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Contents

1. WHY DO WE NEED A CONSTITUTION .................................................................... 1MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION: ............................................................................ 5

2. PHILOSOPHY OF THE CONSTITUTION ............................................................... 10WHAT IS THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF OUR CONSTITUTION? .................................. 12PROCEDURAL ACHIEVEMENTS ............................................................................................. 16

3. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION ............................. 19RIGHT TO FREEDOM ............................................................................................................... 20RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOITATION ........................................................................................... 22RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION ....................................................................................... 22CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS ............................................................................. 23RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES ............................................................................. 24DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY ......................................................................... 24DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES .......................................................................................................... 25RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES ...... 25

4. EXECUTIVE ................................................................................................................ 28EXECUTIVE ............................................................................................................................... 28WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXECUTIVE? ......................................................... 29PARLIAMENTARY EXECUTIVE IN INDIA .............................................................................. 29PRIME MINISTER AND COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ................................................................ 33

5. LEGISLATURE ........................................................................................................... 35INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 35RAJYA SABHA ........................................................................................................................... 36LOK SABHA .............................................................................................................................. 36HOW DOES THE PARLIAMENT MAKE LAWS? ...................................................................... 38HOW DOES THE PARLIAMENT CONTROL THE EXECUTIVE? ............................................ 39

6. JUDICIARY ................................................................................................................. 42INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 42APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES .................................................................................................... 43ORIGINAL JURISDICTION ....................................................................................................... 44APPELLATE JURISDICTION .................................................................................................... 44ADVISORY JURISDICTION ...................................................................................................... 45JUDICIARY AND RIGHTS ......................................................................................................... 45JUDICIARY AND PARLIAMENT .............................................................................................. 46

7. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS .......................................................................................... 49INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 49IMPLEMENTATION OF 73RD AND 74TH AMENDMENTS..................................................... 54

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8. ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY ............................................................................. 55RESERVATION OF CONSTITUENCIES .................................................................................... 58FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS ................................................................................................... 59ELECTORAL REFORMS ............................................................................................................ 62

9. CENTER STATE RELATION ..................................................................................... 64LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS ...................................................................................................... 64ADMINISTRATIVE RELATIONS .............................................................................................. 66FINANCIAL RELATIONS .......................................................................................................... 69CENTRE - STATE RELATIONS: CONFLICT ZONE .................................................................. 70PUNCHHI COMMISSION ON CENTRE - STATE RELATIONS ................................................ 77FINANCE COMMISSION VS PLANNING COMMISSION ....................................................... 79

10. EMERGENCY PROVISIONS ..................................................................................... 82NATIONAL EMERGENCY (ART. 352) ...................................................................................... 82PROCLAMATION OF PRESIDENT’S RULE (ART. 356) ........................................................... 83FINANCIAL EMERGENCY (ART. 360) ..................................................................................... 84

11. AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION ........................................................................ 85AMENDMENT PROCEDURE .................................................................................................... 85AMENDMENTS IN BRIEF ........................................................................................................ 85

12. SEVENTH SCHEDULE (ARTICLE 246) ................................................................... 91LIST I—UNION LIST ................................................................................................................. 91LIST II-STATE LIST ................................................................................................................... 95LIST III—CONCURRENT LIST ................................................................................................. 98

13. POLITICAL= SYSTEM ............................................................................................ 102POLITICAL SYSTEM IN INDIA .............................................................................................. 102COALITION POLITICS ............................................................................................................ 104

14. ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS ............................................................................ 110ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS IN INDIA ............................................................................... 110IMPORTANT COMMITTEES ................................................................................................... 113MEMBERS OF SECOND ARC ................................................................................................. 114ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS COMMITTEES ...................................................................... 114POLICE REFORMS .................................................................................................................. 117

15. POLITICAL DEBATE ............................................................................................... 122PRESIDENTIAL VS PARLIAMENTARY ................................................................................. 122SEPARATION OF POWER ....................................................................................................... 125JUDICIARY VS LEGISLATURE .............................................................................................. 126LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS ...................................................................................................... 127JUDICIAL ACTIVISM .............................................................................................................. 130JUDICIAL REVIEW ................................................................................................................. 133IMPACT OF THE 42ND AMENDMENT .................................................................................. 134JUDICIAL REFORM IN INDIA ................................................................................................ 135NAXALISM - PERCEPTION AND REALITY .......................................................................... 138

16. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION .................................................................... 144-162


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WHY DO WE NEED ACONSTITUTION 1

What is a constitution? What are itsfunctions? What role doesitper formsociety?How does a constitution relate to our dailyexistence?

The first function of a constitution is toprovide a set of basic rules allow forminimal coordination amongst members ofa society.

Specification of decision making powers

A constitution is a body of fundamentalthat principles according to which a state isconstituted or governed. But what shouldthese fundamental rules be? And what makes-them fundamental? Well, the first question-you will have to decide is who gets to decidewhat the laws governing the society shouldbe? You may want rule X, but others may wantrule Y. How do we decide whose rules orpreferences should govern us? You may thinkthe rules you want everyone to live by are thebest; but others think that their rules are thebest. How do we resolve this dispute? So evenbefore you decide what rules should governthis group you have to decide: Who gets todecide?

The constitution has provide an answerto this question. It specifies the basic allocationof power in a society. It decides who gets to

decide what the laws will be. In principle, thisquestion, who gets to decide, can be answeredin many ways: in a monarchical constitution,a monarch decides; in some constitutions likethe old Soviet Union, one single party wasgiven the power to decide. But in democraticconstitutions, broadly speaking, the people getto decide. But this matter is not so simple,Because even if you answer that the peopleshould decide, it will not answer the question:how should the people decide? For somethingto be law, should everyone agree to it? Shouldthe people directly vote on each matter as theancient Greeks did? Or should the peopleexpress their preferences by electingrepresentatives? But if the people act throughtheir representatives be elected? How manyshould there be?

This is the function of the constitution. Itis an authority that constitutes governmentin the first place.

In the Indian Constitution for example,it is specified that in most instances,Parliament gets to decide laws and policies,and that Parliament itself be organised in aparticular manner Before identifying what thelaw in any given society is, you have toidentify who has the authority to enact it. IfParliament has the authority to enact laws,

Contents of The Chapter

♣ MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION: ........................................................................ 5

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there must be a law that bestows this authorityon Parliament in the first place.

Limitations on the powers of government

But this is clearly not enough. Supposeyou decided who had the authority to makedecisions. But then this authority passed lawsthat you thought were patently unfair. Itprohibited you from practising your religionfor instance. Or it enjoined that clothes ofcertain colour were prohibited, or that youwere not free to sing certain songs or thatpeople who belonged to a particular group(caste or religion) would always have to serveothers and would not be allowed to retain anyproperty. Or that government could arbitrarilyarrest someone, or that only people of a certainskin colour would be allowed to draw waterfrom wells.

You would obviously think these lawswere unjust and unfair. And even though theywere passed by a government that had comeinto existence based on certain proceduresthere would be something obviously unjustabout that government enacting these laws.Constitutions limit the power of governmentin many ways. The most common way oflimiting the power of government is to specifycertain fundamental rights that all of uspossess as citizens and which no governmentcan ever be allowed to violate. The exactcontent an interpretation of these rights variesfrom constitution to constitution. But mostConstitutions will protect a basic cluster ofrights. Citizens will be protected from beingarrested arbitrarily and for no reason. This isone basic limitation upon the power ofgovernment. Citizens will normally have theright to some basic liberties: to freedom ofspeech, freedom of conscience, freedom ofassociation, freedom to conduct a trade orbusiness etc. and practice, these rights can be

limited during times of national emergencyand the constitution specifies thecircumstances under which these rights maybe withdrawn.

So the third function of a constitution is toset some limits on what a government canimpose on its citizens. These limits arefundamental in the sense that governmentmay never trespass them.

Aspirations and Goals of a Society

Most of the older constitutions limitedthemselves largely to allocating decision-making power and setting some limits togovernment power. But many twentiethcentury constitutions, of which the IndianConstitution is the finest example, also providean enabling framework for the government todo certain positive things, to express theaspirations and goals of society. The IndianConstitution was particularly innovative inthis respect.

Societies with deep entrenchedinequalities of various kinds, will not onlyhave to set limits on the power of government,they will also have to enable and empowerthe government to take positive measures toovercome forms of inequality or deprivation.

For example, India aspires to be a societythat is free of caste discrimination. if this isour society’s aspiration, the government willhave to be enabled or empowered to take allthe necessary steps to achieve this goal. In acountry like South Africa, which had a deephistory of racial discrimination, its newconstitution had to enable- the government toend racial discrimination. More positively, aconstitution may enshrine the aspirations of asociety. The framers of the Indian Constitution,for example, thought that each individual insociety should have all that is necessary forthem to lead a life of minimal dignity and


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social self-respect — minimum material wellbeing, education etc.

The Indian Constitution enables thegovernment to take positive welfare measuressome of which are legally enforceable. As wego on studying the Indian Constitution, weshall find that such enabling provisions havethe support of the Preamble to ourConstitution, and these provisions are foundin the section on Fundamental Rights. TheDirective Principles of State of Policy alsoenjoin government to fulfil certain aspirationsof the people.

Fundamental identity of a people

Finally, and perhaps even mostimportantly, a constitution expresses thefundamental identity of a people.

The fourth function of a constitution is toenable the government to fulfil theaspirations of a society and createconditions for a just society.

This means the people as a collectiveentity come into being only through the basicconstitution. It is by agreeing to a basic set ofnorms about how one should be governed,and who should be governed that one formsa collective identity. One has many sets ofidentities that exist prior to a constitution. Butby agreeing to certain basic norms andprinciples one constitutes one’s basic politicalidentity. Second, constitutional norms are theoverarching framework within which onepursues individual aspirations, goals andfreedoms. The constitution sets authoritativeconstraints upon what one may or may notdo. It defines the fundamental values that wemay not trespass. So the constitution also givesone a moral identity. Third and finally, it maybe the case that many basic political and moralvalues are now shared across differentconstitutional traditions.

If one looks at constitutions around theworld, they differ in many respects — in theform of government they enjoin in manyprocedural details. But they also share a gooddeal. Most modern constitutions create a formof government that is democratic in somerespects, most claim to protect certain basicrights. But constitutions are different in theway they embody conceptions of naturalidentity. Most nations are an amalgamation ofa complex set of historical traditions; theyweave together the diverse groups that residewithin the nation in different ways. Forexample, German identity was constituted bybeing ethnically German. The constitutiongave expression to this identity. The IndianConstitution, on the other hand, does notmake ethnic identity a criterion for citizenship.Different nations embody differentconceptions of what the relationship betweenthe different regions of a nation and the centralgovernment should be. This relationshipconstitutes the national identity of a country.

The Authority of a Constitution

We have outlined some of the functionsa constitution performs. These functionsexplain why most societies have a constitution.But there are three further questions we canask about constitutions:

a) What is a constitution?

b) How effective is a constitution?

c) Is a constitution just?In most countries, Constitution’ is a

compact document that comprises a numberof articles about the state, specifying how thestate is to be constituted and what norms itshould follow. When we ask for theconstitution of a country we are usuallyreferring to this document. But somecountries, the United Kingdom for instance,


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do not have one single document that can becalled the Constitution. Rather they have aseries of documents and decisions that, takencollectively, are referred to a the constitution.So, we can say that constitution is thedocument or set of documents that seeks toperform the functions that we mentionedabove.

But many constitutions around the worldexist only on paper; they are mere wordsexisting on a parchment. The crucial questionis: how effective is a constitution? What makesit effective? What ensures that it has a realimpact on the lives of people? Making aconstitution effective depends upon manyfactors.

Mode of promulgation

This refers to how a constitution comesinto being. Who crafted the constitution andhow much authority did they have? In manycountries Constitutions remain defunctbecause they are crafted by military leadersor leaders who are not popular and do nothave the ability to carry the people with them.The most successful constitutions, like India,South Africa and the United States, areconstitutions which were created in theaftermath of popular national movements.Although India’s Constitution was formallycreated by a Constituent Assembly betweenDecember 1946 and November 1949, it drewupon a long history of the nationalistmovement that had a remarkable ability totake along different sections of Indian societytogether. The Constitution drew enormouslegitimacy from the fact that it was drawn upby people who enjoyed immense publiccredibility, who had the capacity to negotiateand command the respect of a wide cross-section of society, and who were able toconvince the people that the constitution was

not an instrument for the aggrandisement oftheir personal power. The final documentreflected the broad national consensus at thetime. Some countries have subjected theirconstitution to a full- fledged referendum,where all the people vote on the desirabilityof a constitution. The Indian Constitution wasnever subject to such a referendum, butnevertheless carried enormous publicauthority, because it had the consensus andbacking of leaders who were themselvespopular. Although the Constitution itself wasnot subjected to a referendum, the peopleadopted it as their own by abiding by itsprovisions. Therefore, the authority of peoplewho enact the constitution helps determine inpart its prospects for success.

The SubstantiveProvisions of a Constitution

It is the hallmark of a successfulConstitution that it gives everyone in societysome reason to go along with its provisions. AConstitution that, for instance, allowedpermanent majorities to oppress minoritygroups with society would give minorities noreason to go along with the provision of theConstitution. Or a constitution thatsystematically privileged some members atthe expense of others, or that systematicallyentrenched the power of small groups insociety, would cease to command allegiance.If any group feels their identity is being stifled,they will have no reason to abide by theconstitution. No constitution by itself achievesperfect justice. But it has to convince -peoplethat it provides the framework for pursuingbasic justice.

Do this thought experiment. Ask yourselfthis question: What would be the content ofsome basic rules in society, such that they gaveeveryone a reason to go along with them?


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The more a constitution preserves thefreedom and equality of all its members, themore likely it is to succeed. Does the IndianConstitution, broadly speaking, give everyonea reason to go along with its broad outlines?

Balanced institutional design

Constitutions are often subverted, not bythe people, but by small groups, who wish toenhance their own power. Well craftedconstitutions fragment power in societyintelligently so that no single group cansubvert the constitution. One way of suchintelligent designing of a constitution is toensure that no single institution acquiresmonopoly of power. This is often done byfragmenting power across differentinstitutions. The Indian Constitution, forexample, horizontally fragments power acrossdifferent institutions like the Legislature,Executive and the Judiciary and evenindependent statutory bodies like the ElectionCommission. This ensures that even if oneinstitution wants to subvert the Constitution,others can check its transgressions. Anintelligent system of checks and balances hasfacilitated the success of the IndianConstitution.

Another important aspect of intelligentinstitutional design is: that a constitution muststrike the right balance between certain values,norms and procedures as authoritative, andat the same time allow enough flexibility inits operations to adapt to changing needs andcircumstances. Too rigid a constitution isLikely to break under the weight of change; aconstitution that is, on the other hand, tooflexible, will give no security, predictability oridentity to a people. Successful constitutionsstrike the right balance between preservingcore values and adapting them to new

circumstances. You will notice the wisdom ofmakers of the Indian Constitution in thechapter on the Constitution as a livingdocument (Chapter 9}. The IndianConstitution is described as ‘a living’document. By striking a balance between thepossibility to change the provisions and thelimits on such changes, the Constitution hasensured that it will survive as a documentrespected by people. This arrangement alsoensures that no section or group can, on itsown, subvert the Constitutioit

MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

As far back as in 1928. Motilal Nehru andeight other Congress leaders drafted aconstitution for India. In 1931, the resolutionat the Karachi session of the Indian NationalCongress dwelt on how independent India’sconstitution should look, like. Both thesedocuments were committed to the inclusionof universal adult franchise, right to freedomand equality and to protecting the rights ofminorities in the constitution of independentIndia. Thus some basic values were acceptedby all leaders much before the ConstituentAssembly met to deliberate on theConstitution.

The familiarity with political institutionsof colonial rule also helped develop anagreement over the institutional design. TheIndian constitution adopted manyinstitutional details and procedures fromcolonial laws like the Government of India Act1935. Years of thinking and deliberation on the’framework of the constitution had anotherbenefit. Our leaders gained confidence to learnfrom other countries, but on our own terms.Many of our leaders were inspired by theideals of French Revolution, the practice ofparliamentary democracy in Britain and the


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Bill of right in the US. The socialist revolutionin Russia had inspired many Indians to thinko shaping a system based on social andeconomic equality. Yet they were not simplyimitating what others had done. At each stepthey were questioning whether these thingssuited our country. All these factorscontributed to the making of our Constitution.

The drafting of the document called theconstitution was done by an assembly ofelected representatives called the ConstituentAssembly. Elections to the ConstituentAssembly were held in July 1946. It held itsfirst sitting on 9 December 1946 and re-assembled as Constituent Assembly fordivided Indian on 14 August 1947. Itsmembers were elected by indirect election bythe members of the Provisional LegislativeAssemblies that had been established in 1935.The Constituent Assembly was composedroughly along the lines suggested by the planproposed by the committee of the Britishcabinet, known as the Cabinet Mission.According to this plan:

• Each Province and each Princely Stateor group of States were allotted seatsproportional of their respectivepopulation roughly in the ratio of1:1.000000. As a result’ the Provinces(that were under direct British rule)were to elect 292 members while thePrincely States were allotted aminimum of 93seats.

• The seats in each Province weredistributed among the three maincommunities, Muslims, Sikhs andgeneral, in proportion to theirrespective populations.

• Members of each community in theProvisional Legislative Assembly

elected their own representatives bythe method of proportionalrepresentation with singletransferable vote

• The method of selection in the case ofrepresentatives of Princely States wasto be determined by consultation.

Composition of theConstituent Assembly

As a consequence of the Partition underthe plan of 3 June 1947 those members whowere elected from territories which fell underPakistan ceased to be members of theConstituent Assembly. The numbers in theAssembly were reduced to 299 of which 284were actually present on 26 November 1949and appended their signature to theConstitution as finally passed. TheConstitution was thus framed against thebackdrop of the horrendous violence that thePartition unleashed on the sub-continent. Butit is a tribute to the fortitude of the framersthat they were not only able to draft aconstitution under immense pressure, but alsolearnt the right lessons from the unimaginableviolence that accompanied Partition. TheConstitution was committed to a newconception of citizenship, where not onlywould minorities be secure, but religiousidentity would have no bearing on citizenshiprights. But this account of the composition ofthe Constituent Assembly that drafted theConstitution touches upon only the surface ofhow our Constitution was made. Although,the members of the Assembly were not electedby universal suffrage, there was a seriousattempt to make the Assembly a representativebody. Members of all religions are givenrepresentation under the scheme describedabove; in addition, the Assembly had twenty


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six members from what then known as theScheduled Classes. In terms of the Congressdominated the Assembly occupying as manyas eighty-two per cent of the seats in theassembly after the Partition. The Congressitself was such a diverse party that it managedto accommodate almost all shades of opinionwithin it.

The Principle of Deliberation

The authority of the ConstituentAssembly does not come only from the factthat it was broadly, though not perfectly,representative. It comes from the proceduresit adopted to frame the Constitution and thevalues its members brought to theirdeliberations. While in any assembly thatclaims to be representative, it is desirable thatdiverse sections of society participate, it isequally important that they participate notonly as representatives of their own identityor community. Each member deliberated uponthe Constitution with the interests of the wholenation in mind. There were oftendisagreements amongst members, but few ofthese disagreements could be traced tomembers protecting their own interests.

There are legitimate differences ofprinciple. And the differences were many:should India adopt a centralised ordecentralised system of government? Whatshould be the relations between the States andthe centre? What should be the powers of thejudiciary? Should the Constitution protectproperty rights? Almost every issue that liesat the foundation of a modem state wasdiscussed with great sophistication. Only oneprovision of the Constitution was passedwithout virtually any debate: the introductionof universal suffrage (meaning that all citizensreaching a certain age, would be entitled to

be voters irrespective of religion, caste,education, gender or income). So, while themembers felt no need at all to discuss the issueof who should have the right to vote, everyother matter was seriously discussed anddebated. Nothing can be a better testament tothe democratic commitment of this Assembly.

1. Jhaverbhai Vallabhai Patel (1875-1950) born: Gujarat. Minister ofHome, Information and Broadcastingin the Interim Government. Lawyerand leader of Bardoli peasantsatyagraha. Played a decisive role inthe integration of the Indian princelystates. Later: Deputy Prime Minister.

2. Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958) born:Saudi Arabia. Educationist, authorand theologian; scholar of Arabic.Congress leader, active in the nationalmovement. Opposed Muslimseparatist politics. Later EducationMinister in the first union cabinet.

3. T.T. Krishnamachari (1899-19741born: Tamil Nadu. Member DraftingCommittee. Entrepreneur andCongress leader. Later: FinanceMinister in the Union Cabinet.

4. Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963) born:Bihar Chairman of the ConstituentAssembly. Lawyer, known for his rolein the Champaran satyagraha. Threetimes the president of Congress. Later:the first President of India.

5. JaIpal Singh (1903-1970) born:Jharkhand a sportsman andeducationist. Captain of the firstnational Hockey team. FounderPresident of Adivasi Maha Sabha.Later: founder of Jharkhand Party.

6. H. C. Mookherjee (1887-1956) born:Bengal. Vice— Chairman of the


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Constituent Assembly. Reputedauthor and educationist. Congressleader. Member of All India ChristianCouncil and Bengal LegislativeAssembly. Later: Governor of WestBengal.

7. G. Durgabal Desmukh (1909-1981)born: Andhra Pradesh. Advocate andpublic activist for women’semancipation. Founder of AridhraMahila Sabha. Congress leader. Later:Founder Chairperson of CentralSocial Welfare Board.

8. Baldev Singh (1901-1961) born:Haryana A successful entrepreneurand leader of the Panthic Akali Partyin the Punjab Assembly. A nominee ofthe Congress in the ConstituentAssembly. Later: Defence Minister inthe Union Cabinet.

9. Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi (1887-1971) born: Gujarat. Advocate,historian and linguist. Congressleader and Gandhian. Later: Ministerin the Union Cabinet. Founder of theSwatantra Party.

10. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (18’91-1956) born: Maharashtra. Chairman ofthe Drafting Committee. Socialrevolutionary thinker and agitatoragainst caste divisions and caste basedinequalities. Later: Law minister in thefirst, cabinet of post-independenceIndia. Founder of Republican Party ofIndia

11. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (1901-1953) born: West Bengal. Minister forIndustry and Supply in the InterimGovernment. Educationist and

lawyer. Active in Hindu Mahasabha.Later: Founder President of

12. Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) born:Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister of theinterim government. Lawyer andCongress leader. Advocate ofsocialism, democracy and anti-imperialism. Later: First PrimeMinister of India.

13. Sarojini Naidu (1879.1949) born:Andhra Pradesh. Poet, writer andpolitical activist. Among the foremostwomen leaders in the Congress. Later:Governor of Uttar Pradesh.

14. Somnath Lahiri (1901-1984) born:West Bengal. Writer and editor.Leader of the Communist Party ofIndia. Later: Member of West BengalLegislative Assembly.

Procedures

The Constituent Assembly had eightmajor Committees on different subjects.Usually, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad,Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad or Ambedkarchaired these Committees. These were notmen who agreed with each other on manythings. Ambedkar had been a bitter critic ofthe Congress and Gandhi, accusing, them ofnot doing enough for the upliftment ofScheduled Castes. Patel and Nehru disagreedon many issues. Nevertheless, they all workedtogether. Each Committee usually draftedparticular provisions of the Constitutionwhich were then subjected to debate by theentire Assembly. Usually an attempt was madeto reach a consensus with the belief thatprovisions agreed to by 411, would not bedetrimental to any particular interests. Someprovisions were subject to the vote. The


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Assembly met for one hundred and sixty sixdays, spread over two years and elevenmonths.

Inheritance of the nationalist movement

But no constitution is simply a productof the Assembly that produces it. An Assem-bly as diverse as the Constituent Assembly ofIndia could not have functioned if there wasno background consensus on the mainprinciples the Constitution should enshrine.These principles were forged during the longstruggle for freedom.

In a way, the Constituent Assembly wasgiving concrete shape and form to the princi-ples it had inherited from the nationalistmovement. For decades preceding the prom-ulgation of the Constitution, the nationalistmovement had debated many questions thatwere relevant to the making of the constitu-tion the shape and form of government Indiashould have, the values it should uphold, theinequalities it should overcome. Answersforged in those debates were given their finalform in the Constitution. Perhaps the bestsummary of the principles that the nationalistmovement brought to the Constituent

Assembly is the Objectives Resolution (theresolution that defined the aims of theAssembly) moved by Nehru in 1946. Thisresolution encapsulated the aspirations andvalues behind the constitution. Based on thisresolution our Constitution gave institutionalexpression to the fundamental commitments:equality, liberty, democracy, sovereignty anda cosmopolitan identity.

Institutional arrangements

The third factor ensuring effectiveness ofa constitution is a balanced arrangement of theinstitutions of government. The basic principleis that government must be democratic andcommitted to the welfare of the people.

The Constituent Assembly spent a lot oftime on evolving the right balance among thevarious institutions like the executive, thelegislature and the judiciary. This led to theadoption of the parliamentary form aid thefederal arrangement, which would distributegovernmental powers between the legislatureand the executive on the one hand andbetween the States and the central governmenton the other hand.

Provisions borrowed from constitutions of different countries

British United States Irish French CanadianConstitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution

First Past the Charter of Funda- Directive Principles of A quasi-Post Parliamen- mental Rights, Principles of Liberty, Equ- federal formtary Form of Power of Judicial State Policy ality and Fra- of governmentGovernment The Review and inde- ternity (a federalidea of the rule pendence of the system with-aof law Institution judiciary strong centralof the speaker and governmenthis role Law The idea ofmaking procedure Residual

Powers


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Some people believe that a constitutionmerely consists of laws and that laws are onething, values and morality, quite another.Therefore, we can have only a legalistic, not apolitical philosophy approach to theConstitution. It is true that all laws do not havea moral content, but many laws are closelyconnected to our deeply held values.

For example, a law might prohibitdiscrimination of persons on grounds oflanguage or religion. Such a law is connectedto the idea of equality. Such a law existsbecause we value equality. Therefore, there isa connection between laws and moral values.One should look upon the constitution as adocument that is based on a certain moralvision, and adopt a political philosophyapproach to the constitution. What do wemean by a political philosophy approach tothe constitution? We have three things inmind.

• First, we need to understand theconceptual structure of theconstitution. What does this mean? Itmeans that we must ask questions likewhat are the possible meanings ofterms used in the constitution such as‘rights’, ‘citizenship’, ‘minority’ or

‘democracy’?

• Furthermore, we must attempt towork out a coherent vision of societyand polity conditional upon aninterpretation of the key concepts ofthe constitution. We must have abetter grasp of the set of idealsembedded in the constitution.

• Our final point is that the IndianConstitution must be read inconjunction with the ConstituentAssembly Debates in order to refineand raise to a higher theoretical plane,the justification of values embeddedin the Constitution. A philosophicaltreatment of a value is incomplete if adetailed justification for it is notprovided. When the framers of theConstitution chose to guide Indiansociety and polity by a set of values,there must have been a correspondingset of reasons. Many of them, though,may not have been fully explained.

A political philosophy approach to theconstitution is needed not only to find out themoral content expressed in it and to evaluateits claims but possibly to use it to arbitrate


♣ WHAT IS THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF OUR CONSTITUTION? ............................... 12♣ PROCEDURAL ACHIEVEMENTS ......................................................................................... 16

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PHILOSOPHY OF THE CONSTITUTION 11

between varying interpretations of the manycore values in our polity. It is obvious thatmany of its ideals are challenged, discussed,debated and contested in different politicalarenas, in the legislatures. in party forums, inthe press, in schools and universities. Theseideals are variously interpreted andsometimes wilfully manipulated to suitpartisan short term interests. We must,therefore, examine whether or not a seriousdisjunction exists between the constitutionalideal and its expression in other arenas.

Sometimes, the same ideal is interpreteddifferently by different institutions. We needto compare these differing interpretations.Since the expression of the ideal in theconstitution has considerable authority it mustbe used to arbitrate in conflict of interpretationover values or ideals. Our Constitution canperform this job of arbitration.

Constitution asMeans of Democratic Transformation

It is widely agreed that one reason forhaving constitutions is the need to restrict theexercise of power. Modern states areexcessively powerful. They are believed tohave a monopoly over force and coercion.What if institutions of such states fall intowrong hands who abuse this power? Even ifthese institutions were created for our safetyand well-being, they can easily turn againstus. Experience of state power the world overshows that most states are prone to harmingthe interests of at least some individuals andgroups. If so, we need to draw the rules of thegame in such a way that this tendency of statesis continuously checked. Constitutionsprovide these basic rules and therefore,prevent states from turning tyrannical.

Constitutions also provide peaceful,

democratic means to bring about socialtransformation. Moreover, for a hithertocolonised people, constitutions announce andembody the first real exercise of political self-determination. Nehru understood both thesepoints well. The demand for a ConstituentAssembly. He claimed represented a collectivedemand for full self-determination because;only a Constituent Assembly of electedrepresentatives of the Indian people had theright to frame India’s constitution withoutexternal interference. Second, he argued, theConstituent Assembly is not just a body ofpeople or a gathering of able lawyers. Rather,it is a ‘nation on the move, throwing away theshell of its past political and possibly socialstructure, and fashioning for itself a newgarment of its own making.’ The IndianConstitution was designed to break theshackles of traditional social hierarchies andto usher in a new era of freedom, equality andjustice.

This approach had the potential ofchanging the theory of constitutionaldemocracy altogether: according to thisapproach, constitutions exist not only to limitpeople in power but to empower those whotraditionally have been deprived of it.Constitutions can give vulnerable people thepower to achieve Collective good.

Why do we need to goback to the Constituent Assembly?

Why look backwards and bind ourselvesto the past? That may be the job of a legalhistorian — to go into the past and search forthe basis of legal and political ideas. But whyshould students of politics be interested instudying the intentions and Concerns of thosewho framed the Constitution? Why not takeaccount of changed circumstances and define


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a new normative function of the Constitution?In the context of America — where the

Constitution was written in the late 18thcentury— it is absurd to apply the values andstandards of that era to the 21st century.However, in India, the world of the originalframers and our present day world may nothave changed so drastically. In terms of ourvalues, ideals and conception, we have notseparated ourselves from the world of theConstituent Assembly. A history of ourConstitution is still very much a history of thepresent.

Furthermore, we may have forgotten thereal point underlying several of our legal andpolitical practices, simply because somewheredown the road we began to take them forgranted. These reasons have now slipped intothe background, screened off from ourconsciousness even though they still providethe organizational principle to currentpractices.

When the going is good, this forgettingis harmless. But when these practices arechallenged or threatened, neglect of theunderlying principles can be harmful. In short,to get a handle on current constitutionalpractice, to grasp their value and meaning, wemay have no option but to go back in time tothe Constituent Assembly debates andperhaps even further back in time to thecolonial era. Therefore, we need to rememberand keep revisiting the political philosophyunderlying our Constitution.

WHAT IS THE POLITICALPHILOSOPHY OF OUR CONSTITUTION?

It is hard to describe this philosophy inone word. It resists any single label because itis liberal, democratic, egalitarian, secular, andfederal, open to community values, sensitive

to the needs of religious and linguisticminorities as well as historicallydisadvantaged groups, and committed tobuilding a common national identity. In short,it is committed to freedom, equality, socialjustice, and some form of national unity. Butunderneath all this, there is a clear emphasison peaceful and democratic measures forputting this philosophy into practice.

Individual freedom

The first point to note about theConstitution is its commitment to individualfreedom. This commitment did not emergemiraculously out of calm deliberations arounda table. Rather, it was the product ofcontinuous intellectual and political activityof well over a century. As early as thebeginning of the nineteenth century,Rammohan Roy protested against curtailmentof the freedom of the press by the Britishcolonial state. Roy argued that a stateresponsive to the needs of individuals mustprovide them the means by which their needsare communicated. Therefore, the state mustpermit unlimited liberty of publication.Likewise, Indians continued to demand a freepress throughout the British rule.

It is not surprising therefore that freedomof expression is an integral part of the IndianConstitution. So is the freedom from arbitraryarrest. After all, the infamous Rowlatt Act,which the national movement opposed sovehemently, sought to deny this basicfreedom. These and other individual freedomssuch as freedom of conscience are part of theliberal ideology. On this basis, we can say thatthe Indian Constitution has a pretty strongliberal character. In the chapter onfundamental rights we have already seen howthe Constitution values individual freedom,


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It might be recalled that for over forty yearsbefore the adoption of the Constitution, everysingle resolution, scheme, bill and report ofthe Indian National Congress mentionedindividual rights, not just in passing but as anonnegotiable value.

Social Justice

When we say that the IndianConstitution is liberal, we do not mean that itis liberal only in the classical western sense.In the book on Political Theory you will learnmore about the idea of liberalism. Classicalliberalism always privileges rights of theindividuals over demands of social justice andcommunity ‘values.

The liberalism of the Indian Constitutiondiffers from this version in two ways. First, itwas always linked to social justice. The bestexample of this is the provision forreservations for Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes in the Constitution. Themakers of the Constitution believed that themere granting of the right to equality was notenough to overcome age-old injusticessuffered by these groups or to give realmeaning to their right to vote. Specialconstitutional measures were required toadvance their interests. Therefore theconstitution makers provided a number ofspecial measures to protect the interests ofScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes suchas the reservation of seats in legislatures. TheConstitution also made it possible for thegovernment to reserve public sector jobs forthese groups.

Respect for diversity and minority rightsThe Indian Constitution encourages equalrespect between communities. This was noteasy in our country, first because communitiesdo not always have a relationship of equality;

they tend to have hierarchical relationshipswith one another (as in the case of caste).Second, when these communities do see eachother as equals, they also tend to become rivals(as in the case of religious communities). Thiswas a huge challenge for the makers of theConstitution: how to make communitiesliberal in their approach and foster a sense ofequal respect among them under existingconditions of hierarchy or intense rivalry?

It would have been very easy to resolvethis problem by not recognising communitiesat all, as most western liberal constitutions do.But this would have been unworkable andundesirable in our country. This is not becauseIndians are attached to communities morethan others. Individuals everywhere alsobelong to cultural communities and everysuch community has its own values,traditions, customs and language shared byits members. For example, individuals inFrance or Germany belong to a linguisticcommunity and are deeply attached to it.What makes us different is that we have moreopen to acknowledged the value ofcommunities. More importantly, India is aland of multiple cultural communities. UnlikeGermany or France we have several linguisticand religious communities. It was importantto ensure that no can communitysystematically dominates others. This madeit mandatory for our Constitution to recognisecommunity basted rights.

One such right is the right of religiouscommunities to establish and run their owneducational institutions. Such institutions mayreceive money from the government. Thisprovision shows that the Indian Constitutiondoes not see religion merely as a private’matter concerning the individual.


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Secularism

Secular states are widely seen as treatingreligion as only a private matter. That is to say,they refuse to give religion public or officialrecognition. Does this mean that the IndianConstitution is not secular? This does notfollow. Though the term ‘secular’ was notinitially mentioned, the Indian Constitutionhas always been secular. The mainstream,western conception, of secularism meansmutual exclusion of state and religion in orderto protect values such as individual freedomand citizenship rights of individuals.

Again, this is something that you willlearn more about in Political Theory. The term‘mutual exclusion’ means this: both religionand state must stay away from the internalaffairs of one another. The state must not in-tervene in the domain of religion; religionlikewise should not dictate state policy orinfluence the conduct of the state. In otherwords, mutual exclusion means that religionand state must be strictly separated.

What is the purpose behind strictseparation? It is to safeguard the freedom ofindividuals. States which lend support toorganised religions make them more powerfulthan they already are. When religiousorganisations begin to control the religiouslives of individuals, when they start dictatinghow they should relate to God or how theyshould pray, individuals may have the optionof turning to the modern state for protectingtheir religious freedom, but what help woulda state offer them if it has already joined handswith these organisations? To protect religiousfreedom of individuals, therefore, state mustnot help religious organisations. But at thesame time, state should not tell religiousorganisations how to manage their affairs.That too can thwart religious freedom. The

state must, therefore, not hinder religiousorganisations either. In short, states shouldneither help nor hinder religions. Instead, theyshould keep themselves at an arm’s lengthfrom them. This has been the prevalentwestern conception of secularism.

Conditions in India were different andto respond to the challenge they posed, themakers of the Constitution had to work outan alternative conception of secularism. Theydeparted from the western model in two waysand for two different reasons.

• Rights of Religious Groups First, asmentioned already, they recognisedthat intercommunity equality was asnecessary as equality betweenindividuals. This was because aperson’s freedom and sense of self-respect was directly dependent uponthe status of her community. If onecommunity was dominated byanother, then its members would alsobe significantly less free. If, on theother hand, their relations wereequal, marked by an absence ofdomination, then its members wouldalso walk about with dignity, self-respect and freedom. Thus, theIndian Constitution grants rights toall religious communities such as theright to establish and maintain theireducational institutions. Freedom ofreligion in India means the freedomof religion of both individuals andcommunities.

• State’s Power of Intervention Second,separation in India could not meanmutual exclusion. Why is it so?Because, religiously sanctionedcustoms such as untouchabilitydeprived individuals of the most


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basic dignity and -self-respect. Suchcustoms were so deeply rooted andpervasive that without active stateintervention, there was no hope oftheir dissolution. The state simplyhad to interfere in the affairs ofreligion. Such intervention was notalways negative. The state could alsohelp religious communities by givingaid to educational institutions run bythem. Thus, the state may help orhinder religious communitiesdepending on which mode of actionpromotes values such as freedom andequality. In India separation betweenreligion and state did not mean theirmutual exclusion but ratherprincipled distance, a rather complexidea that allows the state to be distantfrom all religions so that it canintervene or abstain frominterference, depending upon whichof these two would better promoteliberty, equality and social justice. Wehave hitherto mentioned three corefeatures these can also be seen as theachievements of our Constitution.

• First, our Constitution reinforces andreinvents forms of liberalindividualism. This is an importantachievement because this is done inthe backdrop of a society wherecommunity values are oftenindifferent or hostile to individualautonomy.

• Second, our Constitution upholds theprinciple of social justice withoutcompromising on individualliberties. The constitutionalcommitment to caste-basedaffirmative action programme shows

how much ahead India wascompared to other nations. Can oneforget that affirmative actionprogrammes in the U.S. were begunafter the 1964 Civil Rights Movement,almost two decades after they wereconstitutionally entrenched in India?

• Third against the background ofinter-communal strife, theConstitution upholds itscommitment to group rights (theright to the expression of culturalparticularity). This indicates that theframers of the Constitution weremore than willing to face thechallenges of what more than fourdecades later has come to be knownas multiculturalism.

Universal franchise

Two other core features may also beregarded as achievements. First, it is no meanachievement to commit oneself to universalfranchise, specially when there is widespreadbelief that traditional hierarchies in India arecongealed and more or less impossible toeliminate, and when the right to vote has onlyrecently been extended to women and to theworking class in stable, Western democracies.

Once the idea of a nation took rootamong the elite, the idea of democratic selfgovernment followed. Thus, Indiannationalism always conceived of a politicalorder based on the will of every single memberof society. The idea of universal franchise laysecurely within the heart of nationalism. Asearly as the Constitution of India Bill (1895),the first non-official attempt at drafting aconstitution for India the author declared thatevery citizen i e anyone born in India had aright to take part in the affairs of the country


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and be admitted to public office. The MotilalNehru Report (1928) reaffirms this conceptionof citizenship, reiterating that every person ofeither sex who has attained the age of twenty-one is entitled to vote for the house ofRepresentatives or Parliament. Thus from veryearly on, universal franchise was consideredas the most important and legitimateinstrument by which the will of the nation wasto be properly expressed.

Federalism

Second, by introducing the articlesconcerning Jammu and Kashmir (Art. 370) andthe North-East (Art, 371), the IndianConstitution anticipates the very, importantconcept of asymmetric federalism. We haveseen in the chapter on federalism that theConstitution has created a strong centralgovernment. But despite this unitary bias ofthe Indian Constitution, there are importantconstitutionally embedded differencesbetween the legal status and prerogatives ofdifferent sub-units within the same federation.Unlike the constitutional symmetry ofAmerican federalism, Indian federalism hasbeen constitutionally asymmetric. To meet thespecific needs and requirements of some sub-units, it was always part of the original designto have a unique relationship with them or togive them special status. For example, theaccession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indianunion was based on a commitment tosafeguard autonomy under Article 370 of theConstitution. This is the only State that isgoverned by its own constitution. Similarly,under Article 371A, the privilege of specialstatus was also accorded to the North-EasternState of Nagaland. This Article not onlyconfers validity on preexisting laws withinNagaland, but also protects local. Many otherStates too, are beneficiaries of such special

provisions. According to the IndianConstitution, then, there is nothing bad aboutthis differential treatment. Although theConstitution did not originally envisage this,India is now a multi-lingual federation. Eachmajor linguistic group is politically recognisedand all are treated as equals. Thus, thedemocratic and linguistic federalism of Indiahas managed to combine claims to unity withclaims to cultural recognition. A fairly robustpolitical arena exists that allows for the playof multiple identities that complement oneanother.

National identity

Thus, the Constitution constantlyreinforces a common national identity. In thechapter on federalism, you have studied howIndia strives to retain regional identities alongwith the national identity. It is clear from whatis mentioned above that this common nationalidentity was not incompatible with distinctreligious or linguistic identities. The IndianConstitution tried to balance these variousidentities. Yet, preference was given tocommon identity under certain conditions.This is clarified, in the debate over separateelectorates based on religious identity whichthe Constitution rejects.

Separate electorates were rejected not be-cause they fostered difference betweenreligious communities as such or because theyendangered a simple notion of national unitybut because they endangered a healthy na-tional life. Rather than forced unity, our Con-stitution sought to evolve true fraternity, a goaldear to the heart of Dr. Ambedkar. As SardarPatel put it, the main objective was to evolve‘one community’.

PROCEDURAL ACHIEVEMENTS

All these five core features are what


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might be called the substantive achievementsof the Constitution. However, there were alsosome procedural achievements.

• First, the Indian Constitution reflectsa faith in political deliberation. Weknow that many groups and interestswere not adequately represented inthe Constituent Assembly. But thedebates in the Assembly amply showthat the makers of the Constitutionwanted to be as inclusive in theirapproach as possible. This open-endedness indicates the willingnessof people to modify their existingpreferences, in short, to justifyoutcomes by reference not to self-interest but to reasons. It also showsa willingness to recognise creativevalue in difference and disagreement.

• Second, it reflects a spirit ofcompromise and accommodation.These words, compromise andaccommodation, should not alwaysbe seen with disapproval. Not allcompromises are bad.

If something of value is traded off formere self-interest, then we naturally havecompromised in the bad sense. However, ifone value is partially traded off for anothervalue, especially in an open process of freedeliberation among equals, then thecompromise arrived in this manner can hardlybe objected to.

We max’ lament that we could not haveeverything but to secure a bit of all thingsimportant cannot be morally blameworthy.Besides, a commitment to the idea thatdecisions on the most important issues mustbe arrived at consenua1ly rather than bymajority vote is equally morallycommendable. The Preamble of the

Constitution reads like a poem on democracy.It contains the philosophy on which the entireConstitution has been built. It provides astandard to examine and evaluate any law andaction of government, to find out whether itis good or bad. It is the soul of the IndianConstitution.

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, havingsolemnly resolved to constitute India aSOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR,DEMOCARATIC REPUBLIC and to secureto all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faithand worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity ofthe individual and the unity and integrity ofthe nation; IN OUR CONSTITUTENTASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day ofNovember, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT,ENACT AN? ?IVE TO OURSELVES THISCONSTITUTION.

WE, THE PEOPLE O’ INDIA• The constitution has been drawn up

and enacted by the people throughtheir representatives, and not handeddown to them by a king or anyoutside powers.

SOVEREIGN• People have supreme right to make

decisions on internal as well asexternal matters. No external powercan dictate the government of India.

SOCIALIST• Wealth is generated socially and

should be shared equally by society.Government should regulate theownership of land and industry to


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reduce socio-economic inequalities.SECULAR

• Citizens have complete freedom tofollow any religion. But there is noofficial religion. Government treatsall religious beliefs and practices withequal respect.

DEMOCRATIC• A form of government where people

enjoy equal political rights, elect theirrulers and hold them accountable.The government is run according tosome basic rules.

REPUBLIC• The head of the state is an elected

person and not a hereditary position.JUSTICE

• Citizens cannot l discriminated on thegrounds of caste, religion and gender.Social inequalities have to be

reduced. Government should workfor the welfare of all, especially of thedisadvantaged groups.

LIBERTY• There are no unreasonable

restrictions on the citizens in whatthey think, how they wish to expresstheir thoughts and the way, they wishto follow up their thoughts in action.

EQUALITY• All are equal before the law. The

traditional social inequalities have tobe ended. The government shouldensure equal opportunity for all.

FRATERNITY• All of us should behave as if we are

members of the same family. No oneshould treat a fellow citizen asinferior.


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Right to Equality Right to liberty and Personal freedomsRight to:

√ Equality before law √ Speech and expression√ Equal protection of laws √ Assemble peacefully√ Prohibition on discrimination on ground √ Form association

of religion √ Move freely throughout the territory ofIndia

√ Equal access to shops, bathing ghats, √ Reside and settle in any part of Indiahotels etc. Practice any profession or to carry on any

√ Equality of opportunity in employment occupation, trade or business.√ Abolition of titles √ Right to life and liberty;√ Abolition of untouchability √ Rights of the accused and convictsRight to freedom of religion Cultural and educational Rights of

minority groups√ Freedom of conscience and profession; √ Protection of language, culture of

minorities;√ Freedom to manage religious affairs; √ Right of minorities to

freedom to give religious instructions in √ educational institutionscertain institutions Right to Constitutional remedy

Right against exploitation √ Right to move the courts for issuance ofwrits

√ Prohibition of forced labour;√ Prohibition of employment of children

in hazardous jobs


♣ RIGHT TO FREEDOM ............................................................................................................ 20♣ RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOITATION........................................................................................ 22♣ RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION ................................................................................... 22♣ CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS .......................................................................... 23♣ RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES ......................................................................... 24♣ DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY ..................................................................... 24♣ DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES ...................................................................................................... 25♣ RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES .. 25

3

Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution


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During our freedom struggle, the leadersof the freedom movement had realised theimportance of rights and demanded that theBritish rulers should respect rights of thepeople. The Motilal Nehru committee had.demanded bill of rights as far as back as in1928. It was therefore, natural that when Indiabecame independent and the Constitution wasbeing prepared, there were no two opinionson the inclusion and protection of rights in theConstitution. The Constitution listed the rightsthat would be specially protected and calledthem ‘fundamental rights’.

The word fundamental suggests thatthese rights are so important that theConstitution has separately listed them andmade special provisions for their protection.The Fundamental Rights are so important thatthe Constitution itself ensures that they are notviolated by the government.

Fundamental Rights are different fromother rights available to us. While ordinarylegal rights are protected and enforced byordinary law, Fundamental Rights areprotected and guaranteed by the constitutionof the country. Ordinary rights may bechanged by the legislature by ordinary processof law making, but a fundamental right mayonly be changed by amending theConstitution itself. Besides this, no organ ofthe government can act in a manner thatviolates them. Judiciary has the powers andresponsibility to protect the fundamentalrights from violations by actions of thegovernment. Executive as well as legislativeactions can be declared illegal by the judiciaryif these violate the fundamental rights orrestrict them in an unreasonable manner.However, fundamental rights are not absoluteor unlimited rights. Government can putreasonable restrictions on the exercise of ourfundamental rights.

Right to Equality:

It provides for equal access to publicplaces like shops, hotels, places ofentertainment, wells, bathing ghats and placesof worship. There cannot be anydiscrimination in this access on the basis ofcaste, creed, colour, sex, religion, or place ofbirth. It also prohibits any discrimination inpublic employment on any of the abovementioned basis. This right is very importantbecause our society did not practice equalaccess in the past.

The practice of untouchability is one ofthe crudest manifestations of inequality. Thishas been abolished under the right to equality.The same right also provides that the stateshall confer no title on a person except thosewho excel themselves in military or academicfield. Thus right to equality strives to makeIndia a true democracy by ensuring a sense ofequality of dignity and status among all itscitizens.

Read the Preamble to our Constitution?You will find that the Preamble mentions twothings about equality: equality of status andequality of opportunity. Equality ofopportunity means that all sections of thesociety enjoy equal opportunities. But in asociety where there are various kinds of socialinequalities, what does equal opportunitymean?

The Constitution clarifies that thegovernment can implement special schemesand measures for improving the conditions ofcertain sections of society: children, women,and the socially and educationally backwardclasses. You may have heard about‘reservations’ in jobs, and in admissions. Youwould have wondered why there arereservations if we follow the principle ofequality. in fact Article 16(4) of the constitution


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FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION 21

explicitly clarifies that a policy like reservationwill not be seen as a violation of right toequality. If you see the spirit of theConstitution, this is required for the fulfilmentof the right to equality of opportunity.

Article 16 (4): Nothing in this article shallprevent the State from making any provisionfor the reservation of appointments or postsin favour of any backward class of citizenswhich, in the opinion of the State, is notadequately represented in the services underthe State.

RIGHT TO FREEDOM

Equality and freedom liberty, are the tworights that are most essential to a democracy.It is not possible to think of the one withoutthinking of the other. Liberty means freedomof thought, expression and action. Howeverit does not mean freedom to do anything thatone desires or likes. If that were to bepermitted then a large number of people willnot be able to enjoy their freedom. Therefore,freedoms are defined in such a manner thatevery person will enjoy her freedom withoutthreatening freedom of others and withoutendangering the law and order situation.

Article 21: Protection of life and personalliberty—No person shall be deprived of hislife or personal liberty except according toprocedure established by law.

Right to life and personal liberty

The foremost right among rights tofreedom is the right to life and personal liberty.No citizen can be denied his or her life exceptby procedure as laid down under the law.Similarly no one can be denied his/herpersonal liberty.

That means no one can be arrestedwithout being told the grounds for such an

arrest. If arrested, the person has the right todefend himself by a lawyer of his choice. Also,it is mandatory for the police to take thatperson to the nearest magistrate within 24hours. The magistrate, who is not part of thepolice, will decide whether the arrest isjustified or not.

This right is not just confined to aguarantee against taking away of anindividual’s life but has wider application.Various judgments of Supreme Court haveexpanded the scope of this right. The SupremeCourt has ruled that this right also includesright to live with human dignity, free fromexploitation. The court has held that right toshelter and livelihood is also included in theright to life because no person can live withoutthe means of living, that is, the means oflivelihood.

Preventive detention

Ordinarily, a person would be arrestedafter he or she has reportedly committed someoffence. However there are exceptions to this.Sometimes a person can be arrested simply outof an apprehension that he or she is likely toengage in unlawful activity and imprisonedfor some time without following the abovementioned procedure. This is known aspreventive detention. It means that if thegovernment feels that a person can be a threatto law and order or to the peace and securityof the nation, it can detain or arrest that person.This preventive detention can be extendedonly for three months. After three months sucha case is brought before an advisory board forreview.

On the face of it, preventive detentionlooks like an effective tool in the hands of thegovernment to deal with anti-social elementsor subversives. But this provision has oftenbeen misused by the government. Many


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people think that there must be greatersafeguards in this law so that it may not bemisused against people for reasons other thanthat which are really justified. In fact, there isa clear tension between right to life andpersonal liberty and the provision forpreventive detention.

Other freedoms: You can see that underthe right to freedom there are some otherrights as well. These rights however are notabsolute. Each of these is subject to restrictionsimposed by the government.

For example right to freedom of speechand expression is subject to restrictions suchas public order, peace and morality etc.Freedom to assemble too is to be exercisedpeacefully and without arms. The governmentmay impose restrictions in certain areasdeclaring the assembly of five or more personsas unlawful. Such powers can be easilymisused by the administration. The genuineprotest against an act or policy of governmentby the people may be denied permission.However, if the people are aware and vigilantin regard to their rights and choose to protestagainst such acts of administration suchmisuse becomes rare. In the ConstituentAssembly itself, some members had expressedtheir dissatisfaction about restrictions onrights.

Rights of accused

Our Constitution ensures that personsaccused of various offences would also getsufficient protection. We often tend to believethat anyone who is charged with some offenceis guilty. However, no one is guilty unless thecourt has found that person guilty of anoffence. It is also necessary that a personaccused of any crime should get adequateopportunity to defend herself or himself. To

ensure a fair trial in courts, the Constitutionhas provided three rights:

• no person would punished for thesame offence more than once,

• no law shall declare any action asillegal from a backdate, and

• no person shall be asked to giveevidence against himself or herself.

RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOITATION

In our country there are millions ofpeople who are underprivileged anddeprived. They may be subjected toexploitation by their fellow human beings.One such form of exploitation in our countryhas been begar or forced labour withoutpayment. Another closely related form ofexploitation is buying and selling of humanbeings and using them as slaves. Both of theseare prohibited under the Constitution. Forcedlabour was imposed by landlords, moneylenders and other wealthy persons in the past.Some form of bonded labour still continues inthe country, specially in brick kiln work. It hasnow been declared a crime and it ispunishable.

The Constitution also forbidsemployment of children below the age of 14years in dangerous jobs like factories andmines. With child labour being made illegaland right to education becoming afundamental right for children, this rightagainst exploitation has become moremeaningful.

RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION

According to our Constitution, everyoneenjoys the right to follow the religion of his orher choice. This freedom is considered as ahallmark of democracy. Historically, therewere rulers and emperors in different parts of


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the world who did not allow residents of theircountries to enjoy the right to freedom ofreligion. Persons following a religion differentfrom that of the ruler were either persecutedor forced to convert to the official religion ofthe rulers. Therefore, democracy has always‘incorporated the freedom to follow thereligion of one’s choice as one of its basicprinciple’.

Freedom of faith and worship

In India, everyone is free to choose areligion and practice that religion. Freedom ofreligion also includes the freedom ofconscience. This means that a person maychoose any religion or may choose not tofollow any religion. Freedom of religionincludes the freedom to profess, follow andpropagate any religion. Freedom of religionis subject to certain limitations. Thegovernment can impose restrictions on thepractice of freedom of religion in order toprotect public order, morality and health. Thismeans that the freedom of religion is not anunlimited right. The government can interferein religious matters for rooting out certainsocial evils. For example in the past, thegovernment has taken steps banning practiceslike sati, bigamy or human sacrifice. Suchrestrictions cannot be opposed in the name ofinterference in right to freedom of religion.

The limitations on the right to freedomof religion always produce tensions betweenfollowers of various religions and thegovernment. When the government seeks torestrict some activities of any religious group,people of that religion feel that this isinterference in their religion.

Freedom of religion becomes a matter ofpolitical controversy for yet another reason.The Constitution has guaranteed the right to

propagate one’s religion. This includespersuading people to convert from onereligion to another. However, some peopleresent conversions on the ground that theseare based on intimidation or inducement. TheConsti-tution does not allow forcibleconversions. It only gives us the right to spreadinformation about our religion and thus attractothers to it.

Equality of all religions

Being a country which is home to severalreligions, it is necessary that the governmentmust extend equal treatment to differentreligions. Negatively, it means that govern-ment will not favour any particular religion.India does not have any official religion. Wedon’t have to belong to any particular religionin order to be a prime minister or president orjudge or any other public official. We have alsoseen that under the right to equality, there is aguarantee that government will notdiscriminate on the basis of religion in givingemployment. The institutions run by the statewill not preach any religion or give religiouseducation nor will they favour persons of anyreligion. The objective of these provisions isto sustain and nurture the principle ofsecularism.

CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS

When we talk of the Indian society, theimage of diversity comes before our minds.India is not made up of a monolithic society.We are a society that has vast diversity. In sucha society that is full of diversity, there wouldbe social sections which are small in numberscompared to some other groups.

Our Constitution believes that diversityis our strength. Therefore, one of thefundamental rights is the right of the


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minorities to maintain their culture. Thisminority status is not dependent only uponreligion. Linguistic and cultural minorities arealso included in this provision. Minorities aregroups that have common language orreligion and in a particular part of the countryor in the country as a whole, they areoutnumbered by some other social section.Such communities have a culture, languageand a script of their own, and have the rightto conserve and develop these.

All minorities, religious or linguistic, canset up their own educational institutions. Bydoing so, they can preserve and develop theirown culture. The government will not, whilegranting aid to educational institutions,discriminate against any educationalinstitution on the basis that it is under themanagement of minority community.

RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES

One would agree that our Constitutioncontains a very impressive list of FundamentalRights. But merely writing down a list of rightsis not enough. There has to be a way throughwhich they could be realised in practice anddefended against any attack on these rights.

Fundamental Duties of citizens

• In 1976, the 42nd amendment to theConstitution was passed. Amongother things, this amendmentinserted a list of Fundamental Dutiesof Citizens. In all, ten duties wereenumerated. However, theConstitution does not say anythingabout enforcing these duties.

• As citizens, we must abide by theConstitution, defend our country,promote harmony among all citizens,protect the environment.

• However, it must be noted that ourConstitution does not make theenjoyment of rights dependent orconditional upon fulfilment of duties.in this sense, the inclusion offundamental duties has not changedthe status of our fundamental rights.

Right to constitutional remedies is themeans through which this is to be achieved.Dr. Ambedkar considered the right toconstitutional remedies as ‘heart and soul ofthe constitution’, It is so because this rightgives a citizen the right to approach a HighCourt or the Supreme Court to get any of thefundamental rights restored in case of theirviolation. The Supreme Court and the HighCourts can issue orders and give directives tothe government for the enforcement of rights.

The courts can issue various specialorders known as writs.

Habeas corpus: A writ of habeas corpusmeans that the court orders that the arrestedperson should be presented before it. It canalso order to set free an arrested person if themanner or grounds of arrest are not lawful orsatisfactory.

Mandamus: This writ is issued when thecourt finds that a particular office holder is notdoing legal duty and thereby is infringing onthe right of an individual.

Prohibition: This writ is issued by ahigher court (High Court or Supreme Court)when a lower court has considered a casegoing beyond its jurisdiction.

Quo Warranto: If the court finds that aperson is holding office but is not entitled tohold that office, it issues the writ of quowarranto and restricts that person from actingas an office holder.

Certiorari: Under this writ, the court


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orders a lower court or another authority totransfer a matter pending before it to thehigher authority or court.

Apart from the judiciary, many othermechanisms have been created in later yearsfor the protection of rights. You may haveheard about the National Commission onMinorities, the National Commission onWomen, the National Commission onScheduled Castes, etc. These institutionsprotect the rights of women, minorities orDalits. Besides, the National Human RightsCommission has also been established by lawto protect the fundamental and other kinds ofrights.

DIRECTIVEPRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

The makers of our Constitution knewthat independent India was going to facemany challenges. Foremost among these wasthe challenge to bring about equality and well-being of all citizens.

They also thought, that certain policydirection was required for handling theseproblems. At the same time, the Constitutiondid not want future governments to be boundby certain policy decisions. Therefore, someguidelines were incorporated in theConstitution but they were not made legallyenforceable: this means that if a governmentdid not implement a particular guideline, wecannot go to the court asking the court toinstruct the government to implement thatpolicy. Thus, these guidelines are‘nonjusticiable’ i.e., parts of the Constitutionthat cannot be enforced by the judiciary Thosewho framed our Constitution thought that themoral force behind these guidelines wouldensure that the government would take themseriously. Besides, they expected that thepeople would also hold the governments

responsible for implementing these directives.So, a separate list of policy guidelines isincluded in the Constitution. The list of theseguidelines is called the Directive Principles ofState Policy.

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

Goals

Welfare of the people; Social, economicand political justice;

Raising the standard of living; equitabledistribution of resources;

promotion of international peace

Policies

Uniform civil code; Prohibition ofconsumption of alcoholic liquor;

Promotion of cottage industries;Prevention of slaughter of useful cattle;Promotion of village panchayats.

Non-justiciable rights

Adequate livelihood equal pay for equalwork (for men and women)

Right against economic Exploitation.Right to work;

Right of children to free and compulsoryeducation

What do the Directive Principlescontain?

• The chapter on Directive Principleslists mainly three things:

• the goals and objectives that we as asociety should adopt;

• certain rights that individuals shouldenjoy apart from the FundamentalRights; and

• certain policies that the governmentshould adopt.


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You may get some idea of the vision ofmakers of our Constitution by looking at someof the Directive Principles shown below.

The governments from time to time triedto give effect to some Directive Principles ofState Policy. They passed several zamindariabolition bills, nationalised banks, enactednumerous factory laws, fixed minimumwages, cottage and small industries werepromoted and provisions for reservation forthe uplift of the scheduled castes andscheduled tribes were made. Such efforts togive effect to the Directive Principles includethe right to education, formation of panchayatiraj institutions all over the country, partialright to work under employment guaranteeprogramme and the mid-day meal scheme etc.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FUNDAMENTALRIGHTS AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

It is possible to see both FundamentalRights and Directive Principles as comple-mentary to each other. Fundamental Rightsrestrain the government from doing certainthings while Directive Principles exhort thegovernment to do certain things. FundamentalRights mainly protect the rights of individualswhile directive principles ensure the well-being of the entire society.

However, at times, when governmentintends to implement Directive Principles ofState Policy, it can come in conflict with theFundamental Rights of the citizen.

However, keeping in mind the societalneeds that are greater than the individualinterests, the government amended theConstitution to give effect to the DirectivePrinciples of State Policy. This led to a longlegal battle.

The executive and the judiciary tookdifferent positions. The government claimed

that rights can be abridged for giving effect toDirective Principles. This argument assumedthat rights were a hindrance to welfare of thepeople. On the other hand, the court held theview that Fundamental Rights were soimportant and sacred that they cannot belimited even for purposes of implementingDirective Principles.

Right to Property

Behind the controversy about therelationship between rights and directiveprinciples, there was one important reason: inthe Constitution, originally, there was afundamental right to ‘acquire, possess andmaintain’ property. But the Constitution madeit clear that property could be taken away bythe government for public welfare. Since 1950,government made many laws that limited thisright to property. This right was at the centreof the long debate over the relationshipbetween rights and directive principles.Finally, in 1973, the Supreme Court gave adecision that the right to property was not partof the basic structure of the Constitution andtherefore, parliament had power to abridgethis right by an amendment. In 1978, the 44thamendment to the Constitution removed theright to property from the list of FundamentalRights and converted it into a simple legalright under. article 300 A.

This generated another complicateddebate. This related to the amendment of theConstitution. The government was saying thatParliament can amend any part of theConstitution. The court was saying thatParliament cannot make an amendment thatviolated Fundamental Rights. Thiscontroversy was settled by an importantdecision of the Supreme Court inKesavananda Bharati case. In this case, the


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court said that there are certain basic featuresof the Constitution and these cannot bechanged by Parliament.

Conclusion

In the writings of Jotirao Phuley (1827-1890), a radical social reformer fromMaharashtra, we find one of the earliestexpressions of the view that rights includeboth freedom and equality. During thenational movement, this idea of rights wasfurther sharpened and expanded to

constitutional rights. Our Constitutionreflected this long tradition and listed thefundamental rights. Since 1950, the judiciaryhas functioned as an important protector ofrights. Judicial interpretations have expandedthe scope of rights in many respects. Thegovernment and administration of ourcountry function within this overallframework. Rights enforce limitations on thefunctioning of the government and ensuredemocratic governance of the country.


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EXECUTIVE

In any organisation, some office holderhas to take decisions and implement thosedecisions. We call this activity administrationor management. But administration requiresbody at the top that will take policy decisionsor the big decisions and supervise andcoordinate the routine administrativefunctioning. You may have heard about theexecutives of bi companies, banks or industrialunits. Every formal group has a body of thosewho function as the chief administrators or theexecutives of that organisation. Some officeholders decide the policies and rules andregulations and then some office holdersimplement those decisions in actual day to-day functioning of the organisation. The wordexecutive means a body of persons that lookafter the implementation of rules andregulations in actual practice.

In the case of government also, one bodymay take policy decisions and decide aboutrules and regulations, while the other onewould be in charge of implementing thoserules. The organ government that primarilylooks after the function of implementation and

administration is called the executive.Executive is the branch of government

responsible for the implementation of laws an

System based on theprinciples of collective

System based on

Parliamentary

Head of thegovernment isusually known

Minister.

He is the leaderof the majority

party in

Legislature.

He is account-able to the

legislature.

The head ofthe statemay be

Monarch

Semi

Presidentialsystem

Has the Presidentas head of thestate.

Has a primeminister as head

of thegovernment

PM and his

Presidentialsystem

President isHead of the

state.He is also

the head ofthe Govern-ment.

The Presidentis usuallydirectly

elected by thepeople.

ConstitutionalMonarchy

ParlimentaryCeremonial

policies adopted by the legislature. Theexecutive is often involved in framing ofpolicy. The official designations of theexecutive vary from country to country. Somecountries have presidents, while others havechancellors.


♣ EXECUTIVE ........................................................................................................................... 28♣WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXECUTIVE? ...................................................... 29♣PARLIAMENTARY EXECUTIVE IN INDIA ........................................................................... 29♣ PRIME MINISTER AND COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ............................................................ 33

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EXECUTIVE 29

The executive branch is not just aboutpresidents, prime ministers and ministers. Italso extends to the administrative machinery(civil servants). While the heads governmentand their ministers, saddled with the overallresponsibility of government policy, altogetherknown as the political executive, thoseresponsible for day to day administration acalled the permanent executive.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXECUTIVE?

Every country may not have the sametype of executive. You may have heard aboutthe President of the USA and the Queen ofEngland. But the powers and functions of thePresident of the USA are very different fromthe powers of the President of India. Similarly,the powers of the Queen of England aredifferent from the powers of the King of Nepal.Both India and France have prime ministers,but their roles are different from each other.

To answer this question we will brieflyoutline the nature of executive existing in someof these countries. The USA has a presidentialsystem and executive powers are in the handsof the president. Canada has a parliamentarydemocracy with constitutional m6narchywhere Queen Elizabeth II is the formal chiefof state and the Prime Minister is the head ofgovernment. In France, both the president andthe prime minister a part of the semipresidential system.

The president appoints the primeminister as well as the ministers but cannotdismiss them as they are responsible to theparliament. Japan has a parliamentary systemwith the Emperor as the head of the state andthe prime minister as the head of government.Italy has a parliamentary system with thepresident as the formal head of state and theprime minister as the head of government.

Russia has a semi-presidential system wherepresident is the head of state and primeminister, who is appointed by the president,is the head of government. Germany has aparliamentary system in which president isthe ceremonial head of state and the chancelloris the head of government. In a presidentialsystem, the president is the Head of state aswell as head of Government. In this systemthe office of president is very powerful, bothin theory and practice. Countries with such asystem include the United States, Brazil andmost nations in Latin America.

In a parliamentary system, the primeminister is the head of government. Mostparliamentary systems have a president or amonarch who is the nominal Head of state. Insuch a system, the role of president or monarchis primarily ceremonial and prime ministeralong with the cabinet wields effective power.Countries with such system include Germany,Italy, Japan, United Kingdom as well asPortugal. A semi-presidential system has botha president and a prime minister but unlikethe parliamentary system the president maypossess significant day-to-day powers. In thissystem, it is possible that sometimes thepresident and the prime minister may belongto the same party and at times they maybelong to two different parties and thus,would be opposed to each other. Countrieswith such a system include France, Russia, SriLanka, etc.

PARLIAMENTARY EXECUTIVE IN INDIA

When the Constitution of India waswritten, India already had some experience ofrunning the parliamentary system under theActs of 1919 and 1935. This experience hadshown that in the parliamentary system, theexecutive can be effectively controlled by therepresentatives of the people. The makers of


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the Indian Constitution wanted to ensure thatthe government would be sensitive to publicexpectations and would be responsible andaccountable. The other alternative to theparliamentary executive was the presidentialform of government. But the presidentialexecutive puts much emphasis on thepresident as the chief executive and as sourceof all executive power. There is always thedanger of personality cult in presidentialexecutive. The makers of the IndianConstitution wanted a government that wouldhave a strong executive branch, but at the sametime, enough safeguards should be there tocheck against the personality cult. In theparliamentary form there are manymechanisms that ensure that the executive willbe answerable to and controlled by thelegislature or people's representatives. So theConstitution adopted the parliamentarysystem of executive for the governments bothat the national and State levels.

Power and position of President

Article 74 (1): There shall be a Council ofMinisters with the Prime Minister at the headto aid and advise the President who shall inthe exercise of his functions, act in accordancewith such advice. Provided that the Presidentmay require the Council of Ministers toreconsider such advice and the President shallact in accordance with the advice tenderedafter such reconsideration.

According to this system, there is aPresident who is the formal Head of the stateof India and the Prime Minister and theCouncil of Ministers, which run thegovernment at the national level. At the Statelevel, the executive comprises the Governorand the Chief Minister and Council ofMinisters. The Constitution of India vests theexecutive power of the Union formally in the

President. In reality, the President exercisesthese powers through the Council of Ministersheaded by the Prime Minister. The Presidentis elected for a period of five years. But thereis no direct election by the people for the officeof President. The President is electedindirectly. This means that the president iselected not by the ordinary citizens but by theelected MLAs and MPs. This election takesplace in accordance with the principle ofproportional representation with singletransferable vote.

The President can be removed from officeonly by Parliament by following the procedurefor impeachment. The only ground forimpeachment is violation of the Constitution.

Do you know what the word shall meanshere? It indicates that the advice is binding onthe President. In view of the controversy aboutthe scope of the President’s powers, a specificmention was made in the Constitution by anamendment that the advice of the Council ofMinisters will be binding on the President. Byanother amendment made later, it wasdecided that the President can ask the Councilof Ministers to reconsider its advice but, hasto accept the reconsidered advice of theCouncil of Ministers.

We have already seen that President isthe formal head of the government. In thisformal sense, the President has wide rangingexecutive, legislative, judicial and emergencypowers. In a parliamentary system, thesepowers are in reality used by the Presidentonly on the advice of the Council of Ministers.The Prime Minister and the Council ofMinisters have support of the majority in theLok Sabha and they are the real executive. Inmost of the cases, the President has to followthe advice of the Council of Ministers.

“We did not give him any real power but


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EXECUTIVE 31

we have made his position one of authorityand dignity. The constitution wants to createneither a real executive nor a mere figurehead,but a head that neither reigns nor governs; itwants to create a great figurehead...”

Discretionary Powers of the President

The President has no discretionarypower under any circumstances? This will bean incorrect assessment. Constitutionally, thePresident has a right to be informed of allimportant matters and deliberations of theCouncil of Ministers. The Prime Minister isobliged to furnish all the information that thePresident may call for. The President oftenwrites to the Prime Minister and expresses hisviews on matters confronting the country.

President’s role inChoosing the Prime Minister

After 1977, party politics in India becamemore competitive and there have been manyinstances when no party had clear majority inthe Lok Sabha. What does the President do insuch situations? No politi-cal party or coalitionsecured majority in the elections held in March1998. The BJP and its allies secured 251 seats,21 short of a majority. President Narayananadopted an elaborate procedure. He asked theleader of the alliance, Atal Behari Vajpayee,“to furnish documents in support of his claimfrom concerned political parties.” Notstopping at this the President also advisedVajpayee to secure a vote of confidence withinten days of being sworn in.

Besides this, there are at least threesituations where the President can exercise thepowers using his or her own discretion. In thefirst place, we have already noted that thePresident can send back the advice given bythe Council of Ministers and ask the Councilto reconsider the decision. In doing this, the

President acts on his (or her) own discretion.When the President thinks that the advice hascertain flaws or legal lacunae, or that it is notin the best interests of the country, thePresident can ask the Council to reconsider thedecision. Although, the Council can still sendback the same advice and the President wouldthen be - bound by that advice, such a requestby the President to reconsider the decision,would naturally carry a lot of weight. So, thisis one way in which the president can act inhis own discretion.

Secondly, the President also has vetopower by which he can withhold or refuse togive assent to Bills (other than Money Bill)passed by the Parliament. Every bill passedby the Parliament goes to the President for hisassent before it becomes a law. The Presidentcan send the bill back to the Parliament askingit to reconsider the bill. This ‘veto’ power islimited because, if the Parliament passes thesame bill again and sends it back to thePresident, then, the President has to giveassent to that bill. However, there is nomention in the Constitution about the timelimit within which the President must sendthe bill back for reconsideration. This meansthat the President can just keep the billpending with him without ally tin limit Thisgives the ‘President an informal power to usethe veto in a very effective manner This issometimes referred to as ‘pocket veto’.

We saw that there is no time limit on thePresident for giving his assent to a bill. Do youknow that such a thing has already happened?In 1986, the Parliament passed a bill knownas Indian Post office (amendment) bill. Thisbill was widely criticised by many for it soughtto curtail the freedom of the press.

The then President, Gyani Zail Singh, didnot, take any decision on this bill. After his


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term was over, the next President,Venkataraman sent the bill finally back to theParliament for reconsideration. By that time,the government that brought the bill beforethe Parliament had changed and a newgovernment was elected in 1989. Thisgovernment belonged to a different coalitionand did not bring the bill back before theParliament. Thus, Zail Singh’s decision topostpone giving assent to the bill effectivelymeant that the bill could never become a law!

Then, the third kind of discretion arisesmore out of political circumstances. Formally,the President appoints the Prime Minister.Normally, in the parliamentary system, aleader who has the support of the majority inthe Lok Sabha would be appointed as PrimeMinister and the question of discretion wouldnot arise. But imagine a situation when afteran election, no leader has a clear majority inthe Lok Sabha. Imagine further that afterattempts to forge alliances, two or threeleaders are claiming that they have the supportof the majority in the house. Now, thePresident has to decide whom to appoint asthe Prime Minister. In such a situation, thePresident has to use his own discretion injudging who really may have the support ofthe majority or who can actually form and runthe government.

The Vice President of India

The Vice President is elected for fiveyears. His election method is similar to that ofthe President, the only difference is thatmembers of State legislatures are not part ofthe electoral college. The Vice President maybe removed from his office by a resolution ofthe Rajya Sabha passed by a majority andagreed to by the Lok Sabha. The Vice Presidentacts as the ex-officio considerably increased

the importance of the Chairman of the RajyaSabha and takes over the office of the Presidentwhen there is a vacancy by reasons of death,resignation, removal by impeachment orotherwise. The Vice President only until a newPresident is elected, B. D. Jatti acted asPresident on the death of Fakhruddin AliAhmed until a new President was elected.

Since 1989 major political changes havepresidential office. In the four parliamentaryelections held from 1989 to 1998, no singleparty or coalition attained a majority in theLok acts as the President Sabha. Thesesituations demanded presidential interventioneither in order to constitute, governments orto grant a request for dissolution of Lok Sabhaa Prime Minister who could not provemajority in the House. It may thus be said thatpresidential discretion is related to politicalconditions. There is greater scope forpresidential assertiveness when governmentsare not stable and coalitions occupy power.

For the most part, the President is aformal power holder and a ceremonial headof the - nation. You may wonder why then dowe need a President? In a parliamentarysystem, the Council of Ministers is dependenton the support of the majority in thelegislature. This also means that the Councilof Ministers may be removed at any time anda new Council of Ministers will have to be putin place. Such a situation requires a Head ofthe state who has a fixed term, who may beempowered to appoint the Prime Minister andwho may symbolically represent the entirecountry. This is exactly the role of the Presidentin ordinary circumstances. Besides, when noparty has a clear majority, the President hasthe additional responsibility of making achoice and appointing the Prime Minister torun the government of the country.


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Size of the Council of Ministers

Before the 91st Amendment Act (2003),the size of the Council of Minister wasdetermined according to exigencies of timeand requirements of the situation. But this ledto very large size of the Council of Ministers.Besides, when no party had a clear majority,there was a temptation to win over the supportof the members of the Parliament by givingthem ministerial positions as there was norestriction on the number of the members ofthe Council of Ministers. This was happeningin many States also. Therefore, an amendmentwas made that the Council of Ministers shallnot exceed 15 percent of total number ofmembers of the House of People (or Assemblythe case of the States).

PRIME MINISTER ANDCOUNCIL OF MINISTERS

No discussion of government or politicsin India, would normally take place withoutmentioning one office: the Prime Minister ofIndia. The President exercises his powers onlyon the advice of the Council of Ministers. TheCouncil of Ministers is headed by the PrimeMinister. Therefore, as head of the Council ofMinisters, the Prime Minister becomes themost important functionary of thegovernment in our country.

In the parliamentary form of executive,it is essential that the Prime Minister has thesupport of the majority in the Lok Sabha. Thissupport by the majority also makes the PrimeMinister very powerful. The moment thissupport of the majority is lost, the Prime Min-ister loses the office. For many years afterindependence, the Congress party had themajority in the Lok Sabha and its leader wouldbecome the Prime Minister. Since 1989, therehave been many occasions when no party had

majority in the Lok Sabha. Various politicalparties have come together and formed acoalition that has majority in the House. Insuch situations, a leader who is acceptable tomost partners of the coalition becomes thePrime Minister.

Formally, a leader who has the supportof the majority is appointed by the Presidentas Prime Minister. The Prime Minister thendecides who will be the ministers in theCouncil of Ministers. The Prime Ministerallocates ranks and portfolios to the ministers.Depending upon the seniority and politicalimportance, the ministers are given the ranksof cabinet minister, minister of State or deputyminister. In the same manner, Chief Ministersof the States choose ministers from their ownparty or coalition. The Prime Minister and allthe ministers have to be members of theParliament. If someone becomes a minister orPrime Minister without being an MP, such aperson has to get elected to the Parliamentwithin six months. But remember that themost important feature of parliamentaryexecutive is that the executive is routinelyunder the control and supervision of thelegislature.

The Council of Ministers is collectivelyresponsible to the Lok Sabha. This provisionmeans that a Ministry which loses confidenceof the Lok Sabha is obliged to resign. Theprinciple indicates that the ministry is anexecutive committee of the Parliament and itcollectively governs on behalf of theParliament. Collective responsibility is basedon the principle of the solidarity of the cabinet.It implies that a vote of no confidence evenagainst a single minister leads to theresignation of the entire Council of Ministers.It also indicates that if a minister does notagree with a policy or decision of the cabinet,


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he or she must either accept the decision orresign. It is binding o all ministers to pursueor agree to a policy for which there is collectiveresponsibility. In India, the Prime Ministerenjoys a pre-eminent place in the government.The Council of Ministers cannot exist withoutthe Prime Minister. The Council comes intoexistence only after the Prime Minister hastaken the oath of office. The death orresignation of the. Prime Ministerautomatically brings about the dissolution ofthe demise, dismissal or resignation of aminister only creates a ministerial vacancy.The Prime Minister acts as a link between theCouncil of Ministers on the one hand and thePresident as well as the Parliament on theother. It is this role of the Prime Minister whichled Pt. Nehru to describe him as he linchpinof Government’. It is also the constitutionalobligation the Prime Minister to communicateto the President all decisions of the Council ofMinisters relating to the administration of theaffairs of the Union and proposals forlegislation. The Prime Minister is involved inall crucial decisions of the government anddecides on the policies of the government.

Thus, the power wielded by the PrimeMinister flows from various sources: controlover the Council of Ministers, leadership ofthe Lok Sabha, command over thebureaucratic machine, access to media,projection of personalities during elections,projection as national leader duringinternational summitry as well as foreignvisits. However, the power which the PrimeMinister wields and actually puts into usedepends upon the prevailing politicalconditions. The position of the Prime Ministerand Council of Ministers has been unassailablewhenever a single political party has securedmajority in the Lok Sabha. However, this has

not been the case when governments havebeen led by coalitions of political parties. Since1989, we have witnessed many coalitiongovernments in India. Many of thesegovernments could not remain in power forthe full term of the Lok Sabha. They wereeither removed or they resigned due to loss ofsupport of the majority. These developmentshave affected the working of theparliamentary executive.

In the first place, these developmentshave resulted in a growing discretionary roleof the President in the selection of PrimeMinisters. Secondly, the coalitional nature ofIndian politics in this period has necessitatedmuch more consultation between politicalpartners, leading to erosion of primeministerial authority. Thirdly, it has alsobrought restrictions on various prerogativesof the Prime Minister like choosing theministers and deciding their ranks andportfolios, Fourthly, even the policies andprogrammes of the government cannot bedecided by the Prime Minister alone. Politicalparties of different ideologies come togetherboth as pre-poll and post-poll allies to form agovernment. Policies are framed after a lot ofnegotiations and compromises among theallies. In this entire process, the Prime Ministerhas to act more as a negotiator than as leaderof the government. At the State level, a similarparliamentary executive exists, though withsome variations. The most important variationis that there is a Governor of the Stateappointed by the President (on the advice ofthe central government). Though the ChiefMinister, like the Prime Minister is the leaderof the majority party in the Assembly, theGovernor has more discretionary powers.However, the main principles ofparliamentary system operate at the State leveltoo.


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EXECUTIVE 35

INTRODUCTION

Legislation are elected by the people andwork on behalf of the people. Here you wouldstudy how elected legislature function andhelp in maintaining democratic government.You will also learn about the composition andfunctioning of the parliament and Statelegislature in India and their importance indemocratic government.

Why do we need a Parliament?

Legislature is not merely a law makingbody. Lawmaking is but one of the functionsof the legislature. It is the centre of alldemocratic political process. It is packed withaction; walkouts, protests, demonstration,unanimity, concern and co-operation. All theseserve very vital purposes; Indeed, a genuinedemocracy is inconceivable without arepresentative, efficient and effectivelegislature. The legislature also helps peoplein holding the representatives accountable.This is indeed, the very basis of representativedemocracy.

Yet, in most democracies, legislatures arelosing central place to the executive. In India

too, the Cabinet initiates policies, sets theagenda for governance and carries themthrough. This has led some critics to remarkthat the Parliament has declined. But evenvery strong cabinets must retain majority inthe legislature. A strong leader has to face theParliament and answer to the satisfaction ofthe Parliament. Herein lies the democraticpotential of the Parliament. It is recognized asone of the most democratic and open forumof debate. On account of its composition, it isthe most representative of all organs ofgovernment. It is above all, vested with thepower to choose and dismiss the government.

Why do we need twoHouses of Parliament?

The term ‘Parliament’ refers to thenational legislature. The legislature of theStates is described as State legislature. TheParliament in India has two houses. Whenthere are two houses of the legislature, it iscalled a bicameral legislature. The two Housesof the Indian Parliament are the Council ofStates or the Rajya Sabha and the House ofPeople or Lok Sabha. The Consti-tution has


♣ INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 35♣ RAJYA SABHA ....................................................................................................................... 36♣ LOK SABHA ........................................................................................................................... 36♣ HOW DOES THE PARLIAMENT MAKE LAWS? .................................................................. 38♣ HOW DOES THE PARLIAMENT CONTROL THE EXECUTIVE? ........................................ 39

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given the States the option of establi-shingeither a unica-meral or bicameral legislature.At present only five States have a bica-merallegislature?

Countries with large size and much di-versity usually prefer to have two houses ofthe national legislature to give representationto all sections in the society and to giverepresentation to all geographical regions orparts of the country. A bicameral legislaturehas one more advantage. A bicameral legisla-ture makes it possible to have every decisionreconsidered. Every decision taken by onehouse goes to the other house for its decision.This means that every bill and policy wouldbe discussed twice. This ensures a doublecheck on every matter. Even if one house takesa decision in haste, that decision will come fordiscussion in the other house andreconsideration will be possible.

RAJYA SABHA

Each of the two Houses of the Parliamenthas different bases of representation. TheRajya Sabha represents the States of India. Itis an indirectly elected body. Residents of theState elect members to State LegislativeAssembly. The elected members of StateLegislative Assembly in turn elect themembers of Rajya Sabha. We can imagine twodifferent principles of representation in thesecond chamber. One way is to give equalrepresentation to all the parts of the countryirrespective of their size or population. Wemay call this as symmetrical representation.On the other hand, parts of the country maybe given representation according to theirpopulation. This second method means thatregions or parts having larger populationwould have more representatives in thesecond chamber than regions having lesspopulation.

In the U.S.A., every state has equalrepresentation in the Senate. This ensuresequality of all the states. But this also meansthat a small state would have the samerepresentation as the larger states. The systemof representation adopted for the Rajya Sabhais different from that in the USA. The numberof members to be elected from each State hasbeen fixed by the fourth schedule of theConstitution. What would happen if we wereto follow the American system of equality ofrepresentation in the Rajya Sabha? UttarPradesh with a population of 17.18.29 lakhswould get seats equal to that of Sikkim whosepopulation is only 5.71 lakhs. The framers ofthe Constitution wanted to prevent suchdiscrepancy. States with larger population getmore representatives than States with smallerpopulation get. Thus, a more populous Statelike Uttar Pradesh sends 31 members to RajyaSabha, while a smaller and less populous Statelike Sikkim has one seat in the Rajya Sabha.

Members of the Rajya Sabha are electedfor a term of six years. They can get re-elected.All members of the Rajya Sabha complete theirterms at the same time. Every two years, onethird members of the Rajya Sabha completetheir term and elections are held for those onethird seats only. Thus, the Rajya Sabha is neverfully dissolved. Therefore, it is called thepermanent House of the Parliament. Theadvantage of this arrangement is that evenwhen the Lok Sabha is dissolved and electionsare yet to take place, the meeting of the RajyaSabha can be called and urgent business canbe conducted.

Apart from the elected members, RajyaSabha also has twelve nominated members.The President nominates these members.These nominations are made from amongthose persons who have made their mark in


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the fields of literature, arts, social service,science etc.

LOK SABHA

The Lok Sabha and the State LegislativeAssemblies are directly elected by the people.For the purpose of election, the entire country(State, in case of State Legislative Assembly)is divided into territorial constituencies ofroughly equal population. One representativeis elected from each constituency throughuniversal, adult suffrage where the value ofvote of every individual would be equal toanother. At present there are 543constituencies. This number has not changedsince 1971. The Lok Sabha is elected for aperiod of five years. This is the maximum. Wehave seen in the chapter on the executive thatbefore the completion of five years, the LokSabha can be dissolved if no party or coalitioncan form the government or if the PrimeMinister advices the President to dissolve theLok Sabha and hold fresh elections. Apart fromlaw making, the Parliament is engaged inmany other functions. Let us list the functionsof the Parliament.

• Legislative Functions: TheParliament enacts legislations for thecountry. Despite being the chief lawmaking body, the Parliament oftenmerely approves legislations. Theactual task of drafting the bill isperformed by the bureaucracy underthe supervision of the ministerconcerned. The substance and eventhe timing of the bill are decided bythe Cabinet. No major bill isintroduced in the Parliament withoutthe approval of the Cabinet. Membersother than ministers can alsointroduce bills but these have no

chance of being passed without thesupport of the government.

• Control Executive and ensuring itsaccountability: Perhaps the mostvital function of the Parliament is toensure that the executive does notoverstep its authority and remainsresponsible to the people who haveelected them.

• Financial Function: Government isabout spending a lot of money onvarious matters. Every Check yourprogress.

• Do you think that composition ofRajya Sabha has protected theposition of States of India?

• Should indirect election of RajyaSabha be replaced by direct elections?What would be its advantages anddisadvantages?

• Since 1971 the number of seats in theLok Sabha has not increased. Do youthink that it should be increased?What should be the basis for this?Government raises resources throughtaxation. However, in a democracy,legislature controls taxation and theway in which money is used by thegovernment. If the Government ofIndia proposes to introduce any newtax, it has to get the approval of theLok Sabha. The Financial powers ofthe Parliament, involve grant ofresources to the government toimplement its programmes. Thegovernment has to give an accountto the Legislature about the money ithas spent and resources that it wishesto raise. The legislature also ensuresthat the government does notmisspend or overspend. This is done


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through the budget and annualfinancial statements.

• Representation: Parliament repre-sents the divergent views of membersfrom different regional, social,economic, religious groups ofdifferent parts of the country.

• Debating Function: The Parliament isthe highest forum of debate in thecountry. There is no limitation on itspower of discussion. Members arefree to speak on any matter withoutfear. This makes it possible for theParliament to analyse any or everyissue that faces the nation. Thesediscussions constitute the heart ofdemocratic decision making.

• Constituent Function: TheParliament has the power ofdiscussing and enacting changes tothe Constitution. The constituentpowers of both the houses are similar.All constitutional amendments haveto be approved by a special majorityof both Houses.

• Electoral functions: The Parliamentalso performs some electoralfunctions. It elects the President andVice President of India.

• Judicial functions: The judicialfunctions of the Parliament includeconsidering the proposals forremoval of President, Vice-Presidentand Judges of High Courts andSupreme Court.

Powers of Rajya Sabha

We discussed above, the functions thatare performed by the Parliament in general.However, in a bicameral legislature, there issome difference between the powers of the two

Houses. Look at the charts showing thepowers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Special Powers of Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha is an institutionalmechanism to provide representation to theStates. Its purpose is to protect the powers ofthe States. Therefore, any matter that affectsthe States must be referred to it for its consentand approval. Thus, if the Union Parliamentwishes to remove a matter from the State list(over which only the State Legislature canmake law) to either the Union List orConcurrent List in the interest of the nation,the approval of the Rajya Sabha is necessary.This provision adds to the strength of the RajyaSabha. However, experience shows that themembers of the Rajya Sabha represent theirparties more than they represent their States.

Powers exercised only by the Lok Sabha:Then, there are powers that only the Lok Sabhaexercises. The Rajya Sabha cannot initiate,reject or amend money bills. The Council ofMinisters is responsible to the Lok Sabha andnot Rajya Sabha. Therefore, Rajya Sabha cancriticize the government but cannot removeit. Can you explain why? The Rajya Sabha iselected by the MLAs and not directly by thepeople. Therefore, the Constitution stoppedshort of giving certain powers to the RajyaSabha. In a democratic form as adopted by ourConstitution, the people are the final authority.By this logic, the representatives, directlyelected by the people, should have the crucialpowers of removing a government andcontrolling the finances.

In all other spheres, including passing ofnon-money bills, constitutional amendments,and impeaching the President and removingthe Vice President the powers of Lok Sabhaand Rajya Sabha are co-equal.


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HOW DOES THEPARLIAMENT MAKE LAWS?

The basic function of any legislature isto make laws for its people. A definiteprocedure is followed in the process of makinglaw. Some of the procedure of law making arementioned in the Constitution, while somehave evolved from conventions. Follow a billthrough the legislative process and you willclearly see that the law making process istechnical and even tedious.

A bill is a draft of the proposed law. Therecan be different types of bills. When a non-minister proposes a bill, it is called privatemember’s Bill. A bill proposed by a ministeris described as Government Bill. Let us nowsee the different stages in the life of a bill.

Even before a bill is introduced in theParliament there may be a lot of debate on theneed for introducing such a bill. A politicalparty may pressurize the government toinitiate a bill in order to fulfill its electionpromises or to improve its chances of winningforthcoming elections. Interest groups, mediaand citizens’ forums may also persuade thegovernment for a particular legislation. Lawmaking is thus not merely a legal procedurebut also a political course of action. Thepreparation of a bill itself involves manyconsiderations such as resources required toimplement the law, the support or oppositionthat the bill is likely to produce, the impactthat the law may have on the electoral prospectof the ruling party etc. In the era of coalitionpolitics especially, a bill proposed by thegovernment has to be acceptable to all thepartners of the coalition. Such practicalconsiderations can hardly be ignored. TheCabinet considers all these before arriving ata decision to enact a law.

Once the Cabinet approves the policy

behind the legislation, the task of drafting thelegislation begins. The draft of any bill isprepared by the concerned ministry. Forinstance a bill raising the marriageable age ofgirls from 18 to 21 will be prepared by the lawministry. The ministry of women and childwelfare may also be involved in it. Within theParliament, a bill may be introduced in the LokSabha or Rajya Sabha by a member of theHouse (but often a minister responsible for thesubject introduces the bill). A money bill canbe introduced only in Lok Sabha. Once passedthere, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha.

A large part of the discussion on the billstakes place in the committees. Therecommendation of the committee is then sentto the House. That is why committees arereferred to as miniature legislatures. This isthe second stage in the law making process.In the third and final stage, the bill is votedupon. If a non-money bill is passed by oneHouse, it is sent to the other House where itgoes through exactly the same procedure.

As you know, a bill has to be passed byboth Houses for enactment. If there isdisagreement between the two Houses on theproposed bill, attempt is made to resolve itthrough Joint Session of Parliament. In the fewinstances when joint sessions of the parliamentwere called to resolve a deadlock, the decisionhas always gone in favour of the Lok Sabha.

Article 109 Special procedure in respectof Money Bills.—(1) A Money Bill shall not beintroducted in the Council of States

If it is money bill, the Rajya Sabha caneither approve the bill or suggest changes butcannot reject it. If it takes no action within 14days the bill is deemed to have been passed.Amendments to the bill, suggested by RajyaSabha, may or may not be accepted by the LokSabha. When a bill is passed by both Houses,


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it is sent to the President for his assent. Theassent of the President results in the enactmentof a bill into a law.

HOW DOES THE PARLIAMENTCONTROL THE EXECUTIVE?

In a parliamentary democracy, theexecutive is drawn from the party or acoalition of parties that has a majority in LokSabha. It is not difficult for the executive toexercise unlimited and arbitrary powers withthe support of the majority party. In such asituation, parliamentary democracy may slipinto Cabinet dictatorship, where the Cabinetleads and the House merely follows. Only ifthe Parliament is active and vigilant, can itkeep regular and effective check on theexecutive. There are many ways in which theParliament can control the executive. But basicto them all is the power and freedom of thelegislators as people’s representatives to workeffectively and fearlessly. For instance, noaction can be taken against a member forwhatever the member may have said in thelegislature. This is known as parliamentaryprivilege. The presiding officer of thelegislature has the final powers in decidingmatters of breach of privilege. The mainpurpose of such privilege is to enable themembers of the legislature to represent thepeople and exercise effective control over theexecutive.

Instruments of Parliamentary Control

The legislature in parliamentary systemensures executive accountability at variousstages: policy making, implementation of lawor policy and during and post implementationstage. The legislature does this through the useof a variety of devices:

• Deliberation and discussion• Approval or Refusal of laws

• Financial control• No confidence motion

Deliberation and discussion: During thelaw making process, members of thelegislature get an opportunity to deliberate onthe policy direction of the executive and theways in which policies are implemented.Apart from deliberating on bills, control mayalso be exercised during the generaldiscussions in the House. The Question Hour,which is held every day during the sessionsof Parliament, where Ministers have torespond to searching questions raised by themembers; Zero Hour where members are freeto raise any matter that they think is important(though the ministers are not bound to reply),half-an- hour discussion on matters of publicimportance, adjournment motion etc. are someinstruments of exercising control.

Perhaps the question hour is the mosteffective method of keeping vigil on theexecutive and the administrative agencies ofthe government. Members of Parliament haveshown great interest in question hour andmaximum attendance is recorded during thistime. Most of the question aims at elicitinginformation from the government on issuesof public interest such as, price rise,availability of food grains, atrocities on weakersections of the society, riots, black-marketingetc. This gives the members an opportunityto criticize the government, and represent theproblems of their constituencies. Thediscussions during the question hour are soheated that it is not uncommon to seemembers raise their voice, walk to the well ofthe house or walk out in protest to make theirpoint. This results in considerable loss oflegislative time. At the same time, we mustremember that many of these actions arepolitical techniques to gain concessions from


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government and in the process force executiveaccountability.

Approval and ratification of laws:Parliamentary control is also exercisedthrough its power of ratification. A bill canbecome a law only with the approval of theParliament. A government that has thesupport of a disciplined majority may not findit difficult to get the approval of theLegislature. Such approvals however, cannotbe taken for granted. They are the products ofintense bargaining and negotiations amongstthe members of ruling party or coalition ofparties and even government and opposition.If the government has majority in Lok Sabhabut not in the Rajya Sabha, as has happenedduring the Janata Party rule in 1977 andN.D.A. rule in 2000, the government will beforced to make substantial concessions to gainthe approval of both the Houses. Many bills,such as the Lok Pal Bill have failed enactment,Prevention of Terrorism bill (2002) was rejectedby the Rajya Sabha.

Financial control: As mentioned earlier,financial resources to implement the pro-grammes of the government are grantedthrough the budget. Preparation and presen-tation of budget for the approval of thelegislature is constitutional obligation of thegovernment. This obligation allows the legis-lature to exercise control over the purse stringsof the government. The legislature may refuseto grant resources to the government. Thisseldom happens because the governmentordinarily enjoys support of the majority inthe parliamentary system. Nevertheless,before granting money the Lok Sabha candiscuss the reasons for which the governmentrequires money. It can enquire into cases of

misuse of funds on the basis of the report ofthe Comptroller and Auditor General andPublic Accounts committees. But thelegislative control is not only aimed atfinancial propriety. The legislature is con-cerned about the policies of the governmentthat are reflected in the budget. Through fi-nancial control, the legislature controls thepolicy of the government.

No Confidence Motion: The mostpowerful weapon that enables the Parliamentto ensure executive accountability is the non-confidence motion. As long as the governmenthas the support of its party or coalition ofparties that have a majority in the Lok Sabha,the power of the House to dismiss thegovernment is fictional rather that real.However, after 1989, several governmentshave been forced to resign due to lack ofconfidence of the house. Each of thesegovernments lost the confidence of the LokSabha because they failed to retain the supportof their coalition partners.

Thus, the Parliament can effectively con-trol the executive and ensure a more respon-sive government. It is however important forthis purpose, that there is adequate time at thedisposal of the House, the members areinterested in discussion and participate effec-tively and there is willingness to compromiseamongst the government and the opposition.In the two decades, there has been a gradualdecline in sessions of the Lok Sabha and StateLegislative Assemblies and time spent ondebates. Moreover, the Houses of theParliament have been plagued by absence ofquorum, boycott of sessions by members ofopposition which deprive the house the powerto control the executive through discussion.


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INTRODUCTION

Many times, courts are seen only asarbitrators in disputes between individuals orprivate parties. But judiciary performs somepolitical functions also. Judiciary is animportant organ of the government. TheSupreme Court of India is in fact, one of thevery powerful courts in the world. Right from1950 the judiciary has played an importantrole in interpreting and in protecting theConstitution. In this chapter you will studythe role and importance of the judiciary.

Why do we need anIndependent Judiciary?

In any society, disputes are bound toarise between individuals, between groupsand between individuals or groups andbetween individuals or groups andgovernment. All such disputes must be settledby an independent body in accordance withthe principle of rule of law.

This idea of rule of law implies that allindividuals- rich and poor, men or women,forward or backward castes-are subjected tothe same law.

The principal role of the judiciary is toprotect rule of law and ensure supremacy oflaw. It safeguards rights of the individual,settles dispute in accordance with the law andensures that democracy does not give way toindividual or group dictatorship. In order tobe able to do all this, it is necessary that thejudiciary is independent of any politicalpressures.

Independence of Judiciary

Simply stated independence of judiciarymeans that

• the other organs of the governmentlike the executive and legislaturemust not restrain the functioning ofthe judiciary in such a way that it isunable to do justice.

• the other organs of the governmentshould not interfere with the decisionof the judiciary.

• judges must be able to perform theirfunctions without fear or favour.

Independence of the judiciary does notimply arbitrariness or absence of account-


♣ INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 42♣ APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES ................................................................................................. 43♣ ORIGINAL JURISDICTION ................................................................................................... 44♣ APPELLATE JURISDICTION ................................................................................................. 44♣ ADVISORY JURISDICTION................................................................................................... 45♣ JUDICIARY AND RIGHTS ..................................................................................................... 45♣ JUDICIARY AND PARLIAMENT .......................................................................................... 46

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Judiciary


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ability. Judiciary is a part of the democratpolitical structure of the country. It is thereforeaccountable to the Constitution, to thedemocrat traditions and to the people of thecountry.

The Indian Constitution has ensured theindependence of the judiciary through anumber of measures. The legislature is notinvolved in the process of appointment ofjudges. Thus, it was believed that party politieswould not play a role in the process ofappointments. In order to be appointed as ajudge, a person must have experience as alawyer and/or must be well versed in law.Political opinions of the person or his/herpolitical loyalty should not be the criteria forappointments to judiciary.

The judges have a fixed tenure. Theyhold office till reaching the age of retirement.Only in exceptional cases, judges may beremoved. But otherwise, they have security oftenure. Security of tenure ensures that judgescould function without fear or favour. TheConstitution prescribes a very difficultprocedure for removal of judges. The Consti-tution makers believed that a difficultprocedure of removal would provide securityof office to the members of judiciary.

The judiciary is not financiallydependent on either the executive orlegislature. The Constitution provides that thesalaries and allowances of the judges are notsubjected to the approval of the legislature.The actions and decisions of the judges areimmune from personal criticisms. Thejudiciary has the power to penalize those whoare found guilty of contempt of court. Thisauthority of the court is seen as an effectiveprotection to the judges from unfair criticism.Parliament cannot discuss the conduct of thejudges except when the proceeding to removea judge is being carried out. This gives thejudiciary independence to adjudicate withoutfear of being criticized.

APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES

The appointment of judges has neverbeen free from political controversy. It is partof the political process. It makes a differencewho serves in the Supreme Court and HighCourt- a difference in how the Constitution isinterpreted. The political philosophy of thejudges, their views about active and assertivejudiciary or controlled and committedjudiciary have an impact on the fate of thelegislations enacted. Council of Ministers,Governors and Chief Ministers and ChiefJustice of India-all influence the process ofjudicial appointment.

As far as the appointment of the ChiefJustice of India (CJI) is concerned, over theyears, a convention had developed wherebythe senior-most judge of the Supreme Courtwas appointed as the Chief Justice of India.This convention was however broken twice.In 1973 A. N. Ray was appointed as CJIsuperseding three senior Judges. Again, JusticeM.H. Beg was appointed superseding JusticeH.R. Khanna (1975).

The other Judges of the Supreme Courtand the High Court are appointed by thePresident after ‘consulting’ the CJI. This, ineffect, meant that the final decisions in mattersof appointment rested with the Council ofMinisters.

This matter came up before the SupremeCourt again and again between 1982 and 1998.Initially, the court felt that role of the ChiefJustice was purely consultative. Then it tookthe view that the opinion of the Chief Justicemust be followed by the President. Finally, theSupreme Court has come up with a novelprocedure: it has suggested that the ChiefJustice should recommend names of personsto be appointed in consultation with foursenior-most judges of the Court. Thus, theSupreme Court has established the principleof collegiality in making recommendations forappointments. At the moment therefore, in


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matters of appointment the decision of thegroup of senior judges of the Supreme Courtcarries greater weight. Thus, in matters ofappointment to the judiciary, the SupremeCourt and the Council of Ministers play animportant role.Removal of Judges

The removal of judges of the SupremeCourt and the High Court’s is also extremelydifficult. A judge of the Supreme Court or HighCourt can be removed only on the ground ofproven misbehavior or incapacity. A motioncontaining the charges against the judge mustbe approved by special majority in bothHouses of the Parliament. Removal of a judgeis a very difficult procedure and unless thereis a general consensus among Members of theParliament, a judge cannot be removed. Itshould also be noted that while in makingappointments, the executive plays a crucialrole; the legislature has the powers of removal.This has ensured both balance of power andindependence of the judiciary. So far, only onecase of removal of a judge of the SupremeCourt came up for consideration before theParliament. In that case, though the motiongot two-thirds majority, it did not have thesupport of the majority of the total strength ofthe House and therefore, the judge was notremoved.

Structure of the Judiciary

The Constitution of India provides for asingle integrated judicial system. This meansthat unlike some other federal countries of theworld. India does not have separate Statecourts. The structure of the judiciary in Indiais pyramidal with the Supreme Court at thetop, High Courts below them and district andsubordinate courts at the lowest level. Thelower courts function under the directsuperintendence of the higher courts.Jurisdiction of Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India is one of thevery powerful courts anywhere in the world.However, it functions within the limitationsimposed by the Constitution. The functionsand responsibilities of the Supreme Court aredefined by the Constitution. The SupremeCourt has specific jurisdiction or scope ofpowers.

ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

Original jurisdiction means cases that canbe directly considered by the Supreme Courtwithout going to the lower courts before that.Cases involving federal relations go directlyto the Supreme Court. The OriginalJurisdiction of the Supreme Court establishesit as an umpire in all disputes regardingfederal matters. In any federal country, legaldisputes are bound to arise between the Unionand the States; and among the Statesthemselves. The power to resolve such casesis entrusted to the Supreme Court of India. Itis called original jurisdiction because theSupreme Court alone has the power to dealwith such cases. Neither the High Court’s northe lower courts can deal with such cases. Inthis capacity, the Supreme Court not just settlesdisputes but also interprets the powers ofUnion and State government as laid down inthe Constitution.

Unsuccessful Attempt to Remove a Judge

In 1991 the first-ever motion to remove aSupreme Court Justice was signed by 108members of Parliament. Justice Ramaswamy,during his tenure as the Chief Justice of thePunjab High Court was accused ofmisappropriating funds. In 1992, a year afterthe Parliament had started the impeachmentproceedings, a high-profile inquirycommission consisting of Judges of SupremeCourt found Justice V. Ramaswamy “guilty ofwillful and gross misuses of office. . . and


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moral turpitude by using public funds forprivate purposes and reckless disregard ofstatutory rules” while serving as Chief Justiceof Punjab and Haryana. Despite this strongindictment, Ramaswamy survived theparliamentary motion recommendingremoval. The motion recommending hisremoval got the required two-third majorityamong the members who were present andvoting, but the Congress party abstained fromvoting in the House. Therefore, the motioncould not get the support of one-half of thetotal strength of the House.

Writ Jurisdiction

Any individual, whose fundamentalright has been violated, can directly move theSupreme Court for remedy. The SupremeCourt can give special orders in the form ofwrits.

The High Courts can also issue writs, butthe persons whose rights are violated have thechoice of either approaching the High Courtor approaching the Supreme Court directly.Through such writs, the Courts can give ordersto the executive to act or not to act in aparticular way.

APPELLATE JURISDICTION

The Supreme Court is the highest courtof appeal. A person can appeal to the SupremeCourt against the decisions of the High Court.However, High Court must certify that thecase is fit for appeal, that is to say that itinvolves a serious matter of interpretation oflaw or Constitution. In addition, in criminalcases, if the lower court has sentenced a personto death then an appeal can be made to theHigh Court or Supreme Court. Of course, theSupreme Court holds the powers to decidewhether to admit appeals even when appealis not allowed by the High Court. Appellatejurisdiction means that the Supreme Court willreconsider the case and the legal issues

involved in it. If the Court thinks that the lawor the Constitution has a different meaningfrom what the lower courts understood, thenthe Supreme Court will change the ruling andalong with that also give new interpretationof the provision involved.

Article 137…… the Supreme Court shallhave power to review any judgmentpronounced or order made by it. Article 144…….. All authorities, civil and judicial, in theterritory of India shall act in aid of the SupremeCourt.

The High Court’s too, have appellatejurisdiction over the decisions given by courtsbelow them.

ADVISORY JURISDICTION

In addition to original and appellatejurisdiction, the Supreme Court of Indiapossesses advisory jurisdiction also. Thismeans that the President of India can refer anymatter that is of public importance or thatwhich involves interpretation of Constitutionto Supreme Court for advice. However, theSupreme Court is not bound to give adviceon such matters and the President is not boundto accept such an advice.

What then is the utility of the advisorypowers of the Supreme Court? The utility istwo-fold. In the first place, it allows thegovernment to seek legal opinion on a matterof importance before taking action on it. Thismay prevent unnecessary litigations later.Secondly, in the light of the advice of theSupreme Court, the government can makesuitable changes in its action or legislations.

Read the articles quoted above. Thesearticles help us to understand the unifiednature of our judiciary and the powers of theSupreme Court. Decisions made by theSupreme Court are binding on all other courtswithin the territory of India. Orders passed


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by it are enforceable throughout the length andbreadth of the country. The Supreme Courtitself is not bound by its decision and can atany time review it. Besides, if there is a case ofcontempt of the Supreme Court, then theSupreme Court itself decides such a case.

JUDICIARY AND RIGHTS

The judiciary is entrusted with the taskof protecting rights of individuals. TheConstitution provides two ways in which theSupreme Court can remedy the violation ofrights.

• First it can restore fundamental rightsby issuing writs of Habeas Corpus;mandamus etc. (article 32). The HighCourts also have the power to issuesuch writs (articles 226).

• Secondly, the Supreme Court candeclare the concerned law asunconsti-tutional and therefore non-operational (article 13).

Together these two provisions of theConstitution establish the Supreme Court asthe protector of fundamental rights of thecitizen on the one hand and interpreter ofConstitution on the other. The second of thetwo ways mentioned above involves judicialreview.

Perhaps the most important power of theSupreme Court is the power of judicial review.Judicial Review means the power of theSupreme Court (or High Courts) to examinethe constitutionality of any law if the Courtarrives at the conclusion that the law isinconsistent with the provisions of theConstitution, such a law is declared asunconstitutional and inapplicable. The termjudicial review is nowhere mentioned in theConstitution. However, the fact that India hasa written constitution and the Supreme Courtcan strike down a law that goes againstfundamental rights, implicitly gives the

Supreme Court the power of judicial review.Besides, as we saw in the section on

jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, in the caseof federal relations too, the Supreme Court canuse the review powers if a law is inconsistentwith the distribution of powers laid down bythe Constitution. Suppose, the centralgovernment makes a law which according tosome States, concerns a subject from the Statelist. Then the States can go to the SupremeCourt and if the court agrees with them, itwould declare that the law is unconstitutional.In this sense, the review power of the SupremeCourt includes power to review legislationson the ground that they violate fundamentalrights or on the ground that they violate thefederal distribution of powers. The reviewpower extends to the laws passed by Statelegislations also. Together, the writ powers andthe review power of the Court make judiciaryvery powerful. In particular, the review powermeans that the judiciary can interpret theConstitution and the laws passed by thelegislature. Many people think that this featureenables the judiciary to protect theConstitution effectively and also to protect therights of citizens. The practice of entertainingPILS has further added to the powers of thejudiciary in protecting rights of citizens.

Right against exploitation? This rightprohibits forced labour, trade in human fleshand prohibits employment of children inhazardous jobs. But the question is: how couldthose, whose rights were violated, approachthe court? PIL and judicial activism made itpossible for courts to consider these violations.Thus, the court considered a whole set of cases:the blinding of the jail inmates by the police,inhuman working conditions in stonequarries, sexual exploitation of children, andso on. This trend has made rights reallymeaningful for the poor and disadvantagedsections.


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JUDICIARY AND PARLIAMENT

Apart from taking a very active stand onthe matter of rights, the court has been activein seeking to prevent subversion of theConstitution through political practice. Thus,areas that were considered beyond the scopeof judicial review such as powers of thePresident and Governor were brought underthe purview of the courts.

There are many other instances in whichthe Supreme Court actively involved itself inthe administration of justice by givingdirections to executive agencies. Thus, it gavedirections to CBI to initiate investigationsagainst politicians and bureaucrats in thehawala case, the Narasimha Rao, case, illegalallotment of petrol pumps case etc. Many ofthese instances are the products of judicialactivism.

The Indian Constitution is based on adelicate principle of limited separation ofpowers and checks and balances. This meansthat each organ of the government has a cleararea of functioning. Thus, the Parliament issupreme in making laws and amending theConstitution, the executive is supreme inimplementing them while the judiciary issupreme in settling disputes and decidingwhether the laws that have been made are inaccordance with the provisions of theConstitution. Despite such clear cut divisionof power the conflict between the Parliamentand judiciary, and executive and the judiciaryhas remained a recurrent theme in Indianpolitics.

Immediately after the implementation ofthe Constitution began, a controversy aroseover the Parliament’s power to restrict rightto property. The Parliament wanted to putsome restrictions on the right to hold properlyso that land reforms could be implemented.The Court held that the Parliament cannot

thus restrict fundamental rights. TheParliament then tried to amend theConstitution. But the Court said that eventhrough an amendment, a fundamental rightcannot be abridged. The following issues wereat the centre of the controversy between theParliament and the judiciary.

• What is the scope of right to privateproperty?

• What is the scope of the Parliament’spower to curtail, abridge or abrogatefundamental rights?

• What is the scope of the Parliament’spower to amend the constitution?

• Can the Parliament make laws thatabridge fundamental rights whileenforcing directive principles?

During the period 1967 and 1973, thiscontroversy became very serious. Apart fromland reform laws, laws enforcing preventivedetention, laws governing reservations in jobs,regulations acquiring private property forpublic purposes, and laws deciding thecompensation for such acquisition of privateproperty were some instances of the conflictbetween the legislature and the judiciary.

In 1973, the Supreme Court gave adecision that has become very important inregulating the relations between theParliament and the Judiciary since then.

This case is famous as the KesavanandaBharati case. In this case, the Court ruled thatthere is a basic structure of the Constitutionand nobody- not even the Parliament (throughamendment)- can violate the basic structure.The Court did two more things. First, it saidthat right to property (the disputed issue) wasnot part of basic structure and therefore couldbe suitably abridged. Secondly, the Courtreserved to itself the right to decide whethervarious matters are part of the basic structureof the Constitution. This case is perhaps thebest example of how judiciary uses its power


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to interpret the Constitution. This ruling haschanged the nature of conflicts between thelegislature and the judiciary. The right toproperty was taken away from the list offundamental rights in 1979 and this alsohelped in changing the nature of therelationship between these two organs ofgovernment.

Some issues still remain a bone ofcontention between the two- can the judiciaryintervene in and regulate the functioning ofthe legislatures? In the parliamentary system,the legislature has the power to govern itselfand regulate the behavior of its members.Thus, the legislature can punish a person whothe legislature holds guilty of breachingprivileges of the legislature. Can a person whois held guilty for breach of parliamentaryprivileges seek protection of the courts? Cana member of the legislature against whom thelegislature has taken disciplinary action getprotection from the court? These issues areunresolved and are matters of potentialconflict between the two. Similarly, theConstitution provides that the conduct ofjudges cannot be discussed in the Parliament.There have been several instances where theParliament and State legislature have castaspersions on the functioning of the judiciary.Similarly, the judiciary too has criticized thelegislatures and issued instructions to thelegislatures about the conduct of legislativebusiness. The legislature see this as violatingthe principle of parliamentary sovereignty.

These issues indicate how delicate thebalance between any two organs of thegovernment is and how important it is for eachorgan of the government in a democracy torespect the authority of others.

Conclusion

We have studied the role of the judiciaryin our democratic structure. In spite of thetensions that arose from time to time betweenthe judiciary and the executive and thelegislature, the prestige of the judiciary hasincreased considerably. At the same time, thereare many more expectations from the judiciary.Ordinary citizens also wonder how it ispossible for many people to get easy acquittalsand how witnesses change their testimoniesto suit the wealthy and the mighty. These aresome issues about which our judiciary isconcerned too. The Judiciary in India is a verypowerful institution. This power hasgenerated much awe and many hopes fromit. Judiciary in India is also known for itsindependence. Through various decisions, thejudiciary has given new interpretations to theConstitution and protected the rights ofcitizens. As we saw in this chapter, democracyhinges on the delicate balance of powerbetween the judiciary and the Parliament andboth institutions have to function within thelimitations set by the Constitution.


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JUDICIARY 49

INTRODUCTION

In a democracy, it is not sufficient to havean elected government at the centre and at theState level. It is also necessary that even at thelocal level, there should be an electedgovernment to look after look after localaffairs.

Why local Governments?

Both these stories are not isolatedincidents. They are representative of a largertransformation that is taking place across Indiaespecially after constitutional status wasaccorded to local government institutions in1993.

Local government is government at thevillage and district level. Local government isabout government closest to the commonpeople. Local government is aboutgovernment that involves the day-to-day lifeand problems of ordinary citizens. Localgovernment believes that local knowledge andlocal interest are essential ingredients fordemocratic decision making. They are alsonecessary for efficient and people-friendlyadministration. The advantage of local gov-ernment is that it is so near the people. It isconvention for the people to approach the localgovernment for solving their problems both

quickly and with minimum cost.Democracy is about meaningful

participation. It is also about accountability.Strong and vibrant local governments ensureboth active participation and purposefulaccountability. It is at the level of localgovernment that common citizens can beinvolved in decision making concerning theirlives, their needs and above all theirdevelopment.

It is necessary that in a democracy, tasks,which can be performed locally, should be leftin the hands of the local people and theirrepresentatives. Common people are morefamiliar with their local government than withthe government at the State or national level.They are also more concerned with what localgovernment does or has failed to do as it hasa direct bearing and impact on their day-to-day life. Thus, strengthening local governmentis like strengthening democratic processes.

Growth of Local Government in India

Let us now discuss how localgovernment has grown in India and what ourConstitution says about it. It is believed thatself-governing village communities existed inIndia from the earliest times in the form of‘sabhas’ (village assemblies). In the course of


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time, these village bodies took the shape ofPanchayats (an assembly of five persons) andthese Panchayats resolved issues at the villagelevel. Their role and functions kept onchanging at different points of time.

In modern times, elected local govern-ment bodies were created after 1882. LordRippon, who was the Viceroy of India at thattime, took the initiative in creating these bod-ies. They were called the local boards. How-ever, due to slow progress in this regard, theIndian National Congress urged the govern-ment to take necessary steps to make all localbodies more effective. Following the Govern-ment of India Act 1919, village panchayatswere established in a number of provinces.This trend continued after the Government ofIndia Act of 1935.

The independence of India should meanthe independence of the whole of India…Independence must begin at the bottom. Thusevery village will be a republic… It followstherefore that every village has to be self-sustained and capable of managing its affairs.In this structure composed of innumerablevillages, there will be ever widening, ever-ascending circles. Life will be a pyramid withthe apex sustained by the bottom- MahatmaGandhi.

During India’s freedom movement,Mahatma Gandhi had strongly pleaded fordecentralization of economic and politicalpower. He believed that strengthening villagepanchayats was a means of effectivedecentralization. All development initiativesmust have local involvement in order to besuccessful. Panchayats therefore were lookedupon as instruments of decentralization andparticipatory democracy. Our nationalmovement was concerned about theenormous concentration of powers in thehands of the Governor General sitting at Delhi.

Therefore, for our leaders, independencemeant an assurance that there will bedecentralization of decision making, executiveand administrative powers.

When the Constitution was prepared, thesubject of local government was assigned tothe States. It was also mentioned in theDirective Principles as one of the policydirectives to all governments in the country.Being a part of the Directive Principles of StatePolicy, this provision of the Constitution wasnon-justifiable and primarily advisory in itsnature.

It is felt that the subject of localgovernment including panchayats did notreceive adequate importance in theConstitution. A few reasons can be advancedhere. Firstly, the turmoil due to the Partitionresulted in a strong unitary inclination in theConstitution. Nehru himself looked uponextreme localism as a threat to unity andintegration of the nation. Secondly, there wasa powerful voice in the Constituent Assemblyled by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar which felt that thefaction and caste-ridden nature of rural societywould defeat the noble purpose of localgovernment at the rural level.

However, nobody denied the importanceof people’s participation in developmentplanning. Many members of the ConstituentAssembly wanted Village Panchayats to be thebasis of democracy in India but they wereconcerned about factionalism and many otherills present in the villages.

Local Governments in Independent India

Local governments got a fillip after the73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts.But even before that, some efforts in thedirection of developing local governmentbodies had already taken place. First in the


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line was the Community DevelopmentProgramme in 1952, which sought to promotepeople’s participation in local development ina range of activities. In this background,athree-tier Panchayat Raj system of localgovernment was recommended for the ruralareas. Some States (like Guajrat, Maharashtra)adopted the system of elected local bodiesaround 1960. But in many States those localbodies did not have enough powers andfunctions to look after the local development.They were very much dependent on the Stateand central governments for financialassistance. Many States did not think itnecessary to establish elected local bodies. Inmany instances, local bodies were dissolvedand the local government was handed overto government officers. Many States hadindirect elections to most local bodies. In manyStates, elections to the local bodies werepostponed from time to time.

The Constitution of Brazil has createdStates, Federal Districts and Municipal Coun-cils. Each of these is assigned independentpowers and jurisdiction. Just as the Republiccannot interfere in the affairs of the States(except on grounds provided by the constitu-tion), states are prohibited from interfering inthe affairs of the municipal councils. Thisprovision protects the powers of the local gov-ernment.

After 1987, a thorough review of thefunctioning of local government institutionswas initiated. In 1989 the P.K. ThungonCommittee recommended constitutionalrecognition for the local government bodies.A constitutional amendment to provide forperiodic elections to local governmentinstitutions, and enlistment of appropriatefunctions to them, along with funds, wasrecommended.

73rd and 74th Amendments

In 1989, the central governmentintroduced amendments aimed atstrengthening local governments and ensuingan element of uniformity in their structure andfunctioning across the country.

Article 243G. Powers, authority and re-sponsibilities of Panchayats- ….., the Legisla-ture of a State may, law, endow the Panchayatswith such powers and authority….. withrespect to-…. The matters listed in theEleventh Schedule. Later in 1992, the 73rd and74th constitutional amendments were passedby the Parliament. The 73rd amendment isabout rural local governments (which are alsoknown as Panchayati Raj Institutions or PRIs)and the 74th amendment made the provisionsrelating to urban local government(Nagarpalikas). The 73rd and 74th Amend-ments came into force in 1993. We have noticeearlier that local govern-ment is a ‘State sub-ject’. States are free to make their own laws onthis subject. But once the Constitution wasamended, the States had to change their lawsabout local bodies in order to bring these inconformity with the amended Constitution.They were given one year’s time for makingnecessary changes in their respective Statelaws in the light of these amendments.

73rd Amendment

Changes brought about by the 73rdamendment in Panchayat Raj institutions.

Three Tier Structure

All States now have a uniform three tierPanchayat Raj structure. At the base in the‘Gram Panchayat’. A Gram Panchayat coversa village or group of villages. The intermediarylevel is the Mandal (also referred to as Blockor Taluka). These bodies are called Mandal orTaluka Panchayats. The intermediary level


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body need not be constituted in smaller States.At the apex is the Zilla Panchayat covering theentire rural area of the District.

The amendment also made a provisionfor the mandatory creation of the Gram Sabha.The Gram Sabha would comprise of all theadult members registred as voters in thePanchayat area. Its role and functions aredecided by State registration.

Elections

All the three levels of Panchayat Rajinstitutions are elected directly by the people.The term of each Panchayat body is live years.If the State government dissolves thePanchayat before the end of its five year term,fresh elections must be held within six monthsof such dissolution. This is an importantprovision that ensures the existence of electedlocal bodies. Before the 73rd amendment, inmany States, there used to be indirect electionsto the district bodies and there was noprovision for immediate elections afterdissolution.

Reservations

One third of the position in all panchayatinstitutions are reserved for women.Reservations for Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes are also provided for at allthe three levels, in proportion to theirpopulation. If the States find it necessary, theycan also provide for reservations for thebackward castes (OBCs).

It is important to note that thesereservations apply not merely to ordinarymembers in Panchayat but also to the positionsof Chairpersons or ‘Adhyakshas’ at all thethree levels. Further, reservation of one-thirdof the seats for women s not merely in thegeneral category of seats but also within theseats reserved for Scheduled Castes,

Scheduled Tribes and backward castes. Thismeans that a seat may be reservedsimultaneously for a women candidate andone belonging to the Scheduled Castes orScheduled Tribes. Thus, a Sarpanch wouldhave to be a Dalit woman or an Adivasiwoman.

Subjects listed in the eleventh schedule

1. Agriculture, …3. Minor irrigation, water management

and watershed development.….

8. Small scale industries, including foodprocessing industries.….

10. Rural housing.11. Rural housing.11. Drinking water.

….13. Roads, culverts,…14. Rural electrification,…

….16. Poverty alleviation programme.17. Education, including primary and

secondary schools.18. Technical training and vocational

education.19. Adult and non-formal education.20. Libraries.21. Cultural activities.22. Markets and fairs.23. Health and sanitation, including

hospitals, primary health centres anddispensaries.

24. Family welfare.25. Women and child development26. Social welfare,…


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27. Welfare of the weaker sections, andin particular, of the Scheduled Castesand the Scheduled Tribes.

28. Public distribution system.

Transfer of Subjects

Twenty-nine subjects, which were earlierin the State list of subjects, are identified andlisted in the Eleventh Scheduled of theConstitution. These subjects are to betransferred to the Panchayat Raj institutions.These subjects were mostly linked todevelopment and welfare functions at the locallevel. The actual transfer of these functionsdepends upon the State legislation. Each Statedecides how many of these twenty-ninesubjects would be transferred to the localbodies.

The provisions of the 73rd amendmentwere not made applicable to the areasinhabited by the Adivasi populations in manystates of India. In 1996 a separate act waspassed extending the provisions of thePanchayat system to these areas. ManyAdivasi communities have their traditionalcustoms of managing common resources suchas forests and small water reservoirs, etc.Therefore, the new act protects the rights ofthese communities to marriage their resourcesin ways acceptable to them. For the purpose,more powers are given to the Gram Sabhas ofthese areas and elected village panchayatshave to get the consent of the Gram Sabha inmany respects. The idea behind act is that localtraditions of self government should beprotected while introducing modern electedbodies. This is only consistent with the spiritof diversity and decentralization.

State Election Commissioners

The State government is required toappoint a State Election Commissioner who

would be responsible for conducting electionsto the Panchayati Raj institutions. Earlier, thistask was performed by the Stateadministration which was under the controlof the State government. Now, the office of theState Election Commissioner is autonomouslike the Election Commissioner of India.However, the State Election Commissioner isan independent officer and is not linked to noris this officer under the control of the ElectionCommissioner of India.

State Finance Commission

The State government is also required toappoint a State Finance Commission once infive years. This Commission would examinethe financial position of the local governmentin the State. It would also review thedistribution of revenues between the State andlocal governments on the one hand andbetween rural and urban local governmentson the other. This innovation ensures thatallocation of funds to the rural localgovernments will not be a political matter.

74th Amendment

74th amendment dealt with urban localbodies or Nagarpalikas.

What is an urban area? It is very easy toidentify a big city like Mumbai or Kolkata, butit is not so easy to say this about some verysmall urban areas that are somewhere betweena village and a town. The Census of Indiadefines an urban area as having: (i) a minimumpopulation of 5000; (ii) at least 75 per cent ofmale working population engaged in non-agricultural occupations and (iii) a density ofpopulation of at least 400 persons per sq. km.As per the 2001 census, nearly 28% of India’spopulation lives in urban areas.

In many ways the 74th amendment is arepetition of the 73rd amendment, except that


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it applies to urban areas. All the provisions ofthe 73rd amendment relating to directelections, reservations, transfer of subjects,State Election Commission and State FinanceCommission are incorporated in the 74thamendment also and thus apply toNagarpalikas. The Constitution alsomandated the transfer of a list of functionsfrom the State Government to the urban localbodies. These functions have been listed in theEleventh Schedule of the Constitution.

IMPLEMENTATION OF 73RDAND 74TH AMENDMENTS

All States have now passed a legislationto implement the provisions of the 73rd and74th amendments. During the ten years sincethese amendments came into force (1994-2004)most States have had at least two rounds ofelections to the local bodies. States likeMadhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and a few othershave in fact held three elections so far.

Today there are nearly 500 ZillaPanchayats, about 6,000 block or intermediaryPanchayats, and 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats inrural India and over 100 city Corporations,1400 town Municipalities and over 2000 NagarPanchayats in urban India. More than 32 lakhmembers are elected to these bodies every fiveyears. Of these, at least 10 lakhs are women.In the State Assemblies and Parliament puttogether we have less than 5000 electedrepresentatives. With local bodes, the numberof elected representatives has increasedsignificantly.

The 73rd and 74th amendments havecreated uniformity in the structures of

Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika institutionsacross the country. The presence of these localinstitutions is by itself a significantachievement and would create an atmosphereand platform for people’s participation ingovernment.

Local bodies have very little funds oftheir own. The dependence of local bodies onthe State and central governments for financialsupport has greatly eroded their capacity tooperate effectively. While rural-local bodiesraise 0.24% of the total revenues collected, theyaccount for 4% of the total expenditure madeby the government. So they earn much lessthan they spend. That makes them dependenton those who give them grants.

Conclusion

This experience suggests that localgovernments continue to be agencies imple-menting the welfare and developmentschemes of the central and State government.Giving more power to local governmentmeans-that we should be prepared for realdecentra-lization of power. Ultimately,democracy means that power should beshared by the people; people in the villagesand urban localities must have the power todecide what policies and programmes theywant to adopt. Democracy meansdecentralization of power and giving moreand more power to the people. The laws aboutlocal governments are an important step in thedirection of democratization. But the true ofdemocracy is not merely in the legalprovisions but n the practice of thoseprovisions.


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All citizens cannot take direct part inmaking every decision. Therefore, represen-tatives are elected by the people. This is howelections become important. Whenever wethink of India as a democracy, our mindinvariably turns to the last elections. Electionshave today become the most visible symbolof the democratic process. We oftendistinguish between direct and indirectdemocracy.

A direct democracy is one where thecitizens directly participate in the day-to-daydecision making and in the running of thegovernment. The ancient city-states in Greecewere considered examples of directdemocracy.

Many would consider localgovernments, especially gram sabhas, to beclosest examples of direct democracy. But thiskind of direct democracy cannot be practicedwhen a decision has to be taken by lakhs andcrores or people. That is why rule by thepeople usually means rule by people'srepresentatives.

In such an arrangement citizens choosetheir representatives who, in turn, are activelyinvolved in governing and administering the

country. The method followed to choose theserepresentatives is referred to as an election.Thus, the citizens have a limited role in takingmajor decisions and in running theadministration. They are not very activelyinvolved in making of the policies. Citizensare involved only indirectly, through theirelected representatives. In this arrangement,where all major decisions are taken by electedrepresentatives, the method by which peopleelect their representatives becomes veryimportant.

Election system in India: To Understandit better, let us look one dramatic instance.

In the Lok Sabha elections of 1984, theCongress party came to power winning 415of the 543 Lok Sabha seats — more than 80%of the seats. Such a victory was never achievedby any party in the Lok Sabha. What did thiselection show?

The Congress party won four-fifths of theseats. Does it mean that four out of five Indianvoters voted for the Congress party? Actuallynot. Take a look at the enclosed table. TheCongress party got 48% of the votes. Thismeans that only 48% of those who voted,voted in favour of the candidates put up by


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• The candidate who secures thehighest number of votes in thatconstituency is declared elected.

It is important to note that in this systemwhoever has more votes than all othercandidates, is declared elected. The winningcandidate need not secure a majority. of thevotes. This method is called the First Past thePost (FPTP) system In the electoral race, thecandidate who is ahead of others, who crossesthe winning post first of all, is the winner. Thismethod is also called the Plurality System.This is the method of election prescribed by

the Constitution.Example: The Congress party won

greater share of seats than its share of votesbecause in many of the constituencies in whichits candidates won, they secured less than 50%of the votes. If there are several candidates,the winning candidate often gets much lessthan 50% of the votes. The votes that go to allthe losing candidates go ‘waste’, for thosecandidates or parties get no seat from thosevotes. Suppose a party gets only 25 per centof the votes in every constituency, buteveryone else gets even less votes. In that case,the party could win all the seats with only 25per cent votes or even less.

Proportional Representation

In Israel once the votes are counted, eachparty is allotted the share of seats in theparliament in proportion to its share of votes.Each party fills its quota of seats by pickingthose many of its nominees from a preferencelist that has been declared before the elections.This system of elections is called the Propor-tional Representation (PR) system. In thissystem a party gets the same proportion ofseats as its proportion of votes.

In the PR system there could be twovariations. In some countries, like Israel or theentire country is treated as one constituencyand seats are allocated to each party accordingto its share of votes in the national election.The other method is when the country isdivided into several multi-member constitu-encies as in Argentina and Portugal. Eachparty prepares a list of candidates for eachconstituency, depending on how many he tobe elected from that constituency. In both thesevariations, voters exercise their preference fora party and not a candidate. The seats in aconstituency are distributed on the basis ofvotes polled by a party. Thus, representativesfrom a constituency, would and do belong to

the Congress party, but the party still managedto win more than 80% of the seats in the LokSabha. Lqok at the performance of otherparties. The BJP got 7.4 per ç.ent votes but lessthan one per cent seats. How did that happen?This happened because in our country wefollow a special method of elections. Underthis system:

• The entire country is divided into 543constituencies;

• Each constituency elects onerepresentative; and

Votes and seats won by some major partiesin Lok Sabha Election of 1984Party Votes (%) SeatsCongress 48.0 415BJP 7.4 2Janata 6.7 10Lok Dal 5.7 3CPI (M) 5.7 22Telugu Desam 4.1 30DMK 2.3 2AIADMK 1.0 7Akali Dal 1.0 7AGP 1.0 7


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different parties. In India, we have adoptedPR system on a limited scale for indirectelections. The Constitution prescribes a thirdand complex variation of the PR system forthe election of President, Vice President, andfor the election to the Rajya Sabha and VidhanParishads.

How doesPR work in Rajya Sabha elections

A third variant of PR, the SingleTransferable Vote System (STV) is followed forRajya Sabha elections. Every State has aspecific quota of seats in the Rajya Sabha. Themembers are elected by the respective Statelegislative assemblies. The voters are theMLAs in that State. Every voter is red to rankcandidates according to her or his preference.To be declared the winner, a candidate mustsecure a minimum quota of votes, which isdetermined by a formula:

Total Votes polled

_________________________________ +1Total number of candidates to be elected

+ 1For example if 4 Rajya Sabha members

have to be elected by the 200 MLAs inRajasthan, the winner would require (200/4+1=40+1) 41 votes. When the votes arecounted it is done on the basis of firstpreference votes secured by each candidate,of which the candidate has secured the firstpreference votes. If after the counting of allfirst preference votes, required number ofcandidates fail to fulfil the quota, the candidatewho secured the lowest votes of firstpreference is eliminated and his / her votesare transferred to those who are mentioned assecond preference on those ballot papers. Thisprocess continues till the required number ofcandidates are declared elected.

Why did India adopt the First system?

The answer is not very difficult to guess.If you have carefully read the box explainingthe Rajya Sabha elections, you would havenoticed that it is a complicated system whichmay work in a small country, but would bedifficult to work in a sub-continental countrylike India. The reason for the popularity andsuccess of the FPTP system is its simplicity.The entire election system is extremely simpleto understand even for common voters whomay have no specialized knowledge aboutpolitics and elections. There is also a clearchoice presented to the voters at the time ofelections.

Voters have to simply endorse acandidate or a party while voting. Dependingon the nature of actual politics, voters mayeither give greater importance to the party orto the candidate or balance the two. The FPTPsystem offers voters a choice not simplybetween parties but specific candidates. Inother electoral systems, especially PR systems,voters are often asked to choose a party andthe representatives are elected on the basis ofparty lists, As a result, there is no onerepresentative who represents and isresponsible for one locality. In constituencybased system like the FPTP, the voters knowwho their own representative is and can holdhim or her countable.

More importantly, the makers of ourConstitution also felt that PR based electionmay not be suitable for giving a stablegovernment in a parliamentary system. Thissystem requires that the executive has majorityin the legislature. You will notice that the PRsystem may not produce a clear majoritybecause seats in the legislature would bedivided on the basis of share of votes. TheFPTP system generally gives the largest party


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or coalition some extra bonus seats, more thantheir share of votes would allow. Thus thissystem makes it possible for parliamentarygovernment to function smoothly andeffectively by facilitating the formation of astable government. Finally, the FTPT systemencourages voters from different social groupsto come together to win an election in alocality. In a diverse country like India, a PRsystem would encourage each community toform its own nation-wide party. This may alsohave been at the back of the mind of ourconstitution makers.

The experience of the working of theConstitution has confirmed the expectation ofthe constitution makers. The FPTP system hasproved to be simple and familiar to ordinaryvoters. It has helped larger parties to win clearmajorities at the centre and the State level. Thesystem has also discouraged political partiesthat get all their votes only from one caste orcommunity. Normally, the working of theFPTP system results in a two-party system.

This means that there are two majorcompetitors for power and power is oftenshared by these two parties alternately. It isdifficult for new parties or the third party toenter the competition and share power. In thisrespect, the experience of FPTP in India isslightly different. After independence, thoughwe adopted the FPTP system, there emergeda one party dominance and along with it, thereexisted many smaller parties. After 1989, Indiais witnessing the functioning of the multipartycoalitions. At the same time, gradually, inmany States, a two party competition isemerging. But the distinguishing feature ofIndia’s party system is that the rise ofcoalitions has made it possible for new andsmaller parties to enter into electoralcompetition in spite of the FPTP system.

RESERVATION OF CONSTITUENCIES

We have noticed that in the FPTP electionsystem, the candidate who secures the highestvotes in a particular constituency is declaredelected. This often works to the disadvantageof the smaller social groups. This is even moresignificant in the Indian social context. Wehave had a history of caste based discri-mination. In such a social system, the FPTPelectoral system can mean that the dominantsocial groups and castes can win everywhereand the oppressed social groups may continueto remain unrepresented. Our Constitutionmakers were aware of this difficulty and theneed to provide a way to ensure fair and justrepresentation to the oppressed social groups.

This issue was debated even beforeindependence and the British government hadintroduced ‘separate electorates’. This systemmeant that for electing a representative froma particular community, only those voterswould be eligible who belong to thatcommunity. In the constituent assembly, manymembers expressed a fear that this will notsuit our purposes. Therefore, it was decidedto adopt the system of reserved constituencies.In this system, all voters in a constituency areeligible to vote but the candidates must belongto only a particular community or socialsection for which the seat is reserved. Thereare certain social groups which may be spreadacross the Country. In a particularconstituency, their numbers may not besufficient to be able to influence a victory of acandidate. However, taken across the countrythey are a significantly sizeable group. Toensure their proper representation, a systemof reservation becomes necessary. TheConstitution provides for reservation of seatsin the Lok Sabha and State LegislativeAssemblies for the Scheduled Castes and


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Scheduled Tribes. This provision was madeinitially for a period of 10 years and as a resultof successive constitutional amendments, hasbeen extended up to 2010. The Parliament cantake a decision to further extend it, when theperiod of reservation expires. The number ofseats reserved for both of these groups is inproportion to their share in the population ofIndia. Today, of the 543 elected seats in the LokSabha, 79 are reserved for Scheduled Castesand 41 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

Who decides which constituency is to bereserved? On what basis is this decision taken?This decision is taken by an independent bodycalled the Delimitation Commission. TheDelimitation Commission is appointed by thePresident of India and works in collaborationwith the Election Commission of India. It isappointed for the purpose of drawing up theboundaries of constituencies all over thecountry. A quota of constituencies to bereserved in each State is fixed depending onthe proportion of SC or ST in that State. Afterdrawing the boundaries, the DelimitationCommission looks at the composition ofpopulation in each constituency. Thoseconstituencies that have the highestproportion of Scheduled Tribe population arereserved for ST. In the case of ScheduledCastes, the Delimitation Commission looks attwo things. It picks constituencies that havehigher proportion of Scheduled Castepopulation. But it also spreads theseconstituencies in different regions of the State.This is done because the Scheduled Castepopulation is generally spread evenlythroughout the country. These reservedconstituencies can be rotated each time theDelimitation exercise is undertaken.

The Constitution does not make similarreservation for other disadvantaged groups.

Of late there has been a strong demand seekingreservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and StateAssemblies for women. Given the fact thatvery few women are elected to representativebodies, the demand for reserving one-thirdseats for women is increasingly beingarticulated. Reservation of seats for womenhas been provided for in rural and urban localbodies. A similar provision for Lok Sabha andVidhan Sabhas would require an amendmentto the Constitution. Such an amendment hasbeen proposed several times in the Parliamentbut has not yet been passed.

FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS

The true test of any election system is itsability to ensure a free and fair electoralprocess. If we want democracy to be translatedinto reality on the ground, it is important thatthe election system is impartial andtransparent. The system of election must alsoallow the aspirations of the voter to findlegitimate expression through the electoralresults.

Universal franchise and right to contest

Apart from laying down a method ofelections, the Constitution answers two basicquestions about elections: Who are the voters?Who can contest elections? In both theserespects our Constitution follows the wellestablished democratic practices.

You already know that democraticelections require that all adult citizens of thecountry must be eligible to vote in theelections. This is known as universal adultfranchise. In many countries, citizens had tofight long battles with the rulers to get thisright. In many countries, women could get thisright very late and only after struggle. One ofthe important decisions of the framers of the


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Indian Constitution was to guarantee everyadult citizen in India, the right to vote.

Till l989, an adult Indian meant an Indiancitizen above the age of 21. An amendment tothe Constitution in 1989, reduced the eligibilityage to 18. Adult franchise ensures that allcitizens are able to participate in the processof selecting their representative. This isconsistent with the principle of equality andnon-discrimination. Many people thought andmany think so today that giving the right tovote to everyone irrespective of educationalqualification was not right. But ourConstitution makers had a firm belief in theability and worth of all adult citizens as equalsin the matter of deciding what is good for thesociety, the country and for their ownconstituencies. What is true of the right to voteis also true of right to contest election. Allcitizens have the right to stand for election andbecome the representative of the people.However, there are different minimum agerequirements for contesting elections. Forexample, in order to stand for Lok Sabha orAssembly election, a candidate must be at least25 years old. There are some other restrictionsalso. For instance, there is a legal provision thata person who has undergone imprisonmentfor two or more years for some offence isdisqualified from contesting elections. Butthere are no restrictions of income, educationor class or gender on the right to contestelections. In this sense, our system of electionis open to all citizens.

Article 324: (1) The superintendence, di-rection and control of the preparation of theelectoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elec-tions to Parliament and to the Legislature ofevery State and of elections to the offices ofPresident and Vice- President held under thisConstitution shall be vested in a Commission(referred to in this Constitution as the Elec-tion Commission).

Independent-Election Commission

Several efforts have been made in Indiato ensure the free and fair election system andprocess. The most important among these isthe creation of an independent ElectionCommission to ‘supervise and conduct’elections. In many countries, there is anabsence of an independent mechanism forconducting elections Article 324 of the IndianConstitution provides for an independentElection Commission for the‘superintendence, direction and control of theelectoral roll and the conduct of elections’ inIndia. These words in the Constitution are veryimportant, for they give the ElectionCommission a decisive role in virtuallyeverything to do with elections. The SupremeCourt has agreed with this interpretation ofthe Constitution. To assist the ElectionCommission of India there is a Chief ElectoralOfficer in every state. The ElectionCommission is not responsible for the conductof local body elections. The State ElectionCommissioners work independently of theElection Commission of India and each has itsown sphere of operation.

The Election Commission of India caneither be a single member or a multi-memberbody. Till 1989 the Election Commission wassingle member. Just before the 1989 generalelections, two election Commissioners wereappointed making the body multi-member.Soon after the elections, the Commissionreverted to its single member status. In 1993,two Election Commissioners were once againappointed and the Commission became multi-member and has remained multi-membersince t en. Initially there were manyapprehensions about a multi-memberCommission. There was a sharp difference ofopinion between the then Chief Election


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Commissioner and the other Commissionersabout who had how much power. The matterhad to be settled by the Supreme Court. Nowthere is a general consensus that a multi-member Election Commission is moreappropriate as power is shared and there isgreater accountability.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)presides over the Election Commission, butdoes not have more powers than the otherElection Commissioners. The CEC and the twoElection Commissioners have equal powers totake all decisions relating to elections as acollective body. They are appointed by thePresident of India on the advice of the Councilof Ministers. It is therefore possible for a rulingparty to appoint a partisan person to theCommission who might favour them in theelections. This fear has led many to suggestthat this procedure should be changed. Manypersons have suggested that a differentmethod should be followed that makesconsultation with the leader of opposition andthe Chief Justice of India necessary for theappointment of CEC and ElectionCommissioners.

The Constitution ensures the security ofthe tenure of the CEC and ElectionCommissioners. They are appointed for a sixyear term or continue till the age of 65,whichever is earlier. The CEC can be removedbefore the expiry of the term, by the Presidentif both Houses of Parliament make such arecommendation with a special majority. Thisis done to ensure that a ruling party cannotremove a CEC who refuses to favour it inelections. The Election Commissioners can beremoved by the President of India. TheElection Commission of India has a widerange of functions.

• It supervises the preparation of up-

to-date voters’ list. It makes everyeffort to ensure that the voters’ list isfree of errors like nonexistence ofnames of registered voters orexistence of names of those non-eligible or non-existent.

• It also determines the timing ofelections and prepares the electionschedule. The election scheduleincludes the notification of elections,date from which nominations can befiled, last date for filing nominations,last date of scrutiny, last date ofwithdrawal, date of polling and dateof counting and declaration of results.

• During this entire process, theElection Commission has the powerto take decisions to ensure a free andfair poll. It can postpone or cancel theelection in the entire country or aspecific State or constituency on thegrounds that the atmosphere isvitiated and therefore, a free and fairelection may not be possible. TheCommission also implements amodel. code of conduct for partiesand candidates, It can order a re-pollin a specific constituency. It can alsoorder a recount of votes when it feelsthat the counting process has notbeen fully fair and just.

• The Election Commission accordsrecognition to political parties andallots symbols to each of them.

Special Majority

Special majority means:• Two-thirds majority of those present

and voting, and• Simple majority of the total

membership of the House.


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The Election Commission has verylimited staff of its own. It conducts theelections with the help of the administrativemachinery. However, once the election processhas begun, the commission has control overthe administration as far as election relatedwork is concerned. During the electionprocess, the administrative officers of the Stateand central governments are assigned electionrelated duty and in this respect, the ElectionCommission has full control over them. TheEC can transfer the officers, or stop theirtransfers; it can take action against them forfailing to act in a non-partisan manner.

Over the years, the Election Commissionof India has emerged as an independentauthority which has asserted its powers toensure fairness in the election process. It hasacted in an impartial and unbiased manner inorder to protect the sanctity of the electoralprocess.

The record of Election Commission alsoshows that every improvement in thefunctioning of institutions does not requirelegal or constitutional change. It is widelyagreed that the Election Commission is moreindependent and assertive now than it was tilltwenty years ago. This is not because thepowers and constitutional protection of theElection Commission have increased. TheElection Commission has started using moreeffectively the powers it always had in theConstitution. In the past fifty five years,fourteen Lok Sabha elections have been held.Many more State assembly elections and byeelections have been conducted by the ElectionCommission. The EC has faced many difficultsituations such as holding elections inmilitancy affected areas like Assam, Punjab orJammu and Kashmir.

It has also faced the difficult situation of

having to postpone the election process mid-way in 1991 when the ex-Prime Minister RajivGandhi was assassinated duringcampaigning. In 2002, the ElectionCommission faced another critical situationwhen the Gujarat Assembly was dissolved andelections had to be conducted. But the ElectionCommission found that unprecedentedviolence in that State had made it impossibleto hold free and fair elections immediately.

ELECTORAL REFORMS

No system of election can ever be perfect.And in actual election process, there are boundto be many flaws and limitations. Anydemocratic society has to keep searching formechanisms to make elections free and fair tothe maximum. With the acceptance of adultsuffrage, freedom to contest elections, and theestablishment of an independent ElectionCommission, India has tried to make itselection process free and fair. However, theexperience of the last fifty five years has givenrise to many suggestions for reforming ourelection system. The Election Commission,political parties, various independent groups,and many scholars have come up withproposals for electoral reform. Some of thesesuggestions are about changing theconstitutional provisions discussed in thisChapter:

• Our system of elections should bechanged from the FPTP to somevariant of the PR system. This wouldensure that parties get seats, as far aspossible, in proportion to the votesthey get.

• There should be a special provisionto ensure that at least one thirdwomen are elected to the parliamentand assemblies.


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• There should be stricter provisions tocontrol the role of money in electoralpolitics. The elections expensesshould be paid by the governmentout of a special fund.

• Candidates with any criminal caseshould be barred from contestingelections, even if their appeal ispending before a court.

• There should be complete ban on theuse of caste and religious appeals inthe campaign.

• There should be a law to regulate thefunctioning of political parties and toensure that they function in atransparent and democratic manner.

• These are but a few suggestions.There is no consensus about thesesuggestions. Even if there was a

consensus, there are limits to what thelaws and formal provisions can do.Free and fair elections can be heldonly if the candidates, the parties andthose involved in the election processagree to abide by the spirit ofdemocratic competition.

Apart from legal reforms, there are twoother ways of ensuring that elections reflectthe expectations and democratic aspirationsof the people. One is, of course, that peoplethemselves have to be more vigilant, moreactively involved in political activities.

But there are limits to the extent to whichordinary people can engage in politics on aregular basis. Therefore, it is necessary thatvarious political institutions and voluntaryorganisations are developed and are active infunctioning as watchdog for ensuring free andfair elections.


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The Constitution of India provides a dualpolity with a clear division of powers betweenthe Union and the States, each being supremewithin the sphere allotted to it. The States inIndia are not the creation of the Centre nor dothey draw their authority from the UnionGovernment. On the other hand, like theUnion Government, they draw their authoritydirectly from the Constitution and are free tooperate in the field allocated to them by theConstitution. At the outset, it may be notedthat the Constitution of India has made mostelaborate provisions regarding relationshipbetween the Union and the States. This wasdone with a view to minimize the conflictsbetween the Centre and the States. But theactual operation of the Centre-State relationsfor all these years has given rise to acontroversy about the wisdom ofarrangements made under the IndianConstitution.Critics have expressed doubtsabout the existing arrangements anddemanded reallocation and adjustment of theCentre-State relations. The relations betweenthe Centre and the States can be convenientlystudied under the following categories.

LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS

• The Union State relations in thelegislative sphere have been dealt byArticles 245 to 254. The Constitutionclearly provides that the Parliamentshall have exclusive jurisdiction tomake law for the whole or any part ofthe territory of India with regard tosubjects mentioned in the Union List.This list contains 97 subjects likedefence, foreign affairs, currency,union duties, communication, etc.

• On the other hand, the State enjoysexclusive power over the 66 itemsenumerated in the State List. This Listcontains subjects like public order,health, sanitation, agriculture etc. Inaddition, there is a Concurrent listcontaining 47 subjects like criminallaw and procedure, marriage,contracts, trust, social insurance etc.over which both the Union and theState Governments can legislate.


♣ LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS ................................................................................................... 64♣ ADMINISTRATIVE RELATIONS ........................................................................................... 66♣ FINANCIAL RELATIONS ...................................................................................................... 69♣ CENTRE - STATE RELATIONS: CONFLICT ZONE .............................................................. 70♣ PUNCHHI COMMISSION ON CENTRE - STATE RELATIONS ............................................ 77♣ FINANCE COMMISSION VS PLANNING COMMISSION .................................................... 79

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CENTER STATE RELATION 65

• The constitution also vests theresiduary powers (viz., enumerated inany of the three Lists) with the CentralGovernment. It may be noted that inthis distribution of powers, the UnionGovernment has certainly been givena favoured treatment. It has not onlybeen granted more extensive powersthan the States, even the residuarypowers have been granted to itcontrary to the convention in otherfederations of the world, where theresiduary powers are given to theStates.

• If the law of the Union Governmentand the State Government come intoclash with each other the formerprevails. However, a State law on theConcurrent List shall prevail over theCentral law if the same had beenreserved for the consideration of thePresident and his consent had beenreceived before the enactment of theCentral law on the same subject. Thisclearly gives some leeway to theStates.

Union’s Power toLegislate on States’ Subjects

Though under ordinary circumstancesthe Central Government does not possespower to legislation on subjects enumeratedin the State List, but under certain specialconditions the Union Parliament can makelaws even on these subjects. In the followingcases Union Parliament can legislate on thesubject listed in the State List.

a. If the Rajya Sabha declares by aresolution supported by not less thantwo thirds of the members present

and voting that it is necessary orexpedient in the national interest thatthe Parliament should make laws withrespect to any matter, enumerated inthe State List, specified in theresolution. After such a resolution ispassed it is lawful for the Parliamentto make laws for the whole or any partof the territory of India with respectto that matter while the resolutionremains in force. Such a resolutionremains in force for a period of oneyear and can be further extended byone year by means of a subsequentresolution. It may be observed thatthis provision has been used only invery few cases and has not added tothe powers of the Parliament.

b. The Parliament can legislate on thesubjects mentioned in the State Listwhen the Proclamation of Emergencyhas been made by the President ongrounds of internal disturbances orexternal aggression. However, thelaws thus made by the Parliamentshall cease to have effect on theexpiration of a period of six monthsafter the Proclamation has ceased tooperate, except as respects thingsdone or omitted to be done before theexpiry of the said period. Thus, duringemergency the Parliament canlegislate on subjects in all the threelists and the Federal Constitution getsconverted into unitary one.

c. The President can also authorise theParliament to exercise the powers ofthe State legislature during theProclamation of Emergency due to


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breakdown of constitutionalmachinery in a state. But all such lawspassed by the Parliament cease tooperate six months after theProclamation of Emergency comes toan end.

d. The Parliament can also be authorisedto legislate on a state subject if thelegislatures of two or more states feelit desirable that any of the matterswith respect to which the Parliamenthas no power to make laws for thestates should be regulated in suchstates by Parliament by law and ifresolutions to that effect are passed bylegislatures of those states. Thereafter,any act passed by the Parliament shallapply to such states and to any otherstate by which it is adoptedafterwards by resolution passed inthat behalf by the house, or, wherethere are two houses, by each houseof the legislature of that state. TheParliament also reserves the right toamend or repeal any such act.

e. The Parliament can make law for thewhole or any part of the territory ofIndia for implementing any treaty,agreement or convention with anyother country or countries or anydecision made at any internationalconference, association or other body.Any law passed by the Parliament forthis purpose cannot be invalidated onthe ground that it relates to the subjectmentioned in the state list.

f. Certain bills passed by the statelegislature have to be reserved by theGovernor of the state for theconsideration of the President. These

bills become law only after thePresident gives his assent. The billswhich the Governor must reserve forthe consideration of the Presidentrelate to compulsory acquisition ofproperty, or those which adverselyaffected the Powers of the High Court.

It is quite evident from the abovediscussion that the Union enjoys a position ofsuperiority in the legislative sphere and attimes the states are completely at its mercy.

ADMINISTRATIVE RELATIONS

• The administrative jurisdiction of theUnion and the State Governmentsextends to the subjects in the union listand state list respectively, whichclearly establishes the superiority ofthe Union Government in theadministrative sphere as well. Inaddition, the Constitution contains anumber of provisions which accord aposition of superiority to the UnionGovernment.

• Article 256 lays down that theexecutive power of every state shallbe so exercised as to ensurecompliance with the laws made byParliament and any existing lawswhich apply in that State, and theexecutive power of the Union shallextend to the giving of such directionsto a state as may appear to theGovernment of India to be necessaryfor that purpose.

• Similarly, Article 257 of theConstitution provides that theexecutive power of every state shallbe so exercised as not to impede orprejudice the exercise of the executivepower of the Union, and the executivepower of the Union shall extend togiving of such directions to a state as


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may appear to the Government ofIndia to be necessary for that purpose.

• In short, the Union Government canissue directions to the stateGovernment even with regard to thesubjects enumerated in the state list.

Union Power to Give Directions to States

• The Union Government can also givedirections to the state with regard toconstruction and maintenance of themeans of communication declared tobe of national or military importance.It can also ask the state Governmentsto construct and maintain means ofcommunication as part of its functionswith respect to naval, military and airforce works.

• It can also issue them necessarydirections regarding the measures tobe taken for the protection of therailways within the jurisdiction of thestate. It may be noted that theexpenses incurred by the stateGovernments for the discharge ofthese functions have to be reimbursedby the Union Government.

• It may be noted that the stateGovernments cannot ignore thedirections of the Union Government,otherwise the president can take theplea that the Government of the statecannot be carried on the accordancewith the provisions of theConstitution and impose President’srule on the state. In such aneventuality the President shall assumeto himself all or any of the functionsof the state Government.

• The President of India can also entrust

to the officers of the State certainfunctions of the Union Government.However, before doing so thePresident has to take the consent ofthe state Government. Further, theextra cost incurred by the states in thedischarge of these obligations has tobe reimbursed by the UnionGovernment.

All-India Services

• The presence of the All India Serviceslike the. Indian AdministrativeServices, and the Indian policeServices etc. further accords apredominant position to the UnionGovernment. The members of theseservices are recruited andappointment held by the Union PublicService Commission.

• The members of these services areposted on key posts in the states, butremain loyal to the UnionGovernment. The right to create newAll India Services also rests with theUnion Parliament.

• The Union Parliament can create anew All India Service only if the RajyaSabha passes a resolution by two-thirds majority of the memberspresent and voting that it is necessaryin the national interest to do so.

Water Disputes

• The Parliament has been vested withpower to adjudicate any dispute orcomplaint with respect to the use,distribution or control of the watersof, or in any interstate river of river-valley. In this regard, the Parliamentalso reserves the right to exclude such


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disputes from the jurisdiction of theSupreme Court or other Courts.

Responsibility of the Union

• Under the Constitution, it is theresponsibility of the UnionGovernment to protect the states fromexternal aggression and internaldisturbances. This leaves much scopefor Centre’s interference in the spheresof the state.

• The President can declare nationalemergency in case of war or possiblethreat of war as well as armedrebellion. During this emergency theCentre can give directions to the statesas to the manner in which theirexecutive power is to be exercised.

v The President can authorise theParliament to make laws with respectto any matter including power tomake laws conferring powers andimposing duties or authorising theconferring of power and theimposition of duties upon the Unionofficers and authorities of the Unionas respects that matter unmindful ofthe fact, that the matter does notbelong to the Union list. Similarly, itis the duty of the President to ensurethat the government of the state iscarried on in accordance withprovisions of the Constitution.

v If the President is satisfied that thegovernment of the state cannot runalong constitutional lines, he candeclare constitutional emergency inthe state and assume to himself all orany of the functions of the

Government of the state and allpowers of the State other than thoseexercised by the legislature and HighCourt of the State.

• The President can also declare that thepowers of the state legislature shall beexercised under the authority of theParliament and make such incidentaland consequential provisions asappear to him to be necessary ordesirable for giving effect to theobjects of the Proclamation.

Role of Governors

• The Central Government exerciseseffective administrative control overstates through the Governors of Statewho are appointed by the Presidentand hold office during his pleasure.The Governors can reserve certainbills passed by the State legislaturesfor the consideration of the President.

• President can also issue directions andorders to the Governor which arebinding on him. Thus, the Centre canexercise effective control over theStates through the Government totopple State Governments which areirksome to the Central Government.

Judicial System

• As the Constitution of India providesfor a single judicial system both theUnion and the State Governments areduty bound to give full faith andcredit to public acts, records,proceedings and judicial decisions ofthe Supreme Court and the HighCourt. The manner in which theseacts, records and proceedings have to


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be preserved is determined byParliament by law and the slates donot have any say in this regard.

• In the matter of appointment of theChief Justice and the Judges of theSupreme Court as well as the HighCourts, the states have no say. Theyare appointed by the President inconsultation with the Chief Justice ofIndia and such other judges of thesupreme courts and the High Courtas he deems fit to consult.

• The initiative for the removal of thesejudges also rests with the Parliamentwhich can pass necessary resolutionfor their impeachment andrecommend to the President to takenecessary action. The States are in noway connected with the appointmentor removal of the judges of theSupreme Court or High Court.

State Government’s Power

• The State Governor can entrustconditionally or unconditionallycertain functions with respect to theexecutive powers of the state to theofficers of the Union with the consentof the Union Government (Article258A).

• It may be observed that the originalConstitution did not contain thisprovision. This provision was addedthrough Seventh Amendment in 1956in view of the objections by theComptroller and Auditor-Generalover construction of Hirakund Damby the Central Government on behalfof the Orissa Government anddebiting of cost to the state accounts.

Impact of the 42nd Amendment Act

• A new turn was given to the Centre-State Relations in the administrativesphere by the Forty-Secondamendment of 1976, whichempowered the Central Governmentto deploy armed forces for dealingwith any grave situation of law andorder in the States.

• The contingents so employed were toact in accordance with the instructionsof the Central Government and not towork under the direction,superintendence and control of thestate government concerned, unlessspecifically directed by the CentralGovernment. This change naturallygreatly restricted the autonomy of thestates and was resented by the states.Ultimately this provision wasnullified by the 44th Amendment.

• It is thus, evident that in theadministrative sphere the statescannot act in complete isolation andhave to work under the directions andin cooperation with others of thefederation.

FINANCIAL RELATIONS

Generally, in typical federationalongwith the distribution of legislative andadministrative powers, the financial resourcesof the country are also so distributed as toensure financial independence of the units.However, the Indian Constitution does notmake a clear cut distribution of the financialresources and leaves much to be decided bythe Central Government from time to time.The financial resources which have beenplaced at the disposal of the state are someagre that they have to look up to the Union


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Government for subsidies and contributions.The distribution of financial resources in Indiahas broadly been made as follows.

1. Taxes exclusively assigned to theUnion: Income from certain subjectslike customs and export duties,income tax, excise duty on tobacco,jute, cotton etc., corporation tax, taxeson capital value of assets ofindividuals and companies; estateduty and succession duty in respectof property and other thanagricultural land; and income fromthe earning departments like therailways and postal departments havebeen exclusively assigned to theUnion Government by theConstitution.

2. Taxes exclusively assigned to States:Income from land revenue, stampduty except on documents includedin the Union List; succession duty andestate duty in respect of agriculturalland; income tax on agricultural lands;taxes on goods and passengers carriedby road or inland water; taxes onvehicles used on roads, animals, boats,taxes on the consumption or sale ofelectricity, tolls, taxes on lands andbuildings; taxes on professions,traders, calling and employment;duties on alcoholic liquors for humanconsumption, opium, Indian hempand other narcotic drugs, taxes on theentry of goods into local areas, taxeson luxuries, entertainments,amusements, betting and gambling,etc. has been assigned to the States.

3. Taxes leviable by Union butcollected and appropriated by theState: The taxes on the following items

are levied by the Union Governmentbut the actual revenue from them iscollected and appropriated by theStates; (i) stamp duties on bills ofexchange, cheques, promissory notes,bills of landing, letters of credit,policies of insurance, transfer ofshares etc.; (ii) Excise duties onmedicinal toilet preparationcontaining alcohol or opium or Indianhemp or other narcotic drugs.

4. Taxes levied and collected by theUnion but assigned to states: Thetaxes in this category are levied andcollected by the Union Governmentalthough they are subsequentlyhanded over to the states where fromthey have been collected. Such taxesincluded duties in respect ofsuccession to property other thanagricultural land; state duty in respectof property other than agriculturalland terminal taxes on goods orpassengers carried by railways, sea orair, taxes on railway freights and fares;taxes other than stamp duties ontransactions in stock exchanges andfuture markets; taxes on the sale orpurchase of newspapers and onadvertisements published therein;taxes on purchase or sale of goodsother than newspapers where suchsale or purchases take place in thecourse of inter-state trade orcommerce.

5. Taxes levied and collected by theUnion but shared with the States:Taxes on income other thanagricultural income and excise dutiesother than those on medicinal andtoilet preparations are levied andcollected by the Union Government


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but shared with the states on anequitable basis. The basis ofdistribution is determined by theParliament through a law.

CENTRE - STATE RELATIONS:CONFLICT ZONE

Arising out of the nature of Centre - Staterelations as well as difference in politicalideology of the ruling parties at the Centre andStates, following major areas of tensions haveemerged in Indian federalism.

• Role of Governor as a representativeof the central Government withregard to appointing and dismissingState ministers and dissolution of theState Assemblies.

• Misuse of powers of imposition ofPresident’s Rule under Article 356.

• Reservation of Bills for theconsideration of the President underArticle 201.

• Sharing of finances, and centralapproval of state projects.

• Demand for autonomy by the StatesWithin these five major areas, there are

several other issues of administrative andpolitical processes that cause tensions inCentre - State relations

Role of Governor

• Such interferences by Governors inState Government affairs and abuse oftheir powers for partisan reason hasbeen giving rise to a feeling ofinsecurity among State and demandfor settling the issues of appointmentand dismissal of Governorsthemselves, their compulsion to act onthe advice of Council of Ministers, and

definite code for the exercise ofdiscretionary powers. Governors rolein the government of particular stateoften based on ruling party of thecentre , This is the reason the rulingparty reshuffle the post whenever itforms new government .

Misuse of Article 356

• The provision for imposition ofPresident’s rule in States under Article356 was made to deal with serioussituations as a life saving device to beused as a measure of last resort.However, in practice this article hasbeen so frequently used for purelypartisan interests that it has becomealmost poisonous for Indian politicalsystem.

• The use of Article 356 rests on thesubjective satisfaction of thePresident. President’s rule can beimposed either on the recommen-dations of Governor or even withoutthat, that is, on the satisfaction ofPresident (Prime Minister) himself.

• In the same manner, the PrimeMinister can also make use of Article365 to ensure that the administrationin State is carried on in accordancewith the provisions of theConstitution, and if otherwise,dissolve the State Government on thebasis of his own assessment of therepresentative character or otherwise.

• The Sarkaria Commission drawingattention to the repeated abuse ofArticle 356 has pointed out thatduring the period from 1951 to 1987,of the 75 occasions when thePresident’s rule was imposed, only in


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26 cases was President’s ruleinevitable. In resent past Bihargovernment was dissolved in the useof article 356.

Article 200 & 201• The power of the Governor to reserve

all bill, passed by the legislature forthe President’s assent is another causeof tension between the Centre and theState.

• This has especially been so in casewhere the Governor has reserved abill against the advice of the StateMinistry, presumably under thedirection of the Central Government.The main purpose of this provision isthat the Centre wants to keep a watchon the activities of the States.

Revenue

• One of the most controversial areasbetween the Centre and the State in afederal system is that of financialrelations and the Indian federalsystem is no exception to this.

• The demand of the states for greaterfiscal autonomy has now become oneof the most debated issues of theIndian federation. The tensionbetween Centre and States withregard to fiscal relations arisesbecause of:o Comparative powers of taxation,o Statutory versus discretionary

grants, ando Economic planning.

Fiscal Matters

• Sources of revenue to the Centre arerelatively elastic and expansive asagainst those of the states. The Centre

also controls vast resources generatedthrough deficit financing, loans fromorganized money market in thecountry as well as huge funds offoreign aid.

• The residuary powers of taxation arealso vested with the CentralGovernment. In addition to this,Constitution also authorizes theCentre to collect surcharges on taxesto raise additional funds in times ofemerging.

• In practice surcharge has become apermanent feature of income taxstructure. Another loophole intaxation system, on account of whichstates suffers, is the cooperate tax,which keeps on expanding and is inthe exclusive purview of the Centre.The states therefore have to bedependent on Central assistance.

Grants - in - Aid

• With regard to sharing of resourcesand assignment of certain resourcesentirely to the State, Articles 280 and281. provide for the appointment ofan independent Finance Commissionevery fifth year or earlier as thePresident of India desires.

• The provision of Finance Commissionwas to regulate, co-ordinate andintegrate the finances of theGovernment of India and the StateGovernment. Originally, the FinanceCommission was intended to cover allthe financial transfers from the Centreto States.

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Commission has also been brought infor the purpose and now it plays arather important part in devolution ofresources from the Centre to theStates. Since the PlanningCommission is a completely Centralinstitution and the politicallyinfluenced States have a sense ofdiscrimination in location of grants.

• States are sore not only because of thefact that the Planning Commission’sauthority to determine the scope andpattern of a major portion of Centralassistance to States has relegated therole of Finance Commission to asubsidiary one but also because theCentre does not seem to be muchserious even about the reduced roleof the Finance Commission. Inaddition, provision for grantsin-aidby the Centre is purely a political andarbitrary means of devolution andcentre has been making use of thismore and more and that too in acontroversial manner.

• Centre gives grant-in-aid to Statesunder Article 281 on its discretion forundertaking welfare schemes, meetnatural calamities or for removal ofdisparities etc. A close scrutiny of theCentral relief to the States affected bynatural calamities indicates that nowell considered norms were followedin this regard. The Central teamspreoccupied by politicalconsiderations have always assessedthe damage done by droughts, flood,etc. in an ad hoc perfunctory manner.

• The States therefore, have sharply

questioned the need for the Centre towield heavy financial clout in theshape of discretionary grants. Thereare about the inherent danger of theirbeing used as a political weaponagainst a State that happens to be outof favour with the Centre.

Economic Planning

• It is generally agreed that the processof planning in India has tended topush the political system to greatercentralisation due to both the centralcontrol over resources fordevelopment and the preponderanceof the centralised planning machinery.

• The gravest and most harmfulconsequence of the atrophy of thestate’s domain in the economic fieldis in regard to industries andeconomic planning.

• Similarly it is alleged that in the nameof national planning, the centre forpolitical considerations has beeninordinately delaying viable andimportant state projects. On thecontrary, Centre has been super-imposing its schemes on the Stateswhich deemed by State governmentsto be irrelevant to the conditionsprevailing in the States

Demand for Autonomy

• The constituent units of the IndianUnion i.e. the States have beendeveloping a feeling of deprivation onthe ground that the Centre has deniedthem the autonomy that has beenguaranteed under the Constitution.Unfortunately despite changes in


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Government, the trend towardscentralization has not been weakend.

• In this context the demand for agreater and more meaningfuldevolution of power has beenassertively and more stridentlyarticulated over the years. TheAdministrative Reforms Commission(appointed in 1967) recommendedthat powers should be delegated tothe maximum extent to the States.

• It also expressed the opinion thatcentralized planning had tendedtowards excessive interference in thefreedom of States to work out theirpolicies and programmes.

• The Commission made somerecommen-dations with regard to theoffice of Governor and also suggestedthe need to establish an Inter-StateCouncil under Article 263 of theConstitution. The recommendationsof the Commission however remainedon paper and process of centralizationcontinued.

Sarkaria Commission

• The decades of the eighties witnesseda struggle to get the federal issue onthe nation’s agenda. And when thepolitical challenge assumed newdimensions and tensions between theCentre and the States grew insharpness, it became necessary to easethe situation.

• It was in this context that theGovernment of India announced onMarch 24, 1983 the appointment of aCommission to examine and reviewthe working of existing arrangements

between the Union and the States inregard to powers, functions andresponsibilities in all spheres andrecommend appropriate charges andmeasures.

• The Commission came to be knownas the Sarkaria Commission onCentre-State Relations after the nameof its Chairman R.S. Sarkaria. TheCommission was asked to keep inview the social and economicdevelopments that have taken placeover the years as also the scheme andthe framework of the Constitutionand the need for preserving the unityand integrity of the country.

• The Sarkaria Commission insubmitted its report on October 27,1987. The Commission favoured astrong Centre as the only safe-guardto national integrity which was beingthreatened severely in the light ofrecent fissiparous tendencies in thebody politics. But, the Commissiondid not equate strong Centre withcentralisation of powers. Infact, itviewed centralisation as dangerousfor national integration.

Salient Recommendations of SarkariaCommission are:

• More extensive and generous use ofArticle 258 which gives powers toUnion government to confer powers,etc. to State governments should bemade than as hitherto being done.

• Any move to disband the All IndiaService or to permit the Stategovernment to opt out the schememust be regarded as retrograde and


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harmful to the larger interest of thecountry. The All India Services shouldbe further strengthened and greateremphasis given on the role expectedto be played by them.

• Amend Article 248 to provide thelegislature of the state with exclusivepower to make any law with respectto any matter listed in the Union Listor Concurrent List. That is, theresiduary power on the federationshould lie with the states.

• Delete Article 249 that gives power toParliament to legislate on the StateList, by the concurrence of the RajyaSabha on a matter deemed by it to beof national interest. This short circuitthe amending process laid down inArticle 368, and unilaterally transfersa subject from the State List to theConcurrent List. A better and moreequitable alternative is any howavailable in Article 252 (1) even if itbe cumbersome and time consuming.

• Amend Article 280 (regarding theFinance Commission), and providefor the transfer of seventy five per centof the total revenue raised by theCentre from all sources, to the States.

• Delete Article 302 (regarding thepower of Parliament to imposerestrictions on trade and commercewith a State or between the States)

• Delete Articles 356 and 357(Emergency provisions, giving rightto the Centre to dissolve a StateAssembly and dimpose Presidentialrule).

• Delete Article 360 (Financialprovision) that empowers thePresident to interfere in Stateadministration, on ground of threat of

financial instability.• Delete Article 200 and 201 which

empower the Governor to withholdassent to bills, and reserve them forPresidential approval.

• Amend Article 368, to ensure that noamendment of the constitution ispossible without two thirds majorityof the members of Parliament, presentand voting.

• Amend Article 3, to ensure that thename and area of a State cannot bechanged by Parliament without theconsent of the state legislativeconcerned.

• Whenever the Union proposes toundertake legislation with respect toa matter in the Concurrent List, thereshould be prior consultation not onlywith the State government,individually, but also collectively.There should be regular consultationson the management of All IndiaServices between the Union and theState governments.

• The Planning Commission and theNational Development Council are tobe reformed assuring at the same timeof full and effective consultation withthe States at all stages of the planningprocess so that they feel that their rolein it is not that of a supplicant, but ofan equal participant.

• Before the Union government deploysits armed and other forces in a statein aid of. the civil power otherwisethan on request from the Stategovernment or declare an area withina State as disturbed, it is desirable thatthe State government should beconsulted, wherever feasible, and itscooperation sought, even thoughprior consultation with the Stategovernment is not obligatory.


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• Convention as to consultation withState governments in Concurrent Listindividually as well as collectivelyshould be strictly adhered to exceptin extreme emergency.

• Article 356 (emergency provisions)should be used very sparingly inextreme cases as a measure of lastresort when all available alternativesfail.

• An expert committee should beconstituted to enquire into and revivefrom time to time in consultation withthe States, the operational feasibilityof the scope for levying taxes andduties under Article 269 and thecomplementary measures, the Stategovernments would be required to(Taxes levied under this article arecollected by the Union Government andassigned to the States).

• In order to ensure effectiveconsultation with the State ChiefMinister, in the selection of a personto be appointed as Governor, theprocedure of consultation should beprescribed in the Constitution itself bysuitably amending it.

• Residuary powers of legislation inregard to taxation matters shouldcontinue to remain exclusively in thecompetence of parliament while theresiduary subjects other than that oftaxation should be placed in theConcurrent List.

• Safeguards should be incorporated inArticle 356 to enable Parliament torevive continuance in force of aproclamation.

• The Constitution should be suitablyamended to add the subject oftaxation of ‘advertisement broadcastby radio or television to the presentEntry 92, List (Union list) and Article

269 (1) relating to duties and taxeslevied and collected by the Unionassigned to States.

• Inter State River Water Disputes Actmay be amended to make itmandatory on the Union governmentto constitute a tribunal within oneyear of receipt of an application froma State and should be amended toempower the Union government toappoint a tribunal when it is satisfiedthat a case exists, to require States tofurnish necessary data to the tribunal,to make the award of the tribunaleffective within 5 years to give theaward of the tribunal the samesanction and force as that of a decreeof a Supreme Court.

• On top of this elaborate scheme ofestablishing cooperative Union Staterelations, was the recommendationrelating to the setting up of apermanent Inter State Council underArticle 263 of the Constitution todiscuss many of the problems ofcommon Union-State interest.

• Consisting of a General Body withPrime Minister as Chairman and allUnion Cabinet Ministers and all ChiefMinisters as members, and StandingCommittee with the Prime Minister aschairman, Six Union CabinetMinisters and Six chief Ministers onefrom each zone as members, such aCouncil is expected to provide aforum for discussion in an era amongsenior statesmen. The arrangement isexpected to promote properunderstanding and mutualconfidence among the Chief Executiveof the Union and the States.


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• In the light the recommendations ofthe Sarkaria Commission, theMinistry of Home Affairs issued anorder dated 28th May, 1990 by whichan Inter-State Council was establishedunder article 263 of the Constitution. Acopy of the relevant notification isappended at the end of the chapter.

• The Inter-State Council consists of thePrime Ministers, Chief, Ministers of allStates and Union territories with orwithout a Legislative Assembly and sixMinisters of Cabinet rank in the UnionCouncil of Ministers to be nominatedby the Prime Ministers or Ministers ofState having independent charge in theUnion Government when any itemunder their charge comes up fordiscussion. The Prime Minister is theChairman of the Council.

PUNCHHI COMMISSION ONCENTRE - STATE RELATIONS

The Commission has been set up to lookinto the new issues of Centre-State relationskeeping in view the sea changes that have beentaken place in the polity and economy of Indiasince the Sarkaria Commission had last lookedat the issue of Centre-State relations over twodecades ago.

Composition of Committee

Chairman: Shri Justice Madan MohanPunchhi (Retd.) Former Chief Justice of India

Members

• Shri Dhirendra Singh, FormerSecretary to the Government of India

• Shri Vinod Kumar Duggal FormerSecretary to the Government of India

• Dr. N.R. Madhava Menon FormerDirector, National Judicial Academy,Bhopal, and

• National Law School of India,Bangalore

• Shri Vijay Shanker, IPS (Retd.) FormerDirector, Central Bureau ofInvestigation, Govt of India

The terms of reference of theCommission:

(i) The Commission will examine andreview the working of the existingarrangements between the Union andStates as per the Constitution of India,the healthy precedents beingfollowed, various pronouncements ofthe Courts in regard to powers,functions and responsibilities in allspheres including legislative relations,administrative relations, role ofgovernors, emergency provisions,financial relations, economic andsocial planning, Panchayati Rajinstitutions, sharing of resources;including inter-state river water andrecommend such changes or othermeasures as may be appropriatekeeping in view the practicaldifficulties.

(ii) In examining and reviewing theworking of the existing arrangementsbetween the Union and States andmaking recommendations as to thechanges and measures needed, theCommission will keep in view thesocial and economic developmentsthat have taken place over the yearsparticularly over the last two decadesand have due regard to the scheme


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and framework of the Constitution.Such recommendations would alsoneed to address the growingchallenges of ensuring goodgovernance for promoting the welfareof the people whilst strengthening theunity and integrity of the country, andof availing emerging opportunities forsustained and rapid economic growthfor alleviating poverty and illiteracyin the early decades of the newmillennium.

(iii) While examining and making itsrecommen-dations on the above, theCommission shall have particularregard, but not limit its mandate to thefollowing:• The role, responsibility and

jurisdiction of the Centre vis-a-visStates during major and prolongedoutbreaks of communal violence,caste violence or any other socialconflict leading to prolonged andescalated violence.

• The role, responsibility andjurisdiction of the Centre vis-a-visStates in the planning andimplementation of the megaprojects like the inter-linking ofrivers, that would normally take 15-20 years for completion and hingevitally on the support of the States.

• The role, responsibility andjurisdiction of the Centre vis-a-visStates in promoting effectivedevolution of powers andautonomy to Panchayati RajInstitutions and Local Bodiesincluding the Autonomous Bodiesunder the 6th Schedule of theConstitution within a specifiedperiod of time.

• The role, responsibility and

jurisdiction of the Center vis-a-visStates in promoting the concept andpractice of independent planningand budgeting at the District level.

• The role, responsibility andjurisdiction of the Centre vis-a-visStates in linking Central assistanceof various kinds with theperformance of the States.

• The role, responsibility andjurisdiction of the Centre inadopting approaches and policiesbased on positive discrimination infavour of backward States.

• The impact of the recommendationsmade by the 8th to 12th FinanceCommissions on the fiscal relationsbetween the Centre and the States,especially the greater dependenceof the States on devolution of fundsfrom the Centre.

• The need and relevance of separatetaxes on the production and on thesales of goods and servicessubsequent to the introduction ofValue Added Tax regime.

• The need for freeing inter-Statetrade in order to establish a unifiedand integrated domestic market asalso in the context of the reluctanceof State Governments to adopt therelevant Sarkaria Commission’srecommendation in chapter XVIII ofits report.

• The need for setting up a CentralLaw Enforcement Agencyempowered to take up suo motoinvestigation of crimes having inter-State and/or internationalramifications with seriousimplications on national security.

• The feasibility of a supportinglegislation under Article 355 for thepurpose of suo moto deployment of


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Central forces in the States if andwhen the situation so demands.

• Union Government has extendedthe term of a Commission, whichwas set up to analyze the centre-state relations in the backdrop of thechanges in the polity and theeconomy.

• The Commission headed by JusticeM M Punchhi was set up in 2007 tolook into the new issues of centre-state relations in view of the seachanges that have been taken placein the polity and economy since theSarkaria Commission had lastlooked into these issues.

• The Commission was to examineand review, among other things, theworking of the existingarrangements between the Centreand the States as per theConstitution, the healthyprecedents being followed, variouspronouncements of the courts withregard to powers, functions andresponsibilities in all spheres.

FINANCE COMMISSION VSPLANNING COMMISSION

Indian Constitution has made an effortto allocate every possible source of revenueeither to the Union or the states. For thepurpose of allocation of certain sources ofrevenue, between the Union and the stateGovernments, the Constitution provides forthe establishment of a Finance Commission.On the other hand, the Planning Commissionis neither a constitutional body nor evenstatutory. Moreover, Planning Commissiondoes not have representation of States. Mutualoverlapping of these two bodies is often asource of tensions in Centre - State relations.

Finance Commission

The Constitution of India contains thefollowing provisions regarding the FinanceCommission:

1. The President shall, within two yearsfrom the commencement of thisConstitution and thereafter at theexpiration of every fifth year or atsuch earlier time as the Presidentconsiders necessary, by orderconstitute a Finance Commissionwhich shall consist of a Chairman andfour other members to be appointedby the President.

2. Parliament may by law determine thequalifications which shall be requisitefor appointment as members of theCommission and the manner in whichthey shall be selected.

3. It shall be the duty of the Commissionto make recommendations to thePresident as to• The distribution between the Union

and the States of the net proceedsof taxes which are to be, or may be,divided between them under thisChapter and the allocation betweenthe States of the respective shares ofsuch proceeds;The principles which should governthe grants-in-aid of the revenues ofthe States out of the ConsolidatedFund of India;

• The measures needed to augmentthe Consolidated Fund of a State tosupplement the resources of thePanchayats in the State on the basisof the recommendations made bythe Finance Commission of theState;


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• The measures needed to augmentthe Consolidated Fund of a State tosupplement the resources of theMunicipalities in the State on thebasis of the recommendations madeby the Finance Commission of theState;

• Any other matter referred to theCommission by the President in theinterests of sound finance.

(4) The Commission shall determine theirprocedure and shall have such powersin the performance of their functionsas Parliament may by law confer onthem.• Ever since the inauguration of the

Constitution, Finance Commissionshave been appointed at regularintervals regarding sharing ofrevenues between the Centre andthe States. So far, thirteen (13) suchCommissions have been set up.

• One notable feature of the FinanceCommission has been that the termsof reference have been made widerand wider with each FinanceCommission.

• Even issues like debt burden of thestate, financing of relief expenditureand returns of public sectorundertakings have been placedunder the purview of FinanceCommissions. Further, the UnionGovernment has mostly acceptedthe recommendations of the FinanceCommissions.

• Despite this liberal attitude of theUnion Government in financialmatters, certain states havedisapproved of the existingarrangement for distribution ofresources and emphasizes that the

distribution of resources should bemore progressive favoring therelatively poorer states.

Planning Commission

• The Planning Commission also playsa vital role in the financial relationsbetween the Centre and the States.Though the Planning Commission isan extra-constitutional body it playsa leading role in deciding the outlaysof the plans of the States as well as theCentre. It also decides how muchmoney should be allotted to thevarious states for expenditure onvarious items.

• As the Planning Commission isheaded by the Prime Minister (whoacts as its chairman) and some of theimportant ministers of the UnionCabinet are also associated with it, hasvirtually become a handmade of theCentral Government.

• The National Development Council,which was created in 1952 as anadjunct to the Planning Commission,to review the plans also works moreor less as an agency of the Centre, eventhough the Chief Ministers of the Stateare also its members. It has been allegedthat the Planning Commission playsmore important role in the allocation offunds and grants to the state than theFinance Commission.

Controversy

• It has been alleged by critics that therole assigned to the FinanceCommission has been greatlyundermined to the creation of the


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Planning Commission which hastended to play increasing role indetermining the transfer of funds tothe states. According to a study, morefunds were transferred to the statesthrough the Planning Commissionand the Finance Ministry than theFinance Commission.

• The Finance Commission is onlyrequired to plug the non-developmentbudgetary gaps in the finances of thestates only, while the plan outlays aredetermined by the PlanningCommission. Similarly thediscretionary grants are also regulatedby the Finance Ministry and thePlanning Commission and the

Finance Commission hardly play anyrole in this respect.

• It is clear from the above discussionthat the states in India do not possessadequate finances and have to look tothe Union Government for assistance.The increasing dependence on theUnion Government inevitably resultsin the curtailment of their autonomy,which poses a serious threat to theexistence of a federal structure. Inview of the weak position of the state,in the financial sphere, there has beena growing demand for allocation ofmore financial resources to the statesso that they may be able to enjoygreater autonomy.


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The term ‘Emergency’ may be defined as“a difficult situation arising suddenly anddemanding immediate action by publicauthorities under powers specially granted tothem by the Constitution or otherwise to meetsuch exigencies”.

Types of Emergency

Broadly, the Emergency provisions of theConstitution envisage two kinds ofemergencies, viz.

(i) a National Emergency under article352 due to threat of war, externalaggression or armed rebellion and

(ii) Financial Emergency under article360.

The third kind of situation, that is, theone under article 356 arising from a failure ofthe constitutional machinery in any particularState and necessitating President’s rule.:

NATIONAL EMERGENCY (ART. 352)

Article 352 provides that if the President,after receiving a written communication of aCabinet decision, is satisfied that a graveemergency exists whereby the security of Indiaor any part thereof is threatened by war,

external aggression or armed rebellion, he mayissue a Proclamation of Emergency for thewhole of India or part thereof. EveryProclamation of Emergency is required to belaid before each House of Parliament, and isto cease to operate at the expiration of onemonth from the date of its issue by thePresident unless it has in the meantime beenapproved by resolutions of both the House.However, once approved by Parliament, theProclamation may continue in operation forsix months at a time unless revoked by thePresident earlier by a subsequentProclamation. Resolutions approving theProclamation of Emergency or its continuancehave to be passed by either House ofParliament by a majority of the totalmembership and not less than two third ofthose present and voting. Also, if the LokSabha passes a resolution disapproving theProclamation or its continuance, it shall berevoked forthwith. If notice of a resolutionsigned by not less than one-tenth of the totalmembership is given to the President Speaker,a special sitting of the House shall be heldwithin 14 days to consider it.. During theperiods of Emergency, extraordinary powersmay be assumed by the Union Government.


♣ NATIONAL EMERGENCY (ART. 352) ................................................................................... 82♣ PROCLAMATION OF PRESIDENT’S RULE (ART. 356) ....................................................... 83♣ FINANCIAL EMERGENCY (ART. 360) ................................................................................. 84

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EMERGENCY PROVISIONS 83

Executive Powers of theUnion During Emergency

Article 353, read with article 365 providesthat once Emergency is proclaimed, theexecutive power of the union extend to givingof directions to any State in regard to theexercise of the executive power of the State andfailure to comply with the directions wouldconstitute enough justification for impositionof President’s rule under Article 356. Duringthe operation of Emergency, the legislativepower of Parliament also extends to conferringpowers and imposing duties by law on Unionauthorities in matters not otherwise includedin the Union List. Under article 354, theapplication of provisions relating todistribution of revenues articles (268 to 279)may be suitably modified during the periodof the operation of Emergency. Article 358,provides for the suspension of the provisionsof ‘article 19 during emergencies while article359 authorises the, President to suspend byordering the enforcement of all theFundamental Rights guaranteed in Part III ofthe Constitution except the rights of protectionin respect of conviction for offences andprotection of life and liberty in articles 20 and21.

The effect of the exercise of powers underarticles 358 and 359 is that not only thelegislature but also the executive can interferewith the Fundamental Rights of individualsexcept those under articles 20 and 21. Any lawpassed under articles 358 and 359 in order tobe valid must contain a recital to the effect thatit is in relation to the Proclamation ofEmergency in operation. Also, all such lawsshall cease to have effect to the extent ofincompetency under the Fundamental Rightsas soon as the Emergency ceases or thePresidential order ceases to have effect.

PROCLAMATION OFPRESIDENT’S RULE (ART. 356)

It is the constitutional duty of the Unionto protect its States against external aggressionand internal disturbance and to ensure thatthe Government of every State is carried onin accordance with the Constitution (Article355). If on receipt of a Report from theGovernor or otherwise, the President issatisfied that the Government of the Statecannot be carried on in accordance with theConstitution or that the constitution takingover any of the functions and powers of theState Government including those of theGovernor and other State authorities. Thesatisfaction of the President, of course, meansthe satisfaction of the Union Government andPresident’s rule is actually rule by the UnionGovernment. If any State fails to comply withdirections issued by the Union under article256, 257 or 353, the President may hold thatthere has been a failure of constitutionalmachinery in that State and may take over theState Government under article 356.

Every Proclamation under Article 356must cease to operate at the expiry of twomonths unless approved by resolutions of thetwo Houses of the Parliament. AfterParliament’s approval also, a Proclamationmay continue for not more than six months ata time and not for more than a total of threeyears (except Punjab)How the President’s Rule affects StateLegislatures?

The powers of the State Legislature mayunder the Proclamation become exercisable byor on the authority of Parliament. The StateAssembly may be dissolved or kept undersuspended animation. The president may takeall other steps that may be necessary includingsuspension of the operation of any


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constitutional provisions relating to any bodyor authority in the State except the HighCourts. During the operation of President’srule under article 356, Parliament may conferthe legislative power of the State on thePresident and authorise him to delegate thesepowers to other President and otherauthorities (Article 357)

FINANCIAL EMERGENCY (ART. 360)

The President is authorised by article 360of the Constitution to declare by aProclamation, Financial Emergency, if he issatisfied that the financial stability or creditof India or of any part of its territory isthreatened. Such a Proclamation may berevoked or varied by a subsequentProclamation. It has to be laid before bothHouses of Parliament and ceases to operate atthe expiration of two months unlessmeanwhile approved by resolutions of the twoHouse.

Once approved by Parliament, unlikeProclamation under article 352, it maycontinue indefinitely until revoked or varied.

During the operation of FinancialEmergency, the executive authority of theUnion extends to the giving of directions toany State to observe certain specified canonsof financial propriety and such otherdirections that the President may findnecessary or adequate. These directions mayinclude reduction of salaries and allowancesof all those serving a State and reserving forthe President’s consideration all money Billsand other Bills under article 207 after these arepassed by State legislatures. The Presidentmay also direct reduction in salaries andallowances of all those serving in connectionwith the affairs of the Union including judgesof the Supreme Court and the High Courts.


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EMERGENCY PROVISIONS 85

Part XX of the Constitution of India dealswith the Amendment of the Constitution. TheArticle 368 specifies the power of Parliamentto amend the constitution and the procedureof it. It is also mentioned in the Article thatthere will be no limitation on the constituentpower of the Parliament for amending it byadding, removing or improving the provisionsmade in it. The method of an amendment tothe Constitution is considered to be a highlycomplicated procedure. Amendment can bemade by various methods, which have beenmodeled based on the South AfricanConstitution. Since the enactment of theConstitution of India on 26 November 1949,there have been 94 amendments made to it till2006. Number of Bills are introduced beforeLok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for furtherimproving the Constitution.

AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

• By simple majority of the Parliament:Amendments in this category can bemade by a simple majority ofmembers present and voting, beforesending them for the President’sassent.

• By special majority of the Parliament:Amendments can be made in thiscategory by a two-thirds majority of

the total number of members presentand voting, which should not be lessthan half of the total membership ofthe house.

• By special majority of the Parliamentand ratification by at least half of thestate legislatures by special majority.After this, it is sent to the Presidentfor his assent.

AMENDMENTS IN BRIEF

• 1st Amendment Act, 1951: AmendedArticles - 15, 19, 85, 87, 174, 176, 341,342, 376. Inserted Articles - 31A, 31B.Added Schedule - IXth

• 2nd Amendment Act, 1952: AmendedArticle - 81

• 3rd Amendment Act, 1954: AmendedSchedule - XIIth Schedule List III,Entry 33.

• 4th Amendment Act, 1955: AmendedArticles - 31, 31A, 305. AmendedSchedule - IXth.

• 5th Amendment Act, 1955: AmendedArticle - 3.

• 6th Amendment Act, 1956: AmendedArticles - 269, 286 Amended Schedule- VIIth Schedule - List II, Entry 54; List


♣ AMENDMENT PROCEDURE ................................................................................................ 85♣ AMENDMENTS IN BRIEF ..................................................................................................... 85

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I, 92A inserted.• 7th Amendment Act, 1956: Amended

Art.1,80, 131, 153 158, 168, 222, 224,230, 231, 232, 298, 371 and 1st, 4th and7th schedule. Also amended Part VIIIand inserted new Articles- 258A,290A, 350A, 350B, 372A and 378A. Itmade consequential and minoramendments and repeals underArticle 392.

• 8th Amendment Act, 1959: Article 334amended - ’20 years’ substituted for’10 years’.

• 9th Amendment Act, 1960: Actfurther amend the Constitution ofIndia to give effect to the transfer ofcertain territories to Pakistan inpursuance of the agreements enteredinto between the Governments ofIndia and Pakistan in year 1958, 1959and 1960.

• 10th Amendment Act, 1961: Article240 and First Schedule amended toincorporate Dadra and Nagar Havellias a Union Territory.

• 11th Amendment Act, 1961: Articles66(1) & 71(3) amended to narrowdown grounds for challengingvalidity of election of President orVice-President.

• 12th Amendment Act, 1962: Goa,Daman and Diu were included as aUnion territory in the First Schedulewith an amendment in Article 240.

• 13th Amendment Act, 1962: InsertedArticle 371A to make specialprovisions for the administration ofthe state of Nagaland.

• 14th Amendment Act, 1962: French

establishments of Pondicherry,Karikal, Mahe and Yanam becameterritories of the Indian Union withamendments in Articles 81(1)(b) and240 as well as 1st and 4th Schedule.New Art. 239A was inserted.

• 15th Amendment Act, 1963:Amended Articles 124, 128, 217, 222,224, 226, 297, 311, 316 and 7thSchedule. New Art. 224A wasinserted.

• 16th Amendment Act, 1963:Amended Articles 19, 84, 173 and 3rdSchedule.

• 17th Amendment Act, 1964:Amended Art. 31A, Entries 21-64added to the IXth Schedule.

• 18th Amendment Act, 1966: Addedexplanation to Art. 3, to clarify that theParliament has the power to create anew state or Union Territory.Provision was made for formation oftwo states Punjab and Haryana.

• 19th Amendment Act, 1966:Amended Art. 324 to clarify the dutiesof the Election Commission.

• 20th Amendment Act, 1966: Art. 233Ainserted to validate the appointmentof District Judges.

• 21st Amendment Act, 1967:Incorporated Sindhi language in theEighth Schedule.

• 22nd Amendment Act, 1969: Insertednew Articles 244A and 371B.Amended Part X and Article 275.

• 23rd Amendment Act, 1970:Amending Arts. 330, 332, 333, 334 (toextend the period of reservation forScheduled Castes and Tribes).


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AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION 87

• 24th Amendment Act, 1971: Insertingcl. (4) in Art. 13; amending Art. 368.The object of the amendment was toclarify that the Parliament has thepower to amend every’ part of theConstitution.

• 25th Amendment Act, 1971:Amended Article 31 and inserted newArt. 31C.

• 26th Amendment Act, 1971:Amended Article 366. OmittedArticles 291 and 362 and inserted anew Article 363A.

• 27th Amendment Act, 1971:Amended Articles 239A and 240.Inserted new Articles 239B and 371C.

• 28th Amendment Act: Inserted newArticle 312A and omitted article 314.

• 29th Amendment Act, 1972:Amended Ninth Schedule.

• 30th Amendment Act, 1972:Amended Article 133.

• 31st Amendment Act, 1973: AmendedArticles 81, 330 and 332.

• 32nd Amendment Act, 1973:Amended Article 371 and 7thSchedule. Inserted new Articles 371Dand 371E.

• 33rd Amendment Act, 1974:Amended Articles 101 and 190.

• 34th Amendment Act, 1974: Addingitems 67 -86 to the IXth Schedule.

• 35th Amendment Act, 1974: InsertingArt. 2A and amending Arts. 80-81;adding Xth Schedule. Sikkim wasmade an associate state.

• 36th Amendment Act, 1975: Madespecial provisions for Sikkim through

amendment of 1st and 4th Schedule.Inserted a new Article 371F.

• 37th Amendment Act, 1975:Amended Articles 239A and 240.

• 38th Amendment Act, 1975:Amended Articles 123, 213, 239B, 352,356, 359 and 360.

• 39th Amendment Act, 1975:Amended Article 329 and 9thSchedule. Substituted a new Articlefor Art. 71 and inserted a new Article329A.

• 40th Amendment Act, 1976:Substituting Art. 297; adding entries125 to 188 to Schedule IX.

• 41st Amendment Act, 1976: AmendedArticle 316.

• 42nd Amendment Act, 1976: Knownas a “mini Constitution” in itself.Amended the Preamble and Articles31C, 39, 55, 74, 77, 81, 82, 83, 100, 102,105, 118, 145, 166, 170, 172, 189, 191,194, 208, 217, 225, 227, 228, 311, 312,330, 352, 353, 356, 357, 358, 359, 366,368, 371F and 7th Schedule. Alsoinserted new Articles- 31D 32A 39A43A 48A 131A 139A 144A 226A 228A257A and new Parts- IV A and XIV A.Substituted Articles- 103, 150, 192 and226

• 43rd Amendment Act, 1977: OmittingArts. 31D, 32A, 131A, 144A; amendingArt. 145. This amendment omittedmany articles inserted by the 42ndAmendment Act. Some articles werechanged.

• 44th Amendment Act, 1978: The rightto property was omitted from


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fundamental right and made legalright. Amended Art. 352, 132, 134 anda new Article 134A inserted. Art. 21and 22 further strengthened.

• 45th Amendment Act, 1980: Extendedreservation under Art. 334 from 30 to40 years.

• 46th Amendment Act, 1982:Amending Arts. 269, 286, 366. List I,relating to Sales Tax.

• 47th Amendment Act, 1984: Addedentries 189-202, to the Ninth Schedule.

• 48th Amendment Act, 1984: Insertedprovision to cl. (5) of Art. 256 to extendPresident’s Rule in Punjab.

• 49th Amendment Act, 1984:Amended Art. 244. Fifth & SixthSchedules. Sixth Schedule was madeapplicable to Tripura.

• 50th Amendment Act, 1984:Substituted Art. 33. Its scope wasenlarged and many other forces wereincluded in its ambit.

• 51st Amendment Act, 1984: AmendedArts. 330, 332.

• 52nd Amendment Act, 1985:Amended Arts. 101, 102, 190, 191;added Xth Schedule (anti-defection).It was declared that a member whodefects from his party would becomesubject to disqualification.

• 53rd Amendment Act, 1986: AddedArt. 377G. Mizoram was made a state.

• 54th Amendment Act, 1986:Amended Articles 125, 221 and 2ndSchedule.

• 55th Amendment Act, 1986: Inserteda new Article 371H with specialprovisions for the State of ArunachalPradesh.

• 56th Amendment Act, 1987: InsertedArt. 371-I. Goa was made a state andprovision for a state assembly wasinserted, and Daman and Diu as aUnion Territory.

• 57th Amendment Act, 1987: As the51st Amendment Act could not befully implemented, the 57thAmendment Act was carried out.

• 58th Amendment Act, 1987:Amended the heading of Part XXIIand inserted anew Article 394A.

• 59th Amendment Act, 1988:Amended Article 356 and insertion anew Article 359A.


• 61st Amendment Act, 1988: AmendedArticle 326.

• 62nd Amendment Act, 1989:Amended Art. 334, to increase theperiod of reservation of seats forScheduled Castes and Tribes for 10years.

• 63rd Amendment Act, 1989: Theprovision to clause (5) of Art. 356 andArt. 359A were omitted as the changesbrought after 59th Amendment Act,1988 were no longer required.

• 64th Amendment Act, 1990:Amended Art. 356 to facilitate theextension of the proclamation issuedunder cl. (1) of Art. 356 on 11 May 1987upto a total period of three years andsix months in relation to Punjab.

• 65th Amendment Act, 1990:Amended Art. 338 to provide for aNational Commission for ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes. Wide


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powers given to the commission.

• 66th Amendment Act, 1990: Insertedentries 203 to 257 in the IXth Schedule.

• 67th Amendment Act, 1990:Amended Art. 356, 3rd provision, cl.(a) extending President’s Rule inPunjab to 4 years.

• 68th Amendment Act, 1991: It furtheramends clause 4; of Art. 356, amendedby the 67th Amendment Act, 1990.The amended period extended to fiveyears.

• 69th Amendment Act, 1991: Insertednew Articles 239AA and 239AB.

• 70th Amendment Act, 1992:Amended Art. 54 and 368 to includeMembers of Legislative Assemblies ofUnion Territories of Delhi andPondicherry in the Electoral College.

• 72nd Amendment Act, 1992: Insertedcl. (3B) in Art. 332.

• 73rd Amendment Act, 1992: Gavepractical shape to Art. 40. Added Part-IX and 11th Schedule and Articles243A to 2430. Made Panchayati RajInstitutions constitutional.

• 74th Amendment Act, 1992: AddedPart-IX A, 12th Schedule and Articles243P to 243ZG. Made constitutionalprovisions for Urban LocalGovernment.

• 75th Amendment Act, 1993: Insertedsub-cl. (h) in Art. 323B (2).

• 76th Amendment Act, 1994: Insertedentry 237A in the IXth Schedule.


• 78th Amendment Act, 1995: Furtheradded 27 entries to the IXth Schedule

of the Constitution.• 79th Amendment Act, 1999:

Substituted “Sixty Years” for thewords in Art. 334.

• 80th Amendment Act, 2000:Substituted new clauses for cls. (1) and(2) of Art. 269; new Article for Art. 270and omitting Art. 272.

• 81st Amendment Act, 2000: Insertedcl. (4B) in Art. 16.

• 82nd Amendment Act, 2000: Inserteda Provision of Art. 335.

• 83rd Amendemnt Act, 2000:Amended Article 243M.

• 84th Amendment Act, 2001:Amended provisions to Art. 82 and170(3) of the Constitution.


• 86th Amendment Act, 2002: Insertednew Art. 21A after Art. 21 to makeeducation a fundamental right forchildren of age 6-14 year.

• 87th Amendment Act, 2003:Substitution of figures “1991” byfigures “2001” in cl. (3), in theprovision in cl. (ii) of Art. 81, in 3rdprovision in cl. (ii) of Art. 82, in cl. (2),in the Explanation, in the provision ofArt. 170 and in cl. (3), in theExplanation, in the 3rd provision ofArt. 170. Same substitution in theExplanation, in the provision of Art.330.

• 88th Amendment Act, 2003: Insertionof Art. 268A after Art. 268. In Art. 270in cl. (1) substitution of words, figuresand letter “Art. 268, 268A and 269” for“Art. 268 and 269”. Insertion of entry92C in VIIth Schedule in List I.


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• 89th Amendment Act, 2003:Amended Article 338 and insertedanew Article 338A.

• 90th Amendment Act, 2003: Insertionof provision in cl. (6) of Art. 332 of theConstitution.

• 91st Amendment Act, 2003: Insertionof clause after cl. (1) in Art. 75 limitingthe membership of council ofministers to fifteen percent of the totalmembership of the House of thePeople. And in Art. 164, insertion ofclauses after cl. (1) limiting themembership of Council of Ministersin the state to fifteen per cent of thetotal numbers of the LegislativeAssembly of that state.

• 92nd Amendment Act, 2003:Addition of languages, “Bodo”,“Dogri”, “Maithili” and “Santhali” inthe Eighth Schedule of theConstitution.

• 93rd Amendment Act, 2005:Amended Article 15 to enable theState from making any specialprovision, by law, for theadvancement of any socially andeducationally backward classes ofcitizens or for the Scheduled Castesor the Scheduled Tribes in so far assuch special provisions relate to theiradmission to educational institutionsincluding private educationalinstitutions, whether aided orunaided by the State, other than theminority educational institutionsreferred to in clause (1) of article 30.

• 94th Amendment Act, 2006: Toprovide for a Minister & TribalWelfare in Jharkhand & Chhattisgarh.

• 95th Amendment Act ,2010: To extentthe reservation of seats for SCs and STsin the Lok Sabha and states assembliesfrom Sixty years to Seventy years

• 96th Amendment Act, 2011:Substituted “Odia” for “Oriya”

• 97th Amendment Act, 2012: Addedthe words “or Co-operative societies”in Article 19(1)(c) and inserted article43 B.i.e. Promotion of Co-operativesocieties and added part-IX B i.e., theCo-operative, Societies.

Amendments which were Later Repealed

Some of the amendments introducedearlier have been repealed through subsequentamendments. This process started with the43rd Amendment Act of 1977, which removedthe restrictions imposed on the Supreme Courtand the High Court jurisdiction with regardto the constitutional validity of laws anddeleted the provisions regarding anti-nationalassociations activities.

These restrictions and the provisionswere introduced through the 42ndAmendment during emergency. When theJanata Party came to power at the Centre, itwanted to undo most of the constitutionalchanges introduced during the Emergency.The process was continued through the 44thAmendment Act also. Similarly, when JanataDal came to power at the Centre in 1989, itrepealed 59th Amendment through the 63rdAmendment, as the former empowered theGovernment to impose internal emergency inPunjab.


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LIST I—UNION LIST

1. Defence of India and every partthereof including preparation fordefence and all such acts as may beconducive in times of war to itsprosecution and after its terminationto effective demobilisation.

2. Naval, military and air forces; anyother armed forces of the Union.

2A. Deployment of any armed force of theUnion or any other force subject to thecontrol of the Union or any contingentor unit thereof in any State in aid ofthe civil power; powers, jurisdiction,privileges and liabilities of themembers of such forces while on suchdeployment.

3. Delimitation of cantonment areas,local self-government in such areas,the constitution and powers withinsuch areas of cantonment authoritiesand the regulation of houseaccommodation (including thecontrol of rents) in such areas.

4. Naval, military and air force works.

5. Arms, firearms, ammunition andexplosives.

6. Atomic energy and mineral resourcesnecessary for its production.

7. Industries declared by Parliament bylaw to be necessary for the purposeof defence or for the prosecution ofwar.

8. Central Bureau of Intelligence andInvestigation.

9. Preventive detention for reasonsconnected with Defence, ForeignAffairs, or the security of India;persons subjected to such detention.

10. Foreign affairs; all matters whichbring the Union into relation with anyforeign country.

11. Diplomatic, consular and traderepresentation

12. United Nations Organisation.

13. Participation in internationalconferences, associations and otherbodies and implementing of decisionsmade thereat.

14. Entering into treaties and agreements


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with foreign countries andimplementing of treaties, agreementsand conventions with foreigncountries.

15. War and peace.

16. Foreign jurisdiction.

17. Citizenship, naturalisation and aliens.

18. Extradition.

19. Admission into, and emigration andexpulsion from, India; passports andvisas.

20. Pilgrimages to places outside India.

21. Piracies and crimes committed on thehigh seas or in the air; offences againstthe law of nations committed on landor the high seas or in the air.

22. Railways.

23. Highways declared by or under lawmade by Parliament to be nationalhighways.

24. Shipping and navigation on inlandwaterways, declared by Parliament bylaw to be national waterways, asregards mechanically propelledvessels; the rule of the road on suchwaterways.

25. Maritime shipping and navigation,including shipping and navigation ontidal waters; provision of educationand training for the mercantile marineand regulation of such education andtraining provided by States and otheragencies.

26. Lighthouses, including lightships,beacons and other provision for thesafety of shipping and aircraft.

27. Ports declared by or under law made

by Parliament or existing law to bemajor ports, including theirdelimitation, and the constitution andpowers of port authorities therein.

28. Port quarantine, including hospitalsconnected therewith; seamen’s andmarine hospitals.

29. Airways; aircraft and air navigation;provision of aerodromes; regulationand organisation of air traffic and ofaerodromes; provision foraeronautical education and trainingand regulation of such education andtraining provided by States and otheragencies.

30. Carriage of passengers and goods byrailway, sea or air, or by nationalwaterways in mechanically propelledvessels.

31. Posts and telegraphs; telephones,wireless, broadcasting and other likeforms of communication.

32. Property of the Union and the revenuetherefrom, but as regards propertysituated in a State subject to legislationby the State, save in so far asParliament by law otherwiseprovides.

33. Omitted by 7th Amendment Act, 1956

34. Courts of wards for the estates ofRulers of Indian States.

35. Public debt of the Union.

36. Currency, coinage and legal tender;foreign exchange.

37. Foreign loans.

38. Reserve Bank of India.


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SEVENTH SCHEDULE (ARTICLE 246) 93

39. Post Office Savings Bank.

40. Lotteries organised by theGovernment of India or theGovernment of a State.

41. Trade and commerce with foreigncountries; import and export acrosscustoms frontiers; definition ofcustoms frontiers.

42. Inter-State trade and commerce.

43. Incorporation, regulation andwinding up of trading corporations,including banking, insurance andfinancial corporations, but notincluding co-operative societies.

44. Incorporation, regulation andwinding up of corporations, whethertrading or not, with objects notconfined to one State, but notincluding universities.

45. Banking.

46. Bills of exchange, cheques, promissorynotes and other like instruments.

47. Insurance.

48. Stock exchanges and futures markets.

49. Patents, inventions and designs;copyright; trademarks andmerchandise marks.

50. Establishment of standards of weightand measure.

51. Establishment of standards of qualityfor goods to be exported out of Indiaor transported from one State toanother.

52. Industries, the control of which by theUnion is declared by Parliament bylaw to be expedient in the publicinterest.

53. Regulation and development ofoilfields and mineral oil resources;petroleum and petroleum products;other liquids and substances declaredby Parliament by law to bedangerously inflammable.

54. Regulation of mines and mineraldevelopment to the extent to whichsuch regulation and developmentunder the control of the Union isdeclared by Parliament by law to beexpedient in the public interest.

55. Regulation of labour and safety inmines and oilfields.

56. Regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys to theextent to which such regulation anddevelopment under the control of theUnion is declared by Parliament bylaw to be expedient in the publicinterest.

57. Fishing and fisheries beyondterritorial waters.

58. Manufacture, supply and distributionof salt by Union agencies; regulationand control of manufacture, supplyand distribution of salt by otheragencies.

59. Cultivation, manufacture, and sale forexport, of opium.

60. Sanctioning of cinematograph filmsfor exhibition.

61. Industrial disputes concerning Unionemployees.

62. The institutions known at thecommencement of this Constitution asthe National Library, the IndianMuseum, the Imperial War Museum,


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the Victoria Memorial and the IndianWar Memorial, and any other likeinstitution financed by theGovernment of India wholly or in partand declared by Parliament by law tobe an institution of nationalimportance.

63. The institutions known at thecommencement of this Constitution asthe Benares Hindu University, theAligarh Muslim University and the[Delhi University; the Universityestablished in pursuance of article371E;] any other institution declaredby Parliament by law to be aninstitution of national importance.

64. Institutions for scientific or technicaleducation financed by theGovernment of India wholly or in partand declared by Parliament by law tobe institutions of national importance.

65. Union agencies and institutions for:(a) professional, vocational or technical

training, including the training ofpolice officers; or

(b) the promotion of special studies orresearch; or

(c) scientific or technical assistance inthe investigation or detection ofcrime.

66. Co-ordination and determination ofstandards in institutions for highereducation or research and scientificand technical institutions.

67. Ancient and historical monumentsand records, and archaeological sitesand remains, declared by or under lawmade by Parliament to be of nationalimportance.

68. The Survey of India, the Geological,Botanical, Zoological andAnthropological Surveys of India;Meteorological organisations.

69. Census.

70. Union Public Service; All-IndiaServices; Union Public ServiceCommission.

71. Union pensions, that is to say,pensions payable by the Governmentof India or out of the ConsolidatedFund of India.

72. Elections to Parliament, to theLegislatures of States and to the officesof President and Vice-President; theElection Commission.

73. Salaries and allowances of membersof Parliament, the Chairman andDeputy Chairman of the Council ofStates and the Speaker and DeputySpeaker of the House of the People.

74. Powers, privileges and immunities ofeach House of Parliament and of themembers and the Committees of eachHouse; enforcement of attendance ofpersons for giving evidence orproducing documents beforecommittees of Parliament orcommissions appointed byParliament.

75. Emoluments, allowances, privileges,and rights in respect of leave ofabsence, of the President andGovernors; salaries and allowances ofthe Ministers for the Union; thesalaries, allowances, and rights inrespect of leave of absence and otherconditions of service of theComptroller and Auditor-General.


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76. Audit of the accounts of the Unionand of the States.

77. Constitution, organisation,jurisdiction and powers of theSupreme Court (including contemptof such Court), and the fees takentherein; persons entitled to practisebefore the Supreme Court.

78. Constitution and organisation[(including vacations)] of the HighCourts except provisions as to officersand servants of High Courts; personsentitled to practise before the HighCourts.

79. Extension of the jurisdiction of a HighCourt to, and exclusion of thejurisdiction of a High Court from, anyUnion territory.

80. Extension of the powers andjurisdiction of members of a policeforce belonging to any State to anyarea outside that State, but not so asto enable the police of one State toexercise powers and jurisdiction inany area outside that State without theconsent of the Government of theState in which such area is situated;extension of the powers andjurisdiction of members of a policeforce belonging to any State to railwayareas outside that State.

81. Inter-State migration; inter-Statequarantine.

82. Taxes on income other thanagricultural income.

83. Duties of customs including exportduties.

84. Duties of excise on tobacco and other

goods manufactured or produced inIndia except

(a) alcoholic liquors for humanconsumption;

(b) opium, Indian hemp and othernarcotic drugs and narcotics, butincluding medicinal and toiletpreparations containing alcohol orany substance included in sub-paragraph (b) of this entry.

85. Corporation tax.

86. Taxes on the capital value of the assets,exclusive of agricultural land, ofindividuals and companies; taxes onthe capital of companies.

87. Estate duty in respect of propertyother than agricultural land.

88. Duties in respect of succession toproperty other than agricultural land.

89. Terminal taxes on goods orpassengers, carried by railway, sea orair; taxes on railway fares and freights.

90. Taxes other than stamp duties ontransactions in stock exchanges andfutures markets.

91. Rates of stamp duty in respect of billsof exchange, cheques, promissorynotes, bills of lading, letters of credit,policies of insurance, transfer ofshares, debentures, proxies andreceipts.

92. Taxes on the sale or purchase ofnewspapers and on advertisementspublished therein.

92A. Taxes on the sale or purchase of goodsother than newspapers, where suchsale or purchase takes place in thecourse of inter-State trade orcommerce.


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92B. Taxes on the consignments of goods(whether the consignment is to theperson making it or to any otherperson), where such consignmenttakes place in the course of inter-Statetrade or commerce.

93. Offences against laws with respect toany of the matters in this List.

94. Inquires, surveys and statistics for thepurpose of any of the matters in thisList.

95. Jurisdiction and powers of all courts,except the Supreme Court, withrespect to any of the matters in thisList; admiralty jurisdiction.

96. Fees in respect of any of the mattersin this List, but not including feestaken in any court.

97. Any other matter not enumerated inList II or List III including any tax notmentioned in either of those Lists.

LIST II-STATE LIST

1. Public order (but not including the useof any naval, military or air force orany other armed force of the Unionor of any other force subject to thecontrol of the Union or of anycontingent or unit thereof in aid of thecivil power).

2. Police (including railway and villagepolice) subject to the provisions ofentry 2A of List I.

3. Officers and servants of the HighCourt; procedure in rent and revenuecourts; fees taken in all courts exceptthe Supreme Court.

4. Prisons, reformatories, Borstalinstitutions and other institutions ofa like nature, and persons detained

therein; arrangements with otherStates for the use of prisons and otherinstitutions.

5. Local government, that is to say, theconstitution and powers of municipalcorporations, improvement trusts,districts boards, mining settlementauthorities and other local authoritiesfor the purpose of local self-government or village administration.

6. Public health and sanitation; hospitalsand dispensaries.

7. Pilgrimages, other than pilgrimages toplaces outside India.

8. Intoxicating liquors, that is to say, theproduction, manufacture, possession,transport, purchase and sale ofintoxicating liquors.

9. Relief of the disabled andunemployable.

10. Burials and burial grounds;cremations and cremation grounds.

11. Omitted by 42"d Amendment Act,1976

12. Libraries, museums and other similarinstitutions controlled or financed bythe State; ancient and historicalmonuments and records other thanthose declared by or under law madeby Parliament to be of nationalimportance.

13. Communications, that is to say, roads,bridges, ferries, and other means ofcommunication not specified in ListI; municipal tramways; ropeways;inland waterways and traffic thereonsubject to the provisions of List I andList III with regard to such waterways;vehicles other than mechanicallypropelled vehicles.

14. Agriculture, including agriculturaleducation and research, protection


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against pests and prevention of plantdiseases.

15. Preservation, protection andimprovement of stock and preventionof animal diseases; veterinary trainingand practice.

16. Pounds and the prevention of cattletrespass.

17. Water, that is to say, water supplies,irrigation and canals, drainage andembankments, water storage andwater power subject to the provisionsof entry 56 of List I.

18. Land, that is to say, rights in or overland, land tenures including therelation of landlord and tenant, andthe collection of rents; transfer andalienation of agricultural land; landimprovement and agricultural loans;colonization.



21. Fisheries.22. Courts of wards subject to the

provisions of entry 34 of List I;encumbered and attached estates.

23. Regulation of mines and mineraldevelopment subject to the provisionsof List I with respect to regulation anddevelopment under the control of theUnion.

24. Industries subject to the provisions of[entries 7 and 52] of List I.

25. Gas and gas-works.26. Trade and commerce within the State

subject to the provisions of entry 33of List III.

27. Production, supply and distributionof goods subject to the provisions ofentry 33 of List III.

28. Markets and fairs.29. Omitted by 42nd Amendment Act,

197630. Money-lending and money-lenders;

relief of agricultural indebtedness.31. Inns and inn-keepers.32. Incorporation, regulation and

winding up of corporations, otherthan those specified in List I, anduniversities; unincorporated trading,literary, scientific, religious and othersocieties and associations; co-operative societies.

33. Theatres and dramatic performances;cinemas subject to the provisions ofentry 60 of List I; sports,entertainments and amusements.

34. Betting and gambling.35. Works, lands and buildings vested in

or in the possession of the State.36. Omitted by 7th Amendment Act, 195637. Elections to the Legislature of the State

subject to the provisions of any lawmade by Parliament.

38. Salaries and allowances of membersof the Legislature of the State, of theSpeaker and Deputy Speaker of theLegislative Assembly and, if there isa Legislative Council, of the Chairmanand Deputy Chairman thereof.

39. Powers, privileges and immunities ofthe Legislative Assembly and of themembers and the committees thereof,and, if there is a Legislative Council,of that Council and of the membersand the committees thereof;enforcement of attendance of personsfor giving evidence or producingdocuments before committees of theLegislature of the State.


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40. Salaries and allowances of Ministersfor the State.

41. State public services; State PublicService Commission.

42. State pensions, that is to say, pensionspayable by the State or out of theConsolidated Fund of the State.

43. Public debt of the State.

44. Treasure trove.

45. Land revenue, including theassessment and collection of revenue,the maintenance of land records,survey for revenue purposes andrecords of rights, and alienation ofrevenues.

46. Taxes on agricultural income.

47. Duties in respect of succession toagricultural land.

48. Estate duty in respect of agriculturalland.

49. Taxes on lands and buildings.

50. Taxes on mineral rights subject to anylimitations imposed by Parliament bylaw relating to mineral development.

51. Duties of excise on the followinggoods manufactured or produced inthe State and countervailing duties atthe same or lower rates on similargoods manufactured or producedelsewhere in India:

(a) alcoholic liquors for humanconsumption;

(b) opium, Indian hemp and othernarcotic drugs and narcotics, butnot including medicinal and toiletpreparations containing alcohol orany substance included in sub-paragraph (b) of this entry.

52. Taxes on the entry of goods into a localarea for consumption, use or saletherein.

53. Taxes on the consumption or sale ofelectricity.

54. Taxes on the sale or purchase of goodsother than newspapers, subject to theprovisions of entry 92A of List I.

55. Taxes on advertisements other thanadvertisements published in thenewspapers [and advertisementsbroadcast by radio or television].

56. Taxes on goods and passengerscarried by road or on inlandwaterways.

57. Taxes on vehicles, whethermechanically propelled or not,suitable for use on roads, includingtramcars subject to the provisions ofentry 35 of List III.

58. Taxes on animals and boats.

59. Tolls.60. Taxes on professions, trades, callings

and employments.61. Capitation taxes.62. Taxes on luxuries, including taxes on

entertainments, amusements, bettingand gambling.

63. Rates of stamp duty in respect ofdocuments other than those specifiedin the provisions of List I with regardto rates of stamp duty.

64. Offences against laws with respect toany of the matters in this List.

65. Jurisdiction and powers of all courts,except the Supreme Court, withrespect to any of the matters in thisList.


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LIST III—CONCURRENT LIST

1. Criminal law, including all mattersincluded in the Indian Penal Code atthe commencement of thisConstitution but excluding offencesagainst laws with respect to any of thematters specified in List I or List II andexcluding the use of naval, military orair forces or any other armed forcesof the Union in aid of the civil power.

2. Criminal procedure, including allmatters included in the Code ofCriminal Procedure at thecommencement of this Constitution.

3. Preventive detention for reasonsconnected with the security of a State,the maintenance of public order, or themaintenance of supplies and servicesessential to the community; personssubjected to such detention.

4. Removal from one State to anotherState of prisoners, accused personsand persons subjected to preventivedetention for reasons specified inentry 3 of this List.

5. Marriage and divorce; infants andminors; adoption; wills, intestacy andsuccession; joint family and partition;all matters in respect of which partiesin judicial proceedings wereimmediately before thecommencement of this Constitutionsubject to their personal law.

6. Transfer of property other thanagricultural land; registration of deedsand documents.

7. Contracts, including partnership,agency, contracts of carriage, andother special forms of contracts, butnot including contracts relating toagricultural land.

8. Actionable wrongs.9. Bankruptcy and insolvency.

10. Trust and Trustees.11. Administrators-general and official

trustees.11A.Administration of Justice; constitution

and organisation of all courts, exceptthe Supreme Court and the HighCourts.

12. Evidence and oaths; recognition oflaws, public acts and records, andjudicial proceedings.

13. Civil procedure, including all mattersincluded in the Code of CivilProcedure at the commencement ofthis Constitution, limitation andarbitration.

14. Contempt of court, but not includingcontempt of the Supreme Court.

15. Vagrancy; nomadic and migratorytribes.

16. Lunacy and mental deficiency,including places for the re ception ortreatment of lunatics and mentaldeficients.

17. Prevention of cruelty to animals.17A.Forests.

17B. Protection of wild animals and birds.18. Adulteration of foodstuffs and other

goods.19. Drugs and poisons, subject to the

provisions of entry 59 of List I withrespect to opium.

20. Economic and social planning.


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20A.Population control and family planning.

21. Commercial and industrialmonopolies, combines and trusts.

22. Trade unions; industrial and labourdisputes.

23. Social security and social insurance;employment and unemployment.

24. Welfare of labour including conditionsof work, provident funds, employers’liability, workmen s compensation,invalidity and old age pensions andmaternity benefits.

25. Education, including technicaleducation, medical education anduniversities, subject to the provisionsof entries 63, 64, 65 and 66 of List I;vocational and technical training oflabour.

26. Legal, medical and other professions.

27. Relief and rehabilitation of personsdisplaced from their original place ofresidence by reason of the setting upof the Dominions of India andPakistan.

28. Charities and charitable institutions,charitable and religious endowmentsand religious institutions.

29. Prevention of the extension from oneState to another of infectious orcontagious diseases or pests affectingmen, animals or plants.

30. Vital statistics including registrationof births and deaths.

31. Ports other than those declared by orunder law made by Parliament orexisting law to be major ports.

32. Shipping and navigation on inland

waterways as regards mechanicallypropelled vessels, and the rule of theroad on such waterways, and thecarriage of passengers and goods oninland waterways subject to theprovisions of List I with respect tonational waterways.

33. Trade and commerce in, and theproduction, supply and distributionof,

(a) the products of any industry wherethe control of such industry by theUnion is declared by Parliament bylaw to be expedient in the publicinterest, and imported goods of thesame kind as such products;

(b) foodstuffs, including edible oilseedsand oils;

(c) cattle fodder, including oilcakes andother concentrates;

(d) raw cotton, whether ginned orunginned, and cotton seed; and

(e) raw jute.33A.Weights and measures except

establishment of standards.

34. Price control.

35. Mechanically propelled vehiclesincluding the principles on whichtaxes on such vehicles are to be levied.

36. Factories

37. Boilers.

38. Electricity.

39. Newspapers, books and printingpresses.

40. Archaeological sites and remainsother than those ‘[declared by orunder law made by Parliament] to beof national importance.


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41. Custody, management and disposal ofproperty (including agricultural land)declared by law to be evacueeproperty.

42. Acquisition and requisitioning ofproperty.

43. Recovery in a State of claims in respectof taxes and other public demands,including arrears of land revenue andsums recoverable as such arrears,arising outside that State.

44. Stamp duties other than duties or fees

collected by means of judicial stamps,but not including rates of stamp duty.

45. Inquiries and statistics for thepurposes of any of the mattersspecified in List II or List III.

46. Jurisdiction and powers of all courts,except the Supreme Court, withrespect to any of the matters in thisList.



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POLITICAL SYSTEM IN INDIA

India with a population of around abillion and an electorate of over 700 million -is the world’s largest democracy and, for allits faults and flaws, this democratic systemstands in marked contrast to the democraticfailures of Pakistan and Bangladesh whichwere part of India until 1947. Unlike theAmerican political system and the Britishpolitical system which essentially have existedin their current form for centuries, the Indianpolitical system is a much more recentconstruct dating from India’s independencefrom Britain in 1947. India’s lower house, theLok Sabha, is modelled on the British Houseof Commons, but its federal system ofgovernment borrows from the experience ofthe United States, Canada and Australia.

• The Constitution was framed keepingin mind the socioeconomic progressof the country. India follows aparliamentary form of democracy andthe government is federal in structure.In Indian political system, thePresident is the constitutional head ofthe executive of the Union of India.

• The real executive power is with thePrime Minister and the Council of

Ministers. According to the Article74(1) of the constitution, the Councilof Ministers under the leadership ofthe Prime Minister is responsible toaid and assist the President inexercising the Presidents function.The Council of ministers isresponsible to the Lok Sabha, theHouse of People.

• In states the Governor is therepresentative of the President,though the real executive power iswith the Chief Minister along with hisCouncil of Ministers. For a given statethe Council of Ministers is collectivelyresponsible for the elected legislativeassembly of the state. TheConstitution administrates thesharing of legislative power betweenParliament and the State Legislatures.The Parliament has the power toamend the Constitution.

• Politics of India take place in aframework of a federal parliamentarymulti-party representative democraticrepublic modeled after the BritishWestminster System. The Prime


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POLITICAL SYSTEM 103

Minister of India is the head ofgovernment, while the President ofIndia is the formal head of state andholds substantial reserve powers,placing him or her in approximatelythe same position as the Britishmonarch.

• Executive power is exercised by thegovernment. Federal legislativepower is vested in both thegovernment and the two chambers ofthe Parliament of India. The judiciaryis independent of the executive andthe legislature.

Multi-party System

• A multi-party system is a system inwhich three or more political partieshave the capacity to gain control ofgovernment separately or in coalition.Unlike a single party system (or a non-partisan democracy), it encouragedthe general constituency to formmultiple distinct, officially recognizedgroups, generally called politicalparties.

• Each party competes for votes fromthe enfranchised constituents (thoseallowed to vote). A multiparty systemis essential for representativedemocracies, because it prevents theleadership of a single party fromsetting policy without challenge.

• If the government includes an electedCongress or Parliament the partiesmay share power according toProportional Representation or theFirst-past-the-post system.

• In Proportional Representation, eachparty wins a number of seatsproportional to the number of votes

it receives. In first-past-the-post, theelectorate is divided into a number ofdistricts, each of which selects oneperson to fill one seat by a pluralityof the vote.

• First-past-the-post is not conducive toa proliferation of parties, andnaturally gravitates toward a two-party system, in which only twoparties have a real chance of electingtheir candidates to office. Thisgravitation is known as Duverger’slaw. Proportional Repres-entation, onthe other hand, does not have thistendency, and allows multiple majorparties to arise.

• This difference is not withoutimplications. A twoparty, systemrequires voters to align themselves inlarge blocs, sometimes so large thatthey cannot agree on any overarchingprinciples. Along this line of thought,some theories argue that this allowscentrists to gain control. On the otherhand, if there are multiple majorparties, each with less than a majorityof the vote, the parties are forced towork together to form workinggovernments.

• Taiwan, Germany, Denmark, India,Indonesia, France, Kosovo, Israel andthe United Kingdom are examples ofnations that have used a multi-partysystem effectively in theirdemocracies. In these nations, exceptthe United Kingdom, multiplepolitical parties have often formedcoalitions for the purpose ofdeveloping power blocs forgoverning.

• India has a federal form ofgovernment, however, the central


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government in India has greaterpower in relation to its states, and itscentral government is patterned afterthe British parliamentary system.Regarding the former, “the Centre”,the national government, can and hasdismissed state governments if nomajority party or coalition is able toform a government or under specificConstitutional clauses, and canimpose direct federal rule known asPresident’s rule.

• India’s political system is now 60years old. For most of these 60 yrs.India have had Congress ruling at thecentre. Later in the mid 70’s we sawthe launch of the Janata Party.

• Today India have several regionalparties, each pandering to their ownregional constituencies. This hascompletely changed the face ofelectoral politics in India.

• For most of the years sinceindependence, the federalgovernment has been led by theIndian National Congress (INC),Politics in the states have beendominated by several national partiesincluding the INC, the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), the CommunistParty of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) andvarious regional parties. From 1950 to1990, barring two brief periods, theINC enjoyed a parliamentarymajority. The INC was out of powerbetween 1977 and 1980, when theJanata Party won the election owingto public discontent with thecorruption of the then Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi.

National Parties

• Indian National Congress (INC, led byParty President Sonia Gandhi)

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, led byParty President Nitin Gadkari)

• Bahujan Samai Party (BSP, led byParty President Mayawati)

• Communist Party of India (Marxist)(CPM, led by Party General SecretaryPrakash Karat)

• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP, ledby Party President Sharad Pawar)

• Communist Party of India (CPI, ledby Party General Secretary ABBardhan)

• Jagdeep Coalition (JDC, led by PartyPresident Kirik Vedprakash)

Regional Parties

• All India Anna Dravida MunnetraKazhagam (AIADMK, “All IndiaAnna Federation for Progress ofDravidians”) (Tamil Nadu,Puducherry)

• Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(“Federation for Progress ofDravidians”) (Tamil Nadu,Puducherry)

• Indian National Lok Dal (“IndianNational People’s Party”) (Haryana)

• Maharashtra Navnirman Sena,Maharashtra

• Indian Union Muslim League (Kerala,registered as ‘Muslim League KeralaState Committee’)

• Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripra(Tripura)


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• Jammu and Kashmir NationalConference (Jammu and Kashmir)

• Jammu and Kashmir NationalPanthers Party (Jammu and Kashmir)

• Jammu and Kashmir People’sDemocratic Party (Jammu andKashmir)

• Janata Dal (Secular) (“People’s Party(Secular)”) (Karnataka, Kerala)

• Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy(“Association for Defence ofDemocracy”) (Kerala)

• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)(“Jharkhand Liberation Front”)(Jharkhand, Orissa)

• Kerala Congress (Mani) (Kerala)

• Kerala Congress (Kerala)

• Lok Jan Shakti Party (Bihar)

• Lok Satta Party (Andhra pradesh)

• Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party(Goa)

• Manipur People’s Party (Manipur)

• Maraland Democratic Front(Mizoram)

• Marumalarchi Dravida MunnetraKazhagam (Tamil Nadu)

• Meghalaya Democratic Party(Meghalaya)

• Mizo National Front (Mizoram)

• Mizoram People’s Conference(Mizoram)

• Nagaland Peoples Front (Nagaland)

• Pattali Makkal Katchi (Tamil Nadu,Puducherry)

• Pragatisheel Indira Congress (PIC) ,West Bengal)

• Praja Rajyam Party (“People’s RuleParty”) (Andhra pradesh)

• Rashtriya Lok Dal (“National People’sParty”) (Uttar Pradesh)

• Republican Party of India (Athvale)

• Republican Party of India (Gavai)

• Revolutionary Socialist Party (WestBengal)

• Shiromani Akali Dal (Party of Akal -Authority for the Political matters ofSikhs) (Punjab)

• Shiv Sena (“Army of Shivaji”)(Maharashtra)

• Sikkim Democratic Front (Sikkim)

• Telangana Rashtra Samithi(“Telengana National Association”)(Andhra Pradesh)

• Telugu Desam Party (“Telugu NationParty”) (Andhra Pradesh)

• Trinamool Congress (“TMC”) (WestBengal)

• United Democratic Party (Meghalaya)

• United Goans Democratic Party (Goa)

• Uttarakhand Kranti Dal(“Uttarakhand Revolution Party”)(Uttarakhand)

• Swadharm Parti (“A Indian Party”)(All People Party) (India)

• Zoram Nationalist Party (Mizoram)

COALITION POLITICS

• A coalition government is one inwhich several political parties mustcooperate in order to run a country orregion. A coalition government isoften times considered a very weakform of government because there is


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no majority party. In such cases, theonly way policy gets approved is bymaking concessions, hence theforming of a coalition.

• A coalition government, also knownas a coalition cabinet, can be one ofthe most entertaining, and volatile,forms of government. Often, it may behard to know how an issue is goingto turn out, unlike countries wherethere are only two major politicalparties. In these cases, it is rare that amajority party does not have its way.

• Well-known countries run by coalitiongovernments include Germany, Italy,India, Ireland, and Israel, amongothers. Once a parliament is seated inthese countries, the difficult work ofbridging gaps begins. In some cases,these gaps are bridged easier thanothers, as multiple parties may be inagreement on some issues. In othercases, where there is little agreement,building such a coalition governmenttakes time.

• Some time a coalition government isa very inefficient way to govern. Also,it may, in some cases, increase the riskof underhanded deals and increasecorruption, as more politicians arewilling to make deals in order to getthings accomplished. A coalitiongovernment can also have membersthat are very argumentative, evenmore so than other forms ofgovernment, simply because so muchis at stake.

• However, despite the concerns, somefeel that a coalition government has

the best opportunity to promote realissues and solve everyday problems.This is because the coalitiongovernment is seen by some as themost accurate representation of thepeople’s will. Also, proponentsbelieve a coalition government canactually lead to greater unity becausemembers of varying backgrounds andideologies must come together andagree to create policy in the bestinterest of all.

• In addition to the regular, long-standing coalitions, a coalitiongovernment can also be created attimes of national transition or crisis.In Iraq, for example, a coalitiongovernment was created in 2004 in aneffort to bring the country togetherafter the fall of Saddam Hussein sgovernment. In this example, variousleaders from different religious sectsand regions of the country werebrought together in an attempt toform policy that would be regardedas a benefit to the Iraqi people as awhole, not just one particular group.

• In India one party rule came to an endafter 1967. Even in states also theirwas a change in political scenario. Thedominance of congress came to anend. For the first time Janata Partycame to power during the sameperiod. The 1980’s is a time where onecan see the history of coalition politics.Coalition politics came to seenbecause of growth of many smallregional parties. Slowly these regionalparties started playing influential rolein the national politics.


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• No single party is getting majority toform a government in recent elections.Depending on the pre poll or post pollagreement between different parties,government can be formed. In thiscoalition politics these regional partiesare playing very influential role. Theyare also influencing the policy makingof the government.

• A coalition government is a cabinet ofa parliamentary government in whichseveral parties cooperate. The usualreason given for this arrangement isthat no party on its own can achieve amajority in the parliament. However,a coalition government may also becreated in a time of national difficultyor crisis. If a coalition collapses, aconfidence vote is held or a motion ofno confidence is taken.

• Since India is a diverse country withdifferent ethnic, linguistic andreligious communities, it also hasdiverse ideologies. Due to this, thebenefit that a coalition has is that itleads to more consensus based politicsand reflects the popular opinion of theelectorate.

• In order to have stable coalitions, it isnecessary that political partiesmoderate their ideologies andprogrammes. They should be moreopen to take others’ point of view aswell. They must accommodate eachother’s interests and concerns.

• But this is not what is happening inIndia. In India, parties do not alwaysagree on the correct path forgovernmental policy. Different parties

have different interests and beliefsand it is difficult to sustain aconsensus on issues whendisagreements arise. They often fail tosee eye to eye with the governmenton many public policies. It makesdecision making process slow.

• One way coalition politics is good andother way it is creating problem.Because of coalition politics stabilityis threatened and elections are heldbefore five years only. But in otherway it helps to bring all streams ofpeople in the national politics.National policies will be influenced byregional ideas. Not only in the centrebut also in states there is no stabilityof the government.

• With the replacement of the DominantParty System of India, minority and/or coalition governments in unionlevel, have become the order of theday. Except for the Congress MinorityGovernment of P.V. Narsimha Raoand National Democratic AllianceGovernment of Atal Behari Vajpayee,all such governments since 1989 havebeen unstable.

• Yet instability apart, coalitiongovernments have been effective inenhancing democratic legitimacy,representativeness and national unity.Major policy shifts like neo-liberaleconomic reforms, federal decentring,and grass roots decentralization, intheory or practice, are largelyattributable to the onset of federalcoalitional governance.

• Coalition governments in states and


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at the centre have also facilitatedgradual transition of the Marxist-leftand the Hindu-right into the politicalestablishment, and thus contributedto the integration of the party systemas well as the nation. The same majornational parties which initiallyrejected the idea of coalition politicshave today accepted it and arematuring into skilled and virtuosoperformers at the game.

• In a rather short span of over a decade,India has witnessed coalitiongovernments of three major mutedhues: (a) middle-of-the-road CentristCongress Minority Government ofP.V. Narsimha Rao, going against itsLeft Centre of reputation, initiatedneo-liberal economic reforms in 1991;(b) three Left-of-centre governmentsformed by the Janata-Dal-ledNational/United Front; and (c) twoRight-of-Centre. coalitiongovernments formed by the BharatiyaJanata Party-led National DemocraticAlliance under Atal Behari Vajpayee,a votary of secular version of Hindunationalism.

• In the wake of the decline of CongressDominance, the fragmentation of theNational Party System and theemergence of party systems at theregional level have turned India intoa various patterns of coalitiongovernments in the union as well asstate level collation governments .State level coalition government hadbetter edge over union level in India.The states like Kerala shows its

firmness on collation governments.

• A coalition government is a cabinet ofa parliamentary government in whichseveral parties cooperate. Coalitiongovernments are usually formed as noparty can individually achieve amajority in the parliament. However,a coalition government may also becreated in a time of national difficultyor crisis. If a coalition collapses, aconfidence vote is held or a motion ofno confidence is taken.

• India has had coalition governmentsat the Centre as well as in individualstates since the last two decades. SinceIndia is a diverse country withdifferent ethnic, linguistic andreligious communities, it also hasdiverse ideologies. Due to this, thebenefit that a coalition has is that itleads to more consensus based politicsand reflects the popular opinion of theelectorate. The current UPA-Leftarrangement had been formed afterparliamentary elections in 2004.Though they have main adversariesin three states, this government wasstill a stable one till Left withdrewsupport on matters of nuclear deal.

• In order to have stable coalitions, it isnecessary that political partiesmoderate their ideologies andprogrammes. They should be moreopen to take others’ point of view aswell. They must accommodate eachother’s interests and concerns. But thisis not what is happening in India.

• In India, parties do not always agreeon the correct path for governmental


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policy. Different parties have differentinterests and beliefs and it is difficultto sustain a consensus on issues whendisagreements arise. They often fail tosee eye to eye with the governmenton many public policies. However,this is not to say that we have neverhad successful coalitions.Governments in Kerela and WestBengal and NDA at the Centre havebeen sucessful coalitions.

Criteria for Recognition of a Party

A political party shall be treated as arecognised political party in a State, if and onlyif either the conditions specified in Clause (A)are, or the condition specified in Clause (B) is,fulfilled by that party and not otherwise, thatis to say:

• has been engaged in political activityfor a continuous period of five years;and

• has, at the last general election in thatState to the House of the People, or,as the case may be, to the LegislativeAssembly of the State, returned:

• At least one member to the House ofthe People for every twenty-fivemembers of that House or any fractionof that number from that State;

• At least one member to the LegislativeAssembly of that State for every thirtymembers of that Assembly or anyfraction of that number;

• That the total number of valid votespolled by all the contesting candidatesset up by such party at the last generalelection in the State to the House ofthe People, or as the case may be, tothe Legislative Assembly of the State,is not less than six per cent of the totalnumber of valid votes polled by all thecontesting candidates at such generalelection in the State.

• If a political party is treated as arecognised political party in four ormore States, it shall be known as a‘National Party’ throughout the wholeof India, but only so long as thatpolitical party continues to fulfillthereafter the conditions forrecognition in four or more States onthe results of any subsequent generalelection either to the House of thePeople or to the Legislative Assemblyof any State.

• If a political party is treated as arecognised political party in less thanfour States, it should be known as a‘State Party’ in the State or States inwhich it is so recognised, but only solong as that political party continuesto fulfill thereafter the conditions forrecognition on the results of anysubsequent general election to theHouse of the People or, as the casemay be, to the Legislative Assemblyof the State, in the said State or States.


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The 42nd Constitutional AmendmentAct in 1976 introduced Article 323A accordingto which the Central and State AdministrativeTribunals were set up. These Central and StateTribunals are set up to adjudicate cases relatedto recruitment, promotion, transfer andconditions of service of persons appointed tothe Public services of the Union and the StateGovernments. The Parliament enacted theCentral Administrative Tribunal (CAT) withbranches in specified cities. Several cities alsohave the State Administrative Tribunals.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of thetribunal has the same status as that of the HighCourt Judges. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman’s retirement age is 65 years. Theother members’ retirement age is 62 years. Theservice matters related to employees of thePublic Sector Undertaking (PSU)s are broughtunder the Central Administrative Tribunal orState Administrative Tribunals by anotification.

• There are certain categories ofemployees who are not included inthe purview of the Adminis trative

Tribunals (ATs). They are mentionedbelow:

• The employees of the Supreme Courtand the High Courts do not comeunder the purview of theAdministrative Tribunals.

• Armed Forces personnel• The employees of the Secretariat of the

Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha arealso exempted from the purview ofthe Administrative Tribunals.

• According to the 42nd AmendmentAct, only the Supreme Court canentertain cases relating to servicematters.

• The Chairman and other members ofthe CAT and SAT are appointed by thePresident of India after consulting theChief Justice of India. The Chairmanmust be a Judge of the High Court orone who served for atleast two yearsas the High Court Judge or the Vice-Chairman of Tribunal.

• The Tribunals are set up to relieve the


♣ ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS IN INDIA ........................................................................... 111♣ IMPORTANT COMMITTEES ............................................................................................... 114♣ MEMBERS OF SECOND ARC ............................................................................................. 115♣ ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS COMMITTEES .................................................................. 115♣ POLICE REFORMS .............................................................................................................. 118♣ PRESIDENTIAL VS PARLIAMENTARY ............................................................................. 121

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ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS 111

Courts of overload load and expeditethe process of justice both in theCentral and in the State level.

The 42nd Constitutional AmendmentAct in 1976 introduced Article 323A accordingto which the Central and State AdministrativeTribunals were set up. These Central and StateTribunals are set up to adjudicate cases relatedto recruitment, promotion, transfer andconditions of service of persons appointed tothe Public services of the Union and the StateGovernments. The Parliament enacted theCentral Administrative Tribunal (CAT) withbranches in specified cities. Several cities alsohave the State Administrative Tribunals.

• The Chairman and Vice-Chairman ofthe tribunal has the same status as thatof the High Court Judges. TheChairman and Vice-Chairman’sretirement age is 65 years. The othermembers’ retirement age is 62 years.

• The service matters related toemployees of the Public SectorUndertaking (PSU)s are broughtunder the Central AdministrativeTribunal or State AdministrativeTribunals by a notification.

• There are certain categories ofemployees who are not included inthe purview of the AdministrativeTribunals (ATs). They are mentionedbelow:

1. The employees of the SupremeCourt and the High Courts do notcome under the purview of theAdministrative Tribunals.

2. Armed Forces personnel and3. The employees of the Secretariat of

the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabhaare also exempted from the purviewof the Administrative Tribunals.

• According to the 42nd AmendmentAct, only the Supreme Court canentertain cases relating to servicematters.

• The Chairman and other members ofthe CAT and SAT are appointed by thePresident of India after consulting theChief Justice of India. The Chairmanmust be a Judge of the High Court orone who served for atleast two yearsas the High Court Judge or the Vice-Chairman of Tribunal.

• The Tribunals are set up to relieve theCourts of overload and expedite theprocess of justice both in the Centraland in the State level.

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS IN INDIA

Administrative reform is a continuingnecessity in a society, more so when the societyconfronts a quantum jump in its basicframework of governance including, of course,its goals. Thus viewed India started its careerof an independent nation-state with aprofound contradiction. The polity which wasadopted was new, entirely of its own makingand choice.

But the instrument to implement its newtasks was inherited from the Raj and was thuscontinued from the past.

• Administrative reform is aconsciously planned activity ofmanipulation of the publicadministration of the country with aview to making it fulfil its pre-setobjectives. This view makes itobligatory to regularly evaluate theimplementation of the plannedchange with a view to finding outwhether the changes realize the presetgoals. In other words, evaluation must


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be viewed as a part of the process ofadministrative reform.

• However the term is gaining growingacceptance over the years.‘Administrative reform’ has emergedas a standard expression in publicadministration, and is thereforepreferred here. A view prevailed in theearly years after Independence thatconsequent on fundamental changesin the polity and environment publicadministration will stir itself andimbibe appropriate orientations andset out to acquire new skills.Meanwhile, another developmentbrought a new alliance into existence.One of the earliest decisions ofIndependent India was in regard tosocioeconomic planning as the modeof the country’s development.

• India adopted command typeplanning based as it was on anexpanding network of controlmechanisms. The colonially trainedbureaucrat did not find himself out ofplace in the new regime. During thecolonial period he was on top of thepeople; even under planning, his ruleand domination remained unchangedbut he was now ruling throughlicense, quota and permits.

Evolution of theIndian Administrative System

• The public administrative system inIndia has a long history. Kingdomsexisted in India several hundred yearsB.C.

• In the earlier era the civil servantsperformed the role of servants of the

king. (Kautilya’s Arthshastradescribes the civil service of thosedays and lays down various norms300 B.C. to 1000 A.D)

• During the medieval period theybecame State servants. The landrevenue system was establishedduring the Mughal period.

• The East Indian Company has a civilservice to carry out their commercialfunctions.

• During the British rule they started asservants to the Crown, but graduallythey started becoming ‘PublicServants’. The British government setup the Indian civil service, primarilywith the objective of strengthening theBritish administration in the UK. Inthis period the role of the civil serviceswas to further the British interest, andthe role was totally regulatory. Lateron they assumed development rolesalso.

• After independence, the publicservices as we see today came intobeing.

Existing Administrative System in India

• The civil service system in post-independent India was reorganised.

• There are three tiers of administration-Union Government, StateGovernments and the Localgovernments.

• At the central level, the civil servicesinclude the AllIndia services, namelythe Indian Administrative Service, theIndian Forest Service, and the IndianPolice Service.

• There are various central services likethe Indian Income Tax Service, IndianRailway Services etc.


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• The State Governments have theirown set of services.

Major DevelopmentsImpacting Administration

• Globalisation.

• Increasing disparities.

• Transformation of the world into aglobal village.

• Deregulation and privatizationtrends.

• Increasing awareness about humanrights.

• State formerly interventionist,producer, regulator and seller nowcalled upon to be a facilitator,promoter, and partner.

• Emergence of powerful technologicalsolutions-computers and IT.

• Increasing expectations from theGovernments to ‘perform’.

After Independence

Several Commissions and Committeeshave gone into the subject, and suggestedvarious measures. Major reforms have beenbrought about based on the recommendationsof these. Some of the important studies/reports are as follows:

• Report on Reorganisation of theMachinery of Government (1949) byMr. Goplaswami Ayyangar: Itrecommended that the CentralMinistries be bunched into Bureaus.

• The Gorwala Committee appointedby the Planning Commission. It gavea general report on PublicAdministartion

• Paul H. Appleby submitted tworeports on Indian Administration. TheO & M organisation and the IndianInstitute of Public Administrationwere set up as a a result of therecdommendations.

• The Committee on Prevention ofCorruption was set up underchairmanship of Mr. K Santhanam(MP). The Central VigilanceCommission was set up according tothe committees recommendations.

Department of Administrative Reformsand Public Grievances is the nodal agency ofthe Government for Administrative Reformsas well as redressal of public grievancesrelating to the States in general and grievancespertaining to Central Government agencies inparticular.

The Department disseminatesinformation on important activities of theGovernment relating to administrativereforms best practices and public grievanceredressal through publications anddocumentation. The Department alsoundertakes activities in the field ofinternational exchange and cooperation topromote public service reforms.

• The mission of the Department is toact as a facilitator, in consultation withCentral Ministries/Departments,States/UT Administrations,Organisations and Civil SocietyRepresentatives, to improveGovernment functioning throughprocess re-engineering, systemicchanges.

• Organisation and Methods, efficientGrievance handling, promoting


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modernisation, Citizens Charters,award schemes, e-governance andbest practices in government.

• A Commission on Review ofAdministrative Laws was set up bythe Department of AdministrativeReforms and Public Grievances on 8May 1998 with a view to identifyproposals for amendment of theexisting laws, regulations andprocedures having inter-sectoralimpact and also for repeal of alldysfunctional laws.

• The various Ministries/Departmentshave decided to retain 822 Acts (whichinclude 700 Appropriation Acts and27 Reorganisation Acts). Theremaining Acts are at various stagesof processing.

IMPORTANT COMMITTEES

First AdministrativeReforms Commission

The First Administrative ReformsCommission set up in January, 1966 was asked,in particular, to consider all aspects relatingto the following subjects:

• The machinery of the Government ofIndia and its procedures of work;

• The machinery for planning at alllevels;

• Centre-State relationship;

• Financial administration;

• Personnel administration;

• Economic administration;

• Administration at the state level;

• District administration;

• Agricultural administration;

• Problems of redress of citizensgrievances

Second AdministrativeReforms Commission

• The Second Administrative ReformsCommission (ARC) was setup in 2005under the Chairmanship of ShriVeerappa Moily to prepare a detailedblueprint for revamping the publicadministrative system. TheCommission set up to suggestmeasures to achieve a proactive,responsive, accountable, sustainableand efficient administration for thecountry at all levels of the governmenthas finished its term on April 30, 2009.

• Governance is the exercise ofeconomic, political andadministrative authority to manage acountry’s affairs at all levels. Itconsists of the mechanisms, processesand institutions through whichcitizens and groups articulate theirinterests, exercise their legal rights,meet their obligations and mediatetheir differences.

• Without good governance, no amountof developmental schemes can bringin improvements in the quality of lifeof the citizens. On the contrary., if thepower of the state is abused, orexercised in weak or improper ways,those with the least power in thesociety - the poor- are most likely tosuffer. In that sense, poor governancegenerates and reinforces poverty andsubverts efforts to reduce it.Strengthening governance is an


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essential precondition to improvingthe lives of the poor.

• The Tenth Plan document identifiedgood governance as the single mostimportant factor in ensuring that thePlan objectives are achieved. Amongother things, decentralization ofpower and citizens’ empowerment,effective people’s participationthrough state and non-statemechanisms, greater synergy andconsolidation among various agenciesand programmes of government, civilservice reforms, transparency,rationalization of governmentschemes and mode of financialassistance to states, improved accessto formal justice system to enforcerights, reforms and strengthening ofland administration and harnessingthe power of technology forgovernance have been identified asthe key priorities.

MEMBERS OF SECOND ARC

• Shri Veerappa Moily - Chairperson

• Shri V. Ramachandran - Member

• Dr. A.P. Mukherjee - Member

• Dr. A.H. Kalro - Member

• Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan - Member

• Smt. Vineeta Rai - Member-SecretaryThe path-breaking Right to Information

Act has come into effect recently. This new lawapplies to union and state agencies, localgovernments and even societies and trustswhich receive public funds. This far-reachinglaw also provides for independent informationcommissioners, proactive disclosures and

reporting mechanisms and has the potentialto impact our governance process in aprofound and positive way by empoweringcitizens.

In all, the Commission has presentedthe following 15 Reports to theGovernsment:

• Right to Information-Master Key toGood Governance (09.06.2006)

• Unlocking Human Capital -Entitlements and Governance-a CaseStudy (31.07.2006)

• Crisis Management-From Despair toHope (31.10.2006)

• Ethics in Governance (12.02.2007)

• Public Order-Justice for each peace forall. (25.06.2007)

• Local Governance (27.11.2007)

• Capacity Building for ConflictResolution - Friction to Fusion(17.3.2008)

• Combating Terrorism (17.9.2008)

• Social Capital - A Shared Destiny(8.10.2008)

• Refurbishing of PersonnelAdministration - Scaling New Heights(27.11.2008)

• Promoting e-Governance - The SmartWay Forward (20.01.2009)

• Citizen Centric Administration - TheHeart of Governance (30.3.2009)

• Organisational Structure ofGovernment of India (19.5.2009)

• Strengthening Financial ManagementSystems (26.5.2009)

• State & District Administration(29.5.2009)


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ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS COMMITTEES

1. The Fifth Report from the Select Committee of the House of Commons on theAffairs of the East India Company 1812

2. The Public Service Commission 1886-87

3. The Royal Commission upon Decentralization 1907-09

4. The Govt. of India Clerks’ Salaries Committee 1908

5. The Royal Commission on the Public Service in India 1914-17

6. The Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms 1918-19

7. Report of the Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee 1919

8. The Indian Retrenchment Committee 1922-23

9. The Royal Commission on The Superior Civil Service in India 1924

10. The Reforms Enquiry Committee 1924

11. The Committee Appointed by the All-Parties Conference to Determine thePrinciples of The Constitution for India 1928

12. The Indian Central Committee 1929

13. The Indian Statutory Commission 7930

14. The Sub-Committee on Services (Indian Round Table Con ference) 1932

15. The Government of India Secretariat Committee 1937

16. The Committee of Organisation and Procedure 1937

17. The Committee on The Selectors and Training of Candidates for theIndia Civil Service 1944

18. Report on the Re-organisation of Central Government 1945-46

19. The Advisory Planning Board 1947

20. The Secretariat Re-organisation Committee 1947

21. The Central Pay Commission 1947

22. The National Committee 1948

23. The Economic Committee 1948

24. Re-organisation of The Machinery of Government 1949

25. Report on Public Administration 1951

26. Report on Efficient Conduct of State Enterprises 1951

27. Public Administration in India -Report of Survey 1953

28. The Railway Corruption Enquiry Committee 1955

29. The States Re-organisation Commission 1955


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30. Examination of India’s Administrative System with special reference toAdministration of Governments’ Industrial and Commercial Enterprises 1956

31. The Public Service (Qualification to Recruitment) Committee 1956

32. The Commission of Enquiry on Emoluments and Conditions of Service of CentralGovernment Employees 1957-59

33. The Congress Parliamentary Party Sub-Committee on State Undertakings 1959

34. Report on Indian and State Administrative Service and Problems of DistrictAdministration 1962

35. The Committee on Prevention of Corruption 196236. The Committee on The Indian Foreign Service 196637. Interim Report of The Administrative Reforms Committee on Problems of

Redress of Citizens’ Grievances 196638. Report of The Study Team on Relations Between The Press and Administration196639. Administrative Reforms Commission report on Public Sector Undertakings 196740. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on the Machinery of The Govt. of India

and its Procedure at work 196741. Interim Report on Machinery for Planning 196742. Report of The Study Team on Financial Admn. 1967

43. Administrative Reforms Commission, Study Team on Promotion Policies, ConductRules, Discipline and Morale 1967

44. Report of the study team on Recruitment, SelectionUPSC/State PSCs and Training 1967

45. Report of Working Group on Performance Budgeting 196746. Administrative Reforms Commission report on life Insurance Administration 196847. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Railways 196848. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Finance Account & Audit 196849. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Economic 196850. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Machinery for Planning 196851. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on State Administration 196952. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Reserve Bank of India 196953. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Centre- State Relationship 1969

54. Administrative Reforms Commission Report onDelegation of Financial and Administrative Powers 1969

55. Administrative Reforms Commission Report onCentral Direct Taxes Administration 1969

56. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Small Scale Sector 1969


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57. Administrative Reforms CommissionReport on Administration of Union Territories and NEFA 1969

58. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Personnel Administration 1969

59. The Administrative Reforms Commission 196960. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Post and Telegraph 197061. Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Treasuries 197062. The Third Central Pay Commission 197363. The Committee on Recruitment Policy and Selection Methods 197664. Economic Administrative Reforms Commission 198365. The Committee on Centre State Relations 198866. The Committee to Review the Scheme of the Civil Services Examination (The

Committee on The Civil Services Examination) 198967. The National Development Council of Austerity 199268. The Fifth Central Pay Commission 199769. Expenditure Reforms Commission 200070. Report of the Civil Service Examination Review Committee 200171. Report of the Committee to Review in—Service Training of the IAS Officers 200372. Surendra Nath’s Committee Report 2003

73. Committee on Civil Service Reforms 2004

POLICE REFORMS

Reasons for Reforms

• There have been umpteen number ofdemands to reform the police systemand laws as these are unable to dealwith the contemporary challenges.

• Pro-reformists have been arguing thatthe 1856 Indian Police Act was framedin an age in which the crimes aswitnessed these days were far . fromimagination.

• The Supreme Court asked thegovernment to bring about the policereforms soon.

Objectives of the reforms

• The most significant aspect of the

proposed reforms is intended to be themechanism to end external influenceon the law enforcing body andimprove the standards of policepersonnel.

• The aim is to make police efficient,effective, people friendly andaccountable by ending corruption andbreaking the cops’ nexus with anti-social elements.

Soli SorabjeeCommittee Recommendations

• A Government-appointed CommitteeHeaded By renowned legal luminarySoft Sorabjee recently submitted itsreport to the government making aslew of recommendations.


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• These include fixing a two-year tenurefor director generals of police, creatingseparate wings of law and order andinvestigation and better working andliving conditions for cops.

• The report significantly outlines theways in which police can deal with thecontemporary challenges liketerrorism and insurgency.

National Security Commission

• There is a proposal to set up lienational security commission - for theselection and placement of chiefs ofCentral police organizations — toensure that the DGPs of paramilitaryforces like the BSF, CRPF, ITBP, SSBand CISF tire selected in a fair mannerand have a fixed tenure of at least twoyears.

• The national security commissioncould he headed by the Union HomeMinister and comprise heads ofCentral police organisations andsecurity experts as members.

• In states, the State SectuityCommission would act as a watch dogand be headed by the Chief Ministeror Home Minister with a DGP asexofficio secretary. The members ofthe panel would he chosen in amanner that would ensure Itscomplete independence.

State Police Complaint Authority

• State police complaint authority, to beheaded by a retired Supreme Court orHigh Court judge. would look afterthe complaints of misconduct againstofficers of the rank of SP and abovewhile the district complaint authoritywould look into complaints against

officers of the rank of DSP and below.• It will be headed by a retired District

Judge. The head and other membersof these authorities would heappointed by the state government inconsultation with the Chief Justice ofthe high court and members would bedrawn from a panel prepared by theStale Human Rights Commission,Lokavukra and the State PublicService Commission.

Reforms in Criminal Justice System

Madhava Menon Panel Report

• A committee appointed by the UnionHome Ministry on reforming thecriminal justice system has suggestedmajor changes. including multiplecriminal codes based on the gravityof offence and setting up a separatenational authority to deal with crimesimpacting the county’s security.

• The committee headed by MadhavaMerton was appointed in May 2006.

• The report was submitted on 2 August2007 to Union Home Minister ShivrajPatil. Observations:

• The panel took into account thewidespread dissatisfaction with waycrimes were investigated andcriminals prosecuted. It noted thatmoney and influence playedsignificant role resulting in doublestandards. The rich often get awaylightly and the poor are put tosuffering. The registration ofcomplaint for the poor is an ordeal.

Recommendations

• One of the importantrecommendations is the creation ofmultiple criminal codes.


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• The committee wanted crimes to bereorganised into four distinct codesbased on the gravity of injury and theresponse required to deal with it.

• Under the first two categories- socialwelfare offences code (SWOC) andcorrectional offences code (COC)offences- recourse to arrest should bean exception (except where violenceis involved) and the elaborateprosecution system avoided.

• The third set of offences, to beincluded in the penal code (PC), isgraver crimes punishable withimprisonment of more than threeyears and up to death.

• These cases require quick processing,ensuring the protection of humanrights and greater accountability fromlaw enforcement agencies. Finally, aneconomic offences code (EOC) shoulddeal with crimes threatening theeconomic health and security of thecountry.

• Taking note of disparity in sentencesfor the same crime, the panel wanteda sentencing board of three judgesincluding the trial judge for crimespunishable with death or lifeimprisonment.

• Probation should be invoked moreoften, especially for short-term jailterms and parole regulated morestrictly.

• Setting up of a separate nationalauthority to deal with crimesimpacting country’s security.

• Creation of an ombudsman forcriminal justice.

• Full application of the Right toInformation Act to all aspects ofcriminal justice.

• Corruption cases threatening nationalsecurity and institutional foundationshould be undertaken by a separatebody with a status comparable to thatof the Election Commission.

• E- FIRS should be introduced.

• Custodial violence should be tackledmore severely.

• The audio/video statements to thepolice should he made admissible inevidence, provided the accused hasconsulted his lawyers.

• There should be a code of ethics forlawyers.

• Concept of legal aid should heenlarged to provide for psychiatricand rehabilitative services the victimbesides incorporating a system ofcompensation.

• There should be two separate laws forchild in conflict with law and twochild in need of care and protection.

Expenditure Reforms Commission, 2001

• Government of India set up theExpenditure Reforms Commission,under the chairmanship of K.P.Geethakrishnan, a retired bureaucratwho had earlier functioned as thefinance secretary in the Governmentof India. Appointed in February 2000,it was given one year’s time tocomplete its economy exercisesuggesting ‘a road map for reducingthe functions, activities andadministrative structure of theGovernment’.

• The Expenditure ReformsCommission functioned as a staff


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reduction committee in view of theGovernment’s worry that the non-developmental expenditure of theGovernment was showing a very highrate of growth calling for its

immediate downsizing. TheCommission submitted ten reports,the final one in September 2001 whenit was wound up.


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PRESIDENTIAL VS PARLIAMENTARY

Generally democracies are eitherPresidential or Parliamentary in form. In theformer the Chief executive is directly electedby the people and is not responsible tolegislatures. Removal of a President isnormally through an impeachment procedure.The advisers to the President are chosen atrandom by the President and they are notmembers of legislature. On the other hand, in’a parliamentary democracy the Chiefexecutive and advisers known as Council ofMinisters are all chosen from legislature. Bothindividually and collectively they areaccountable to legislature. The members of thePrime Minister’s team are trained and testedin parliamentary system of governance andall of them go out if legislature chooses to cuttheir tenure.

Main features of a Presidential form ofGovernment are:

1. No distinction between the Notionaland the Real Executive. The executivepowers of the Government are notonly vested in the President, they areexercised by him in actual practicealso. The President is, thus, both thehead of the State and the head of theGovernment.

2. President is elected by the people fora fixed term. The President is elected,not by the Legislature, but directly bythe entire electorate. Thus, both inregard to his election and tenure thePresident is not dependent on theLegislature.

3. The President is the sole Executive.All executive powers of theGovernment are vested in thePresident and are exercised by him.His Cabinet has merely the status of


♣ PRESIDENTIAL VS PARLIAMENTARY.............................................................................. 122♣ SEPARATION OF POWER ................................................................................................... 125♣ JUDICIARY VS LEGISLATURE ........................................................................................... 126♣ LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS .................................................................................................. 127♣ JUDICIAL ACTIVISM .......................................................................................................... 130♣ JUDICIAL REVIEW .............................................................................................................. 133♣ IMPACT OF THE 42ND AMENDMENT ............................................................................... 134♣ JUDICIAL REFORM IN INDIA ............................................................................................ 135♣ NAXALISM - PERCEPTION AND REALITY ...................................................................... 138

15

Political Debate


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POLITICAL DEBATE 123

an advisory body. Constitutionally, heis not bound by its advice. He maytake the advice or may not take it atall. After getting the opinion of theCabinet, he may refuse to accept it andmay choose to act according to hisown judgement.

4. Both the President and theLegislature are independent of eachother in respect of their terms. ThePresident and the members of hisCabinet are not members of theLegislature. The Legislature has nopower to terminate the tenure of thePresident before its full constitutionalcourse, other than by impeachment.Similarly, the President has no powerto dissolve the Legislature before theexpiry of its term. Thus, the Presidentand the Legislature are elected forfixed terms.

Merits

The following are the merits of thePresidential form of Government:

1. Greater Stability: In the Presidentialsystems, the head of State has a fixedterm. This ensures stability of thesystem. He is also free from day-to-day Legislative duties and control,which enable him to devote his entiretime to administration.

2. Valuable in time of War or NationalCrisis: The Presidential executive is asingle executive. In taking decisions,the President is not bogged down byendless discussions in his Cabinet. Hecan take quick decisions andimplement them with full energy.

Such a government, therefore, is veryuseful in the times of war or nationalcrisis.

3. Experts may be obtained to head theDepartments: The President can selectthe persons with proper expertise tohead various departments of theGovernment. These heads ofdepartments constitute his Cabinet.The Ministers under the Presidentialsystem, therefore, prove to be betteradministrators, whereas Ministers ina Parliamentary system are appointedas Ministers not because ofadministrative acumen, but simplybecause of their political affiliation.

4. Less dominated by the Party Spirit:Once election to the office of thePresident is over, the whole nationaccepts the new President as theleader of the nation. Political rivalriesof the election days are forgotten. Bothinside the Legislature and outside it,people look at problems from anational rather than a party angle.This gives the system greater cohesionand unity.

5. No concentration of Legislative andExecutive powers : Presidentialsystem is organised on the principleof separation of functions and checksand balances. This provides muchbetter protection to personal libertiesthan in the Parliamentary system.

Demerits

Presidential system has been criticizedon the following grounds:

1. Autocratic and Irresponsible: ThePresidential system places immensepowers in the hands of the President.


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It is autocratic because the Presidentis independent of the control of theLegislature. He may govern largely ashe pleases. He cannot be madeanswerable regularly for the misdeedsof his administration. The Legislature(Congress) in the United States canturn down the appointments andtreaties made by the President, but itcan in no way remove him from theoffice, except through theimpeachment. A power hungryPresident may misuse his powers toamass wealth, and to finish offpolitical opponents.

2. Presidential Election is an UnionAffair: The President in this system iselected directly. The election to thisoffice generates great heat andtension. The whole national life getsdisturbed. In countries whereconstitutional traditions are not asdeep-rooted as in the United States,tensions and instability of the electiontime can even result in revolutions.

3. Friction and Discord between thePresident and the Legislature: Theseparation of the Executive and theLegislature may led to conflicts anddeadlocks between the President andthe Legislature. The Legislature mayrefuse to accept executive policies, orenact the laws suggested by theexecutive. The President, on the otherhand, may show lack of interest inimplementing the laws passed againsthis will. He may even veto the billspassed by the Legislature. Suchdeadlocks are more frequent when the

party to which the President belongsdoes not have a majority in theLegislature.

4. Responsibility is hard to find: In thePresidential system, it becomesdifficult to fix responsibility for theGovernmental failures. The Presidentmay blame the Legislature, theLegislature may put the blame onPresident. In the US, most of the billsare referred to the committees of theLegislature, on the report of which thebills are passed. The powers of thesecommittees are immense. Thecommittees have not only seized thepower of lawmaking, they have alsomade fixing of responsibility in thisregard very difficult.

In Favour of Presidential form

The presidential form of government hassome theoretical advantages:

• Cabinet of is based on competenceand integrity;

• Ministers are not motivated bypopulist measures;

• No time is wasted in politicking;

• No incentive for desertions anddefections; and

• The fixed tenure of the Presidentensures reasonable stability.

In Favour of Parliamentary form

• In India parliamentary form ofdemocracy is better. Arguments infavour of Presidential type ofdemocracy do not carry conviction. Ifthe executive’s tenure is fixed for a fewyears, the executive would be able topursue his policies without being


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impeached or challenged bylegislature.

• This is not a great advantage.Executive decisions well debated anddiscussed are more welcome than asingle individual pursuing a policy.Very often rifts occur betweenexecutive and legislature in thePresidential form of Government.Indian society is plural.

• Cultural differences are quiteprominent. In such a situation it ispossible to choose the members of theCouncil of Ministers from variousregions and cultures. If at all there isany lack of expertise on the part of theCouncil of Ministers it is compensatedby the permanent executive andvarious advisory bodies, committeesand commissions

• Moreover, Indians have considerableexperience in the parliamentary formof government. From 1923 onwards,leaders of India were well trained bothas members of opposition and astreasury benches in legislatures. Afterall, a known devil is better than anunknown devil.

• Further more, in the composition ofthe Council of Ministers it is possibleto accommodate leaders of variousminorities which is not possible in thePresidential form of democracy.Presidential form of government hasnot solved many of the social,economic and cultural problems inmany countries.

• In many countries of Asia, Africa andLatin America, the Presidential formhas degenerated into dictatorship.The moral decay which is responsible

for political rot will not disappearwith the introduction of thePresidential system. There is perhapsno alternative but to give a fair trialto our parliamentary system,particularly in view of our socio-economic problems, vastness of thecountry, its traditions, national geniusand diversity.

SEPARATION OF POWER

The doctrine of separation of powers,ascribed to a Frenchman, Montesquieu hascome to mean an organic separation orseparation of government powers, namely, thelegislative, the executive, and the judicialpowers. Any two of these powers should notfall in the same hands. They should notassume or combine functions essentiallybelonging toe each other. This is necessary toward off any kind of tyrannical government.Thus, doctrine of separation of powers statedin its rigid form means that each of thebranches of. government, namely, executiveor administrative, legislative and judicialshould be. confined exclusively to a separatedepartment or organ of government. Thereshould be no overlapping either of functionsor of persons.

Separation of Power Used in USA

The Constitution of the United States isusually quoted as the leading example of aconstitution embodying the doctrine ofseparation of powers. While Constitution ofthe U.S.A. does not expressly provide for aseparation of power, the doctrine has beenincorporated into the Constitution by theprovisions that:

• All legislative powers shall be vestedin a Congress

• All executive power shall be vested inPresident


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• All judicial power shall be vested inone Supreme Court, and in suchinferior courts as Congress may fromtime to time ordain and establish.

Separation Power Used in India

• Under the Indian constitution onlyexecutive power is ‘vested’ in thePresident while provisions are simplymade for a Parliament and judiciarywithout expressly vesting thelegislative and judicial powers in anyperson or body.

• Moreover, India has the same systemof parliamentary executive as inEngland and the Council of Ministersconsisting as it does of the membersof legislature is, like the BritishCabinet. Even, though theConstitution of India does not acceptstrict separation of powers it providesfor an independent judiciary withextensive jurisdiction over the acts ofthe legislature and the executive.

• The Constitution in article 50,however, specifically ordainsseparation of the Judiciary from theExecutive. The vitality andimportance of the doctrine ofseparation of powers lies not in anyrigid separation of functions, but in aworking synthesis with the guaranteeof judicial independence.

• Accordingly, the Indian Constitutionhas not recognised the doctrine ofseparation of powers in its absoluteform but the functions of the differentparts or branches of government havebeen sufficiently differentiated and

consequently it can very well be saidthat our Constitution does notcontemplate assumption by one organor part of the State, of functions, thatessentially belong to another.

• The executive indeed can exercise thepowers of departmental orsubordinate legislation when suchpowers are delegated to it by thelegislature. It can also, when soempowered, exercise judicialfunctions in a limited way.

JUDICIARY VS LEGISLATURE

Conflict between legislature and thejudiciary has often given rise to anxiety andgrave concern to the governments at theCentre and the States. The executive heaves asigh of relief when the conflict gets resolvedor the matter is put in the cold storage afterinitial heat over the powers each of thesewings of the States enjoy under theConstitution subsidies. There are a number ofcases where friction between the two hasarisen. There has been a perennial conflict notonly in India but also in England about therespective rights and privileges of Membersof Parliament and the Judiciary.

Indian Scene

• In India, under the writtenConstitution, the three organs of theGovernment, viz. the Legislature,judiciary and the executive, have tofunction within their respectivepowers and none of them can exceedits powers. Whether, any one of theseorgans has exceeded its powers or not,is a matter of judicial interpretation.

• In several decisions of the SupremeCourt, it has been held that the


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Supreme Court is the ultimateinterpreter of the Constitution and itsinterpretation is binding on all courts,tribunals and authorities in thiscountry. Under article 141 of theConstitution, the law declared by theSupreme Court is binding on allparties.

• So, if there is any doubt that anyparticular organ of Government hasexceeded its powers, theinterpretation ultimately rests withthe Supreme Court.

• Even the powers granted by theConstitution to the Members ofParliament and the Assembly aresubject to other provisions of theConstitution. They cannot actarbitrarily; nor can they deprive thecitizens of their fundamental rightsarbitrarily.

• There is a provision in theConstitution for codifying the lawrelating to the privileges oflegislatures and if Parliament makessuch a law that will be a law withinthe meaning of Article 13 of theConstitution; validity of which can betested before the Supreme Court in thesame manner as any other legislation.

• The scheme of the Constitution doesnot contemplate that Parliament or aState Legislature is not at all liable tobe questioned for any violation of lawsince rule of law is the corner-stone ofthe Constitution of India.

• Though Legislatures in India haveplenary powers they function withinlimits prescribed by the material and

relevant provisions of theConstitution.

Main Areas of Conflict

Following are the Main areas of conflictbetween the Legislature and the Judiciary:

• Existence, extent and scope ofParliamentary privileges and powerof Legislatures to punish forcontempt,

• Interference in the proceedings ofParliament/ Legislatures,

• Decisions given by the PresidingOfficers of Legislatures under theAnti-defection law; and

• Decision given by the PresidingOfficers of Legislatures inadministration of their Secretariats.

Powers, Privileges and Immunities ofMembers of Legislatures

The relevant provision of theConstitution relating to powers, privileges andimmunities of the members of Parliament andState Legislatures is incorporated underArticle 105 and Article 194 respectively. TheseArticles provide that:

• Subject to the provisions of theConstitution and to the rules andstanding orders regulating theprocedure of the Legislatures, thereshall be freedom of speech in theLegislature of the Union and of everyState.

• No member of any Legislature shallbe liable to any proceedings in anycourt in respect of anything said orany vote given by him in theLegislature or any committee thereof,


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and no person shall be so liable inrespect of the publication by or underthe authority of a House of such aLegislature of any report, paper, votesor proceedings.

• In other respects, the powers,privileges and immunities of a Houseof any Legislature, and of themembers and committees of a Houseof such Legislature, shal be such asmay from time to time be defined bythat Legislature by law, and until sodefined, shall be those of that Houseand of its members and committeesimmediately before the coming intoforce of section 26 of the Constitution(Forty-fourth Amendment) act, 1978.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS

Arguments in Favour of LegislativeCouncil

The supporters of these Upper Housesof State Legislatures advance strongarguments. They feel that these Houses mustbe retained in the national interest. In favourof these Houses, it is said that:

• In India the Lower Houses areconstituted on the basis of universaladult franchise. There are no votingqualifications based on education andproperty. In the Lower House, boththe literate as well as illiterate vote onpolitical considerations. It is arguedout that in case democracy is to besaved from the caprice of uneducatedpersons, it is’ essential that thereshould be Upper House.

• Another argument advanced is that inevery state there are people who have

excelled in certain walks of life. Thenation must take advantage of theirabilities and capabilities. But thesepersons have no interest in contestingelections. Their services can best beutilised only with the help of VidhanParishads.

• It is also argued that the very fact thatthere is another House, creates a verysobering effect on the Lower House,which does not feel tempted to pass abill either in haste or under theinfluence of some momentaryimpulses. In case any half cookedmeasure comes up then at least UpperHouse points that out to the dulyelected representatives of the people,leaving to them to accept thesuggestion or not. In other words, itpoints out gravity of problems andsuggests solution but does not verymuch care whether suggestions havebeen accepted or not.

• Another utility of the LegislativeCouncil is that minority communitiesin every state can be givenrepresentation in this House. Suchrepresentation is likely to keep themvery much happy and satisfied.Similarly, the services of experiencedpersons who do not wish to contestelections can also be used in thisHouse.

• Legislative work every where hasmuch increased and it is becomingimpossible for a single House tohandle it efficiently. So some non-money bills or less controversialmatters can be introduced in the


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Upper House and in this way pressureof work in the Lower House isconsiderably reduced. This is alwaysa welcome relief for the Lower House.

• It is accepted that law making processhas become time consuming andsufficient time is taken by each Housebefore a bill becomes an Act. It is alsoaccepted that during this time, thepeople get an opportunity to expresstheir view point.

• But when the bill goes to the UpperHouse, the people are bit more clearas to what is going to be passed.Moreover, this time interval is alwaysa welcome because during this periodthe people can express them selvesand if need be changes can even nowbe introduced.

• It is also argued that Upper Housedoes not stand in any way on thedetermination of duly electedrepresentatives of the people. All thatthey do is that they point out certaindrawbacks and shortcomings, whichshould always be welcome. TheseHouses can serve very useful purposein case all political parties return theremen of eminence who have long andvaried experience of life and maintaina good position in society.

• If they are the people with the strengthof character and also capacity torender service to the society, they cando a lot of good to the society. Onlythose should be nominated who enjoyhigh reputation for their qualities ofhead and heart and a spotless lifecareer.

Arguments Against Legislative Council

• In view of inherent weaknesses ofVidhan Parishads (LegislativeCouncils), some critics are of the viewthat these should be abolished.According to them, in case Parishadagrees with what is passed by theAssembly then it is simply asuperfluous House. In case, it does notthen it will be characterized as amischievous. House and will becharged as citadel of reaction standingon the way of policies and programmeof duly elected House.

• Another criticism levied against thisHouse is that it is no check on theAssembly. A money bill can bedelayed only for a period of 14 days,which is very insufficient period forthe members to express their viewpoint. Even in the case of non-moneybills, it can only delay a bill for aperiod of 4 months and if theAssembly is bent upon passing ameasure no efforts on the part of theParishad can check it.

• The Council of Ministers also does notmuch fear from it because a vote ofno confidence does not have any effectfor the Ministry.

• It is also argued that the Parishads areusually not even progressive. Thesehave no directly elected elements.Some of the members are nominatedones. Their composition is such thatthese are not supposed to know publicsentiments. Thus, the House ischaracterised as reactionary andconservative.


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• It is argued that in these Housesscholarly or literary or social workersare not nominated. Instead, thischamber is used for providing berthto defeated politicians or those activeparty workers who somehow or othercould not be accommodated in theAssembly or dissidents in the partyto avoid party frictions. In otherwords, the Upper Houses neitherrepresent any caste, class or section ofsociety but only vested interests. Allelections or nominations are made onparty basis and these chambers areonly for increasing party interests andinfluences.

• A usual argument is that since thesechambers do not serve much usefulpurpose, therefore, their maintenanceis not worth the cost which the nationis required to pay for its upkeep andby way of salaries, allowances andother expenses of the members. Incase Parishads are abolished the taxpayer will be much saved and themoney saved can be used for otheruseful purposes, including economicdevelopment.

• The very fact that only six States haveretained Vidhan Parishad proves thatbicameralism is not a very popularinstitution in India in the states.Moreover, practical experience hasshown that those states which have noLegislative Councils are in no waydoing work less efficiently than theother states. In case, the Councils hadbeen doing very useful work, then theother states must have gone for it.

• Then it is not clear to whom theParishads represent. In case it is saidthat in it the teachers, and graduatesare to be given representation, alongwith those who are engaged, in thepromotion of co-operative work, thenwhy only these vocations and why notother very important vocations andoccupations.

• In case it is felt that in that those whohave excelled in any walk of state life,should be given representation, thenwhy nomination has been kept at only1/6th. It should have been kept muchhigher.

• It is presumed that in this House therewill be calm and serene atmosphere,where every problem will bediscussed in a passionless atmospherebecause the elders have held out nopromises to the people at the time oftheir election.

• But again this is not true because inthe Upper House also politicalconsiderations very much weigh withthe members. Each member votesmore or less on party lines and it issaid that an Upper House is justextension of the Lower House, in sofar as political parties are concerned.There is also no calm atmosphere inthese Houses. The elders quite oftenquarrel with each other and do notprovide much needed calmness.

• According to some thinkers, UpperHouses are necessary because thesegive sufficient time to the people toexpress their views. According tothem when a bill is traveling from the


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Assembly to the Parishad, the peoplecome to know what is going to bepassed. Intervening time can beutilised for expressing opinion by thepublic and in case there are strongreservations, the bill can be modifiedas well.

• But again this is not correct becausethe time taken in passing each bill inone House and stages through whichit passes are so many that the peoplehave sufficient time to expressthemselves, through press andplatform. On this ground also, theUpper Houses have no utility.

To conclude, the Upper Houses of StateLegislatures are likely to remain undercriticisms, in case these are used for providingberth to defeated politicians so that they canbecome Chief Ministers or Ministers bybecoming a member of either House oflegislature. Politicians must take theresponsibility to firmly establish the prestigeof these constitutional institutions.

JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

Judicial activism is a political term usedto describe judicial rulings that are suspectedto be based upon personal and politicalconsiderations other than existing law. Judicialrestraint is sometimes used as an antonym ofjudicial activism. The term may have morespecific meaning in certain political contexts.Concerns of judicial activism are closely tiedto constitutional interpretation, statutoryconstruction, and separation of powers. Thehonorable Supreme Court issued a notice tothe Union government seeking an explanationof the steps taken by it to ameliorate the plightof Indian students in Australia, who have beenfacing racially motivated attacks. Foreign

policy is widely considered to be non-justiciable, that is, courts cannot interfere.

Yet, the interference by Indian courts hasnot wholly been condemned. The next, andalmost equally striking, instance is a SupremeCourt notice questioning the proliferation ofMayawati statues, allegedly worth crores ofrupees, in Uttar Pradesh. Like foreign policy,budgetary allocations are non-justiciable. Butjudicial interference in this matter too has notbeen deprecated, nor is it worthy of seriouscensure. The Emergency of 1975 and itsaftermath constituted defining moments forjudicial activism in India. In the infamousdecision in ADM Jabalpur v. Shukla (1976) theSupreme Court permitted civil liberties to besuspended during the Emergency. The veryConstitution of India permitted the suspensionof civil liberties in Part III, such as the right topersonal liberty.

• The Constitution was also amendedextensively to permit the excesses ofthe Emergency. In 1975, therefore,permitting civil liberties to besuspended during the Emergencywould arguably have constituteddeference both to the intent of theframers of the Constitution and tolegislative wisdom - in other words“judicial restraint.”

• The Supreme Court’s decision in thatcase, however, despite being judiciallyrestrained, struck a devastating blowto civil liberties in India, and waswidely condemned thereafter. JusticeH.R. Khanna’s eloquent dissent wasactivist, but celebrated.

• Judicial activism during theEmergency was clearly the need of thehour. Thus, “judicial activism” had a


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strong moral basis after theEmergency - after all, the Emergencyjudges ought to have been activist.

• Judicial activism has virtually beenconstitutionalised in South Africa. TheIndian Supreme Court has enforcedsocio-economic rights, though theyare not considered enforceable by theConstitution - the right againstmalnutrition and the right to shelterare examples. Despite the fact that theConstitution did not permit socio-economic rights to be justiciable orenforceable, the Emergency hadtaught Indian judges that expressconstitutional provisions may notnecessarily translate into sociallegitimacy.

• Activist judges in India haveconsequently fashioned innovativeremedies to enforce socio- economicrights. The traditional rule that courtswill not issue injunctions requiringperiodic supervision does nottypically apply in socio-economicrights cases, where Indian courtsperiodically review theimplementation of their orders almostin an administrative capacity.

• However, judicial activism in Indiahas now taken on an interesting face.The courts in India pursue a form ofreview which can be described at bestas ‘dialogic’ - a term used famouslyby Peter Hogg and Allison Bushell inthe context of the Canadian SupremeCourt’s decisions.

• The Indian Supreme Court’s gaze hasnow gone beyond the protection of the

socially and economicallydowntrodden, and into the realm ofpublic administration. However, itsopinions often resemble aspirationsrather than binding pronouncements.

• These opinions bear a strongresemblance to unenforceable,advisory opinions since it will bedifficult to comprehensively enforcethem as law. They nonetheless set thetone for public discourse and debate.

• Their greatest value lies in the creationof a dialogue with the other branchesof government, in the consequentendeavor towards transparency inpublic administration, and in theirgiving a voice to the Indian citizen,albeit only the citizen who has thetime and the resources to petition thecourts.

• Attempts to petition the SupremeCourt recently have demonstratedthis trend towards dialogue andtransparency. Following the Mumbaiterror attacks of November 2008, aformer Attorney General of India fileda petition before the Supreme Courtseeking to better equip the Indianpolice. The public interest petition inthe context of the attacks on Indianstudents in Australia tells a similartale.

• However, a court which issuesunenforceable (one should sayenforceable with some difficulty)opinions, toys with the dangerouspossibility of delegitimating its ownexistence. It also begs the question ofinstitutional efficiency: of whether


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such functions can be betterperformed by another institutionwhich does not have the SupremeCourt’s case load but one whichmatches its visibility - if such aninstitution were ever capable of beingdevised. However, whispers ofcorruption in the judiciary, and the actof withholding information regardingjudges’ assets, do not make the casefor judicial activism any stronger.

• For the first time during the judgmentof the majority in the KeshavanandaBharati case (the fundamental rightscase) court held that a ConstitutionalAmendment duly passed by thelegislature was invalid if it damagesor destroying its basic structure. Thiswas a gigantic innovative judicial leapunknown to any legal system. Themasterstroke was that the judgmentcould not be annulled by anyamendment to be made by Parliamentbecause the basic structure doctrinewas vague and amorphous.

• Judicial activism earned a human facein India by liberalising access to justiceand giving relief to disadvantagedgroups and the have-nots under theleadership of Justices V.R. KrishnaIyer and P.N. Bhagwati. The SupremeCourt gained in stature andlegitimacy. Later, when theindependence of the judiciary wasthreatened by punitive transfers, thecourt entered the arena of judicialappointments and transfers.

• With the increasing criminalisationand misgovernance and the complete

apathy of the executive, the court(under the leadership of Chief JusticeVerma and Justices Bharucha and Sen)took up the case of terrorist fundinglinked to political corruption throughthe ‘hawala’ route in the VineetNarain Case (Jain hawala Case). Acover-up by the Central Bureau ofInvestigation to protect its politicalmasters was exposed and the courtmonitored the investigationupholding the principle “Be you everso high the law is above you.”

• The courts on several occasions haveissued directions in public interestlitigation (PIL) covering a widespectrum such as road safety,pollution, illegal structures in VIPzones, monkey menace, dog menace,unpaid dues by former and servinglegislators, nursery admissions, andadmissions in institutions of higherlearning. There is no doubt thatsometimes these orders are triggeredby righteous indignation andemotional responses.

• The common citizens have discoveredthat the administration has become soapathetic and non-performing andcorruption and criminality sowidespread that they have norecourse except to move the courtsthrough PIL, enlarging the field forjudicial intervention.

• The great contribution of judicialactivism in India has been to providea safety valve in a democracy and ahope that justice is not beyond reach.Judicial activism has come to stay in


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India and will prosper as long as thejudiciary is respected and is notundermined by negative perceptions,which has overtaken upon theexecutive and the legislature.

• There is concern among the publicabout lack of transparency in judicialappointments and a sense ofincreasing unease because of a lack ofa credible mechanism to deal withserious complaints against the higherjudiciary.

JUDICIAL REVIEW

• Law will not be in force until anamendment of the constitutionrelating to the same matter.

• In such situation the provision of thatlaw will again come into force, if it iscompatible with the constitution asamended. This is called the Theory ofEclipse.

• In a similar manner, laws made afteradoption of the Constitution by theConstituent Assembly must becompatible with the constitution,otherwise the laws and amendmentswill be deemed to be void-ab-initio.

• Judicial review is actually adopted inthe Indian constitution from theconstitution of the United States ofAmerica. In the Indian constitution,Judicial Review is dealt under Article13. Judicial Review actually refers thatthe Constitution is the supreme powerof the nation and all laws are underits supremacy. Article 13 deals that

• All pre-constitutional laws, after thecoming into force of constitution, if in

conflict with it in all or some of itsprovisions then the provisions ofconstitution will prevail and theprovisions of that pre-constitutional.

IMPACT OF THE 42ND AMENDMENT

The 42nd Amendment enacted duringthe Emergency made far-reaching changes tocurtail the powers of the courts and to makethe Parliament sovereign. Firstly, the 42ndAmendment stated that no amendment to theConstitution could be questioned in a Courtof Law. And “for the removal of the doubts, itis hereby declared that there shall be nolimitation what ever on the constituent powerof Parliament to amend by way of addition,variation or repeal the provisions of thisconstitution.” In this manner, through thisAmendment the Supreme Court’s power tojudicial review of constitutional amendmentswas taken away to establish the complete andtotal sovereignty of Parliament. TheAmendment stated that:

• A High Court cannot pronounceinvalid any Central law,

• The Supreme Court shall notpronounce a State law asunconstitutional unless a Central lawhas also been challenged.

Further, the minimum number of judgesof the Supreme Court who shall sit todetermine the constitutional validity of anyCentral or State law shall be seven and in thecase of High Court, five. It was also stated thata majority of not less than two- thirds of thejudges hearing such a case must agree beforea law is declared invalid. But after this the 43rdAmendment was passed which restored thepre-emergency position of the SupremeCourt’s power of judicial review over lawspassed by state legislatures and Parliament.


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• As far as Parliament’s sovereigntywith regard to amending theConstitution is concerned, there is nochange. The power of Parliament toamend the Constitution exists asunder the 42nd Amendment.

• The judgment of the Supreme Courtin the Minerva Mills case in May 1980was a setback to the position ofunlimited powers claimed by theParliament to amend any part ofConstitution. This judgmentrecognized only limited powers of theParliament to amend the Constitutionwithout altering the basic structure.

• In such situations, the Supreme Courtor High Court interprets the laws asif they are in conformity with theconstitution. If such an interpretationis not possible because ofinconsistency, and where a separationis possible, the provision that isinconsistent with constitution isconsidered to be void. In addition toarticle 13, articles 32, 124, 131, 219, 226and 246 provide a constitutional basesto the Judicial review in India.

• The Indian Constitution has notrecognized the doctrine of separationof powers in its absolute form but thefunctions of the different organs havebeen clearly differentiated andconsequently it can very well be saidthat our Constitution does notcontemplate assumption, by oneorgan of the functions that essentiallybelongs to another.

• Though the Constitution has adoptedthe parliamentary form of

government, where the dividing linebetween the legislature and theexecutive becomes thin, the theory ofseparation of powers is still valid.

• The Judiciary plays a very importantrole as a protector of the constitutionalvalues that the founding fathers havegiven us. They try to undo the harmthat is being done by the legislatureand the executive and also they try toprovide every citizen what has beenpromised by the Constitution underthe Directive Principles of State Policy.

• In such type of situations SupremeCourt or High Court interprets thelaw as if they are in conformity withconstitution or not. If find it not inconformity, they declare it eitherwhole & if possible to separate, thenonly that much of provision to be voidwhich are inconsistent with that of theConstitution.

• Judicial review in India comprises ofthree aspects: judicial review oflegislative action, judicial review ofjudicial decisions and judicial reviewof administrative action. The judgesof the superior courts have beefyentrusted with the task of upholdingthe Constitution and to this end, havebeen conferred the power to interpretit.

• It is they who have to ensure that, thebalance of power envisaged by theConstitution is maintained and thatthe legislature and the executive donot, in the discharge of functions,transgress constitutional limitations.Thus, judicial review is a highly


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complex and developing subject.

• Judicial review has its roots long backand its scope and extent varies fromcase to case. It is considered to be thebasic feature of the Constitution.

• The court in its exercise of its powerof judicial review would zealouslyguard the human rights, fundamentalrights and the citizens’ rights of lifeand liberty as also many non-statutory powers of governmentalbodies as regards their control overproperty and assets of various kinds,which could be expended on building,hospitals, roads and the like, oroverseas aid, or compensating victimsof crime.

JUDICIAL REFORM IN INDIA

• The institution of judiciary and therule of law is the essence of moderncivilization and democraticgovernance. It is important thatpeople’s faith in judiciary and the ruleof law is not only preserved butenhanced as well and simple way toachieve that is by ensuring an effectivesystem of justice delivery.

• For decades judicial system has beencrying for reforms as the cheap andspeedy justice has been by and largeelusive.

• There is a huge pendency of over 2.5crore cases despite measures to reduceit. Experts have expressed fears thatthere has been a loss of publicconfidence in the judiciary, and anincreasing resort to lawlessness andviolent crime to settle disputes. They

feel, that public confidence in thejudiciary must be restoredimmediately, in order to arrest andreverse this negative trend.

• Over the last five decades variouslegally constituted/governmentauthorities such as the LawCommission of India, ParliamentaryStanding Committees, and othergovernment appointed Committees,several benches of the Supreme Court,eminent lawyers and judges, variouslegal associations/ organizations andNGOs have identified problems in thejudicial system and called foraddressing them speedily.

• Yet, the effective implementation ofmany such recommendations is stillpending. According to one of theParliamentary Standing Committeeon Home Affairs (2001) almost 50% ofthe reports of the Law Commissionsawaited implementation.

• The poor budgetary support to thejudiciary has been alluded to as oneof the reasons for non-implementationof judicial reforms. Rs.700 croreallocated to the judiciary during the10th Plan (2002-2007) constituted0.078 percent of the total plan outlayof Rs. 8,93,183 crore. During the NinthPlan the allocation was even less, only0.071 percent.

• It has been observed that such meagerallocations are too inadequate to meetthe requirements of the judiciary. It issaid that India spends just 0.2 percentof the gross national product onjudiciary. According to the first


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National Judicial Pay Commission, allstates but one have been providingless than 1% of their respectivebudgets for subordinate judiciarywhich is afflicted with huge pendency.

• But, lack of resources cannot be areason for denying justice or any otherfundamental right to most citizens,especially the disadvantaged sections,who “have limited access to justice,due to unclear laws and high coststhat act as effective barriers”.

• Observing that ‘justice delayed isjustice denied’ in P. Ramachandra Raov. State of Karnataka (2002), aConstitution Bench of the SupremeCourt reiterated from HussainaraKhatoon case that “It is theconstitutional obligation of the Stateto dispense speedy justice, more so inthe field of criminal law, and paucityof funds or resources is no defence todenial of right to justice emanatingfrom Articles 21,19 and 14 and thepreamble of the Constitution as alsofrom the directive principles of Statepolicy.

• It is high time that the Union of Indiaand the various States realize theirconstitutional obligation and dosomething ‘concrete in the directionof strengthening the justice deliverysystem.”

• Other major factors include neglect inimproving judicial infrastructure overthe past decades, inordinate delays infilling up vacancies of judges and verylow population-to-judge ratio thatrequire immediate attention to

improve the performance of judiciary.

• The 120th Law Commission Reporthad pointed out that India’spopulation-to-judge ratio is one of thelowest in the world with only 10judges for every million of itspopulation as compared to about 150judges for the same number in theUnited States and Britain. Accordingto the ‘All India Judges’ Association’,the Supreme Court had directed thegovernment to increase the judgestrength to 50 judges per 10 lakhpopulation by 2007 in a phasedmanner, which has not been fulfilledso far. Even for filling up of vacanciesof approved strength of judges muchneeds to be done.

• It is observed that 25 percent of thejudge positions remain vacant due toprocedural delays. The sanctionedstrength of judges of the High Courtswas 886 and working strength was 608as on 6th January 2009 leaving 278vacancies. Similarly, with 11,767working strength of SubordinateJudges there were 2710 vacancies. onMarch 1, 2007.

• The E-enabling will help the courts tofunction more efficiently and speedup the disposal of cases. It would alsonetwork these courts with the highercourts and thus facilitate greateraccountability.

• Another centrally sponsored schemefor development of infrastructurefacilities including setting up of courtbuildings and residentialaccommodation for the judicial


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officers is under operation since 1993-1994. Rs. 286.19 crore were released tothe States from 2006-07 to 2008-09under this scheme. The outlay for thejudiciary during the 11th Plan hasbeen sought on the basis a perspectiveplan having projections of suchrequirements over a ten year period.

• Meanwhile, the disposal of cases canbe increased by greater use of theexisting infrastructure with courtshaving more than one shift. Gujaratis one of the states where eveningcourts are functioning withappreciable results.

• Fast Track Courts (FTC)recommended by 11th FinanceCommission have also provedeffective in addressing pendency.Keeping this in mind the governmenthas already extended the term of 1,562FT courts operating at sessions’ levelup to 31st March 2010 by providingcentral support to the states. As perunion Law Ministry, these courts haveout of 28.49 lakh transferred cases tothem disposed off 21.83 lakh cases.

• The Central Government proposes toset up more than five thousand GramNyayalayas at intermediatepanchayat levels under the GramNyayalayas Act, 2008 in order to bringjustice delivery system at the doorstep of rural population. Theprocedure to be followed by thesecourts has been kept simple andflexible so that these cases can beheard and disposed of within 90 days’period.

• Recourse to Alternate DisputeRedressal (ADR) mechanism cangreatly help in reducing pendency ofcases through arbitration,negotiations, conciliation andmediation. In the United States andmany other countries, ADR as disputeresolving mechanism has been highlysuccessful.

• India already has ArbitrationConciliation Act 1996 and the Code ofCivil Procedure has also beenamended. However, the measuresuffers from grossly inadequatenumber of trained mediators andconciliators. Both judicial officers andlawyers need to be trained with a viewto grow alternate system into themainstream of justice.

• The government will have to take anoverall view of procedural laws thatallow endless interlocutory appealsand the role of ‘delay lawyers’ inposing impediments to resolve cases.Despite the Criminal Procedure Code(Amendment Act) 2002, bringingchange in the procedure in suits andcivil proceedings by way of reducingdelays, the situation remains far fromsatisfactory.

• The issue of frivolous litigation willalso have to be addressed and one ofthe ways could be by imposing heavycosts. The police investigation systemneeds to be strengthened andmodernized that would decrease loadon judiciary.

• While having a holistic view of all theintricacies and nuances of the justice


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delivery system, its present pitfallsand fault lines will have to beconsidered to ensure transparencyand accountability of the judicialsystem.

NAXALISM - PERCEPTION AND REALITY

• Addressing the senior police officersof the country on September 15, PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh reiteratedthat left-wing extremism is perhaps“the gravest internal security threatour country faces”, and deplored that“we have not achieved as muchsuccess as we would have liked incontaining this menace”.

• The Naxal influence has indeedspread over a huge geographical area.According to the Home Minister’sown statement, various Naxal grouphave pockets of influence in 20 statesacross the country, and over 2000police station areas in 223 districts ofthese states are partially orsubstantially affected by the menace.

• The states particularly affected areAndhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, TamilNadu, and Haryana.

• Naxal violence has been on a hightrajectory. There have been violentincidents in about 400 police stationareas of 90 districts in 13 states. Therewere, in 2008, a total of 1591 incidentsof Naxal violence resulting in 721killings.

• This year, there have already been (till

August 27) 1405 incidents of Naxalviolence resulting in the death of 580persons. Casualties among securityforces personnel have been quite high.Altogether, 231 security forcespersonnel lost their lives in Naxalviolence in 2008, while 270 (Oct 15)personnel have already lost their livesthis year so far.

• The Ninth Congress of the People’sWar Group held in 2007 “reaffirmedthe general line of New DemocraticRevolution with agrarian revolutionas its axis and protracted people’s waras the path of the Indian revolution”,and resolved to “advance the people’swar throughout the country, furtherstrengthen the people’s army, deepenthe mass base of the party and wage abroad-based militant mass movementagainst the neo-liberal policies ofglobalization, liberalization,privatization.”

• Naxal activities have since then beenon a canter. The expansion of Naxalinfluence is also to be attributed totheir plan to take the battle to newfields. This was spelled out by theparty’s politbureau in one of its policydocuments where it was mentionedthat “we have to further aggravate thesituation and create more difficultiesto the enemy forces by expanding ourguerrilla war to new areas on the onehand and intensifying the massresistance in the existing areas so asthe disperse the enemy forces over asufficiently wider area; hence theforemost task in every state is to


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intensify the war in their respectivestates while in areas of intense enemyrepression there is need to expand thearea of struggle by proper planningby the concerned committees; tacticalcounter-offensives should be steppedup and also taken up in new areas soas to divert a section of the enemyforces from attacking our guerrillabases and organs of political power.”

• While it is true that the Naxalmovement is on a high trajectory andthat its arc of violence is expanding,it is also true that there has beenconsiderable dilution in its ideology.The present generation of Naxalleaders are obsessed with the idea ofcapturing power with the barrel of thegun, and the success of Maoists inNepal seems to have turned theirhead.

• They do not realise that the accretionin their influence and support has notbeen so much due to the relevance oreven appeal of their ideology as dueto the inefficiency and corruption ofthe government which has generallyfailed to deliver, particularly in the farflung remote areas. An analysis ofsome of the basic concepts wouldbring this out.

Anti – Development

The Naxals blame the government forpoverty, for poor development, and for theabsence of basic amenities in the interior areas.And yet, ironically they have adopted an anti-development posture. According to a report,the Naxals have, during the period January2006 to June 2009, attacked 316 economic

targets which gave employment to thousandsof people including the tribals in differentstates, particularly those falling in the so calledRed Corridor. Home Ministry statistics showthe following numbers of attacks on economictargets during the last few years:

2006 712007 802008 1092009 56 (till June)

The following establishments wereparticularly targeted:

Railways 122Telecom 83Mines, Steel Plants 59Transmission lines 42

• In a document Tasks Ahead, the partysays that “the people should beeducated as to how the entire regionis being handed over to thecomprador big business houses likethe Tatas in Lohandiguda, Essar inDhurli, NMDC’s proposed steelplants in Nagarnaar and Dilimili,Raoghat mines and the Bodhghatprojects.

• The conspiracy should be exposedand a broad-based movement builtagainst displacement.” The landacquisition for Tata’s five milliontonne steel project at Jagdalpur hasbeen hampered by the Maoists whohave infiltrated the farmers’ outfitseeking better payment and resistingland acquisition.

• Officials allege that the Naxals do notwant of any economic activity in theareas of their influence because theyfeel that once the administration fills


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up the gaps in infrastructure, theirrelevance and appeal would diminish.

• Some intellectuals argue that theNaxal opposition stems from the factthat they want more inclusivedevelopment. They accuse thegovernment of usurping land in tribalareas with a view to obliging bigbusiness houses, who are encouragedto set up economic zones and givenconcessions for the purpose.

• There may be some truth in theargument, but it is difficult to imaginehow the development process couldbe accelerated without acquiring landsomewhere. There could be differenceof opinion about the selection of site,but places for setting up big plantswill have to be earmarked.

Nexus with Insurgents

• The Naxals’ nexus with the insurgentorganizations has further exposedthem. There are indications that thePW cadres received training in thehandling of weapons and IEDs fromsome ex-LTTE cadres.

• Besides, they have entente cordiale withthe National Socialist Council ofNagaland (IM). Some batches ofNaxals have also received armstraining from the United LiberationFront of Assam. Besides, theCommunist Party of India (Maoist)has fraternal relations with theCommunist Party of Nepal.

• According to a recent report, the ISIis trying to reach out to the Naxals.The Lashkar-e-Toiba had directed its

operative, Mohammed Umer Madani,to recruit Maoists and help them withmoney and firearms.

• Madani admitted before the policethat his plan included givingpreliminary training to the jehadisrecruited from different parts of Indiain Maoist strongholds and thensending them to Pakistan for furthertraining.

Extortion

• Extortion is the biggest source ofrevenue for the Naxals. They extortmoney from industrialists,businessmen, contractors,government officers and any otherfunction-aries operating in the areaswhere they operate.

• A major steel company is reported tohave been making regular paymentsto the Naxals, though recently theNaxals attacked it and torched theirvehicles when they refused to ferryarms on their planes. According to aconfessional statement, the Naxals areextorting Rs. 2 crore from the NMDCevery year.

Opium Cultivation

• There are reports that Naxals havestarted encouraging the cultivation ofpoppy in certain areas of Bihar andJharkhand. This is a very ominousdevelopment.

• The greatest source of revenue for theTaliban, as is known, is the cultivationof poppy and the subsequent sale ofheroin which ultimately finds its wayinto the markets of Europe and USA.


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Boycott of Elections

• The Naxals’ objective is to bring abouta Democratic Revolution in thecountry. India, according to them is a“semi-colonial and semi-feudalcountry” and the Indian State iscompletely in the hands of “biglandlords and comprador-bureaucratcapitalists”.

• The Naxals methods are howevermost undemocratic. They always callupon the people to boycott theelections. There are instances ofpeople having their fingers choppedoff for having exercised theirfranchise.

• Polling parties are attacked andoccasionally the ballot boxes arelooted. It is another matter that peoplestill vote; Gadchiroli recorded over70% turnout in the recent Assemblyelections despite the Maoists’ threats.

Intelligentsia’s Support

• The Naxals have the support of asection of the intelligentsia. Thesemostly include teachers, students andwriters. Chhatradhar Mahto, the triballeader of Lalgarh who was arrested bythe West Bengal police, reportedlydisclosed the names of 20 Kolkatabased University students and threeof their professors who have linkswith the Naxals. According to Mahto,the Naxals occasionally consulted theprofessors and even took theirassistance in drafting policydocuments.

• Human Rights groups have a softcorner for the Naxals. There could be

no objection to that. But the problemis their blinkered view of the totalpicture. They project police actions inthe most lurid colours but are blindto the excesses and atrocities of theNaxals. It has been rightly said that“our civil society must give up thisdangerous flirtation with theideologies of hatred and murder.”

Option before the Government

• The trajectory of Naxal violence hasleft the government with no optionbut to undertake comprehensivepolice operations against them.Unfortunately, certain sections, intheir keenness to sensationalise thedevelopments, are painting thegovernment response in gory colours.The proposed action is beingdescribed as “war” on the Naxalswhile some say that it is the beginningof a “civil war” in the country.

• There is no question of a war beingwaged. The point to be understood isthat no government worth the namecan remain a mute spectator to itsauthority and writ over a territorialarea being challenged. It has to takeaction against the elementschallenging its authority.

• Be sides, how can you tolerate a groupwhich is attacking police stations,ambushing patrols, extorting money,blowing up schools, disrupting theconstruction of roads, demolishingcommunication towers, etc. Theactivities of such a group have to beput down.

• There is no question of a civil wareither. It is not that two groups of thecivilian population are fighting


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against each other. It is a confrontationbetween the forces of law and orderon the one hand and the People’sGuerrilla Liberation Army on theother.

• This is, however, not to absolve thegovernment of its blame - itsinefficiency, incompetence,corruption, and failure to alleviatepoverty, provide gainful employmentand minimise the alienation of landfrom the tribals.

• It is a sad commentary on ourplanning process that, as admitted bythe Planning Commission in theEleventh Five Year Plan document,“sixty years after independence, overa quarter of our population stillremains poor”. It is distressing that theprogress on land reforms has been“dismal”. It is also a matter of shamethat, as observed by an Expert Group,the tribals of the country are feeling“totally exhausted, impoverished,and traumatised”.

Conclusion

• Poor governance, it must beacknowledged, is at the root of theNaxal problem, and the government

is entirely to blame for this. There isadequate justification for the plannedpolice offensive against the Naxals.

• However, there is no justification forthe socioeconomic malaise which stillafflicts the country. Unless thesefactors - of poverty, land reforms,unemployment, corruption andalienation of tribals - are addressed,police action would prove to be atemporary palliative only.

• In any case, it is time that the Naxalsare exposed for what they are. Theyclaim to be champions of the poor andyet have no compunctions inannihilating people from that sectionof society. They claim to beprotagonists of the tribals and yet theyantagonised the tribals of Bastar byinterfering with their social customsand cultural practices.

• They shed tears for the poorest of thepoor and yet sabotage the schemes toalleviate their poverty. They want tobring about a democratic revolutionin the country and yet try to disruptevery election. They claim to bepatriots and yet have a nexus with theanti-national forces. The intellectuals’support for the Naxals has a romantictouch about it. The reality is quitedifferent.


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1. Match the following features of theIndian Constitution and their sources.I II

(A) Bill of Rights andJudicial Review 1. England

(B) Parliamentary systemof democracy 2. Ireland

(C) Directive Principles 3. U.S.A. (D) Residuary powers

with Centre 4. CanadaCodes:(a) A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3(b) A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4(c) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1(d) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4

2. In what way is the Indian Constitutionrigid?(a) The provisions of the Constitution

can be amended with two-thirdsmajority of Parliament alone

(b) The Centre alone can initiateamendments

(c) The provisions regardingconstitutional relationship betweenUnion and State Governments canhe amended only with the jointconsent of Central and StateLegislatures

(d) The Indian Constitution is not rigid3. “We the people of India having

solemnly resolved to constitute Indiainto a Sovereign Democratic Republicand to secure to all citizens...” Fromthis statement we can conclude

(a) Sovereignty lies with the executiveof the country

(b) Sovereignty lies with the President(c) Sovereignty lies with the people of

India(d) Sovereignty lies with the elected

represent-atives of the people ofIndia

4. The Preamble to the Constitution ofIndia reads:(a) We, the people of India .... in our

Constitution Assembly,... enact andgive to ourselves this Constitution

(b) We, the people of India ….in thisConstituent Assembly... decide toenact and give to India thisConstitution.

(c) We, the people of India ….throughthe representatives of thisConstituent Assembly. enact andgive to ourselves this Constitution.

(d) We, the members of the ConstituentAssembly,... representing the peopleof India enact this Constitution.

5. Put the following in the ascendingorder with regard to their years ofcreation.

I. Andhra Pradesh II. GujaratIII. Nagaland IV. MeghalayaV. Haryana

(a) I, II, III, IV, V(b) II, I, III, V, IV(c) I, II, III, V, IV(d) II, V, I, III, IV

6. The detailed provisions regardingacquisition and termination of Indian

16

Multiple Choice Question


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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION 145

citizenship are contained in theCitizenship Act which was passed by:(a) the Indian Parliament in 1955(b) the Indian Parliament in 1950(c) the British Parliament in August

1948(d) the Constituent Assembly in 1949

7. How can the Fundamental Rights beprotected by a citizen?(a) By approaching the Supreme Court

which will issue appropriate writsagainst the authority

(b) Parliament will take note of suchviolations and tell the courts

(c) The Executive will inform the Courts(d) It is automatically protected

8. Which Fundamental Right cannot besuspended even during an emergencytinder Article 352 of the Constitution?(a) Right to equality(b) Right to freedom of speech and

expression(c) Right of life(d) Right to constitutional remedies

9. Which one of the following has beenwrongly listed as a freedom providedto the Indian citizens under Article 19?(a) Freedom of speech and expression(b) Freedom of residence and settlement(c) Freedom of profession(d) Freedom of press

10. Cultural and Educational rightsinclude.(a) Right of minorities to establish and

administer their educationalinstitutions

(b) Right of minorities to promote theirlanguage

(c) Right against discrimination foradmission to educationalinstitutions on the grounds ofreligion, race or caste

(d) All of these11. The Indian Constitution declares that

protection of life and liberty

(a) can never be taken away in anycondition

(b) can be taken away only according toprocedure established by law

(c) can be taken away during theEmergency through Presidentialorder

(d) none of the above12. The phrase ‘procedure established by

law’(a) gives immense powers in the hands

of the courts regarding judicialreview

(b) gives the authority to the courts togo into the question as to whether alaw is ‘due’ i.e. just or not

(c) limits the authority of the IndianCourts in judicial review and thecourts cannot go into the question asto whether a law is just or not

(d) None of the above is correct13. What was the main decision of the

Supreme Court in the Golak Nath caseregarding the amendment of theFundamental Rights by theParliament?(a) The Parliament had the right to

amend the Fundamental Rights(b) The ordinary elected Parliament has

no right to amend the FundamentalRights included in the Constitutionwhich were quite sacred

(c) The Parliament had the right evento repeal the Fundamental Rights

(d) None of the above14. What was the main judgement of the

Supreme Court regardingParliament’s right to amend theFundamental Rights in theKesavananda Bharati case?(a) The Supreme Court took away the

right of Parliament to amend theFundamental Rights

(b) The Supreme Court declared thatParliament had no right to amend


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the Fundamental Rights(c) The Supreme Court upheld the right

of Parliament to amend any part ofthe Constitution including Part III ofthe Constitution but it also declaredthat Parliament had no right toamend the basic structure of theConstitution

(d) None of the above15. Habeas Corpus means:

(a) an order from a court to free a personwho had been illegally detained bythe police or any other person

(b) an order from a superior courtcalling up the record of a proceedingin an inferior court for review

(c) an order from the superior court toan official to show his right to theoffice

(d) an order from a higher court to stopproceedings in a certain case

16. The writ of prohibition issued by theSupreme Court or a High Court isissued against:(a) judicial or quasi judicial authorities(b) administrative and judicial

authorities(c) administrative authorities only(d) administrative authorities and

government17. The writ of Mandamus is available for

the purpose of:I. Enforcement of fundamental rights

II. Compelling a court or judicialtribunal to exercise its jurisdictionwhen it has refused to exercise it

III. Directing a public official or theGovernment not to enforce a lawwhich is unconstitutional

(a) I only (b) II and III(c) I and III (d) I, II and Ill

18. What are the Gandhian Principlesincorporated in the IndianConstitution?

I. Organisation of village panchayatsII. Establishment of cottage and small

scale industries in rural areasIII. Prohibition on use of intoxicating

liquor except for medicinal purposesIV. Efforts to be made for the

development of weaker or backwardsections of the society

(a) I and II (b) I, III, IV(c) II, III (d) All four

19. Which one of the following DirectivePrinciples of State Policy does notcome into the category of liberalprinciples?(a) The State shall endeavour to secure

a uniform civil code throughout theterritory of India

(b) The State shall protect everymonument or place or object ofartistic or historic interest

(c) The State shall endeavour to secureto all workers a living wage andconditions of work ensuring a decentstandard of life

(d) The State shall take steps to separatethe judiciary from the executive

20. The President of India is not a memberof Parliament because:(a) he has to see that he remains

impartial(b) he does not need to be(c) he would then hold an office of profit

under the Government(d) his position will be lowered if he

becomes a member of Parliament21. Regarding the powers and functions

of the President it is not correct to saythat(a) all legislative proposals involving

expenditure from the ConsolidatedFund of India have to berecommended by the President tothe Parliament for consideration


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(b) no money bill or demand for grantcan be introduced or moved in theParliament unless it has beenrecommended by the President

(c) The may direct the Chief Justice ofthe Supreme Court to take over aparticular case for disposal

(d) he calls upon the party enjoyingmajority in the Lok Sabha to chooseits leader who is then appointed asthe Prime Minister

22. The Law Officers who hold office atthe pleasure of the President are(a) The Chief Justice of the Supreme

Court and the Attorney General(b) The Attorney General and the

Solicitor General(c) The Attorney General and the Law

Minister(d) The Law Minister and any judge of

the Supreme Court or of a HighCourt

23. A Member of Parliament or a StateLegislature can be elected asPresident, but

I. he has to resign his seat beforecontesting election

II. he has to relinquish his seat as soonas he is elected

III. he has to relinquish his seat withinsix months of his election

(a) Only I (b) II(c) III(d) A Member of Parliament can contest

but a member of State Legislaturecannot contest

24. Which one of the following stepscannot be taken by the Presidentduring Financial Emergency?(a) Direct the Union and State

Governments to observe suchcanons of financial propriety as hedeems desirable

(b) Suspend the Fundamental Rights ofthe Indian Citizens

(c) Order reduction of salaries andallowances of all civil servants

(d) Order the reduction of the salariesof the Supreme Court and HighCourt judges

25. Which of the following is/are correct?I. No formal impeachment is required

for the removal of the Vice-PresidentII. No functions are attached to the

office of the VicePresident as suchIII. Dispute regarding election of Vice-

President is referred to the ElectionCommission

IV. If the election of a President or theVice-President is declared void actsdone by him prior to the date of suchdecision shall be invalidated

(a) I, II, III(b) I, III, and IV(c) I and II (d) All four

26. What do you understand from thephrase ‘Collective responsibility of theCabinet’ to the Lok Sabha?(a) The Cabinet is ultimately

answerable for all the acts of theruling party taken together

(b) The action of the Cabinet is theaction of each member, and that theCabinet is responsible as a whole forthe action of each member

(c) The Ministers are responsible to eachother collectively

(d) None of the above27. Which one of the following functions

of the Prime Minister has beenwrongly listed?(a) he presides over the meeting of the

cabinet(b) he prepares the agenda for the

meetings of the cabinet(c) he coordinates the working of

various departments(d) he chairs the meetings of the various

standing and ad hoc committees ofparliament.


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28. The legislative functions of theCouncil of Ministers include the rightto:(a) summon and prorogue the two

Houses of Parliament(b) nominate two Anglo-Indian

members of Lok Sabha(c) nominate some members to Rajya

Sabha(d) Introduce important bills and

resolutions in the Parliament29. The Council of Ministers is to aid and

advise the President in the exercise ofhis functions:(a) but the President is not bound to

accept its advice(b) but the President may use his

discretion in certain matters(c) but the President may avoid seeking

its advice or over rule the Councilof Ministers

(d) and the President is bound to act onthe advice of the Council ofMinisters

30. Which of the following is/are nottrue?

I. There is no bar to the appointmentof a person from outside theLegislature as Minister.

II. A Minister who is a Member of oneHouse cannot speak or take part inproceedings of the other House.

III. A Minister who is a Member of oneHouse has no right to vote in theHouse of which he is not a member.

(a) II and III (b) I and II(c) I and III (d) II

31. The office and functions of theComptroller and AuditorGeneral ofIndia include which of the following?

I. He ensures that the moneys votedby the legislature are spent underappropriate heads and that they are

not exceeded or used for otherpurpose

II. He submits reports of the Presidentand the Governor

III. He should keep a vigilant eye on thefinances of the Union as well as theStates

(a) I and II (b) II(c) II, III (d) All of them

32. Which of the following ensure theindependence of the Comptroller andAuditor-General of India?

I. Only the President can remove himon the grounds of provedmisbehaviour

II. His salary and conditions of serviceshall be statutory, i.e. laid down byparliament by law and shall not beliable to variation during his term ofoffice

III. The salaries of the Auditor-Generaland his staff and administrativeexpenses of his office shall becharged upon the revenue of Indiaand shall be non-votable

(a) I, II (b) II, III(c) III (d) All of these

33. The Consolidated Fund of India is acommon pool in which(a) all taxes collected by the

Government of India are deposited(b) equal contributions from the Centre

and States are made and out ofwhich money can be taken as loanto meet unforeseen contingencies

(c) all money received by or on behalfof the Government of India in theshape of revenues, fresh loans andmoney received in repayment ofloans etc. are deposited

(d) States, Union Territories and CentralGovernment contribute ten per centof their revenues

34. Vote on account is made by the LokSabha


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(a) to meet the additional expenditureincurred by the government on anyapproved item of expenditureduring the supplementary budget

(b) to meet expenditure on secret service(c) meet expenditure for a period before

the passing of the annual budget(d) to meet expenditure on unexpected

demand35. One of the following is not a method

by which the Parliament expresseslack of confidence in the Council ofMinisters:

I. Rejecting a bill introduced by aMinister

II. Declaring that the taxes proposedhave to be reduced

III. Passing a bill introduced by a privatemember to which the Council ofMinisters is opposed

(a) I (b) I and III(c) II (d) III

36. The Constitution provides that aHouse of Parliament may declare aseat vacant:

I. in the case of a member who is guiltyof breach of privilege of the House

II. in the case of a member who hasbeen absent for 60 days without thepermission of the House

III. if a member resigns in no caseIV. in no case(a) I (b) I and II(c) IV (d) I, II, III

37. Which one of the following does notfall within the financial powers of theIndian Parliament?(a) No taxes can be levied without the

consent of the Parliament(b) No expenditure can be incurred

without the sanction of theParliament

(c) The Parliament can propose any tax(d) The Parliament can reduce or reject

the demands of the Government

38. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabhasit jointly when(a) they feel it necessary(b) there is a disagreement between the

two Houses(c) the President summons both the

Houses(d) two years have lapsed after the last

meeting39. The members nominated by the

President to the Rajya Sabha are fromamongst persons:(a) who are members of Lok Sabha(b) who suffered imprisonment during

freedom movement(c) who are seasoned politicians(d) none of the above

40. Which one of the following statementsis correct?(a) one-third of the members of Rajya

Sabha retire every year(b) two-thirds of its members retire

every two years(c) one-third of its members retire every

two years(d) all the members retire every two

years41. The functions of the Estimates

Committee of Parliament do notinclude:(a) presenting annually to Parliament

an Economic Survey report on thecountry’s state of economy

(b) reporting on what economies,improvement in organisation, oradministrative reforms can beeffected

(c) examining whether the money iswell laid out within the limits of thepolicy implied in the estimates

(d) suggesting the form in whichestimates should be presented toParliament

42. Which one of the following statementsabout the Parliamentary committee


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on Public Sector Undertakings is nottrue?(a) It examines the reports and accounts

of certain specified public sectorundertakings and the reports of theAuditor General

(b) It approves the appointments ofChairman of certain specified publicsector undertakings

(c) It examines whether publicundertakings are being runefficiently

(d) It also examines whether they arebeing managed in accordance withsound business principles andprudent commercial practice

43. Under which of the followingcircumstances can President’s rule beimposed in a State?(a) If no stable government can be

formed(b) If the Cabinet has lost majority and

no ce(c) If the State Government does not

obey the directives given by theUnion Government

(d) In all the above cases44. When does the Governor recommend

the imposition of the President’s rulein a State?(a) On the recommendation of the

Centre(b) On the recommendation of the Chief

Minister(c) On the recommendation of the

Council of Ministers(d) If he is satisfied that the Government

of the State cannot be carried on inaccordance with the provisions ofthe Constitution

45. The judicial powers of the Governordo not include the right to:(a) be consulted by the President about

appointment of Judges of State HighCourt

(b) grant pardon(c) remit punishment or suspend the

sentence(d) pardon death sentence

46. When can the Governor exercise hisdiscretionary powers?(a) In appointment of Chief Minister if

not a single party has clear-cutmajority in the House or there is norecognised leader of the majorityparty

(b) In reservation of a Bill passed byState Legislature for the assent of thePresident

(c) Dismissing a ministry if he isconvinced it has lost majoritysupport in the Assembly

(d) All the above cases are valid47. Executive powers of the State Council

of Ministers include:I. formulating the policy of the

governmentII. responsibility for the smooth

administration of the StateIII. assisting the Governor in making all

important appointments in the State(a) I and II(b) I and III(c) III(d) All of them

48. Which one of the following is not anexecutive function of the Council ofMinisters of a State?(a) To run the administration of the

State in accordance with theprovisions of the Constitution

(b) To bring about necessary cohesionin the policies of the variousministries

(c) To formulate the policy of the StateGovernment and give it practicalshape

(d) To assist the President in theadministration of the State duringthe President’s Rule in the State


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49. Which one of the following is notlegislative power of the State Councilof Ministers?

I. Summoning and proroguing thesession of either or both the Housesof the State Legislature

II. Determining the business andtimetable of the State Legislature

III. Introducing the important Bills inthe State Legislature

(a) I (b) III(c) II (d) I and II

50. Which one of the following is not afinancial power of State Council ofMinisters?

I. Formulating the budget proposalsand presenting the same to the StateLegislature for approval

II. All proposals for taxation emanatefrom the Council of Ministers

III. Regulating the Contingency Fund ofthe State and advancing money outof it to meet the unforeseencontingencies

(a) I (b) II(c) III (d) II and III

51. Which one of the following statementsis correct?

I. The Governor is the ex-officioChairman of the Legislative Council.

II. The Speaker of Legislative Assemblyalso acts as the Chairman of theLegislative Council.

III. The Council elects its own Chairmanfrom amongst its members.

(a) I (b) II(c) III (d) None

52. Which one of the following powers ofthe State Legislature has beenincorrectly given ?

I. It takes part in the election of thePresident

II. It plays an important role inamendment of the Constitution

III. It considers the report of the StatePublic Service Commission

(a) I (b) II(c) I and II(d) None is incorrect

53. The special status of the State ofJammu and Kashmir(a) does not prevent the Union

Government from making changesin the name and boundaries of theState

(b) does not prevent the President fromexercising his right to suspend theconstitutional machinery of the Stateon the ground that the StateGovernment has failed to carry outdirections of the Union Government

(c) does not prevent the UnionGovernment from making anyinternational agreement affecting theState without taking the consent ofthe State Legislature

(d) prevents the Union Governmentfrom making any alteration in thename and boundaries of the state

54. The Supreme Court of India does nothave original jurisdiction in thesettling of disputes(a) between the Government of India

and any State of the Union(b) between two or more States(c) between the Government of India

and one State on one hand and otherStates on the other hand

(d) arising out of any trreaty oragreement

55. The phrase ‘procedure established bythe law’ means(a) the judges in India cannot question

the fairness or validity of a law,provided it is within the limits of theConstitution

(b) judges in India can question thefairness or validity of an undue law


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even if it is within the limits of theConstitution

(c) judges in India can declare a lawinvalid simply because in theiropinion the law is not due or isunjust

(d) None of the above56. The High Court enjoys the power

I. To issue writs for the enforcement ofrights conferred on the citizens ofIndia

II. To exercise superintendence over theworking of Courts and Tribunalsunder its jurisdiction

III. To make general rules and prescribeforms regulating the practices andproceedings of Courts under itsjurisdiction

(a) I (b) I and Ill(c) II and III (d) All of them

57. The ordinary Judges of the State HighCourt are appointed by the Presidenton consultation with

I. The Chief Justice of the High CourtII. The Chief Justice of India

III. The Governor of the State(a) I (b) I and II(c) II and III(d) I, II and III

58. The Parliament can make a law on asubject in the State List when

I. A Proclamation of Emergency is inforce

II. Two or more States make a requestto the Parliament to make a law on asubject

III. Rajya Sabha passes are solution thatsuch subjects have acquired nationalimportance

(a) Only I (b) I and II(c) II and III (d) All of these

59. The jurisdiction of the FinanceCommission does not extend to(a) recommendation of the allocation of

funds among the various heads of

expenditure in the Union and Statebudgets

(b) recommendation of the distributionbetween the Union and the States ofthe net proceeds of taxes

(c) recommendation of the allocation tothe States of the respective shares ofsuch tax proceeds

(d) recommendation of the principleswhich govern the Grants-in-Aid ofthe revenue of the States out of theConsolidated Fund of India.

60. What can the President do if the Statesfail to comply with the Directives ofthe Central Government?(a) The President can send reserve

police to the State to securecompliance

(b) The President can declare thebreakdown of Constitutionalmachinery in the State and assumeresponsibility for the governance ofthe State

(c) The President can dissolve the StateLegislature and order fresh election

(d) The President cannot do any of thethings mentioned in (a), (b) and (c)

61. Which of the following is not one ofthe qualifications prescribed in Article326?(a) He should not be less an twenty-one

years of age(b) He should be citizen of India(c) He should not hold any office of

profit under the Government ofIndia

(d) He should not be otherwisedisqualified on the ground ofunsoundness of mind, crime, orcorrupt or illegal practice.

62. Which one of the following featureregarding organisation of Parties inIndia has been wrongly listed?


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(a) The Political Parties in India are notwell-organised

(b) Most of the Political Parties in Indiaare organised around certainleaders.

(c) The Organizational elections ofPolitical Parties in India are held atregular intervals

(d) Most of the Political Parties in Indiado not hold organisational electionsat regular intervals.

63. Consider the following statements:1. The national Political Parties in India

are truly speaking not national incharacter because most of thenational parties are not spread overthe entire country.

2. On account of multi-party system inIndia we find a close resemblance inthe policies and programmes ofvarious Political Parties.

3. Of late the regional Political Partiesare planning more important role inthe India polity than the nationalPolitical Parties.

4. The Political Parties in India havetended of submerging their narrowinterests to national interests due todevelopment of nationalists sprit.

Code :(a) 1, 2, and 3 are correct(b) 2, 3 and 4 are correct(c) 1, 2 and 4 are correct(d) 1, 3 and 4 are correct

64. Match the following: List-I List-II Articles Provisions for

MinoritiesA. Article 26 1. Provides for freedom

to manage religionsaffairs to all majority aswell as monitorycommunities

B. Article 29 2. Protects the interests

or minoritiesC. Article 30 (1) 3. Provides that all “

minorities, whetherbased on religion orlanguage shall have toright to establish anda d m i n i s t e re d u c a t i o n a linstitution of theirchoice

D. Article 15 4. Provision discrimi-nation on grounds ofreligion, race, caste,sex, or place of birth.

Codes :A B C D

(a) 2 1 3 4(b) 1 2 3 4(c) 3 2 4 1(d) 1 2 4 3

65. The primary aim of the Panchayati Rajadministration is:(a) to work for rural development

(b) to ensure the upliftment of Harijans(c) to arouse in the people continuous

interest in the communitydevelopment programmes

(d) to increase agricultural productionthrough the involvement of thepeople in extension programmes

66. Pick out the statement which is notcorrect(a) The Gram Panchayat is headed by

the Sarpanch(b) The Panchayat Samiti is headed by

the Chairman(c) The Zilla Parishad is headed by the

Chairman(d) The Sarpanch and the Chairman are

elected directly by the people67. Balwant Rai G. Mehta team was set

up in 1956 by the National


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Development Council for the purposeof:(a) reporting on the working of the

village panchayats at that time(b) investigating the feasibility of setting

up the new panchayat machinery(c) suggesting measures for democratic

decentralization(d) suggesting measures for better

efficiency in the implementation ofthe Community Developmentprojects

68. Which of the following is correctlymatched?(a) Santhanam Committee :

Panchayati-Raj Finances(b) Balwant Rai Metha: Panchayati-Raj

Institutions Committee(c) G.V.K. Rao Committee : Planning at

the block level(d) Dantwala Committee :

existing admin-istrationarrangement for rural developmentprogrammes.

69. Which of the following statements aretrue about the Chief Secretary?1. he acts as the Chief Public relations

officer of the govt.2. He acts as the Channel of

Communications inintergovernmental matters

3. he is the only advisor to the CM4. In 1974, the past of Chief secretary

was brought and par with that of thesecretary to the Government ofIndia.

(a) 1, 3 and 4 (b) l, 2 and 4(c) 1 and 2 (d) 2 day

70. Arrange the following in ascendingorder1. Tehsil 2. sub-division3. village 4. Paragama

Codes :

(a) 2, 1, 2, 3(b) 2, 1, 3, and 4(c) 3, 4, 1, 2 (d) 3, 4, 2 and 1

71. Which of the following are thefeatures of 74th Amendment Act onmunicipalities?1. Reservation of seats for SCs and STs

in Proportion of their population2. Mandatory periodic elections every

5 years3. The procedure for maintenance of

accounts and audit would bedecided by the state Governor

4. Constitution of Nagar-Panchayatsfor smaller Urban area.

(a) 1, 2, and 4(b) 2 and 3(c) 3 and 4(d) 1 and 2

72. The 42nd Constitution AmendmentAct added a Chapter on(a) the Preamble of the Constitution(b) the Fundamental Rights(c) the Fundamental Duties(d) all of the above

73. Match the following columns:I II

A. Reorganisation 1. Seventhof States Amendment

B. Sikkim became 2. Thirty-sixth22nd AmendmentState of Indian Union

C. Ninth Schedule3. First Amendment

addedD. Abolition of Titles 4.Twenty-sixth

Amendment of Princes(a) A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4(b) A-2, B-l, C-3, D-4(c) A-3, B-2, C-l, D-4(d) A-3, B-l, C:-4, D-2

74. In which part of the Constitution aredirectives to the State included?


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I. Part IV onlyII. Art. 36 to 51

III. Art. 36 to 51, 335, 350(a) and 351(a) I (b) II(c) III (d) I and II

75. Right to equaliy includesA. Equality before lawB. Right against discrimination on

grounds of race, caste, religion, etc.C. Equal pay for equal workD. Abolition of untouchabilityE. Abolition of all titles

(a) A, B and D only (b)A, B and C only(c) A, B, D and E(d) All of them

76. Consider the following statementswith reference to India and pick theright one(a) The Chief Election Commissioner

and other election commissionerenjoy equal powers but receiveunequal salaries.

(b) The Chief Election Commissioner isentitled to the same salary asprovided to a judge of the S.C.

(c) The chief E.C shall not be removedfrom his office except in like mannerand on like grounds as a judge of theS.C.

(d) The term of office of one E.C is 5years from one date he assure hisoffice or till the day he attains the ageof 62 years, whichever is earlier.

77. With reference to the Indian PublicFinance consider the followingstatements :(1) The liabilities reported in the Union

Budget are based on historicalexchange rates.

(2) The continued high borrowing haskept the.real interest rates high in theeconomy.

(3) The upward trend in the ratio ofFiscal Deficit to.G.D.P. in recentyears has an adverse effect onprivate investments.

(4) Interest payment is the single largestcomponent of the non-plan revenueexpenditure of the union govt.Which is correct statement ?

(a) 1, 2, 3 (b) 1 & 4(c) 2, 3 & 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 & 4

78. Match List (Article) with (Provisions)(Articles) (Provisions)

(A) Art. 16 (2) 1. No person shall bedeprived of hisproperty save by. theauthority of law.

(B) Art. 29 (2) 2. No person can bediscriminated againstin the matter of publicappointment on theground of race,religion, or caste.

(C) Art. 30 (i) 3. All minoritieswhether based onreligion or languageshall have theFundamental Rightsto establish anda d m i n i s t e re d u c a t i o n a linstitution of theirchoice.

(D) Art. 31 (i) 4. No citizen shall bedenied admission intoany educationalinstitution maintainedby the state onreceiving state aid, ongrounds of religion,race, caste, languageor any of them.

Codes :A B C D

(a) 2 4 3 1(b) 3 1 2 4(c) 2 1 3 4(d) 3 4 2 1

79. The member of Constituent Assemblywhich drafted the Constitution ofIndia were


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(a) nominated by the British Parliament(b) nominated by the Governor General.(c) elected by the Legislative

Assemblies of various provinces.

(d) Elected by the Indian NationalCongress & Muslim League

80. Match List-I with List-II and select thecorrect answer using the codes givenbelow

List I List I(Article of (Provision)

constitution)A. Art 101 (4) 1. The speaker of the

Lok Sabha shallpreside over a jointsitting of the two housesof parliament

B. Art 110(4) 2. The house maydeclare a seat vacant ifthe member inquestion absentshimself from all themeetings of the housefor a period of 60 dayswithout permi-ssionof the houses.

C. Art 118(4) 3. When a Money Bill istransferred from thelower to upper house,the speaker shallendorse on the bill hiscertificate that it is amoney bill

Select the correct codeA B C

(a) 1 2 3(b) 2 1 3(c) 2 3 1

81. Which of the following Articles of theConstitution of India have beendeclared by the Supreme Court as theinviolable civic structure of theconstitution ?

(1) Art. 32 (2) Art. 226(3) Art. 227 (4) Art. 245(a) 1, 2, 3 (b) 1, 3, 4(c) 1, 2, 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 & 4.

82. List I List II

(Schedule of (Subjectconstitution) matter)A. 4 I. Land reformB. 6 2. LanguageC. 8 3. Council of StateD. 9 4. Tribal areasCodes

A B C D(a) 1 2 3 4(b) 2 3 4 1(c) 3 4 2 1(d) 4 2 1 3

83. Match the List.List I List II(Acts of ColonialGovt. of India)

(A) Charter Act. 1813 (1) Set up a boardof control inBritain to fullyregulate theEast IndiaCompany’saffairs inIndia.

(B) Regulating Act (2) Company’strademonopoly inIndia wasended.

(C) Act of 1858 (3) The power togovern wastransferredfrom the EastIndiacompany tothe Britishcrown.


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(D) Pitt’s India Act (4) Thecompany’sdirectors wereasked topresent to theBritish govt.allcorrespondenceanddocumentspertaining tothe ad-ministration ofthe company.

Codes :A B C D

(a) 2 4 3 1(b) 1 3 4 2(c) 2 3 4 1(d) I 4 3 2

84. With reference to colonial period ofIndian history, match List I (person)with List II (events)

(Person) (Events)(A) MacDonald 1. Doctrine of Lapse(B) Linlithgow 2. C o m m u n a l

Award(C) Dalhousie 3. August Offer(D) Chelmsford 4. DyarchyCodes :

A B C D(a) 3 2 1 4(b) 3 2 4 1(c) 2 3 1 4(d) 2 3 4 1

85. Consider the following statementsregarding the political parties in India(1) The Representation of the Peoples

Act, 1951 provide for registration ofpolitical parties.

(2) Registration of political parties iscarried out by the electioncommission.

(3) A National level political party is onewhich is recognized in 4 or morestates.

(4) During 1999 general elections, therewere six national and 48 state levelparties recognized by ElectionCommission.

Which one is correct statement ?(a) 1, 2, & 4 (b) 1, 2, 3(c) 2, & 4 (d) l, 2, 3 & 4

86. Match the list(Art. of the (Content)constitution)

(A) Art. 54 1. Election of PresidentCouncil of Ministers

(B) Art. 75 2. Appointment of P.M.& Council of Ministers

(C) Art. 155 3. Appointment ofGovernor of State

(D) Art. 164 4. Appointment of C.M.& Council of Ministersof State.

5. Composition ofLegislative Assembly

Codes :A B C D

(a) 1 2 3 4(b) 1 2 4 5(c) 2 1 3 5(d) 2 1 4 3

87.Consider the following statements aboutthe minorities in India:(1) The Govt. of India has notified five

communities namely, Muslims,Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists andZoroastrians as minorities.

(2) The National Commission forminorities was given statutory statusin 1993.

(3) The smaller religious minority inIndia are the Zoroastrians.

(4) The Constitntion of India recognisesand protects religious and linguisticminorities.


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Which statement is correct ?(a) 2 & 3 (b) 1 & 4(c) 2, 3, & 4 (d) 1, 2, & 4

88. Consider the following statementsregarding the High courts in India:1. There are 18 High Courts in India2. Three of them have jurisdiction on

more than one state.3. No Union Territory has a H.C. of its

own.4. Judges of the H.C. hold office till the

age of 62.(a) 1, 2 & 4 (b) 2 & 3(c) 1 & 4 (d) 4 only

89. Match the list I with list IIList I List II(Amendments of the

(Contents)Constitution)

A. The constitution 1. Establishment ofstate (Sixty-ninthlevelAmendment Act,1991) RentTribunals

B. The constitution 2. No reservationfor (Seventy FifthScheduled Castein Amendment)Panchayats inArunachalPradesh Act,1994

C. The constitution 3. Constitution ofPanchayats(Eightieth invillages orAmendmentat other locallevels Act, 2000)

D. The constitution 4. Accepting the(Eighty thirdrecommendations

of theAmendmentTenth FinanceAct, 2000)Commission

5. Accepting thestatus ofNational CapitalTerritory toDelhi.

Codes:A B C D

(a) 5 1 4 2(b) 1 5 3 4(c) 5 1 3 4(d) 1 5 4 2

90. Match the FollowingList I List II

A. Zilla Parishads at the (i)AndhraSub-divisional level Pradesh

B. Mandal Praja Parishad(ii) AssamC. Tribal Councils (iii) MizoramD. Absence of village (iv) Meghalaya

panchayatsCodes:

A B C D(a) 2 1 4 3(b) 1 2 4 3(c) 3 2 1 4(d) 2 1 3 4

91. Match the following.List I List II

(a) Development1. U.N. Indian Humanprogramme Development Report

(b) National 2. India DevelopmentCouncil of Applied ReportEconomicResearch

(c) Indira Gandhi3. World DevelopmentInstitute of ReportDevelopmentResearch

(d) World Bank 4. Human DevelopmentReport


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Codes:A B C D

(a) 4 1 2 3(b) 4 2 1 3(c) 2 3 4 1(d) 2 1 4 3

92. Instill into the vast millions of theworkers, men and women, whoactually do the job, a sense ofpartnership and of co-operativeperformance.

The above passage related to(a) Planned development(b) Community development(c) Panchayati Raj system(d) Integrated development Programme

93. Consider the following statementsabout the Attorney General of India :(1) He is appointed by the President.(2) He must have the same qualification

as required for Judges of SupremeCourt

(3) He must be member of either houseof Parliament.

(4) He can be removed by impeachmentby Parliament

Which is correct(a) 1 & 2 (b) 1 & 3(c) 2, 3 & 4(d) 3 & 4

94. Consider the following functionaries:(1) Cabinet Secretary(2) Chief Election Commissioner(3) Union Cabinet Ministers(4) Chief Justice of India.Their correct sequence, in the order ofPrecedence is(a) 3, 4, 2, 1 (b) 4, 3, 1, 2(c) 4, 3, 2, 1 (d) 3, 4, I, 2

95. Match the followingList I List II

A. Art. 40 1. Organization ofvillage Panchyat

B. Art. 41 2. Right to workC. Art. 44 3. Uniform civil codeD. Art. 48 4. Organization of

agriculture andanimal husbandry.

Codes:A B C D

(a) 1 2 3 4(b) 2 3 1 4(c) 1 3 4 2(d) 3 2 4 1

96. Who has control over “the issue ofmoney” from Consolidated Fund ofIndia ?(a) Comptroller and Auditor General of

India(b) Finance Minister of India(c) Authorized ministers(d) None of the above.

97. In the new Panchayati Raj Bill enactedin 1993, there are several freshprovisions deviating from the past,which one of the following is not onesuch provision?(a) A number of added responsibilities

in the area of agriculture, ruraldevelopment, primary educationand social forestry among others.

(b) Elections being made mandatory forall posts at the time they are due

(c) A statutory representation forwomen in the panchayats increasedupto one third of the strength.

(d) Regular remuneration to thePanchayat members, so as to ensuretheir punctuality and accountability.

98. Consider the following statementsabout the recent amendments to theelection law by the Representation ofthe People (Amendment) Act 1996.1. Any conviction for the offence of

insulting the Indian National Flag orthe constitution of India shall entail


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disqualification for contestingelections to Parliament and statelegislatures or 6 years from the dateof conviction

2. There is an increase in the securitydeposit which a candidate has tomake to contest election to the LokSabha

3. A candidate cannot now stand forelection from more than oneParliament seat.

4. No election will now becountermanded on the death of acontesting candidate.

Which of the above statements arecorrect ?(a) 2 & 3(b) l, 2 & 4(c) 1, 2, 3 (d) 1, 2, 3 & 4

99. The employment assurance schemeenvisages financial assistance to ruralareas for guaranteeing employment toat least :(a) 50% of the man and woman seeking

jobs in rural areas.(b) 50% of the men seeking jobs in rural

area.(c) one man and one woman in a rural

family living below the poverty line.(d) one person in a rural landless

household living below the povertyline.

100. Consider the following statementregarding the National Human RightsCommission.(1) Its chairman must be a retired Chief

Justice of India.(2) It has formations in each state as

Human Rights Commission.(3) Its powers are only recommendatory

in nature.(4) It is mandatory to appoint a woman

as a member of the commission.

Which is correct?(a) 1, 2, 3, 4 (b) 2 &4(c) 2 & 3 (d) 1 & 3

101. Which of the following is the objectiveof National Renewal Fund?(a) To safeguard the interests of workers

who may be affected by technologistupgradation of industries or closureof sick units.

(b) To develop the core sector of theeconomy.

(c) For the development ofinfrastructure such as energy,transport, communication andirrigation

(d) For human resource developmentsuch as full literacy, employment,population control, housing &drinking water

Directions : The following questions consist of twostatements, are labelled as ‘Assertion A’ and otherlabelled as ‘Reason R’. You are to examine the twostatements carefully and decide of the ‘AssertionA’ and the ‘Reason R’ individually true and if so,whether the Reason is a correct explanation of theAssertion. Select your answer to these item usingthe codes given below.

(a) Both ‘A’ and ‘R’ are true and ‘R’ isthe correct explanation of A’.

(b) Both ‘A’ and ‘R’ are true, but ‘R’ isnot a correct explanation of ‘.A’.

(c) ‘A’ is true but ‘R’ is false.(d) ‘A’ is false but ‘R’ is true.

102. (A): India is a union of states and nota federal state.(R): In the Indian constitution, thecentre is given emergency powerswhich can convert the state into aunitary state.

103. (A): The rigid constitutions have livedonly by judicial interpretation.(R): Judicial interpretation has beenthe most effective way of making the


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rigid constitutions flexible enough towork.

104. (A): No state can ensure the welfareof all its citizens.(R): The state is coercive by nature andinherently oppose to human nature.

105. (A): Sovereignty is the most importantattribute of the state.(R): In every full-fledged orindependent state there must be anultimate authority, an authorityagainst which there is no appeal.

106. (A): Preventive Detention” is includedin the chapter on Fundamental Rightsin the Constitution of India.(R): “Preventive Detention” is afundamental Rights of the stateagainst individuals.

107. (A): Local politics in India is run on anon-partisan basis.(R): At the local level, some peoplewho would not he chosen if partylabels accampanied their names getelected by nonpartisanarrangements.

108. (A): An unwritten constitutionconsists largely of a mass of customs,usages, judicial decisions and somestatutes.

(R): Constitutions are not written theygrow.

109. (A): The president has the right to seekadvisory opinion of the SupremeCourt on any question of law or fact.

(R): The constitution makes itobligatory for the President to 5 acceptthe advice rendered by SupremeCourt.

110. (A): In a federal set-up sovereignty isdivided between the central and the

provincial governments.

(R): The powers of the government aredivided in a federal set-up.

111. (A): Political participation does notnecessarily mean playing of an equalpart by all.

(R): Greater political awareness andincreasing opportunities lead toegalitarian political participation.

112. (A): The chief minister occupies apivotal position in state.

(R): He symbolizes ruling powerstructure and wields more authoritythan anybody else in the state.

113. (A): In February 2004, Government-of India constituted a Nationalcommission on farmers.

(R): The commission examinesvarious issues that Indian farmers areconfronting and suggests appropriateinterventions for improving theeconomic viability and sustainabilityof diversified agriculture.

114. (A): Globalization demandsliberalization of ideas governmentregulations, delicensing and greaterpeople’s participation in the economicaffairs which in turn leads to politicalempowerment.(R): The concept of democracy hastaken deeper roots in the current ageof globalization.

115. (A): Dual citizenship was announcedby Prime Minister at the 3rd PravasiBhartiva Divas in Jan. 2005.(R): Dual citizenship for all overseasIndians who migrated after January26, 1950. subject to the laws prevailingin their home country.


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ANSWERS

1. (d) 2. (c) 3. (c) 4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (a) 7. (a) 8. (c) 9. (d) 10. (d)11. (b) 12. (c) 13. (b) 14. (c) 15. (a) 16. (a) 17. (d) 18. (a) 19. (a) 20. (c)21. (c) 22. (b) 23. (b) 24. (b) 25. (c) 26. (b) 27. (d) 28. (d) 29. (d) 30. (d)31. (d) 32. (c) 33. (c) 34. (d) 35. (c) 36. (b) 37. (c) 38. (b) 39. (d) 40. (c)41. (a) 42. (b) 43. (d) 44. (d) 45. (d) 46. (d) 47. (d) 48. (d) 49. (a) 50. (c)51. (c) 52. (d) 53. (d) 54. (d) 55. (a) 56. (d) 57. (d) 58. (d) 59. (a) 60. (b)61. (c) 62. (c) 63. (d) 64. (b) 65. (c) 66. (d) 67. (d) 68. (a) 69. (c) 70. (c)71. (d) 72. (c) 73. (a) 74. (c) 75. (a) 76. (d) 77. (c) 78. (a) 79. (c) 80. (c)81. (a) 82. (c) 83. (a) 84. (c) 85. (d) 86. (a) 87. (d) 88. (a) 89. (a) 90. (a)91. (a) 92. (b) 93. (a) 94. (c) 95. (a) 96. (d) 97. (c) 98. (b) 99. (c) 100. (d)

101. (a) 102. (a) 103. (a) 104. (c) 105. (a) 106. (c) 107. (c) 108. (b) 109. (c) 110.(d)111. (b) 112. (a) 113. (b) 114. (a) 115. (b)


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