INDIAN

CONSTITUTION

SUBJECT CODE:- BTMC-101-18

[Link] 5th Sem
 CONENTS
1 Meaning of the constitution law and constitutionalism
2 Historical perspective of the Constitution of India
3 Salient features and characteristics of the Constitution of India
4 Scheme of the fundamental rights
5 The scheme of the Fundamental Duties and its legal status
6 The Directive Principles of State Policy–Its importance and implementation
7 Federal structure and distribution of legislative and financial powers between the
Union and the States
8 Parliamentary Form of Government in India – The constitution powers and status of
the President of India
9 Amendment of the Constitutional Powers and Procedure
10 The historical perspectives of the constitutional amendments in India
11 Emergency Provisions : National Emergency, President Rule, Financial Emergency
12 Local Self Government – Constitutional Scheme in India
13 Scheme of the Fundamental Right to Equality
14 Scheme of the Fundamental Right to certain Freedom under Article19
15 Scope of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article21
 CONSTITUTION
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or
established precedents that constitute the legal basis of
a polity, organization or other type of entity and commonly
determine how that entity is to be governed. When these
principles are written down into a single document or set of
legal documents, those documents may be said to embody
a written constitution, if they are encompassed in a single
comprehensive document.
 ORIGIN OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26
November 1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950. The
authors of the Indian Constitution are Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
(chairman of the drafting committee), Mr. Surendra Nath
Mukherjee (chief draftsman of the Constituent Assembly), and
Mr. B.N. Rau (constitutional advisor to the Constituent
Assembly) When talking about signatories of the Constitution
of India, 284 members of the Constituent Assembly act as the
signatories.
 MEANING OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
“Constitutional law” is concerned with the interpretation and
implementation of the Constitution and its underlying principles.
It forms the basis for individuals’ access to particular fundamental
rights, inter alia the right to life, the right to privacy, the freedom
to move, and the right to vote. It lays down procedural conditions
that must be met before a governmental entity can intervene with
an individual’s rights, liberties, or property. Constitutional law
also deals with subjects such as judicial review, fundamental
duties, and the power to make laws, among other things.
 CONSTITUTIONALISM
Constitutionalism, doctrine that a government's authority is
determined by a body of laws or constitution.
Constitutionalism’ means limited government or limitation on
government. Constitutionalism is a system of governance in
which the power of the government is limited by laws, checks
and balances, in order to reconcile authority with individual
and collective freedoms. Constitutionalism recognizes the
need for government with powers but at the same time
imposes reasonable restrictions on those powers.
CONSTITUTIONALISM
 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
A committee known as the Nehru Report was established in
Lucknow in 1928 by the All Parties Conference to draft the Indian
Constitution. This was the beginning of first step of the History of
Constitution of India Between 1857 and 1947, much of India was
directly ruled by the British. Following independence, it was
obvious that a new constitution was required. But to do that, India
as a whole has to be integrated into the union. This implied that
the Princely States had to be persuaded to join the Indian
confederation, with either coercion or diplomacy.
Contiii
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
This difficult effort was completed by Sardar Vallabhai Patel
and V.P. Menon. India remained technically a British dominion
up until this point, in charge of maintaining external security.
As a result, when the Indian Constitution comes into effect on
January 26, 1950, it invalidated both the Indian Independence
Act 1947 and the Government of India Act 1935. With the
constitution, India became a sovereign democratic republic
rather than a dominion of the British Crown.
 THE TIMELINE OF THE HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

The timeline of the Historical Perspective of Constitution

of India can be understood by various acts and reforms
passed by the British. These also include Laws before the
making of the Indian Constitution.

• Regulating Act 1773 • Pitt’s India Act 1784 • Charter

Act of 1813 • Charter Act of 1833 • Charter Act of 1853
• Government of India Act 1858 • Indian Councils Act
1861 • India Councils Act 1892 • Morley-Minto
Reforms 1909 • Montague-Chelmsford Reforms 1919 •
Government of India Act 1935 • Indian Independence
Act 1947.
 SALIENT FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION
1. Lengthiest constitution in the world. 2. Sovereignty
resides in the people 3. Parliamentary form of Government.
4. Unique blend of rigidity and flexibility. 5. Fundamental
Rights. 6. Directive principles of the state policy. 7. Federal
in nature. 8. Adult suffrage. 9. Independence of Judiciary
10. Judicial Review. 11. Fundamental duties 12. Sovereign.
13. Democracy. 14. Republic. 15. Secular. 16. Single
citizenship. 17. Uniformity in Basic Administration. 18.
Revolutionary.
 SCHEME OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
In the Indian constitution, certain rights are defined as
fundamental rights for the citizens of India. The constitution
makes these rights fundamental, implying that any citizen can
seek justice in court in case of denial or violation of any of these
rights. Fundamental rights are the rights that apply to all citizens
irrespective of gender, caste, or religion. The law guarantees and
protects these rights, and violations are subject to judicial
actions. The fundamental rights aim to uphold equality, dignity,
and unity of the nation by empowering people with
constitutional support.
SCHEME OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
 FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
Fundamental duties are the moral obligations that all citizens
of a country have, and in India, the list of fundamental
duties that are contained in Part IV-A of the Constitution to
foster patriotism and strengthen India's unity. The
Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution are modeled
after the Constitution of the erstwhile USSR. Sardar Swaran
Singh Committee was established in 1976 to make
recommendations on fundamental duties.
Contiii
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
The committee recommended that the Constitution should
include a separate chapter on fundamental duties. The 42nd
Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 added a new part,
namely, Part IVA to the Constitution. This part contained
only one Article i.e., Article 51A, which for the first time
specified a code of ten fundamental duties of citizens. Later
on, one more fundamental duty was added by the 86th
Amendment Act in 2002.
THE SCHEME OF THE FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
• We need to follow our Constitution and should respect our
national flag and national anthem.
• Should follow the ideals of the freedom struggle
• Protect the sovereignty and integrity of our nation.
• Protect our nation and provide national services when
required.
• Should have the spirit of a common brotherhood.
• Preserve the culture of our country.
• Protect the environment of our country
• Generate scientific rationale for every thought.
• To protect public property.
• Strive for excellence.
• It is the duty of every parent to send their children between
6-14 years to school.
THE DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

The Constitution lays down certain Directive Principles of

State Policy and it is the duty of the State to apply these
principles in making laws. The State shall direct its policy in
such a manner as to secure the right of all men and women to
an adequate means of livelihood, equal pay for equal work and
within limits of its economic capacity and development, to
make effective provision for securing the right to work,
education and to public assistance in the event of
unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement.
IMPORTANCE OF DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF
STATE POLICY
 IMPLEMENTATION OF DPSP
• Policies like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act (MGNREGA) gets their authority from Article 39(a) which talks about the
right to adequate means of livelihood.
• Laws such as the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 bolster the
canons of Article 39(g) which deals with the protection of children.
• Laws pertaining to prohibition of slaughter of cows and bullocks get their sanctity
from Article 48 which deals with the organization of agriculture and husbandry.
• Government Policies such as Integrated Rural Development Program
(IRDP), Integrated Tribal Development Program (ITDP), and Pradhan Mantri
Gram Sadak Yojana, Ayushman Bharata [Link] the reflections of the principle
objectives enumerated in Article 47 which talks about raising the standard of
living and to improve public health.
Contiii
IMPLEMENTATION OF DPSP
•Government has undertaken reforms in Land laws which were the
primary reasons for inequality British times. Such reforms give effect
to Article 43 which tries to secure by suitable legislation or economic
organization or in any other way, to all workers agricultural,
industrial or otherwise, work, a living wage, conditions of work
ensuring a decent standard of life
•States have instituted scholarship programs, subsidies for minority
run institutions and also enacting Right to Education Act (RTE) in
2006 to give effect to Article 46 which seeks to promote
educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the
people
 FEDERAL STRUCTURE (संघीय ढांचा)
The Indian political governance system is known as a ‘federal
structure’. In a federal structure, power and responsibility are
distributed across different layers of Government. In the case
of India, the power to raise money as well as the power to
spend is distributed across the Union Government, State
Governments and Local Governments. These three levels of
Government have the power to raise resources through
various taxes and non-tax sources, and spend these resources
on different sectors/issues.
FEDERAL STRUCTURE (संघीय ढांचा)
DISTRIBUTION OF LEGISLATIVE *विधान*
The distribution of legislative powers between the Centre
and the States is a key feature of India’s federal system of
governance. Legislative power *विधान* refers to the
authority to create, amend and enforce laws by government
officials. The process of legislation is crucial to address any
unusual issues in a region and maintain order for the
protection of people. In India, the Constitution divides
legislative power between the Union and the States to
facilitate the governance process.
 FINANCIAL POWERS BETWEEN THE UNION
AND THE STATES
Generally, in a typical federation along with the distribution of
legislative and administrative powers, the financial resources of
the country are also so distributed to ensure the financial
independence of the units. However, the Indian Constitution does
not make a clear cut distribution of the financial resources and
leaves much to be decided by the Central Government from time
to time. The financial resources which have been placed at the
disposal of the state are so meager that they have to look up to the
Union Government for subsidies and contributions.
PARLIAMENTARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN
INDIA
A Parliamentary government is a democratic administration in
which the government is formed by the political party that obtains
the most seats in the legislature or Parliament during the federal
election. This majority party selects a leader to be Prime Minister or
Chancellor. The cabinet is made up of other high-ranking members
of the party. The opposition is formed by the minority party, and its
role is to confront *सामना होना* the governing party. If no
party wins a majority in the election, a coalition *गठबंधन*
government is established with the cooperation of a few political
parties.