Constitution of

India

The Constitution of India was framed by Drafting Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

The Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly an Nov. 26, 1949

The Constitution came into force from Jan. 26, 1950

The Constitution of India originally contained EIGHT (8) SCHEDULES; and

395 ARTICLES

Today the Constitution of India has

Twelve (12) SCHEDULES; and

448 ARTICLES (in 25 Parts)

Major Parts of the Constitution

The four major parts of the Constitution of India are:

1. The Preamble

2. Parts I to XXV having 448 Articles (98 Amendments till now)

3. Twelve Schedules

4. Appendix

The Fundamental RightsPart – 3 The six Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens as

declared in the Constitution of India are:

1. Right to Equality (14 to 18)2. Right to Freedom (19 to 22)3. Right against Exploitation (23-24)4. Right to Freedom of Religion (25-28)5. Cultural and Educational Rights (29-31)6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (32-35)

Initially there were seven fundamental rights but Right to Property was later converted into legal right by the 44th amendment of the Constitution in 1978

Constitutional Remedy

Under the Indian Constitution, Supreme Court and High Court are empowered to issue writs, for the enforcement of fundamental rights.

Article 32 - Supreme Court Article 226 – High Court

Article 32 - Constitution of India

It grants an extensive original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court in regard to enforcement of Fundamental Right.

Article 226 - Constitution of India

It can be exercised not only for the enforcement of fundamental right but for any other purpose.

Jurisdiction is wide and extends to Fundamental rights and other constitutional rights.

Types of Writ

Habeas corpus Mandamus Prohibition Certiorari Quo-warranto

Writ of Habeas corpus

Habeas Corpus means, “you may have the body."

A person, when arrested, can move the Court for the issue of Habeas Corpus. It is an order by a Court to the detaining authority to produce the arrested person before it so that it may examine whether the person has been detained lawfully or otherwise. If the Court is convinced that the person is illegally detained, it can issue orders for his release.

Who can apply?

General rule is that an application can be made by a person who is illegally detained. But in certain cases, an application of habeas corpus can be made by any person on behalf of the prisoner, i.e., a friend or a relation.

CASE STUDY

Sunil Batra Vs. Delhi Administration and Ors. etc

The Supreme Court enlarged the scope of habeas corpus, making available the fundamental rights of the prisoners

Writ of Mandamus Mandamus is a Latin word, which means "We

Command". Mandamus is an order from a superior court to a

lower court or tribunal or public authority to perform an act, which falls within its duty.

Simply, it is a writ issued to a public official to do a thing which is a part of his official duty, but, which, he has failed to do, so far. This writ cannot be claimed as a matter of right. It is the discretionary power of a court to issue such writs.

CASE STUDY

Barada Kanta VS. State of West Bengal In this case, writ of mandamus does not lie

against a private individual or any private organisation because they are not entrusted with a public duty.

Writ of Prohibition

Writ of prohibition means to forbid or to stop and it is popularly known as 'Stay Order'.

This writ is issued when a lower court or a body tries to transgress the limits or powers vested in it.

It is a writ issued by a superior court to lower court or a tribunal forbidding it to perform an act outside its jurisdiction. After the issue of this writ, proceedings in the lower court etc. come to a stop.

Case Study

S. Govinda Menon VS. Union of India

The writ is issued in both cases where there is excess of jurisdiction and where there is absence of jurisdiction.

Writ of Certiorari

Literally, Certiorari means to be certified. The writ of certiorari is issued by the

Supreme Court to some inferior court or tribunal to transfer the matter to it or to some other superior authority for proper consideration.

Case Study

Hari Vishnu VS. Ahmad Ishaque

The writ is issued for correcting an error of law apparent on the face of records. It cannot be issued to correct an error of fact.

Case Study

Madan Gopal VS. Union of India Apply both Prohibition and Certiorari -

Prohibition to prevent the court to proceed further with the case and Certiorari for quashing what had already been decided.

Writ of Quo-Warranto The word Quo-Warranto literally means “on what

authority one is holding the public office" It is a writ issued with a view to restraining a

person from acting in a public office to which he is not entitled.

For example, a person of 62 years has been appointed to fill a public office whereas the retirement age is 60 years. Now, the appropriate High Court has a right to issue a writ of quo-warranto against the person and declare the office vacant.

Case Study

Baij VS. State of U.P., Where the holder of an office has been

continuing in office for a long time and there is no complaint against him the court refused the writ as it would have been vexatious

Directive Principles of State Policies (38 to 51)

They come under the Part IV of the Constitution of India.

They are basically instruction to the Government to carry out certain responsibilities.

They are not legally enforceable

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

1. To abide by the constitution and to respect ideals of constitution and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom.

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

3. To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

4. To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.

TEN FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

5. To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES 7. To protect and

improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

8. To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

9. To safeguard public property and to abjure violence

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of Endeavour and achievement.

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

11. Who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for neduaction to his child or as the case maybe ward between the age of 6 to 14 yrs.

Brought in 86th Amendment act 2002

Structure of Union Government

President He is the constitutional Head of the State and the

Supreme Commander of the armed forces. He is elected by an electoral college consisting of the

elected members of the State Legislatures and both Houses of the Parliament.

Tenure for the appointment is five years. He can’t be removed from the position except for non-

constitutional conduct by impeachment under Article 61. He is responsible for the appointment of the Prime Minister,

Chief Justice, Governors and other senior officials.

Vice- President He is elected by the electoral college consisting of the

members of both Houses of the Parliament. Tenure is of the period of five years. He is also the Ex-Officio Member of the Rajya

Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament). He is to act as the President in case of death,

resignation, or when he is unable to discharge his duties due to any reason.

There is as such no job responsibilities specified for the post of Vice – President in the Constitution of India

Important Facts about the President and Vice President of India

President Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the First President of India

and also the longest serving President of India (for 12 yrs.)

Only President of India who also has been a Chief Minister and Governor of an Indian State is Dr. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

At present Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is the President of India

Vice President Dr. S. Radha Krishnan was the first Vice President of

India and also the longest serving one (10 yrs.). He was also a renowned philospher.

At present Mr. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is the Vice President of India.

Prime Minister Appointed by the President, he is the Head of

the Council of Ministers and is the leader of the Party in majority in the Lok Sabha.

He is appointed for a period of five years

The Parliament

It consists of two houses:

1. The Upper House or The Rajya Sabha

2. The Lower House or the Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha

Also known as Lower House Consists of members directly elected by the people

from the constituencies in various states and Union Territories.

It consists of 552 members, out of which two seats are reserved for Anglo-Indian community which are to be nominated by the President.

The presiding officer is the Speaker who is elected by the members of the Lok Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha

Also known as the Upper House. The chairperson is Vice-President of India who is

ex-officio. Rajya Sabha is permanent and cannot be dissolved

in any condition. There are total 250 members in the Rajya Sabha

out of which 238 members come through elections from the States and Union Territories and 12 members are nominated by the President of India.

One third of the members of the Rajya Sabha retire every two years.

Both, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are the grounds for debating, passing the bills, constitutional amendments and other issues pertaining to the welfare of the nation.

Bills

Bills can be said as the proposals that are debated over in the Parliament.

All the ordinary bills can be introduced in either of the two Houses of the Parliament.

They are, if needed, amended and passed by both the Houses, before becoming an Act of Law.

A special category of Bills called Money Bills can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha.

The Supreme Court of India

This is the apex judicial body in the country and is situated in Delhi.

It consists of 25 judges and a Chief Justice, who is appointed by the President of India.

The judges of the Supreme Court retires at the age of 65 and cannot be employed in any of the Government establishment, State or Union, after retirement.

The Supreme Court

The main functions of the Supreme Court of India includes solving disputes between the States and the Union Governments, hearing of appeals of various High Courts and any matter pertaining to the law in its opinion.

The first Chief Justice of India was H. J. Kania.

At present, Justice V. N. Khare is the Chief Justice of India.

Other Important Officials

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)

He is appointed by the President of India. He is responsible for keeping a vigil over the finances

of the State and Union Governments and make sure that the money allocated by the voting of the legislature is spent in a fair and judicious manner.

At present, Mr. V. N. Kaul is the CAG of India

The Attorney General of India

He is appointed by the President of India He can take part in the proceedings of the

Parliament and its committees but do not have voting rights.

He is primarily responsible for giving expert legal advice to the Government of India and other legal tasks assigned to him.

At present Mr. Soli J. Sorabji is the Attorney General of India

Governor He is the executive head of the State and is

appointed by the President. The tenure for the appointment is 5 yrs. Major Functions are:

He’s responsible for the appointment of Council of Ministers .

He is responsible for causing the normal or supplementary budgets to be presented each year.

He can also sanction funds out of contingency fund to the government to meet unexpected expenses of the state.

He is responsible for giving the assent to the bills passed by the state legislation, without which they cannot become an Act of Law

Chief Minister

He’s the real executive of the State administration, and is the leader of the party which is in majority in the State Legislative Assembly, and is appointed by the Governor.

He recommends the name of persons for the council of ministers.

He formulates the administrative and executive policies of the state and presides over the meetings of the cabinet.