UNIT -4

CONSTITUTION FUNCTION
& AMENDMENTS
 TOPICS

 Indian Federal System – Center – State Relations –

President’s Rule – Constitutional Amendments –
Constitutional Functionaries - Assessment of
working of the Parliamentary System in India-
Methods in Constitutional Amendments (How and
Why) and Important Constitutional Amendments.
Amendments – 7,9,10,12,42,44, 61, 73, 74, 75, 86,
and 91,94,95,100,101,118.
 Federalism in India
 Federalism is a system of government in which
powers have been divided between the centre
and its constituent parts such as states or
provinces.
 It is an institutional mechanism to accommodate
two sets of politics, one at the centre or national
level and second at the regional or provincial
level.
 Federal System – Two Types of
Federations

 In a federation system, there are two seats of

power that are autonomous in their own spheres.
 A federal system is different from a unitary
system in that sovereignty is constitutionally
split between two territorial levels so that each
level can act independently of each other in some
areas.
 Here are two kinds of federations

 Holding Together Federation – In this type, powers are

shared between various constituent parts to accommodate
the diversity in the whole entity. Here, powers are
generally tilted towards the central authority. Example:
India, Spain, Belgium.
 Coming Together Federation – In this type, independent
states come together to form a larger unit. Here, states
enjoy more autonomy as compared to the holding together
kind of federation. Example: USA, Australia, Switzerland.
 Federalism in India

 India is a federal system but with more tilt towards a

unitary system of government.
 It is sometimes considered a quasi-federal system
(K C Wheare)as it has features of both a federal
and a unitary system. Article 1 of the Indian
Constitution states, ‘India, shall be a union of states’.
 The word federation is not mentioned in the
constitution.
 Indian federal System is based on Canadian model
 Elements of federalism were introduced into modern
India by the Government of India Act of 1919
which separated powers between the centre and the
provincial legislatures.
 MAIN PURPOSE OF FEDERALISM

 The goal of federalism is to preserve

personal liberty by separating the
powers of the government so that one
government or group may not dominate all
powers.
 Features of the Federal System of India

 DUAL POLITY -Governments at two levels – centre

and states
 WRITTEN CONSTITUTION
 SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION – the basic
structure of the constitution is indestructible as laid out
by the judiciary. The constitution is the supreme law in
India.
 DIVISION OF POWER -– there are three lists given in
the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution which gives
the subjects each level has jurisdiction in:
 Union List -100
 State List -61
 Concurrent List -52
 RIGIDITY
 BICAMERIALISM
 INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY
the constitution provides for an independent
and integrated judiciary. The lower and district courts
are at the bottom levels, the high courts are at the state
levels and at the topmost position is the Supreme Court
of India. All courts are subordinate to the Supreme
Court.
 Unitary Features of the Indian Union

 The flexibility of the constitution – the constitution is a

blend of flexibility and rigidity.
 Certain provisions of the constitution can be easily
amended. In case the amendments seek to change aspects
of federalism in India, the provision to bring about such
amendments is not easy
 More power vests with the Centre – the constitution
guarantees more powers with the Union List. On the
Concurrent List subjects, the parliament can make laws
that can override the laws made by a state legislature on
some matters. The parliament can also make laws
regarding certain subjects in the State List.
 Unequal representation of states in the Rajya Sabha –
the representation of the states in the upper house is based
on the states’ populations. For example, Uttar Pradesh has
31 seats and Goa, 1 in the Rajya Sabha. In an ideal federal
system, all the states should have equal representation.
 The executive is a part of the legislature – in India, the
executive in both the centre and the states is a part of the
legislature. This goes against the principle of division of
powers between the different organs of the government.
 Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha – in
our system, the Lok Sabha is more powerful than the
upper house and unequal powers to two houses is against
the principle of federalism.
 Emergency powers – the centre is provided with
emergency powers. When an emergency is imposed, the
centre has increased control over states. This undermines
the autonomy of the states.
 Integrated judiciary – the judiciary in India is integrated.
There is no separate judiciary at the centre and the state
levels.
 Single citizenship – in India, only single citizenship is
available to citizens. They cannot be citizens of the state
as well. This helps in increasing the feeling of nationality
as it forges unity amidst regional and cultural differences.
It also augments fundamental rights such as the freedom
of movement and residence in any part of the nation.
 Governor’s appointment – the governor of a state acts as
the centre’s representative in the state. The state
government does not appoint the governor, the centre
does.
 New states formation – the parliament has the power to
alter the territory of a state by increasing or reducing the
area of the state. It can also change the name of a state.
 All India Services – through the All India Services such
as the IAS, IPS, etc. the centre interferes in the executive
powers of the states. These services also offer uniformity
in administration throughout the nation.
 Integrated election machinery – the Election Commission of
India is responsible for conducting free and fair elections at
both the centre and the state levels in India. The members of
the EC is appointed by the president.
 Veto over states bills – The governor of a state can reserve
certain kinds of bills for the president’s consideration. The
president enjoys absolute veto on these bills. He can even
reject the bill at the second instance that is when the bill is sent
after reconsideration by the state legislature. This provision is
a departure from the principles of federalism. (Read in detail
about veto power in the linked article.)
 Integrated audit machinery – ARTICLE 148 the
president of the country appoints the CAG who audits
accounts of both the centre and the states.
 Power to remove key officials – the state government or
state legislature does not have the authority to remove
certain key government officials even at the state level
like the election commissioner of a state, judges of
the high courts, or the chairman of the state public service
commissions.