Parts of the Indian Constitution
PART I - UNION AND ITS TERRITORY (Article 1 - 4)
Part I of the Constitution defines India as a 'Union of States' and its territories. It empowers Parliament to establish new states, or modify existing ones. It comprises of four articles. When the constitution came into force on january 26, 1950 India become a Union of States with extensive autonomy and Union Territories administered by the Centre. Under the constitution there were four kinds of states - Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D States.
Part A states - the former Governor's provinces of British India.
Part B states - former princely states
Part C states - former Chief Commissioner's provinces and a few princely states.
Part D states - It contained the state led by lieutenant governor.
At present there are 28 states and 8 union territories.
PART II - CITIZENSHIP (Article 5 - 11)
Part II of the Constitution deals with India's citizenship provisions, defining which persons are citizens at the commencement of the Constitution, and establishing special provisions for persons affected by Partition. It comprises of seven articles. The legislation related to this matter is the Citizenship Act 1955, which has been amended by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1986, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1992, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2005 and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019. Citizenship can be acquired by Birth, Descent, Registration, Naturalisation and Incorporation of Territory. Citizenship can be lost by Renunciation, Termination and Deprivation.
Part III - FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (Article 12 - 35)
Part III of the Constitution contains the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to Indian citizens, and in some cases all persons. Fundamental Rights is a charter of rights contained in the constitution of India. It guarantees civil liberties such that all Indians can lead their life in peace and harmony as citizens of India. The fundamental rights are defined as basic human freedoms which every indian citizen has the right to enjoy for a proper and harmonious development of personality. These rights universally apply to all citizens, irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste, creed, colour or gender. They are enforceable by the courts subject to certain restrictions. The rights have their origins from many sources, including England's Bill of Rights, the United States Bill of Rights and France's Declaration of the Rights of Man. Fundamental Rights are classified into six categories, also including the remedies in case they are violated. The six fundamental rights are Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to constitutional Remedies. Originally there were seven fundamental rights in the Constitution, but the Right to Property was made a legal right under Article 300A by 44th Amendment 1978. At present there are six fundamental rights in the constitution.
Part IV - DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY (Article 36 - 51)
Part IV of the Constitution contains the Directive Principles of State Policy. It act as fundamental principles to guide the functioning of the State in its goal of establishing an economic and social democracy. The Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines to the central and state governments, to be kept in mind while framing laws and policies. Directive Principles of our constitution contain social, gandhian and liberal ideas. Directive Principles are not enforceable by any court. The Directive Principles are non - justiciable rights of the people. It cannot be suspended in any circumstances. Directive Principles aim to create social and economic conditions under which the citizens can lead a good life. They also aim to establish social and economic democracy through a welfare state. They act as a check on the government. Changes in Directive Principles require a constitutional amendment which has to be passed by a special majority of both houses of the Parliament.
Part IVA - FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES (Article 51A)
Part IVA was not originally a part of the Constitution of India 1950. It was added by the 42nd amendment Act in 1976. It contains a list of non-enforceable obligations and duties for the citizens of India. The fundamental duties of the citizens of India are mentioned in Article 51A of the indian constitution. Article 51A of the constitution provides 10 fundamental duties. The eleventh fundamental duty of the country was added in the year 2002 by the 86th Constitutional amendment that made education of children a duty of parent.
Part V - THE UNION (Article 52 - 151)
Part V of the Constitution discusses the provisions for the functioning of the Union Government. It defines a parliamentary system of government at the Union level, effective separation of powers and an independent judiciary. Part V of the constitution deals with the Union - the Union Executive, the Union Legislative, the Union Judiciary and the Comptroller and the Auditor General of India.
Union Executive - The President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers and Attorney General of India are some of the prominent heads in the Executive Branch. The executive power of the union is vested in the president and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the constitution. The Vice President of India is the second highest ranking government official after President. He is the chairman of Rajya Sabha. He presides over the meetings of Rajya Sabha and maintains decorum and decency in Rajya Sabha. The Prime Minister is the chief advisor to the president of india, head of the council of ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament. The Prime Minister leads the executive branch of the government of India. He is the chief spokesman of Union Government. There shall be a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions. Ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People. Article 76 provides for the officer of the Attorney General of India. He give advice to the Government on legal matter when referred to him by the President.
Union Legislative - There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the president and two houses the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). Government of India is bicameral - Rajya Sabha is the upper house and Lok Sabha is the lower house. Those elected or nominated to either house of parliament are referred to as members of Parliament or MPs. The MPs of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the Indian public. The MPs of Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of State Legislative Assemblies, in accordance with proportional representation. Speaker is the presiding officer of Lok Sabha and Chairman is the presiding officer of Rajya Sabha. The most important function of the Parliament is to legislate i.e, make legislations for the development which benefits the society. Here parliament will enact laws for the administration of the Union. The proposals for laws are called Bills. The legislative procedure is needed for passing the Bills. The second most important function is to exercise control over the Executive. Article 112 provides for the presenting of Budget in Parliament. Parliamentary Devices, Parliamentary Motions, Standing Committees, Adhoc Committees etc are much important for the smooth running of the houses of Parliament.
Union Judiciary - The Union Judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court is the apex court of the Indian judicial system. The Supreme Court is an essential element of the federal system followed by India. It is the highest court with criminal and civil powers. The main powers of the Supreme Court are classified into four: original, appellate, advisory and review. Supreme court is Court of record, Federal Court, Court of appeal and Guardian of the constitution. Supreme court hears the appeals from the High Courts and acts as a court of review over subordinate tribunals.
Comptroller and the Auditor General of India - The Comptroller and the Auditor General of India is an authority who audits all receipts and expenditure of Government of India and the state governments. The CAG is mentioned in the Constitution of India under Article 148 - 151. The CAG is the external auditor of government owned companies. He ascertains and certifies the net proceeds of any tax or duty. He complies and maintains the accounts of state governments.
Part VI of the Constitution deals with provisions for the functioning of the State governments. It defines a parliamentary system of government at the state level, a federal system of government, and the judicial system at the state level. Part VI of the constitution deals with the States - the State Executive, the State Legislative and the State Judiciary.
State Executive - State Executive consists of governor, chief minister, council of ministers and the advocate General of India. Governor is the constitutional head of the state. Governor is appointed by the President and not elected. Governor is the chief executive head of the state. He is a nominal or titular head. He acts as the agent of central government. Same person can be appointed as the governor for two or more states. The emoluments and allowances payable to him are shared by the states in such a proportion as determined by the President. The chief minister is the real executive and is the head of the government of a state. The position of the chief minister at the state level is analogous to the position of the prime minister at the centre. He can any time recommend the governor for the dissolution of the state legislative assembly. He announces the government policies on the floor of the House. There shall be a council of ministers with the chief minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions. The state council of ministers formulates the policies for state administration. Article 165 provides for the officer of the Advocate General of India. He is the first law officer of a State. His office and functions are comparable to that of the Attorney General of India. He is appointed by the Governor and holds the office during his pleasure. He has the right to attend and speak in the proceedings of either houses of the state legislature without any right to vote.
State Legislative - State Legislatures may be bicameral or unicameral. A state is said to be unicameral if it has only one house of parliament. In a state with a bicameral legislature, there are two houses, the lower house is called the Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha and the upper house is called the Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad. The Legislature of every State consists of the Governor and one or two houses.
Legislative Council - As per the constitution, the number of members of the Legislative Council is not to exceed one-third of the total strength of the State Assembly. However, its strength should not to be less than 40 either. The members of the Legislative Council are derived from various sections and stream of the society. Just like the Rajya Sabha at the Centre, the Legislative Council of a state is never dissolved. The members are elected for a term of 6 years and 1/3rd of its members retire every two years. The Parliament, under Article 169, is empowered to create or abolish the Legislative Council in a State. Similar to the Rajya Sabha, the Legislative Council has a chairman and a deputy chairman, who are elected from among the members of the house.
Legislative Assembly - The Legislative Assembly is the popular House of the State Legislature where members are directly elected by the people for a term of five years, unless the house is dissolved by the governor earlier. The strength of this popular house should not be less than 60 or more than 500. However, the president has the power to alter this number. The Governor may nominate one member from the Anglo-Indian community to this House, if he thinks that the community is not adequately represented. Similar to the Lok Sabha, the Legislative Assembly has a speaker and deputy speaker, who are elected from among the members of the house.
State Judiciary - The State Judiciary consists of a High Court for each state followed by the District Courts and Subordinate Courts. The lower courts operate under the direct supervision of the higher courts. The High Courts are the principal civil courts of original jurisdiction in the state along with district courts which are subordinate to the High Courts. Article 214 provides that there shall be a High Court for every State. However, Parliament has the power to establish a common High Court for two or more States and a Union Territory by law. In every state besides the High Court there are number of judicial courts to administer justice. These courts function under the complete control and supervision of the High Court. There are two types of subordinate courts in every district - civil and criminal courts.
PART VII - THE STATES IN PART B OF THE FIRST SCHEDULE (Article 238)
It has only one article, that is, Article 238. It was repealed by the Constitution (7th Amendment) Act, 1956 (with effect from 1-11-1956). Part B states were former princely states or groups of princely states. These states were governed by a Rajpramukh. Rajpramukh is the ruler of a constituent state and an elected legislature. He was appointed by the President of India.
PART VIII - THE UNION TERRITORIES (Article 239 - 242)
Part VIII of the Constitution is concerned with the administration of the Union Territories, including the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Union Territories are small regions of strategic or historical significance which are governed directly by the Union government. The Union Territory is the administrative division of India. It is ruled directly by the Central Government. The president of india appoints an administrator or lieutenant governor for each Union Territory. When the Legislative Assembly of a Union Territory is not in session a circumstance arise for which an immediate action is to be taken, the administrator may promulgate ordinances, provided that such ordinances is issued after obtaining instructions from the President. Parliament is empowered to constitute a High Court for any Union Territory or to declare an existing court there to be a High Court.
PART IX - PANCHAYATS (Article 243, 243A - 243O)
Part IX of the Constitution was inserted by the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992. It contains provisions for local self government at the rural level. The original Part IX was omitted by the Constitution (7th Amendment) Act, 1956. Panchayat means an institution of self government constituted under Article 243 B for the rural areas. Panchayati Raj System is a three tier system in the state with elected bodies at the Village, Taluk and District levels. It ensures greater participation of people and more effective implementation of rural development programmes. It was constitutionalized through the 73rd constitutional amendment act of 1992. The 73rd Amendment gives village, block and district level bodies a constitutional status under Indian law. At the village level, the most important provisions relating to participation and accountability are those governing reservations and the Grama Sabha. Grama Sabha monitors and evaluates the activities of Grama Panchayat. Grama Panchayat is a small body whose members are elected by the members of Grama Sabha. In some states in certain grama sabhas, the Nyaya panchayats have been organised. At the block level, there exists the panchayat samiti to co-ordinate the activities of all the village panchayats in each block. Zila Parishad is the apex body under the Panchayati Raj. It co-ordinates the activities of the various panchayat samitis. The Indian constitution made special mention of Panchayati Raj Institutions under the Directive Principles of State Policy (Article 40).
PART IXA - MUNCIPALITIES (Article 243P - 243ZG)
Part IXA of the Constitution was inserted by the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992. It contains provisions for local self government at the urban level. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, related to Muncipalities came into effect on June 1, 1993. The Nagarpalika Act, i.e., the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 has been enacted to accord constitutional recognition to the Urban Local Bodies as third tier of Government. Municipalities are local self governments that govern small, sparsely populated cities. Members of the municipality are directly elected by the people of the municipal area. For the purpose of making the electorate, municipal area is divided into territorial constituencies known as Wards. All the members of a Municipality are to be directly elected by the people of the Municipal area. The head of the municipalities will always be the chairman/chairperson. The state legislature may prescribe the method of electing the chairperson of the municipalities. The government representatives of the municipalities are known as 'Municipal Secretaries'. The term of the municipalities is five years. Members elected from the ward are known as councillors. A ward committee consisting of one or more wards within the territory of a municipality having a population of three lakhs or more shall be constituted. Matters related to formation will be decided by the state legislature.
Corporations are local self-governing bodies that govern large urban areas with high population. The head of the corporations is always the mayor. The government representative of the corporations is known as the 'Corporation Secretary'. The Municipal Corporation is the top most urban local government. It is set up under a special statue passed by the state legislature, except in Delhi. The corporation comprises of members called Councillors. These Councillors are elected on adult franchise. The size of the council varies from state to state, as it is primarily related to the population of the city. The Mayor is elected annually from among the members of the corporation. He is the first citizen of the city. He presides over the meetings of the corporation and guides its deliberations. He regulates the conduct of business at such meetings. He is the proper channel of communication between the commisioner and the state government. Municipal Commissioner is appointed by the State Government. He is placed at the apex of the Municipal administrative hierarchy. He is entrusted with the entire administrative machinery under his direct control, giving the necessary guidance and direction.
PART IX B - THE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES (Article 243ZH - 243ZT)
It added a new Part IX B to the Constitution titled "The Co-operative Societies" (Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT). Part IXB of the Constitution grants constitutional status to co-operative societies and contains provisions for their democratic functioning. It was inserted by the Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011. Co-operative Societies are voluntary, democratic, and autonomous organisations controlled by their members who actively participate in their policies and decision-making. These operate in various sectors such as marketing, agriculture, textile, poultry etc. Article 243-ZI defines the incorporation of co-operative societies, Article 243-ZJ defines the number of board members and officers and their tenure, Article 243-ZK defines the election of board members, Article 243-ZO defines the members' right to access information and Article 243-ZQ defines the offenses and penalties.
PART X - THE SCHEDULED AND TRIBAL AREAS (Article 244 - 244A)
Part X of the Constitution contains the special provisions for the administration of Scheduled and Tribal Areas, such as the setting up of Tribes Advisory Councils and Autonomous District Councils.
PART XI - RELATION BETWEEN UNION AND STATES (Article 245 - 263)
Part XI of the Constitution defines the relations between the Union and the States in the legislative, administrative and financial spheres, including the extent of their legislative and executive powers, and provisions for co-operation. The constitution of india provides a dual polity with a clear division of powers between the union and the states each being supreme within the sphere allotted to it. Like the union government the state government draw their authority directly from the constitution and are free to operate in the field allocated to them by the constitution. Part XI of the constitution is divided between legislative and administrative powers. The union state relations in the legislative sphere have been dealt by Articles 245 to 258. Under the constitution the division of powers between the union and state is divided into three - Union list, State list and Concurrent list. The Administrative relations between the centre and the states have been stated from Article 256 to Article 263 of Constitution.
PART XII - FINANCE, PROPERTY, CONTRACTS AND SUITS (Article 264 - 300A)
Part XII of the Constitution contains financial provisions including those related to taxation, definition of various Funds, the right to hold property, and borrowing by Union and State governments. The provisions of finance, property, contracts and suits have been stated from Article 264 to Article 300A of Constitution. Article 279A defines the GST Council, Article 280 defines the Finance Commission, Article 281 defines the recommendations of Finance Commission, Article 292 defines the borrow of Debt by Central Government and Article 293 defines the borrow of Debt by State Government. The finance commission of india came into existence in 1951. It was established under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution by the president of India. The commission shall make recommendations regarding the sharing of union taxes, principles governing grants-in-aid to states and transfer of resources to local bodies. The recommendation made by the finance commission are only of advisory nature. It is upto the union government to implement its recommendations. Article 279A of Part XII of the Constitution defines about GST. The 101st Constitutional Amendment Act of 2016 paved the way for the introduction of a new tax regime in the country, the Goods and Services Tax. The smooth and efficient implementation of this tax requires cooperation and coordination between the Centre and the states. The GST Council is the body formed to ensure this mutual cooperation.
PART XIII - TRADE, COMMERCE AND INTERCOURSE WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF INDIA (Article 301 - 307)
Part XIII of the Constitution contains provisions related to freedom of trade, commerce, and intercourse within India. Articles 301 to Article 305 states about freedom and restrictions of commerce, and intercourse within India. Article 306 states about the power of parliament and states to impose restrictions on the same. Article 307 states about the appointment of authority for carrying out the purposes of articles 301 to 304.
PART XIV - SERVICES UNDER THE UNION AND THE STATES (Article 308 - 323)
Part XIV of the Indian Constitution contains provisions for regulating the employment of persons to the public services under the Union and the States. Articles 308 defines about Services under the Union and States. Article 309 to Article 311 states about the recruitment and conditions, tenure of office, dismissal, removal or reduction of rank of persons of serving the Union or State and the Article 312 states about All India Services. Article 315 to Article 323 states about the Public Service Commission. Public Service Commission for the union and for each state is granted by the constitution of India. Articles 315 - 323 of the constitution titled as Services under the Union and the States. The chairman and other members of union public service commission are appointed by the president and in the case of a state commission by the Governor of the State. It is the duty of the UPSC and the state PSC to conduct examination for appointment to the services of the Union and the State respectively. The UPSC and State PSC submit annual report to the President and the Governor respectively.
PART XIVA - TRIBUNALS (Article 323A - 323B)
Part XIVA of the Indian Constitution provides for the appointment of tribunals for administrative and other disputes. Part XIV A contains Article 323A and Article 323B. Articles 323 A and 323 B were inserted into the Constitution by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976. Article 323 A deals with Administrative Tribunals and Article 323 B deals with Tribunals for other purposes. Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies empowered with judicial powers to deal with various disputes. Administrative Tribunals are established to resolve disputes relating to the appointment and conditions of service of persons appointed to the public services of the Centre, States, local bodies, public corporations and other public authorities. Article 323 B empowers the Parliament and the State Legislatures to establish Tribunals to resolve disputes relating mainly to the following matters: Rights relating to taxation, foreign exchange, import, export, industrial labour sector, land reforms, urban land acquisition, elections to Parliament and Legislative Assembly, food resources, and rent/lease.
PART XV - ELECTIONS (Article 324 - 329A)
Part XV of the Constitution lays out certain provision related to the conduct of elections, including the appointment of an independent Election Commission. Part XIV A contains Article 324 to Article 329A. The Election Commission of India is setup by Article 324 of the Constitution of India. Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutionally established federal authority responsible for administering all the electoral process in the Republic of India. The Election Commission was established on 25th January 1950. The Election Commission has the power of superintendence, direction and control of all elections to the office of the President and Vice President. Parliament by law make provisions with respect to all matters relating to elections to Parliament and State Legislatures including the preparation of electoral rolls, the determination of constituencies and all other necessary matters. The election to the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly of every state shall be held on the basis of adult suffrage. Elections to the parliament and the state legislatures can be reviewed only through the process of an election petition, which can be filed before the High Court. In respect to the elections for the offices of the presidents and the vice presidents such petition can only be filed before the Supreme Court.
PART XVI - SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN CLASSES (Article 330 - 342A)
Part XVI of the Constitution contains special provisions for certain classes, including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other Socially and Educationally Backward Classes. Article 330 to Article 334 defines the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes & Anglo-Indian Community in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies. National Commission for Scheduled Castes (Article 338), National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (Article 338A) and National Commission for Backward Classes (Article 338B) were stated in Part XVI. Article 342A states about the Socially and educationally backward classes.
Part XVII of the Constitution contains provisions for an official language for the Union, the states, the judiciary and to be used in inter-governmental communication. The official language of the union is Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for official purposes of the union is the International form of Indian Numerals (Article 343 (1) of the Constitution). In addition to Hindi language, English language may also be used for official purposes. Business in parliament may be transacted in English or in Hindi. However the Honourable Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the Honourable Speaker of the Lok Sabha may permit any member to address the House in his/her mother tongue under special circumstances (Article 12a of the Constitution). Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh have been granted the right to use Hindi in their High Court. Tamil Nadu uses Tamil in High Court.
PART XVIII - EMERGENCY PROVISIONS (Article 352 - 360)
Part XVIII of the Constitution contains provisions for emergency situations, including national, localised and financial emergencies. The Constitution of India provides for three types of Emergencies - National Emergency (Article 352), State Emergency (Article 356) and Financial Emergency (Article 360).
National Emergency - The Emergency is declared by the President. Such an emergency was declared in 1962 (Indo China War), 1971 (Indo Pakistan War), 1975 (Internal Disturbance). During the emergency the State can suspend the fundamental rights conferred in Part III of the Indian Constitution. Any proclamation by the president is valid only for one month unless it is approved by both houses of the parliament. An emergency provision, unless revoked, ceases to operate on the expiration of period of six months.
State Emergency - Article 356 (1) states that if the president on receipt of a report from Governor of a State, or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, he can proclaim this emergency. The proclamation should be approved within two months by both houses of the Parliament, then it remains in force for six months. Under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, Emergency can be imposed from six months to a maximum period of three years with repeated parliamentary approval every six months. If the emergency needed extension for more than three years, it can be achieved by constitutional amendment.
Financial Emergency - The President proclaims Financial Emergency under article 360 if he is satisfied that the financial stability or credit of india or any part thereof is threatened. This proclamation must be approved within two months by the Parliament. All money bills and financial bills passed by the state legislative can be reserved for President's consideration during the period of financial emergency. Financial Emergency has never been declared. A state of financial emergency remains in force indefinitely until revoked by the President. The proclamation of financial emergency empowers the president to issue direction for the reduction of salary and allowances of the employees of Central and State government.
PART XIX - MISCELLANEOUS (Article 361 - 367)
Part XIX of the Constitution contains miscellaneous provisions related to a number of different matters. As per Article 365, when any State has failed to comply with, or to give effect to, any directions given in the exercise of the executive power of the Union under any of the provisions of this Constitution, it is lawful for president to take action. For example, State Emergency.
PART XX - AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION (Article 368)
Part XX of the Constitution contains a single Article that deals with the amendment of the constitution. The Article 368 specifies the power of parliament to amend the constitution and the procedure of it. Now there are 106 amendments as of September 2023. Amendment can be made in three ways.
1. Amendment by simple majority of the parliament.
2. Amendment by special majority of the parliament.
3. Amendment by special majority of the parliament and ratification of half of the state legislature.
PART XXI - TEMPORARY, TRANSITIONAL AND SPECIAL PROVISIONS (Article 369 - 392)
Part XXI of the Constitution contains Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions related to various states. Articles 369 to Article 392 consists of articles on Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions. It is a compilation of laws pertaining to the indian constitution as a country and the union of states that it is made of.
Part XXII of the Constitution contains provisions incidental to the Constitution itself, such as the Short Title, Commencement of the Constitution and Repeal of older legislation. This part of the constitution also contains Articles on Authoritative text in Hindi.
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