliament.
Do you agree that the Rajya Sabha enjoys fewer powers than the Lok Sabha?
Describe the procedure of election of the President of India.
What are the executive powers of the President?
Enumerate the legislative powers of the President.
Discuss the judicial powers of the President.
Can the President of India exercise the emergency powers according to his
own will ?
Examine the actual position of the President of India.
Describe the powers of the Vice President?
Is the Prime Minister Primus inter pares? Give reasons in support of your
answer?
What do you mean by collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers?
Discuss the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?
When does the Supreme Court of India advise the President? Is that advice
binding on him?
How does the Supreme Court protect the Fundamental Rights of Indian
citizens?
Write short notes on
(a) Parliaments control over the Council of Ministers
(b) Public Accounts Committee
(c) Failure of constitutional machinery
(d) Financial emergency
(e) Procedure of Impeachment of the President

Chapter

6
GOVERNMENT
IN THE STATES

State Legislature

very State has a Legislature. Some

States have two Houses of
legislature Legislative Council
(Vidhan Parishad) and Legislative
Assembly (Vidhan Sabha). Other States
have only one House i.e. Legislative
Assembly.

Governor
The Governor of a State is an essential
part of its Legislature. He summons
and prorogues the legislature. He
can dissolve the Assembly. Without
his assent no Bill, passed by the
legislature, can become an Act. He has
the right to address the legislature. He
may send messages to the legislature
regarding any Bill pending before it and
the legislature is required to deliberate
upon it. At the commencement of the
first session after the general election
to the Legislative Assembly and at the
commencement of the first session of
each year, the Governor addresses the
legislature and informs it of the causes
of its summons. The legislature is
required to deliberate upon the matters
referred in such addresses. When the
legislature is not in session and there
is a need for immediate action, the
Governor may issue an ordinance that

has the same force and effect as that of

an Act of the Legislature. The ordinance
has to be laid before the legislature and
approved by it within six weeks of its
assembly. If the ordinance is not
approved within six weeks it shall cease
to operate.

Legislative Council
The Parliament may, by law, create or
abolish a Legislative Council in a State
if the Legislative Assembly of that State
passes a resolution to that effect by a
majority of the total number of members
of the Assembly and by a majority of
not less than two-thirds of the members
present and voting. At present, five
States (viz. Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir,
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar
Pradesh) have Legislative Councils.
The Legislative Council is the Upper
House of a State Legislature. The total
number of members in the Legislative
Council of a State does not exceed onethird of the total number of members
in the Legislative Assembly of that
State. However, the total number of
members in the Legislative Council of a
State should, in no case, be less than
forty.
Until Parliament, by law, provides
otherwise, one-third of the total number
of members of the Council are elected
by electorates consisting of members of

81

GOVERNMENT IN THE STATES

Municipalities, District Boards and

other local authorities in the State;
one-third are elected by members of the
Legislative Assembly of the State;
one-twelfth are elected by graduates of
three years standing; one-twelfth are
elected by teachers who have taught in
secondary schools and above for at
least three years and one-sixth are
nominated by the Governor from
amongst those persons who have
special knowledge or practical
experience in such matters as literature,
science, art, cooperative movement and
social service. All these elections are
held in accordance with the system of
proportional representation by means
of single transferable vote.
In order to become a member of the
Legislative Council, a person should be
a citizen of India, should not be less
than 30 years of age and possess such
other qualifications as may be
prescribed, by law, by the Parliament.
He, however, should not be of unsound
mind, an insolvent and should not hold
any office of profit (excepting that of a
minister) under the Government of
India or that of a State.
The tenure of every member of the
Council is six years but every second
year one-third of its members retire and
new members are elected.
Ten or one-tenth of the total number
of members, whichever is greater, forms
the quorum of any meeting of the
House.
The Legislative Council chooses two
of its members as Chairman and
Deputy Chairman respectively. A
member holding office as Chairman or

Deputy Chairman vacates his office if

he ceases to be a member of the
Council. He may resign his office or may
be removed from his office by a
resolution of the Council passed by a
majority of members of the Council.
But, before moving such a resolution,
fourteen days notice must be given. The
Chairman and the Deputy Chairman
are paid such salaries and allowances
as are fixed by the Legislature.

Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly of each State
consists of not more than five hundred
and not less than sixty members elected
by direct election from territorial
constituencies of the State. For this
purpose, each State is divided into
territorial constituencies in such
manner that the ratio between the
population of each constituency and the
number of seats allotted to it is almost
the same throughout the State.
The Constitution, however, provides
for reservation of seats for the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of
each State in proportion to their
population.
If the Governor of a State feels, after
a general election for the Legislative
Assembly, that the Anglo-Indian
Community is not adequately
represented therein, he may nominate
one member of that community to the
Assembly.
The members of Legislative Assembly
are elected on the basis of universal
adult franchise. A voter should be a
citizen of India, should have attained

82

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

eighteen years of age and his name

should be in the voters list.
To get oneself elected to the
Legislative Assembly one needs to be a
citizen of India, must be not less than
twenty-five years of age and must
possess such other qualifications as
may be prescribed by or under any law
made by the Parliament.
A person can be disqualified from the
membership of Legislative Assembly if
he holds an office of profit under the
Government of India or of a State or is
of unsound mind or is an insolvent.
The tenure of Legislative Assembly is
five years but the Governor is
empowered to dissolve it earlier also.
The House elects its own presiding
officer, called Speaker, who conducts its
business. During the absence of
Speaker from any sitting of the
Assembly, the Deputy Speaker, who is
also elected by the House, acts as
Speaker.
The Speaker presides over the
meetings of Legislative Assembly and
conducts all its proceedings except
when the resolution for his removal is
under consideration. He determines the
order of business and prescribes the
time limit for the speeches. He maintains
order and discipline in the House and
prevents the use of un-parliamentary
language in the House. If a member
disregards or flouts his ruling, he can
name the member for suspension or ask
him to leave the House or order his
physical removal by the Marshal of
the House. Similarly, if the House
becomes unruly, he can suspend the
business of the House. Whenever, there

is a division in the House on any issue,

he counts the votes and declares the
result. Ordinarily, he does not vote but
when the House is divided equally on
any issue, he exercises casting vote. He
decides whether an adjournment
motion moved by a member is
admissible or not. He decides whether
a Bill is a Money Bill or not.
One-tenth of the total number of
members forms the quorum of any
meeting of the House.

Powers and Functions

The powers and functions of the
Legislature can be studied under the
following heads.
Legislation
The primary function of Legislature is
legislation. It has an exclusive power to
legislate on the subjects mentioned in
the State List. It shares the power of
legislation on subjects in the
Concurrent List with Parliament. In
case of a conflict between the law
passed by the Parliament and that of a
State Legislature, the law of the
Parliament prevails to the extent of
inconsistency.
The Bills introduced in and passed
by the Legislature are of two types, nonMoney or Ordinary Bills and Money
Bills. The procedure for passing a
Money Bill is different from that of an
Ordinary Bill. An Ordinary Bill can be
introduced in either of the two Houses.
Every Ordinary Bill, before it becomes
an Act, has to pass through the
following stages.
The draft of the proposed Bill has
to be sent to the Secretariat of the

GOVERNMENT IN THE STATES

House. The Speaker of the Legislative

Assembly or the Chairman of Legislative
Council, as the case may be, after
consulting the Business Advisory
Committee, determines the day and
time when the Bill is to be moved in the
House. On the appointed day and time
the mover seeks the permission of the
presiding officer to move the Bill. On
receiving his assent, the mover reads
the title of the Bill and gives a short
speech highlighting the aims and
objectives of the Bill. If there is no
opposition from anyone, the Bill is
supposed to have been passed in the
First Reading. Ordinarily there is no
opposition at this stage, because it only
implies that the House has consented
to consider the Bill in detail. But there
are some occasions when the opposition
is not prepared even to consider the Bill,
the presiding officer allows a full debate
and then the Bill is put to vote. If the
House approves it, it is supposed to
have been passed in the First Reading.
After an interval of some time
(generally it is of two days) the Bill is
again moved by the mover. This stage
is called Second Reading and the Bill is
discussed and passed in detail clause
by clause. Alternatively, the House may
decide to circulate the Bill for eliciting
the public opinion. Then, the Bill is
published in the Government Gazette
inviting public reactions on it. The gist
of the public opinion is then circulated
amongst the members of the House.
The members discuss it in detail in the
light of public opinion and vote clause
by clause.
There is, however, another alternative. The House may decide to refer

83

the Bill to a Select Committee consisting

of such members of the House as have
special interest in the subject. The
presiding officer constitutes such a
Committee having 20-30 members.
The Committee makes a thorough
scrutiny of the Bill and suggests various
changes and then submits its Report
to the House. The House considers the
Report and then discusses and votes
the Bill in detail clause by clause. If the
House approves it, it is supposed to
have crossed the Report Stage.
After an interval of some time, the Bill
is again put before the House for final
or Third Reading. At this stage, there is
only a general discussion and no
amendment, except some verbal
changes, is allowed. If the House
approves the Bill at this stage the Bill
goes to the other House. In the other
House also the Bill has to undergo all
the stages referred to above. If the other
House also approves, it goes to the
Governor for his assent. The Second
House (Legislative Council) can reject
the Bill or send it back with its
recommendations. It may even sleep
over the Bill for three months. If the
Legislative Assembly passes the Bill
again with or without changes, the
Council cannot reject it. Even if it
rejects; the Bill is deemed to have been
passed by both the Houses after a
month.
A Bill after being adopted by both the
Houses, if there are two Houses or by
the Legislative Assembly, if there is only
one House, is presented before the
Governor for his assent. The Governor
either gives his assent or returns the Bill
to the Legislature for reconsideration.

84

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

If the Legislature passes the Bill again,

whether in amended or original form,
the Governor has to give his assent
after which it becomes an Act. The
Gover nor, however, has another
alternative. He may reserve the Bill for
the consideration of the President. The
President may give his assent or
withhold it or he may refer back the Bill
to the Legislature for reconsideration in
the light of his suggestions. If the
Legislature again passes the Bill with
or without amendment, it is again sent
to the President for his consideration.
The Procedure Adopted for Money
Bills
The State Legislature exercises full
control over the finances of the State
Government. In the beginning of every
financial year an Annual Financial
Statement or the Budget, showing the
receipts and expenditure, is laid down
before the State Legislature. The Budget
shows separately the expenditure
charged on the Consolidated Fund of
the State, which can be discussed but
not voted upon and the amount
required to meet other expenditure
proposed to be made from the
Consolidated Fund of the State which
are discussed and voted upon by the
Legislature.
The Budget speech by the Finance
Minister is followed by a general
discussion on the Budget as a whole.
After the discussion is over the
Legislative Assembly proceeds to the
Voting of Demands. When all the
Demands have been voted by the
Legislative Assembly, both the charged
and non-charged expenditures are put

together and incorporated in a Bill

called the Annual Appropriation Bill. It
is presented before and passed by the
Legislative Assembly in the same
manner as any other Bill. Then it is
certified by the Speaker as a Money Bill
and sent to the Legislative Council if
there is one, for its recommendations.
Money Bills can be initiated only in
the Legislative Assembly and when it is
sent to the Legislative Council, the
Legislative Council has to send it back
within fourteen days. It can make
recommendations but it can neither
reject, nor amend them. In any case, the
Bill is considered to have been passed
by both the Houses fourteen days
after its final stage in the Legislative
Assembly. It is then sent to the
Governor for his assent who cannot
withhold it.
Control over the Executive
The Council of Ministers is collectively
responsible to the Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative Assembly is empowered
to pass a vote of censure against the
Ministry. Whenever such a motion is
passed the Ministry has to resign.
Both the Houses exercise control over
the Executive through asking
questions, supplementary questions,
discussing matters of urgent public
importance, moving call-attention
notices and adjournment motions,
and also by appointing various
committees such as Public Accounts
Committee, Estimates Committee,
Committee on Privileges, the Committee
on Subordinate Legislation etc. All
these activities keep the executive alert.

85

GOVERNMENT IN THE STATES

Constitutional Amendments
A Constitutional Amendment Bill
proposing changes in the federal
character of the Constitution requires
the approval of half the State
Legislatures if the same has been
passed by both the Houses of the
Parliament.
Electoral Powers: The elected
members of the State Legislative
Assemblies along with the elected
members of two Houses of Parliament
form the electoral college that elects the
President of India.
It is quite clear from the description
given above that the legislature of a
State plays a very important role in the
governance of the State. It not only
legislates on the subjects mentioned in
the State list and Concurrent list but
also keeps control over the Council of
Ministers. The Council of Ministers can
remain in power so long as it commands
the confidence of the Legislative
Assembly of the State.

Governor
The executive authority of a State is
vested in the Governor of the State who
exercises it directly or through the
officers subordinate to him.
The President of India appoints the
Governor of a State for a term of five
years. He holds his office during the
pleasure of the President. The President
can not only remove the Governor from
his office but also transfer him from one
state to another.

Any person who is a citizen of India

and has completed the age of 35 years
can be appointed a Governor of a State
in India.
The Governor shall not be a member
of either House of Parliament or of
Legislature of a State and if any member
of any of these houses is appointed a
Governor, he shall be deemed to have
vacated such membership on the date
on which he assumes charge of
Governorship.
Before entering upon his office a
Governor is required to take an oath in
the presence of Chief Justice or the
senior most judge of the High Court of
that State. In his oath he promises to
preserve and protect the Constitution
and the law.
Executive Powers
All the executive functions in the State
are carried on in the name of the
Governor. He appoints the Chief
Minister. According to the convention
he can appoint only such person to the
post about whom he feels would be able
to command the confidence of the
majority of members of the Legislative
Assembly. The well-established
convention is that he calls the leader of
the majority party or an alliance of
parties (if there is no single party having
majority) to form the Ministry. He
appoints other Ministers and
distributes portfolios amongst them on
the advice of the Chief Minister. Besides,
he also appoints Advocate- General,
Chairman and members of the State
Public Service Commission. The
Governor has a right to be informed of
all the affairs of the State Government.

86

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Legislative Powers
As Governor is an inseparable part of
the Legislature, he possesses certain
legislative powers, such as summoning
and proroguing the Legislature,
dissolving the Legislative Assembly,
addressing the session of the Assembly
or Joint Session of the two Houses of
the Legislature. He can send messages
to either or both the Houses, assent the
Bills passed by the Legislature,
promulgate an ordinance etc. He also
has the power to nominate a member
of the Anglo-Indian Community to the
Legislative Assembly if he feels, after a
general election, that the Anglo-Indian
Community is not adequately
represented in the Legislative Assembly.
Financial Powers
Every financial year the Governor asks
the Finance Minister to lay an Annual
Financial Statement before the State
Legislature. A Money Bill cannot
be introduced or moved in the
Legislative Assembly except on
the recommendation of the Governor.
A Bill involving expenditure from
the Consolidated Fund of the State
cannot be passed by the Legislature
unless the Governor has recommended
for its consideration. No demand for a
grant can be made except on the
recommendation of the Governor.
Judicial Powers
The Governor possesses the power to
grant pardons, reprieves, respites or
remissions of punishment or to
suspend, remit or commute the
sentence of any person convicted of any

offence against any law relating to a

matter to which the executive power of
the State extends.
Position of the Governor
If we look to the list of powers enumerated above, it would appear that the
Governor of a State is a very powerful
figure. But the reality is quite different.
As we have adopted a parliamentary
form of government wherein the Council
of Ministers is answerable to the
Legislature, the powers really belong to
the Ministry and not to the Governor.
However, extraordinary situations
may require the Governor to act at his
discretion. For instance, if there is no
clear cut majority of a party or an
alliance of parties in the Legislative
Assembly and there are two claimants
for the post of Chief Minister, whom
shall the Governor call for assuming the
office? Shall he be guided by his own
conscience or by the out-going Council
of Ministers? Similarly, if the party in
power loses majority in the Legislative
Assembly and the Chief Minister
advises the Governor to dissolve the
Legislative Assembly, is the Governor
bound by such an advice?
Thus, it is quite clear that the
Governor ordinarily has to act as a
constitutional head but then,
extraordinary situation may give him
opportunities to exercise his powers
according to his sweet will.
In spite of this, various contro-versies
have arisen regarding the powers of the
Governor. As he is an appointee of the
President of India and holds his office
during the pleasure of the President,

GOVERNMENT IN THE STATES

the general feeling is that he has to act

as per advice of the President and
cannot defy it. At the same time he is
required to act on the advice of his
Council of Ministers. Thus, he has to
serve two masters. If there is a conflict
between the two advices, whom shall
he obey? Generally speaking, most of
the Governors have acted on the advice
of the President. This has caused a lot
of resentment from the supporters of the
State Governments. In a number of
cases it was noted that in similar
situations different Governors have
taken different stands, the results of
which always have been in favour of the
ruling party at the Centre. For instance,
after the Fourth General Election, no
party got absolute majority in the
legislatures in Uttar Pradesh and
Rajasthan. In both the States, there
were two claimants for the post of Chief
Minister, one from the Congress Party
and another from an alliance of parties
(Samyukta Vidhayak Dal). The two
governors behaved in two different
ways. Sampurnanand, the Governor of
Rajasthan called the single largest
party to form the ministry and said it
was none of his business to count the
heads. If the Opposition according to
him was in majority let it defeat the
ministry on the floor of the House.
Contrary to it Biswanath Das, the
Gover nor of U.P. asked both the
claimants to give the list of their
supporters. When he found some
names common in both the lists he
called the members concerned
individually and checked up as to
whom they supported. In both the

87

cases, it was the Congress, the ruling

party at the centre then, which got an
opportunity to form the ministry. This
again, has caused a lot of resentment
and there have been demands for
laying down clear -cut guidelines
for the Governors. But, the Central
Government has declined to accede to
it. Not only this when the Parliament
passed the Constitution (Forty-Second
Amendment) Act 1976 it was made
mandatory for the President to act on
the advice of the Council of Ministers
but not so in the case of the Governor.
It was kept vague particularly because
the Central Government did not want
to loosen its grip on the State
Governments.
There is also a lot of controversy
regarding the discretionary powers of the
Governors.
There
are
some
commentators who observe that the
Governor has no discretionary powers
excepting that of the Governor of
Nagaland, who has to act at his
discretion, while governing the
administration of the District of
Tuensang or a Governor who has to
administer a Union Territory attached to
him, without consulting his Council of
Ministers. But there are others who feel
that the Governor does possess some
discretionary powers. It is the Governor
himself who decides, at his di1scretion,
as to in which sphere he shall act at his
discretion and in which field he shall act
on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
Thus, the Governor has a wide scope to
determine his discretionary powers. In
spite of a number of efforts by the
Governors themselves, the jurists, the

88

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

constitutional experts and distinguished

public men, no clear cut principles have
been laid down about the ways the
Governor is required to act.

State Council of
Ministers
The Constitution of India has vested the
executive powers of the State in the
Governor of the State. But; he is
actually a nominal head. While
exercising his powers he is aided and
advised by a Council of Ministers.
The Governor first appoints the Chief
Minister and then appoints other
Ministers on his advice. The Governor
appoints such a person as the Chief
Minister about whom he feels that he
would be able to get support of the
majority of members of the Legislative
Assembly. If a party commands
absolute majority in the Legislative
Assembly and elects its own leader, the
Governor has to appoint him the Chief
Minister. If no party commands
absolute majority but two or more than
two parties combine together and form
an alliance with a common programme
and that alliance is able to command
absolute majority in the Legislative
Assembly, the leader of such an alliance
is called upon by the Governor to
assume the office of the Chief Minister.
The Governor, then, asks the Chief
Minister to give a list of persons whom
he would like to appoint as members
of the Council of Ministers. The
Governor has to appoint such persons

as Ministers, who have been so

recommended by the Chief Minister.
Position of Chief Minister
The Chief Minister occupies a unique
position in the Council of Ministers. It
is he who chooses other Ministers.
Whenever there arises a conflict between
a Minister and the Chief Minister, the
Minister has to give way to the Chief
Minister. The Chief Minister may ask
any Minister to resign from his post. If
he does not do so, he may be removed
from the Council of Ministers by the
Governor on the advice of the Chief
Minister.
Chief Minister presides over the
meetings of the Council of Ministers. It
is he who communicates the decision
of the Council of Ministers to the
Governor. Whenever Governor wants to
communicate to the Council of
Ministers, he does so through the Chief
Minister. Chief Minister is the chief
spokesman of the government.
It appears from the above that the
Chief Minister is very powerful. But
actually it is not so. While forming his
Council of Ministers he has to take
number of considerations such as
representation of different sections of
society, different geographical regions
and different ideological groups in the
party etc. As a result of these considerations the choice of the Chief
Minister becomes very limited. By and
large, it can be stated that about half
the members of the Council of Ministers
are there because the Chief Minister
wants them, but about half the
members are there because the Chief
Minister has no other alternative. It is

89

GOVERNMENT IN THE STATES

because of these things that the Chief

Minister is called primus inter pares
which means that he is first amongst
the equals.
Collective Responsibility of the
Council of Ministers
The whole Council of Ministers meets
very rarely. It is the Cabinet that meets
frequently. The Cabinet takes all the
major policy decisions. But the whole
Council of Ministers takes the
responsibility for those decisions. It may
be that an individual Minister may
differ with a particular decision but he
cannot make it public unless he first
submits his resignation from the
Council of Ministers. The Council of
Ministers is collectively responsible to
the Legislative Assembly. It implies that
a censure motion against one Minister
amounts to no confidence against the
whole Ministry in which case all the
members, including the Chief Minister,
have to go out of office. The members of
both the Houses of Legislature keep control
over the Ministers through asking
questions, supplementary questions and
by moving adjournment motions, callattention notices, and by appointing
various committees such as Public
Account Committee, Estimates Committee,
Committee on Government Assurances,
Committee on Public Undertakings,
Committee on Privileges, Committee on
Subordinate Legislation etc.
The Council of Ministers takes policy
decisions on all matters of
administration. It supervises the
execution of all the policy decisions. It
prepares Bills and pilots them in the
Legislature so that they become laws.

It prepares the Budget and gets it

passed by the Legislature. It regulates
income and expenditure of the State.
In fact, it is the Council of Ministers that
really governs the State.

High Courts
Most of the States have a High Court of
their own. However, some times two or
more States share one High Court. A
High Court is the highest judicial
authority in the State. It consists of a
Chief Justice and such other judges as
the President may from time to time
deem it necessary to appoint. The Chief
Justice is appointed by the President
in consultation with the Chief Justice
of India and the Governor of that State.
In appointing other judges the
President, besides consulting the Chief
Justice of India and the Governor of
that State, also consults the Chief
Justice of the High Court.
For the appointment as a judge of a
High Court a person should be a citizen
of India and should have held a judicial
office at least for ten years or has been
an advocate of a High Court in any
State for at least ten years.
The judges of a High Court are paid
such salaries, as are determined by
Parliament by Law. They are also
entitled to such privileges and
allowances and to such rights in
respect of leave of absence and pension
as are determined by Parliament
from time to time. However, Parliament
cannot make any change, after

90

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

their appointment, in the salaries,

allowances, privileges, leave of absence
and pension etc., adversely affecting
them except in case of financial
emergency.
Every Judge of a High Court,
including the Chief Justice, holds office
until he attains the age of sixty-two
years. He, however, can resign his post
any time by submitting his resignation
letter to the President. He can also be
removed from his office in the same
manner as the judges of the Supreme
Court.
No person who has held an office as
a permanent judge of a High Court can
practise in that High court. However, he
can practise in the Supreme Court or
in any other High Court.
The President may increase the
number of judges or appoint Additional
Judges if so required. A retired High
Court judge can also be appointed to
act as a judge by the President.
The Judgements of High Courts are
recorded and considered authoritative
and serve as case laws. A High Court
can start contempt proceedings against
anyone who indulges in malicious
propaganda against the Judges. A
High Court can also start contempt
proceedings against anyone who tries
to influence the Judges.
The President may after consultation
with the Chief Justice of India transfer
a Judge from one High Court to
another High Court.
Jurisdiction of a High Court
A High Court is the highest court of
appeal; both in civil and criminal cases,

in the State. It also enjoys original

jurisdiction in some matters.
Original Jurisdiction: Every High
Court has original jurisdiction in regard
to admiralty, will, divorce, marriage,
company, contempt of court and
certain revenue cases. Every High Court
is empowered to issue directions,
orders or writs, particularly the writs
of habeas corpus, mandamus,
prohibition, certiorari and quo
warranto for the enforcement of any of
the Fundamental Rights.
Appellate Jurisdiction: It hears
appeals against the judgments of
Subordinate Courts. In criminal cases,
if a Sessions Judge awards death
sentence, an appeal lies to the High
Court. In civil cases, appellate
jurisdiction extends to all such cases
which involve an amount exceeding
Rupees 5,00,000/- It also hears cases
relating to patent and designs,
succession, land acquisition, insolvency and guardianship.
Transfer of Certain cases to the High
Court
If a High Court feels that a case pending
in a Subordinate Court, involves a
substantial question of law, it may
withdraw the case and may either
dispose off the case itself or determine
the said question of law and return the
case to the court from which it was
withdrawn for final decision.
A High Court has the right of
superintendence over all other courts
subordinate to it, both in judicial and
administrative matters. It can make
rules relating to the appointment,

GOVERNMENT IN THE STATES

demotion, promotion and leave of

absence for the officers of the district
courts and other lower courts.
The High Court, thus, plays a very
important role in the judicial matters

91

pertaining to the State. But it is not the

highest court of appeal. There could be
an appeal against its judgment to the
Supreme Court even in subjects
included in the State list.

Exercises
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Describe the composition of the Legislative Council and the Legislative

Assembly.
Describe the procedure by which a Money Bill is passed in a State.
If the two Houses of a legislature differ on a Ordinary Bill, how is the problem
resolved?
Who appoints the Governor of a State? What are the qualifications prescribed
for the post by the Constitution?
Describe in brief the powers of the Governor of a State.
Under what circumstances does the Governor of a State use his discretion?
How is the Council of Ministers formed in a State?
What do you mean by collective responsibility?
Write short notes on:
(a) Categories of Ministers
(b) Functions of the Council of Ministers
(c) Jurisdiction of a High Court

Chapter

7
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
INSTITUTIONS

Urban Local Government

Institutions

n the Constitution of India

initially there was no provision
for the establishment of local selfgoverning institutions in urban India,
though it did make reference, in one of
the Directive Principles, about the
establishment of Village Panchayats in
rural India. Lacuna was rectified
bythe Constitution (Seventy-fourth
Amendment) Act, 1992, which
provided for the establishment and
management of urban local selfgovernment in India.
Urban Local Self Government in
India has its roots in prehistoric times.
The excavations at Harappa and
Mohenjodaro reveal that the cities had
their own councils to manage their own
affairs. However, the foundation of
modern system of urban government
was laid by the British Government.
Lord Mayos Resolution of 1870 made
arrangements for strengthening the
municipal institutions and increasing
the association of Indians in these
bodies. However, it was Lord Ripons
Resolution of 1882 that was hailed as
the Magna Carta of local government
and got Lord Ripon the title of the
father of local self-government in

India. He advocated the establishment

of a network of local self-governing
institutions, financial decentralisation,
adoption of election as a means of
constituting local bodies and the
reduction of the official elements to not
more than a third of the total
membership. In 1907, a Royal
Commission on Decentralisation was
established, which examined the
reasons behind the failure of the local
self-governing bodies. It was found
that the failure was due to strict official
control, excessive narrow franchise,
meagre resources, lack of education
and shortage of committed persons.
According to the Government of
India Act, 1919, the local self-government became a transferred subject
under the control of a responsible
minister. The Act increased the taxation
powers of local bodies, lowered the
franchise, reduced the nominated
members and extended the communal
electorate to a large number. As a
result, the overall responsibility for the
functioning of local bodies passed from
the hands of district officer to the elected
chairmen.
The working of urban local bodies
during 1921-37 was neither a complete
failure nor an unqualified success.
According to Simon Commission,
which reviewed the working of the

LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

Government of India Act, 1919 in every

province, a few local bodies have
discharged their responsibilities with
undoubted success others have been
equally conspicuous failures, the bulk
lies between these two extremes.
According to the Government of
India Act, 1935, dyarchy was done
away with and full provincial autonomy
was introduced. On 1st April 1937
popular ministries were formed and
local self-government got a new
impetus. But in 1939, popular
ministries resigned as a protest against
making India a party to the Second
World War without consulting them. As
a result, local self-government again got
a set back.
After the War was over and elections
for the Provincial Legislative Assemblies
took place in 1946, the newly
constituted ministries again took up the
cause of local self-governing bodies.
India got its independence in 1947 and
a new enthusiasm set in motion. As a
result, elections were held for various
local self-governing bodies. The Five
Year Plans also periodically highlighted
the problems of the municipal bodies
and the inabilities of these bodies to
meet the growing demands of
urbanization. The Central Government
has, from time to time, showed its
concern for the need to improve the
urban bodies by appointing several
commissions and committees. They
made useful recommendations on
streamlining urban development in
India.
The sum total effect of the
recommendations and suggestions

93

of these bodies resulted in the

enactment of the Constitution
(Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act,
1992. It made statutory provisions
for the establishment, empowerment
and functioning of urban local
self- governing institutions. The main
provisions of this Act can be grouped
under two categories compulsory
and voluntary. Some of the compulsory
provisions are: constitution of Nagar
Panchayats, Municipal Councils and
Municipal Corporations; reservation of
seats in urban local bodies for
Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in
proportion to their population;
reservation of seats for women up to
one-third seats; the State Election
Commission, constituted with reference
to conducting elections in the
Panchayati Raj bodies, should also
conduct elections to the urban local
self-governing bodies; the State
Finance Commission, constituted with
reference to financial affairs of the
Panchayati Raj bodies; should also
look into the financial affairs of the local
urban self-governing bodies; tenure of
urban local self-governing bodies fixed
at five years, if dissolved earlier, fresh
elections to be held within six months.
Voluntary provisions are giving
voting rights to members of the Union
and State Legislatures in these bodies;
providing reservation for Backward
Classes; giving financial powers in
relation to taxes, duties, tolls and fees
etc; making the municipal bodies
autonomous and devolution of powers
to these bodies to perform some or all
of the functions enumerated in the

94

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Twelfth Schedule added to the

Constitution through the Constitution
(Seventy- fourth Amendment Act) and/
or to prepare plans for economic
development.
Structure of Urban Bodies
The Constitution, as amended, provides
for the establishment of Nagar
Panchayats for transitional areas (that
is to say, an area in transition from a
rural area to an urban area), Municipal
Councils for smaller urban areas and
Municipal Corporations for larger
urban areas. However, no municipality
can be constituted in areas that come
under the jurisdiction of an industrial
establishment that provides or
proposes to provide municipal services
therein.
Composition of Municipal Bodies
All the seats in municipal bodies should
be filled by persons chosen by direct
election from the territorial
constituencies in the municipal area.
However, the Legislature of a State may,
by law, provide for the representation
in a municipal body of persons having
special knowledge or experience of
municipal administration, the
members of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha
and the members of Legislative Council
and Legislative Assembly of the State,
representing constituencies which
comprise wholly or partly the municipal
area and the chair persons of Wards
Committees.
There should be Wards Committees,
consisting of one or more Wards, within
the territorial area of a municipal body
having a population of three lakhs or

more. The Legislature of a State may,

by law, make provision with respect to
the composition and the territorial area
of a Wards Committee and the manner
in which the seats in a Wards Committee
should be filled. However, the
Legislature of a State can make
provision for the constitution of other
committees in addition to the Wards
Committees.
Seats should be reserved for the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes in every municipal body in
proportion to their population. Out of
these reserved seats (for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes) one-third
would be reserved for women belonging
to these communities.
Similarly, not less than one-third of
the total number of seats to be filled by
direct election in every municipal body
should be reserved for women
(including their reservation in the quota
of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes).
Similarly, the offices of chairpersons
in the municipal bodies should be
reserved for the Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and women in such
manner as the Legislature of a State
may, by law, provide. The Legislature
of a State may also make provision for
reservation of seats in municipal bodies
or offices of chairpersons, for other
Backward Classes.
A person who has attained the age
of 21 years will be eligible to be elected
as a member of a municipal body. The
superintendence, direction and control
of, the preparation of the electoral rolls
for, and the conduct of all elections to

95

LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

municipal bodies should be vested in

the State Election Commission, constituted with reference to holding elections
for Panchayati Raj institutions.
The tenure of every Municipal
body should be five years. They can,
however, be dissolved earlier after giving
them reasonable opportunity of being
heard. The election of the new
municipal body should be held before
the expiry of its tenure or within six
months of its dissolution, as the case
may be.
The Legislature of a State may
extend powers and authority of
municipal bodies, if necessary, to
enable them to function as institutions
of self-government. It may authorise a
municipal body to levy, collect and
appropriate such taxes, duties, tolls,
and fees as it thinks fit. It may also
assign a share in those taxes, duties,
tolls, and fees that are levied and
collected by the State Government itself.
It may also make provision for making
grants-in-aid to municipal bodies from
the Consolidated Fund of the State. It
may also provide for constitution of
such funds for crediting all money
received by the municipal bodies and
their withdrawal.
Finance Commission
The Finance Commission, consti-tuted
with reference to Panchayati Raj
institutions, should also review the
financial position of the municipal
bodies and make recommendations to
the Governor, as to: the principles which
should govern the distribution between
the State and the municipal bodies of
the net proceeds of the taxes, duties,

tolls and fees leviable by the State; the

determination of the taxes, duties, tolls
and fees which may be assigned to or
appropriated by the municipal bodies
and the grants-in-aid to the municipal
bodies from the Consolidated Fund of
the State; the measures needed to
improve the financial position of the
municipal bodies.
Committee for District Planning
Committees for District Planning
should be constituted in every State at
the district level to consolidate the plans
prepared by the Panchayats and the
Municipal bodies in the district and to
prepare a draft development plan for
the district as a whole. Planning
Committee should, in preparing the
draft development plan, have regard to
matters of common interest between
the Panchayats and Municipal bodies.
The chairperson of every District
Planning Committee should forward the
development plan to the government of
the State.
Committee for Metropolitan
Planning
An area having a population of ten
lakhs or more, comprised in one or
more districts and consisting of two or
more municipal bodies or Panchayats
may be declared by the Governor of the
State as a Metropolitan area. Every
Metropolitan Area should have a
Metropolitan Planning Committee to
prepare a draft development plan for
the Metropolitan area as a whole.
The Legislature of a State may, by
law, make provision with respect to:
composition of the Metropolitan

96

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Committees and the manner in which

seats in such Committees should be
filled; the representation in such
Committees of the Union and State
Governments; the manner in which the
chairpersons of such Committees
should be chosen. However, not less
than two-thirds of the members of such
Committees should be elected by, and
from amongst, the elected members of
the municipal bodies and the
chairpersons of the Panchayats in the
Metropolitan Area in proportion to the
ratio between population of the
municipal bodies and of the
Panchayats in that Area.
Every Metropolitan Planning
Committee should, in preparing the
draft development plan, have regard to
the plans prepared by the municipal
bodies and the Panchayats in the
Metropolitan Area and also to the
matters of common interest between
the municipal bodies and the
Panchayats. The chairperson of every
Metropolitan Planning Committee
should forward the development plan
to the Government of the State.
Functioning of Urban Local
Government
Though the Constitution (Seventyfourth Amendment) Act, 1992, has
removed some of the major hurdles in
the proper functioning of the local selfgoverning bodies, it is sad that the
concept of grass-root democracy at
both, rural and urban, levels has not
flourished in the country. The
politicisation of administration, the
entry of criminal elements in the elected
bodies; rampant corruption; caste

and group division, priority to self

aggrandisement over public welfare
and electoral malpractices have marred
and vitiated the whole atmosphere.

Rural Local Government

Institutions
The Constitution of India initially
provided only for two levels of the
Government: Central and State. One of
the Directive Principles of State Policy
states that the State, shall take steps
to organise Village Panchayats and
endow them with such powers and
authority as may be necessary
to enable them to function as units of
self-government. There was no
provision regarding the composition,
powers and functions of the local
self-governing institutions. It was
through two constitutional amendments viz. Constitution (Seventy-third
Amendment) Act, 1992, and the
Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992, that provisions were
made in the Constitution relating to the
establishment of rural local selfgoverning institutions and urban local
self-governing institutions respectively.
Thus, the Constitution now clearly
provides for a third level of Government
viz. local self-government.
In ancient times every Indian village
had a Village Panchayat that used to
function as an autonomous body. They
were free from State interference.
According to Sir Charles Metcalf, the
village communities seem to last where

LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

nothing else lasts. Dynasties tumble

down, revolution succeeds revolution.
Hindu, Pathan, Mughal, Maratha, Sikh
and English, all are masters in turn but
the village communities remain the
same. However, during the early
British period the village panchayats
lost their vitality and significance. The
village disputes began to be brought
before the city courts for hearing and
decision. In the 19 th century some
attempts were made to organise them
in Bombay and Madras presidencies,
but the then, district authorities did not
encourage them. It was during Lord
Ripons time that the local selfgovernment got a new impetus.
However, the successors of Lord Ripon
threw cold water upon his scheme.
When Dyarchy was introduced in
Provinces in 1919 and local selfgovernment was made a transferred
subject, the Village Panchayat Acts
were passed in a number of Indian
Provinces and a new era of
establishment and functioning of
village panchayats began. But then,
due to paucity of funds, the village
panchayats could not come in their full
form. After the Government of India Act,
1935 came into force and full fledged
Provincial Autonomy was established,
the village panchayats again got a
new impetus. With the beginning of
the Second World War, responsible
governments resigned. As a result, the
village panchayats again got a setback.
After the war was over and elections for
the Provincial Legislative Assemblies
took place in 1946 and responsible
governments took charge a new era of
village panchayats started.

97

After India achieved independence in

1947, a number of provinces enacted
new Village Panchayat Acts that tried
to develop village panchayats as units
of self-government. The U.P. Village
Panchayat Act of 1947 was regarded
as a model Act by the Conference of the
Local Self-Government Ministers of the
States and other States were requested
to remodel their Acts on the U.P.
pattern. Meanwhile a scheme of
Community Development Programme
was started in 1952 and another
scheme of National Extension Service
came into force in 1953. Both these
schemes aimed at the socio-economic
upliftment of the villagers. However,
these schemes did not achieve expected
success. It was felt that the bureaucracy
could not evoke peoples participation.
As a result, the Government of India
appointed a Committee in 1957 under
the Chairmanship of Balwant Rai
Mehta to examine the working of the
Community Development Programme
and the National Extension Service and
to report on the creation of institutions
through which the participation of the
rural population could be elicited. The
Committee submitted its report to the
National Development Council on
November 24, 1957. The main recommendations of the Committee were
as follows a three-tier system of
Panchayati Raj be created; the
institutions envisaged were Zila
Parishad at the district level, Panchayat
Samiti at the block level and the Gram
Panchayat at the village level; there
should be a genuine transfer of power
to these institutions; adequate
resources should be made available to

98

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

them and all developmental schemes

should be channelled through these
institutions.
The recommendations of this
Committee, which are called by various
names such as Panchayati Raj Scheme,
Three-Tier System, Decentralisation
Scheme etc., were welcomed by the
Central as well as the State governments. Steps were taken by the various
State governments to enact laws to
implement them. Accordingly, most of
the States established three-tier
Panchayati Raj institutions but some
of them established only two-tier
institutions. In the beginning, these
institutions created a lot of enthusiasm
amongst the people but by mid-1960s,
they started losing appeal because of
the increasing tendency towards
centralisation, lack of resources,
corruption, inefficiency and repeated
postponement of elections of these
bodies. As a result, in 1977 the Janata
Government, with a view to exploring
the possibilities of reviving and
strengthening Panchayati Raj,
appointed a Committee under the
Chairmanship of Ashok Mehta. This
Committee submitted its report in
1978. Its main recommendations were
as follows creation of a two-tier
system of Panchayati Raj, with Zila
Parishad at the district level and, below
it, the MandaI Panchayat consisting of
a number of villages having a
population of 15, 000 to 20,000; Nyaya
Panchayat, presided over by a qualified
Judge, to be kept as a separate body;
open participation of political parties in
the elections to the Panchayati Raj

institutions; elections to these

institutions to be organised by the
Chief Electoral Officer of the State in
consultation with Chief Election
Commissioner; Zila Parishad to be
made responsible for planning at the
district level; reducing the dependence
of these institutions on State funds and
endowing them with powers of taxation
and development functions to be
transferred to Zila Parishad. Due to the
collapse of the Janata Government in
1980, the report of the Ashok Mehta
Committee could not be implemented.
In 1984 a Working Group on District
Planning was set up under the
Chairman of C. H. Hanumanth Rao.
This Group recommended that
separate district planning bodies
should be created under either a
Minister or the Collector. The Collector
should have a major role in the
decentralised planning. The Panchayati
Raj institutions should also be
associated with the process.
In 1992 the Constitution (Seventythird Amendment) Act was passed
which made statutory provisions for the
establishment, empowerment and
functioning of Panchayati Raj
institutions. The main provisions of the
Act can be grouped under two
categories: provisions relating to
compulsory functions and provisions
relating to optional functions.
Some of the compulsory functions
provided are: organisation of Gram
Sabhas; creation of a three-tier
Panchayati Raj Structure at the Zila,
Block and Village levels; almost all
posts, at all levels to be filled by direct

LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

elections; minimum age for contesting

elections to the Panchayati Raj
institutions to be twenty- one years; the
post of Chairman at the Zila and Block
levels should be filled by indirect
election; there should be reservation of
seats for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled
Tribes in Panchayats, in proportion to
their population and for women in
Panchayats up to one-third seats; State
Election Commission for each State to
conduct elections to Panchayati Raj
institutions; the tenure of Panchayati
Raj institution should be five years, if
dissolved earlier, fresh elections to be
held within six months; a State Finance
Commission should be set up in each
State every five years.
Some of the optional functions
provided are: giving voting rights to
members of the Central and State
legislatures in these bodies; providing
reservation for Backward Classes; the
Panchayati Raj institutions should
be given financial powers in relation
to taxes, levy fees etc. and efforts
shall be made to make Panchayats
autonomous bodies.
Structure of Rural Bodies
The Constitution, as amended, provides
for the establishment of Panchayats at
the village, intermediate and district
levels. However, Panchayats at the
intermediate level may not be
constituted in a State having a
population not exceeding twenty lakhs.
Composition of Panchayats: The
Legislature of a State may make
provision with respect to the
composition of Panchayats. All the

99

seats in a Panchayat should be filled

by persons chosen by direct election
from territorial constituencies in the
Panchayat area. Provisions have been
made for the representation of the
chairpersons of the village panchayats
to the block and district level
Panchayats. The members of the Rajya
Sabha, Lok Sabha and Legislative
Assembly representing that area will
also be members of the Block samiti
and Zila samiti. Seats should be
reserved for the Scheduled Castes
and the Scheduled Tribes in every
Panchayat in proportion to their
population. However, one-third of
these (reserved) seats should be
reserved for women belonging to
these communities. Similarly, not less
than one-third (including the number
of seats reserved for women belonging
to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes) of the total number of seats to
be filled by direct election in every
Panchayat should be reserved for
women. Minimum age for contesting
the elections for Panchayat has been
fixed at 21 years.
The tenure of every Panchayat
should be five years. They can, however,
be dissolved earlier. The election of the
new Panchayat should be held before
the expiry of its tenure or within six
months of its dissolution, as the case
may be.
The Legislature of a State may extend
the powers and authority of the
Panchayati Raj Institution.
A Panchayat can levy, collect and
appropriate taxes, duties, tolls, and fees
as it thinks fit. It may get a share in the

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

taxes, duties, tolls, and fees that are

levied and collected by the State
Government. The State also provides
grants-in-aid to Panchayat.
At the expiry of every fifth year, a
Finance Commission is constituted to
review the financial position of the
Panchayats and make recommendation to the Governor for their
improvement.
All elections of Panchayats are
conducted, supervised, directed and
controlled by the State Election
Commission. The State Election
Commissioner is appointed by the
Governor and cannot be removed from
his office except in the like manner and
on the like grounds as a judge of a
High Court.

Functioning of Rural Local

Government
After the introduction of Panchayati
Raj, particularly after the Constitution
(Seventy-third Amendment ) Act, 1992
came into force; there was a feeling that
the Local Self Governing institutions in
rural India would work smoothly. But
it is unfortunate that it still remains a
dream. Caste rivalry, group clashes,
electoral violence, participation of
criminals, lack of political will, misuse
of Panchaya t funds by the Sarpanch
and non-co-operative attitude of
bureaucracy are some of the factors
that have derailed the functioning of
Panchayati Raj institution.

Exercises
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Describe, in brief, the composition of municipal bodies in India.

What are the different sources of income of municipal bodies in India?
Do you agree with the view that grass-root democracy has not flourished in
urban India? What are the reasons for it?
What are the three tiers of the Panchayati Raj institutions?
Describe, in brief, the composition of Panchayats.
Describe, in brief, the machinery that conducts the elections of the Panchayati
Raj institutions.
How is the Finance Commission of the State constituted? What functions
does it perform regarding the Local Self Government?
Write short notes on:
(a) Committee for District Planning
(b) Metropolitan Planning
(c) Nagar Panchayats

Chapter

8
INDIAN ADMINISTRATION
ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS

Central Administration
Organisation and
Functions

he Constitution of India does not

make any provision for the
machinery of administering public
affairs. Article 77 (1) states that all
executive actions of the Government of
India shall be taken in the name of the
President. However, Article 77 (3) states
that the President shall make rules for
the transaction of the business of the
Government of India. The Ministries
and the Departments are collectively
known as the Secretariat. The
Secretariat can be divided into two
categories Central Secretariat and
the Cabinet Secretariat. While the
Central Secretariat caters to the needs
of the administration in general, the
Cabinet Secretariat deals with the
administration relating to the Cabinet
affairs only.
The number of Ministries and
Departments varies from time to time
depending on the volume and variety
of work priorities and political
expediency. A ministry may comprise
one or more allied Departments or may
not have any separate Department. The
ministry is headed by a Minister, who

is assisted by career bureaucrats such

as the Secretary, Additional Secretaries,
Joint Secretaries, Directors, Deputy
Secretaries, Under Secretaries and the
Section Officers. For purposes of
internal organisation, a ministry is
divided into segments with an officer in
charge of each of them to expedite
matters.
The lowest segment is a Section,
which is in charge of a Section Officer
and consists of a number of assistants,
clerks, daftaries, typists and peons. It
deals with the work relating to the
subjects allotted to it. It is also referred
to as the Office. Two Sections constitute
a Branch, which is under the charge of
an Under Secretary, who is also known
as the Branch Officer. Two Branches
ordinarily form a Division, which
is normally headed by a Deputy
Secretary. When the volume of work in
a ministry exceeds the manageable size,
one or more Wings are established, with
a Joint Secretary in charge of each
wing.
The functions and the role of all these
above-mentioned officers are as follows.

Secretary
A Secretary is the administrative head
of a ministry or a department; as the
case may be. He is the principal advisor
to the Minister on all the matters of

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

policy and administration and

is responsible for its efficient
administration. He represents his
Ministry/Department before the Public
Accounts Committee of Parliament. He
receives weekly report from the
Department. Recently, a new trend has
developed in the administrative
structure. In some ministries a post has
been created by the name of Special
Secretary to look after some specific
work.

Additional Secretary
Originally, the officer next in hierarchy
to the Secretary was the Deputy
Secretary, but then, due to either
pressure of work on the Secretary or to
reward some senior Joint Secretaries,
by raising both their salary and rank,
the post of Additional Secretary was
created.

Joint Secretary
This post was created for three reasons:
increase in the functions of some
departments making it difficult for one
Secretary to cope with the increased
work, difficulty in combining separate
items of business under one Secretary
and the emergence of two Houses of
Central Legislature which necessitated
the presence of senior officers in both
the Houses to assist the members in the
legislative work.

Deputy Secretary
A Deputy Secretary is an officer who
acts on behalf of the Secretary and
holds charge of a Division. He
ordinarily disposes off the majority of
cases coming to him.

Under Secretary
An Under Secretary is in charge of a
Branch and exercises control both in
regard to the dispatch of business and
the maintenance of discipline.

Section Officers
Superintendents, who are in charge of
Sections, are called Section Officers.
Their supervisory duties comprise
distribution of work among their staff;
training, helping and advising the staff;
coordination of work in the section;
ensuring prompt and efficient disposal
of work in the section and adoption of
proper methods to deal with the cases;
timely submission of arrear statements
and other periodical returns etc.
In addition to the Section Officer,
each section consists of Assistants,
Upper Division Clerks, Lower Division
Clerks and Typists. They are entrusted
the work of a routine nature and
submit the relevant papers to the
Section Officer referring to the pages of
the file.
The bulk of the posts are filled by the
officers of the Indian Administrative
Service, Class I Central Services and the
Selection grade of the Central
Secretariat Service. The Union
Government, thus, depends, to a large
extent, on officers taken on deputation
for a fixed period. However, there are
some exceptions. For instance, all the
Secretariat posts in the Ministry of
External Affairs are held by officers
belonging to the Indian Foreign Service.
Similarly, the officers in the Ministry of
Railways and Central Legal Service are
held by those who belong to the Railway
Service and Central Legal Service
respectively.

INDIAN ADMINISTRATION ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS

Functions of Central Secretariat

The main functions of the Central
Secretariat are to assist the Minister
in the process of policy making; assist
in the framing of legislation, rules and
regulations; exercise supervision and
control over the executive departments
or semi-autonomous field agencies,
regarding the execution of policies and
programmes; help the Minister in the
discharge of his parliamentary
responsibilities and help in preparing
the Budget and controlling the
expenditure to be incurred by the
Ministry/Department.

Cabinet Secretariat
The origin of the Cabinet Secretariat can
be traced back from the time of the
British period. When the work of the
Government of India expanded, the
Governor-General distributed the work
of different departments among the
various members of the Executive
Council and retained only some
important functions with himself. He
was assisted by a Private Secretary in
these functions. In the beginning, the
Private Secretary did not accompany
the Governor-General to the Executive
Council, but during the regime of Lord
Wellington, the Private Secretary, for the
first time, was asked to accompany the
Governor- General to the meetings of
the Executive Council. Later on, in
1935, the Private Secretary was
designated as the Secretary to the
Executive Council. He performed twofold functions, Private Secretary to the
Governor-General as well as Secretary
to the Executive Council. A little later

103

the two functions were separated and

were assigned to two different persons
holding two different posts. Thus, the
post of the Secretary of the Executive
Council came into being. This post,
later on, when India became independent, began to be called the
Cabinet Secretary. The office attached
to the Cabinet Secretary began to be
called Cabinet Secretariat.
The efficiency of the Cabinet depends,
to a large extent, on the Cabinet
Secretariat whose functions are to
prepare the agenda of the Cabinet
meeting, to provide information and
material necessary for its deliberations
and to draft records of the discussions
and decisions, both of the Cabinet and
its committees. It keeps the President,
the Vice-President and all the Ministries
informed of the major activities of the
Government. It has three wings viz. the
civil wing, the military wing and the
intelligence wing. The civil wing
provides secretarial machinery for the
Cabinet and the various Committees of
the Cabinet. The military wing is
responsible for all secretarial work
connected with meetings of the Defence
Committee, National Defence Council,
Military Affairs Committee and a
number of other Committees concerned
with defence matters. The intelligence
wing concerns itself with matters
relating to the Joint Intelligence
Committee of the Cabinet.
The head of the Cabinet Secretariat
is the Cabinet Secretary. The Cabinet
Secretary is usually the senior most
civil servant of the country and the
official precedence gives him the first
place among the civil servants.

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

The role of the Cabinet Secretary has

been very well brought out by S. S.
Khera, who states that the Cabinet
Secretary provides the eyes and ears for
the Prime Minister to keep in touch with
the process of official business in the
Central Government.

Public Undertakings
A significant feature of administration
in independent India is the increasing
Government intervention in the
economic field. Such intervention has
assumed three principal forms
introduction of planned economy,
manipulation of public finance and
administration of public undertakings.
Governmental intervention of a positive
kind in the ownership, operation and
regulation of public enterprises and
public utility services has today become
all comprehensive and varied. There
are three principal forms in which
our public enterprises have been
organised: Departmental Under takings, Government Companies and
Statutory Public Corporation.

Public Corporations
A public corporation is a legal entity
created by the Government, but
exterior to the Government organisation, hence financially independent
for the purposes of carrying on the
specified activity in the manner
prescribed in the law creating it. It is a
combination of public ownership,
public accountability and business
management for public ends. Some of
the important public corporation s are
Damodar Valley Corporation, Indian

Airlines Corporation, Air India,

Life Insurance Corporation, Food
Corporation of India, Industrial
Finance Corporation.
Public Corporations are owned by
the State and created by a special law
defining its objects, powers, duties and
privileges and prescribing the form of
management and its relationship with
government departments. They are
usually independently financed. They
obtain funds by borrowing either from
the government or, in some cases, from
the public and through revenues
derived from the sale of goods and
services. The employees of public
corporations are not government
servants. However, they may be taken
from government departments on
deputation.

Constitutional Statutory
Authorities
In the administration of public affairs,
along with the Ministries and
Departments, extensive use has been
made of Statutory Authorities at
various levels of Government. In order
that the executive functions of the
Government could be carried out
without any fear or pressure, the
constitution makers have provided
for setting up of the following
Constitutional Statutory Authorities to
deal with certain specified duties.
Union Public Service Commission
The Constitution makes it obligatory for
the central government to constitute a
Public Service Commission to assist it
in the recruitment, promotion and

INDIAN ADMINISTRATION ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS

maintenance of discipline amongst the

Central and All India Services. The
exact strength of the Commission is not
specified in the Constitution. The
President is empowered to determine
the strength.
The President appoints the Chairman
and other members of the Commission
on the advice of the Central Ministry.
The Constitution provides that, as
nearly as may be, one-half of the
members must be persons who have
held office for at least ten years under
the Government of India.
A member of the Union Public Service
Commission holds office for a period of
six years from the date he assumes his
office or until he attains the age of sixtyfive years, whichever is earlier. A
member of the Commission may
address his resignation letter to the
President.
The Chairman or any other member
of the Commission can be removed
from his office by the order of the
President only on the ground of
misbehaviour after the Supreme Court,
on reference being made to it by the
President, has, on inquiry held in
accordance with the procedure laid
down, reported that the Chairman or
the member, as the case may deserve,
to be removed.
The President may remove the
Chairman or any other member, as the
case may be, if he is adjudged insolvent
or is engaged in any paid employment
out-side the duties of his office or is, in
the opinion of the President, unfit to
continue in office by reason of infirmity
of mind or body.

105

Functions of the Commission: It

shall be the duty of the Commission
to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union
Government. The Commission shall be
consulted on all matters relating to
methods of recruitment to civil services
and for civil posts and on the principles
to be followed in making appointments
to civil services and posts and in
making promotions and transfers from
one service to another and on the
suitability of candidates for such
appointments, promotions or transfers.
The Commission is also consulted on
any claims for the award of a pension
in respect of injuries sustained by a
person while serving under the
Government of India or the Government
of a State, in a civil capacity and any
question as to the amount of any such
awards as well as on all disciplinary
matters affecting the persons serving
under the Government of India or the
Government of a State.
It shall be the duty of the
Commission to present annually to the
President a report as to the work done
by the Commission and the President
shall cause it to lay before each House
of the Parliament.
Election Commission
In order to hold the elections freely and
fairly; the Constitution provides for an
Election Commission that consists of
the Chief Election Commissioner and
such number of other Commissioners,
as the President may from time to time
fix. They are appointed by the President.
If other Commissioners are appointed

106

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

as members of the Election

Commission, the Chief Election
Commissioner acts as the Chairman.
The President may also appoint, after
consultation with the Election
Commission, such Regional Commissioners, as he may consider
necessary, to assist the Election
Commission in the performance of its
functions.
The Chief Election Commissioner
cannot be removed from his office
except in the like manner and on the
like grounds as a judge of the Supreme
Court. The conditions of service of the
Chief Election Commissioner cannot
be changed to his disadvantage after
his appointment. Any other Election
Commissioner or a Regional Commissioner cannot be removed from
office except on the recommendation of
the Chief Election Commissioner.
Functions of the Commission: The
powers and functions of the
Commission are determined not only
by the Constitution but also by the Acts
of Parliament. The main powers and
functions of the Commission are to
superintend, direct and control the
preparation of electoral rolls; conduct
elections/by-elections for Parliament,
State Legislative Assemblies and the
offices of the President and Vice
President; receive election petitions
challenging the validity of elections and
appoint tribunals to enquire into them;
examine the returns of election
expenses filed by the candidates;
entertain and decide the applications
for removal of disqualifications; give
recognition to political parties about
their status, as to whether they are

national parties or regional parties

and allot/withdraw symbols to/from
political parties.
Finance Commission
The Constitution provides for a Finance
Commission consisting of a Chairman
and four other members. The President
of India appoints all of them. The
Chairman is a person having experience
of public affairs and the four other
members are selected from among the
persons who are qualified to be
appointed as judges of a High Court,
have special knowledge of the finances
and accounts of the governments, have
had wide experience in financial
matters and in administration and have
special knowledge of economics.
Every member of the Commission
holds office for such a period as is
specified in the order of the President
appointing him and is eligible for reappointment. The members of the
Commission render whole-time or parttime service to the Commission, as the
President in each case specifies. The
Commission has the power to require
any person to furnish information on
such points or matters as in the opinion
of the Commission may be useful.
Functions of the Commission: It is
the duty of the Commission to
recommend to the President as to the
distribution and allocation of the net
proceeds of taxes; the principles which
should govern the grants-in-aid of the
revenues of the States out of the
Consolidated Fund of India and any
other matter referred to the Commission
by the President in the interests of
sound finances.

INDIAN ADMINISTRATION ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS

The President causes to lay before

each House of Parliament the
recommendations made by the Finance
Commission and on the action taken
by it.

The Attorney General of India

The President appoints a person who
is qualified to be appointed a judge of
the Supreme Court, as the Attorney
General of India. It is the duty of the
Attorney General to give advice to the
Government of India upon such legal
matters and to perform such other
duties of a legal character, as may from
time to time be referred or assigned to
him by the President. He also
discharges the functions conferred
upon him by or under the Constitution.
In the performance of his duties the
Attorney General has a right of
audience in all courts in the territory of
India. He also has a right to speak in
and otherwise to take part in the
proceedings of, either House, any Joint
sitting of the Houses and any
Committee of Parliament, but he shall
not be entitled to vote.

Comptroller and
General of India

Auditor

The Constitution of India provides for

the appointment of a Comptroller and
Auditor General of India by the
President. He can be removed from office
in the like manner and on the like
grounds as a judge of the Supreme
Court. Before entering upon his office
he has to take an oath in a prescribed
form. He is not eligible for further office
either under the Government of India

107

or under the Government of any State

after his retirement.
The administrative expenses of the
office of the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India, including salaries,
allowances and pensions payable to or
in respect of persons serving in that
office, are charged upon the
Consolidated Fund of India.
The Comptroller and Auditor
General of India performs such duties
and exercises such powers in relation
to the accounts of Union and of the
States or any other authority as may
be prescribed by the Parliament.
The accounts of the Union and of the
States are kept in such forms as the
President prescribes on the advice of
the Comptroller and Auditor General of
India.
The reports of the Comptroller and
Auditor General of India relating to the
accounts of the Union are submitted to
the President, who causes to lay them
before each House of Parliament.
In addition to these constitutional or
statutory authorities, the Constitution
provides for some other authorities
such as the Commission and
Committees of Parliament on Official
Language, National Commission for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes and Other Backward Classes,
Commission on Minorities etc. These
have been provided to deal with various
issues that face our political systems.
These statutory bodies hold regular
meetings and contribute in solving the
various problems. They present their
respective reports to the President of
India on the action taken by them that

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

in turn are placed by the President

before each House of the Parliament.

State Administration
Organisation and
Functions
For the sake of administrative
convenience, the administrative
structure of the government of a State
is divided into several departments. The
departments, however, are of two
categories: Secretariat Departments
and Executive Departments. A
Secretariat Department is ordinarily
headed by a Secretary who is a
generalist, while an Executive
Department is ordinarily headed by a
Director who is a specialist.
The Secretariat Department assists
the minister in the process of policy
making; in the framing of legislation,
rules and regulations and supervising
and controlling the executive
department. It helps the minister in the
discharge of his responsibilities as well
as in preparing the Budget.
Officers of
Departments

the

Secretariat

The Secretariat Department is a

hierarchy of a number of officers with
the Secretary at the apex of the pyramid
structured on a wide base of clerical
personnel. The hierarchy consists of the
Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, Under
Secretary and Assistant Secretary.
There are also Special Secretary,

Additional Secretary and Joint

Secretary in some Departments of the
Secretariat. The functions performed by
these officers are, more or less, the same
as that of the Central Secretariat that
we have discussed earlier.
Besides the above administrative
officers, the States have one more officer
viz. Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary
is the administrative head of the State
administration. He is, in many ways,
the counter part, at the State level, of
the Cabinet Secretary in the Union
Government. He is appointed by the
Chief Minister of the State from
amongst the senior Secretaries. Three
factors viz. seniority, service-record and
confidence of the Chief Minister, are the
main considerations while selecting
him. Out of these three factors,
ultimately the confidence of the Chief
Minister dominates in the final choice
of the Chief Secretary.
There is no fixed tenure for the post
of Chief Secretary. It depends upon his
administrative tact, experience, rapport
with the Chief Minister and, to a large
extent, on his capacity to take an
objective stand on sensitive matters.
Such civil servants who are able to
maintain dignity, neutrality and a
degree of anonymity are able to work
with Chief Ministers of any political
party or group.
Role and Functions of the Chief
Secretary: The Chief Secretary
controls and supervises the Cabinet
Secretariat Department. His main
functions are:
(i) He is an ex-officio Secretary of the
Cabinet and so he attends all the

INDIAN ADMINISTRATION ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(v)
(vi)

(vii)

Cabinet meetings as well as the

meetings of its sub-committees. He
arranges for the recording of the
decisions taken in the Cabinet
meetings and forwards a copy of
the same to the Governor, the Chief
Minister and other members of the
Council of Ministers.
He acts as the main source of
information and advice to the Chief
Minister.
He supervises the follow-up action
for the implementation of the
decisions taken at the Cabinet
meeting.
Contrary to the practice prevalent
at the Centre, the Chief Secretary
of the State is generally the
administrative head of a few
departments. The most important
departments that he generally
heads are general administration,
personnel
administration,
administrative reforms and
planning.
He deals with matters relating to
inter-state disputes.
He coordinates the activities of all
the departments and agencies of
the State government. He resolves
conflicts, mitigates over-lapping
work among various government
departments and ensures
cooperation and team-work
among his colleagues.
He is a major channel of
communication between the
Centre and the State government.

109

Executive Departments/Directorates
The policies that are decided upon by
the ministry, in consultation with the
Secretaries, are executed by the
Executive Departments headed by
a Director/Director -General. The
Director may be a technical person or
a civil servant. But the general practice
in most of the States is to keep a
technical person as the head of an
Executive Department.
It is to be noted that some of the
departments like P. W. D., Forests, and
Police do not have directors as such.
They have technical persons or
specialists as the heads of the
departments. For instance, the Public
Works Department is headed by a Chief
Engineer, Forest Department by the
Chief Conservator of Forests, and the
Police Department by the Director
General of Police.
The State Services
The State Services consist of such
services as the State Government may,
from time to time, declare by
notification in the official, Gazette to be
included in that category. The number
of such services varies from State to
State. A State has, generally speaking
State Civil Service, Medical Service,
Police Service, Judicial Service, Public
Health Service, Forest Service,
Education Service, Veterinary Service,
Cooperative Service, Engineering
Service, Accounts Service etc. Generally
the State services are divided into four

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INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

categories viz. Class I, Class II, Class

III and Class IV services. Class I and
Class II belong to the officers class.
Class III is related to ministerial staff
and Class IV comprises unskilled staff.
State Public Service Commission
The Constitution makes it obligatory for
the State Government to constitute a
Public Service Commission to assist it
in the recruitment, promotion and
maintenance of discipline amongst the
State Services. The exact strength of the
Commission is not specified in the
Constitution. The Governor of the State
is empowered to determine the
strength. However, the Constitution
permits for constituting a Joint State
Public Service Commission for two or
more States. If a resolution to this
effect is passed by the Legislature;
Parliament may, by law, provide for
constituting such a Joint State Public
Service Commission. In such a case the
strength or a Joint State Public Service
Commission is determined by the
President of India.
The Governor appoints the Chairman
and other members of the State Public
Service Commission, while the
Chairman and other members of a Joint
State Commission are appointed by the
President of India. The Constitution
provides that, as nearly as may be, onehalf of the members must be persons
who have held office for at least ten years
either under the Government of India
or under the Government of a State. If
the office of the Chairman of the
Commission falls vacant for any reason,
the President, in case of Joint State

Public Service Commission and the

Governor in case of a State Public
Service Commission, appoints a person
from amongst the members to take
charge until a new Chairman is
appointed.
A member of the Joint State Public
Service Commission/State Public
Service Commission holds office for a
period of six years from the date he
assumes his office or until he attains
the age of sixty-two years, whichever is
earlier. A member of the Commission
may resign by addressing a letter to the
President in case of Joint State Public
Service Commission or to the Governor
of the State in case of State Public
Service Commission.
The Chairman or any other member
of the Commission can be removed
from his office by the order of President
only on the ground of misbehaviour.
The President may also, by order,
remove from office the Chairman or any
other member, as the case may be, if he
is adjudged insolvent or engages
during his term of office in any paid
employment outside the duties of his
office or is, in the opinion of the
President, unfit to continue in office by
reason of infirmity of mind or body.
On ceasing to hold office, the
Chairman of a State Public Service
Commission, shall be eligible for
appointment as the Chairman or a
member of the Union Public Service
Commission or as the Chairman of any
other State Public Service Commission. He cannot take up any other
employment either under the
Government of India or under the
Government of a State.

INDIAN ADMINISTRATION ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS

Functions of the Commission: It

shall be the duty of the Commission to
conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the State
Government. The Commission shall be
consulted on all matters relating to the
methods of recruitment to civil services
and for civil posts and the principles to
be followed in making appointments to
civil services and posts and in making
promotions and transfers from one
service to another and on the suitability
of candidates for such appointments,
promotions or transfers. The
Commission is also consulted on all
disciplinary matters affecting a person
serving under the Government of India
or the Government of a State, in civil
capacity including memorials or
petitions relating to such matters and
on any claim for the award of a pension
in respect of injuries sustained by a
person while serving under the
Government of India or the Government
of a State, in a civil capacity, and any
question as to the amount of any such
awards.
It shall be the duty of the State Public
Service Commission to present annually
to the Governor a report as to the work
done by the Commission. The Governor
shall cause it to lay its copy together with
a memorandum explaining as respects
the cases, if any, where the advice of the
Commission was not accepted, the
reasons for such non-acceptance, before
the Legislature of the State.
Advocate-General
The Constitution provides for the office
of an Advocate-General. He is
appointed by the Governor on the

111

advice of the State Ministry. He holds

office during the pleasure of the
Governor, but, in actual practice, he
holds office during the tenure of the
ministry appointing him. The only
qualification laid down is that he should
be qualified to be a judge of a High
Court.
Though he is not a member of the
State Legislature, he is empowered to
attend its meetings when called upon
to explain certain legal technicalities. He
has the right to speak and take part in
the proceedings of the legislature but
he cannot vote.
Hse performs all such functions as
are enjoined on him by law. He is the
highest legal adviser to the State
Government and appears on its behalf
in almost all courts. He is also the
public prosecutor in all case coming up
before the High Court in exercise of its
original criminal jurisdiction. He
examines all the Bills drafted by
different departments.
State Finance Commission
The Constitution (Seventy-third
Amendment) Act of 1992 and the
Consti-tution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act of 1992 have added Part IX
and Part X respectively, to the
Constitution of India regarding the
constitution and empowerment of
Panchayats and Municipalities
respectively. These amendments have
provided for constituting and
empowering Finance Commission in
each of the States of India.
The Governor of a State shall
constitute a Finance Commission for
the Statse every five years The

112

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Legislature of the State may (by law)

provide for the composition of the
Commission, the qualifications that
shall be requisite for the appointment
of its members, and the manner in
which they shall be selected. The
Commission is empowered to review the
financial position of the Panchayats and
the Municipalities and to make
recommendations to the Governor as
to (i) the principles which should
govern the determination, the
distribution and allocation between
the State and Panchayats as well as the
State and the Municipalities of the net
proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and
fees 1eviable by the State; besides the
decision about the grants-in-aid to the
Panchayats/Municipalities from the
consolidated fund of the State, (ii) the
measures needed to improve the
financial position of the Panchayats /
Municipalities, and (iii) any other
matter referred to the Commission by
the Governor in the interests of the
Panchayats/Municipalities.
The Governor shall cause it to lay
every recommendation made by the
commission together with an
explanatory memorandum as to the
action taken on it before the Legislature
of the State.
To sum up, we can say that the real
administration of the state is carried on
by the Secretariat and the Executive
Departments. The policies of the
Government are framed by the
ministers on the advice of the
Secretariat and the Executive
Departments implement them.

District Administration
in India
District Administration, as a unit of
governance goes back to ancient times.
We come across a reference of District
Administration in the works of Manu.
According to Manu, a thousand
villages formed a district that was
under the charge of a separate official
known as Sthanika. During the times
of Mauryas and the Guptas there was
a well-knit administrative machinery at
the district level. The Mughal rulers
also had a distinct organisation for
administration at the district level. The
East India Company also followed the
Mughal pattern with minor changes.
When the Company acquired the
diwani rights from the Mughal
emperors, it appointed its own officers
to collect revenue. Warren Hastings
created the post of the Collector in 1772
for the dual purpose of collecting
revenues and dispensing justice. Later
on, this post acquired more and more
powers and the District Collector
became the eye and ear of the British
Administration in India. After India
achieved independence in 1947 and
Central and State Governments
launched development programmes,
the powers and functions of the District
Collector increased immensely.
It is at the level of the district that
the policies of government are
translated into practice and the
problems of local people are studied
and communicated to the State
Government. It may be truly said that

INDIAN ADMINISTRATION ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS

the district is the unit of administration

with which almost every citizen comes
into contact. Most departments of State
Governments; outside the secretariat,
have field offices in the district. In certain
cases even the Union Government has
its field offices located at this level. The
sum total of the activities of these
departments together constitutes the
administrative machinery of the
district. The many and varied tasks of
the District Administration can be
summarised as follows:
(i) The regulatory funtctions include
the maintenance of law and
order; control of crime; land
administration which includes the
assessment and collection of land
revenue and other public dues;
control,
regulation
and
distribution of food and civil
supplies.
(ii) The District Administration
performs certain developmental
functions that include agricultural
production, co-operation, animal
husbandry, fisheries and welfare
activities like public health,
education and social welfare.
(iii) The District Administration
organises the holding of elections
to Parliament, State Legislature
and local bodies (rural and urban).
(iv) It also deals with providing
emergency services, natural
calamities like floods, droughts
etc.
(v) The Collector, in his capacity as the
Chief representative of the
Government, performs a number
of functions such as issue of arm

113

licences, their renewal, suspension

and cancellation; small savings
campaigns; publicity and public
relations; protocol duties etc.
A survey of the history of Indian
Administration shows that in the early
stages of evolution a single authority
viz. District Collector was in charge of
all these functions of Government at the
district level. In course of time, local selfgoverning institutions and the technical
departments were set up. As a result;
the unity of command was replaced by
the multiplicity of commands. The
district has, thus, become a sort of subcapital where district headquarters of
the various departments are located.
These departments are headed by
district level officers having different
nomenclatures. This has resulted in a
change of role of the District Collector.
Role of the Collector in the District
Administration
The Collector, as the head of the District
Administration, occupies a unique
position in the Indian administrative
system. During the pre-Independence
era he belonged to the Indian
Civil Service. After Independence, he is
recruited through the Indian
Administrative Service. Sometimes he
gets this position through promotions
from the State Civil Service. He is
required to perform multifarious
functions. They can be summarised as
follows:
(i) As a Collector: The District
Collector is the head of the revenue
department of the District. He is
responsible for the collection and

114

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

recovery of the land revenues and other

cesses and dues of the government. All
the officers of the revenue department
of the district such as Revenue
Assistants, Tehsildars, Naib Tehsildars,
Kanungos, Lambardars and Patwaris
work under his direction, supervision
and
control.
He
distributes
taccavi loans and recovers them. He
assesses losses to crops and makes
recommendations for relief during
floods and droughts. He is in-charge of
the management of Government
estates.
(ii) As a District Magistrate:
Previous1y he used to exercise powers
of a First Class Magistrate, but now,
after separation of judiciary from the
executive, his position has changed.
The District Magistrate no longer
exercises the judicial functions that are
now performed by the Additional
District Magistrate or Judicial Officer.
The District Magistrate only exercises
general supervision over the criminal
administration of his district. He is
responsible for the maintenance of law
and order. He is assisted by the
superintendent of Police in this matter.
The District Magistrate also controls the
jails of his district and inspects them
from time to time. He is responsible for
the proper administration of criminal
Jaws in his district. He grants licences
of arms, explosives and petroleum etc.
(iii) As District Administrative
Officer: As a District Administrative
Officer the Collector, is the principal
agent of the State Government. He looks
after the general interest of Government

in the district. He coordinates all the

activities of other government offices at
the district level. He looks after the
postings, transfers and leave of NiabTehsildars, Tehsildars and other
gazetted officers working under him. He
submits annual budget estimates to
State Government. He is incharge of the
treasury. He is the Chief Protocol Officer
of the district. He compiles and submits
the annual administrative reports of the
district to the State Government. He sees
to it that the public grievances against
the administration in the district are
properly and effectively dealt with.
(iv) As a District Development
Officer: Before independence, the
District Collector had not to do any
development work but with the dawn
of independence it has become one of
the important functions of the
District Collector. The Community
Development Plans and the Five Year
Plans have increased his duties in this
field. After the introduction of
Panchayati Raj, the developmental
functions are assigned to the peoples
representatives. But the District
Collector is an important member of
Zila Parishad, which has been assigned
powers and finances relating to District
Development Plans.
District Planning
The District Collector is the chief
coordinator who gets the district plans
prepared. Some States have set up
District Planning and Development
Councils/Boards headed by the
District Collector or a Minister from the

INDIAN ADMINISTRATION ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS

district. These Councils/Boards are

empowered to formulate plans in some
States, while in other States these are
only advisory in nature.
Although District Planning Boards/
Councils have been set up in some
States, planning at the district level
continues to be a unit within the
framework of State Planning. The
machinery of planning at the district
level continues to remain weak. The

115

grass-root planning has not yet

acquired any significance.
To sum up, we can say that there
has occurred a radical change in the
fundamental aims of the district
administration. It is being re-modelled
in all the States to enable it to carry out
the new responsibilities. As a practical
unit of field administration, it has stood
the test of time and, we hope, it will
retain this position in future also.

Exercises
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

What are the functions of the Central Secretariat?

What functions does the Cabinet Secretariat perform?
Name three Constitutional Statutory authorities.
How is a member of the Union Public Service Commission appointed? List any
two qualifications.
Explain the role and functions of the Chief Secretary of a State.
Describe the composition and functions of the State Public Service
Commission.
What functions does the District Administration perform?
Discuss the role of District Officer as a Collector.
The district headquarter is like a sub-capital of the State. Discuss.
Write short notes on:
(a) Election Commission of India
(b) Comptroller and Auditor General of India
(c) Attorney General of India
(d) The Finance Commission of a State
(e) Advocate General.

DIFFICULT TERMS
Adjournment Motion: A motion that
proposes to adjourn the regular
business of the house of a legislature
as fixed in its agenda and instead gives
priority to some other matter, which,
the mover of the motion feels, needs
immediate attention.
Affirmative Action: Positive steps
taken to improve the conditions of the
down trodden people such as
reservation of seats in the legislatures
and / or reservation in jobs.
Appropriation Bill: A bill that
provides for setting aside the money
(out of the Consolidated Food) needed
to meet the requirements of various
departments of the government that
have already been approved by the
lower house of the Legislature/
Parliament in the form of demands for
grants.
Axis Powers: An alliance of powers
under the leadership of Germany that
fought Great Britain and its allies
during the First World War.
Backward Classes: The Constitution
makes special provisions for promoting
the interests of Backward Classes. A
Commission appointed by the
President/Governor decides as to who
constitute Backward Classes.
Certiorari: This is a writ that is issued
to inferior courts, tribunals or

authority to transmit to it the record of

proceedings pending with them for
scrutiny and, if necessary, for quashing
the same.
Colonialism: A body of people living
in a new territory but retaining ties with
the parent state are called a colony. A
power that controls a dependent
country or people is called a colonial
power. A policy based on such control
is called colonialism.
Communal/Macdonald Award: In the
Second Round Table Conference, in
London, when there was no agreement
amongst the participants on the issue
of representation of the Scheduled
Castes in legislatures the matter was
left to be decided by Macdonald, the
Prime Minister of England, whose
decision came in the form of an award
known as Communal/Macdonald
Award.
Commutation:
Reducing
a
punishment to one of a different kind
than originally awarded, e.g. a death
sentence is changed into life
imprisonment.
Composite Culture: A culture that
combines the characteristics of two or
more cultures.
Concurrent List: A list of subjects
wherein both, the Parliament and the
State Legislatures, have a right to
legislate.

DIFFICULT TERMS

Consolidated Fund : All the revenues

received by the government, all moneys
raised by loans and moneys received
in repayment of loans are put together
in a common fund called Consolidated
Fund.
Court of Records: When the acts and
proceedings of a court are enrolled for
perpetual memory and testimony and
the court enjoys the authority to impose
a fine and put a person in prison for
contempt of itself as well as of
subordinate courts, then it is called a
Court of Record.
Decentralised Unitary form of
government: When legally the power
belongs to the central government but
for administrative convenience it
decentralises its authority by creating
provincial governments whom it grants
powers in certain subjects but which it
can withdraw at any time it likes, then
it is called a decentralised unitary form
of government. For instance, the
Montague Chelmsford Reforms of 1919
provided for such a form of Government
in India.
Detention: Keeping a person under
arrest.
Discretionary Powers: Those powers
that can be exercised by an officer
according to his own judgment of the
particular case rather than by fixed
rules decided beforehand.
Dominion: A self governing nation of
the (British) commonwealth, other than
the U.K. that acknowledges the British
monarch as the Chief of State.
Electoral College: A body comprising
the electors.

117

Estimates Committees: A Committee

of Parliament/State Legislature that
examines the financial estimates and
suggests alternative policies to the
government so that efficiency and
economy may be imparted to
government administration.
Ex-officio: Where a person occupies an
office by virtue of holding another office,
for instance, the Vice President of India
is ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
This means he shall be the Chairman
till he remains the Vice President of
India.
Flexible/Rigid Constitution: A
Constitution that can be amended by
a simple majority and through an
ordinary procedure is called a flexible
constitution. A Constitution that
requires special majority and a special
procedure for its amendment is called
a rigid constitution.
Habeas Corpus: This is a writ that is
in the form of an order by the court
calling upon the person/authority by
which a person is alleged to be kept,
without legal justification, in
confinement, to bring such a person
before the court and to let the court
know on what ground the person is
confined. If there is no legal justification
for the detention, the person is ordered
to be released.
Indian National Army: An Army that
was raised in Japan by Ras Behari
Ghosh and led by Subhash Chandra
Bose for liberating India from the
clutches of the British rulers. It is also
called Azad Hind Fauj.
Indemnity Act: An act of a legislature
that exempts an officer from the
incurred penalties.

118

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Instrument of Accession: According

to the Government of India Act, 1935
the princely states of India were given
the option to join or not to join the
federation of India. Those who intended
to join were required to submit an
Instrument of Accession wherein they
were to mention those subjects which
they wanted to surrender to the
federation.
Joint/Separate Electorate: Where the
voters are organised separately on the
basis of community, such as Hindus/
Muslims, they are called separate
electorate. When they are organised
jointly (without any consideration of
community) they are called joint
electorate.
Judicial Review: It is a process
through which judiciary examines
whether the laws enacted by a
legislature are within the limits
prescribed by the constitution. It is also
applicable in a case where the judiciary
examines whether the actions of the
executive are within the limits
prescribed by the constitution or law
of the land.
Magna Carta: It is regarded as a
Charter of liberties. In 1215, John, the
king of England, was compelled by
barons and clergy to concede to their
demands. Though it was in no sense a
peoples charter at that time,
subsequent tradition transformed it
into a Charter of English liberties. These
liberties provide that no free man might
be arrested, imprisoned, dispossessed,
outlawed, exiled or harassed in any
other way save by authority of law of
the land.

Mandamus: This is a writ that is in the

form of an order from the Court to any
government, court, corporation or
public authority to do or to refrain from
doing some specific act which that body
is obliged under law to do or refrain
from doing, as the case may be, and
which is in the nature of a public duty
and in certain cases a statutory duty.
Metropolitan Area: According to the
Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 Metropolitan Area
means an area having a population of
ten lakhs or more, comprised in one or
more districts and consisting of two or
more Municipalities or Panchayats or
other contiguous areas, specified by the
Governor of a State by public
notification to be a metropolitan area.
Money Bill: A bill that provides for the
imposition, abolition, remission,
alteration or regulation of any tax; the
custody of the consolidated fund or the
contingency fund or the appropriation
of any money from these funds.
National Integration: It means
incorporation of individuals belonging
to different groups as equals into the
nation.
Pardon: It is an act of grace. It not only
removes the punishment but also
places the offender in the same position
as if he had never committed the
offence.
Powers of the Individual Judgement:
Under the Government of India Act,
1935 the Governors and the GovernorGeneral were required to consult their
Council of Ministers in certain matters
but were not bound by their advice.
They applied their own judgement in

DIFFICULT TERMS

the matter. This power was called the

Power of Individual Judgement.
Preamble: The introductory part of a
constitution/Law that states the
reasons for and intent of the
constitution/law.
Preventive Detention Act: An Act
which provides for detention of a person,
for not committing an offence but, in
order to prevent him from committing
an offence.
Prohibition: This writ commands the
court or tribunal to whom it is issued
to refrain from doing something that it
is about to do.
Proportional Representation: It is a
system where seats are allotted to a
party or group in a legislature or an
executive in proportion to the
population of or the votes cast in favour
of that party or group.
Public Accounts Committee: It is a
committee of Legislature/Parliament. It
scrutinizes the appropriation accounts
of the government. It ensures that
public money is spent in accordance
with Parliaments/Legislatures
decisions and calls attention to cases
of waste, extravagance, loss or nugatory
(worthless) expenditure or lack of
financial integrity in public services.
Public Corporations: A public
corporation is set up by an Act of
Legislature which defines the
organisation and functions of the
corporation. The idea behind
establishing a corporation is to secure
a combination of public ownership,
public accountability and business
management for public ends.

119

Public Undertakings: The newly

independent states in order to overcome
their economic stagnation and the poor
rate of growth during colonial rule had
to enter the field of industrial and
commercial enterprise to ensure better
utilization of available resources and
build essential infrastructure for
national development. This led the
setting up of public undertakings.
There are three principal forms into
which our public undertakings have
been organised, viz., departmental
undertakings, government companies
and statutory public corporation.
Quo Warranto: This is a writ that is
issued to prevent a person who has
wrongfully usurped an office from
continuing in that office. The writ calls
upon the holder of the office to show to
the court under what authority he holds
the office. If the court determines that
the person is holding the office illegally,
it would pass the order of ouster that
must be obeyed by him.
Race: A division of mankind possessing
traits that is transmissible by descent
and sufficient to characterize it as a
distinct human type.
Racialism: An ideology that believes in
racial
prejudices
or
racial
discrimination.
Reasonable Restrictions: The rights
under Article 19 are subject to certain
restrictions. These restrictions should
be reasonable. Whether a particular
restriction is reasonable or not is to be
decided ultimately by the judiciary.
Remission: It means reduction in the
amount of punishment without

120

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

changing the character of punishment

e.g. a life sentence is reduced to
imprisonment for ten years.
Reprieve: It means a temporary
suspension of the punishment fixed by
the law.
Reserved Transferred Subjects:
According to the Government of India
Act, 1919 provincial subjects were
divided into two categories. Some
subjects were transferred to and put
under the charge of a Minister
responsible to the provincial legislature.
Others were reserved to and put under
the charge of councillors not
accountable to the legislature.
Respite: It means postponement of the
execution of a sentence to future.
Scheduled Castes/Tribes: Under the
Government of India Act, 1935 names
of some castes/tribes that were given
special protection were put in a
Schedule attached to the Act. Since
then, persons belonging to these
castes/tribes began to be called
Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes.
Secularism: There is a school of
thought which believes that the State
should confine itself to the temporal or
worldly affairs. It should be indifferent
to religious matters. This is called
secularism. However, the ter m
secularism gives different connotations
to different people. Some people treat it
as antireligious, while to others it
means absence of discrimination on

grounds of religion. Still, there are

others who regard it to mean equal
respect to all religions. The judiciary in
India has interpreted it to mean that
the state should treat all religions
equally and there should be no
discrimination on grounds of religion.
Single Transferable Vote System:
This is one of the devices of proportional
representation. Ordinarily, this
device is adopted in a multi-member
constituency, i.e. a constituency from
where two or more members are to be
elected. According to the normal
practice a voter is required to cast as
many votes as the number of members
are to be elected from that
constituency. But in the system of
single transferable vote, the voter is
given one single vote only but the voter
is given a choice to get his vote
transferred to another candidate of his
choice. Thats why it is called Single
Transferable Vote System.
Subordinate Legislation: When the
legislature enacts a law, it leaves the
details to be worked out by the
executive through rules and
regulations subject to the approval of
the legislature. This arrangement is
called subordinate legislation.
Weaker Sections: The Constitution
does not define this term. The courts,
however, have interpreted it to mean
people belonging to the Scheduled
Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other
backward classes.