Constitution of India

Constitution of India and Polity

The present constitution of India was framed by the Constitution Assembly of India setup under Cabinet Mission Plan of May 16, 1946.

Composition of Constituent Assembly:-

The Constituent Assembly consisted of 385 members, of which 292 were elected by he elected members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies while 93 members were nominated by the Princely States. To these were to be added a representative each from the four Chief Commissioners Provinces of Delhi, Ajmer-Marwar, Coorg and British Baluchistan.
Each Province and each Indian State or group of States were allotted the total number of seas proportional to their respective population roughly in the ration of one to a million.
B N Rao was appointed the Constitutional Advisor of the Assembly.
The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place of Dec 9, 1946 with Dr. Sachidanand Sinha as its interim President. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as its President n Dec 11, 1947.
The Assembly framing the Constitution.had 13 Committees.
The all-important Drafting Committee, which bore the responsibility of drafting the Constitutional document during the recess of the Constitutent Assembly, from July 1947 to September 1948, was formed on August 29, 1947. Its members were:

1. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

2. N. Gopalaswami Ayyar

3. K.M. Munshi

4. Syyed Mohd. Saadulla

5. N.Madhav Rao

6. D.P.Khaitan (T Krishnamachari, after Kahitan’s Death in 1948)

It was finally passed and accepted on Nov 26, 1949. The session of the Assembly was held on Jan 24, 1950, which unanimously elected Dr, Rajendra Prasad as the President of India. In all the 284 members of the Assembly signed the official copies of the Indian Constitution which came into effect on Jan 26, 1950, known and celebrated as the Republic Day of India.

PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION.

The Indian Constitution starts with the preamble which outlines the main objectives of the Constitution. It reads:

" WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC and to secure all its citizens."

JUSTICE, social economic and political.

LIBERTY, of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.

EQUALITY, of status and of opportunity, and to promote among them all.

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of the nation.

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY, this twenty sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, "ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES HIS CONSTITUTION ".

Idea of preamble borrowed from Constitution of US.

The words ‘SOCIALIST’, ‘SECULAR’ and ‘UNITY’ & ‘INTEGRITY’ were added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976.

Preamble is not justifiable.

BORROWED FEATURES OF CONSTITUTION.

Following are the borrowed features of constitution from different countries.

From U.K.	Nominal Head – President (like Queen) Cabinet System of Ministers Post of PM Parliamentary Type of Govt. Bicameral Parliament Lower House more powerful Council of Ministers responsible to Lowe House Speaker in Lok Sabha
From U.S.	Written Constitution Executive head of state known as President and his being the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Vice- President as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha Fundamental Rights Supreme Court Provision of States Independence of Judiciary and judicial review Preamble Removal of Supreme court and High court Judges
From USSR	Fundamental Duties Five year Plan
From AUSTRALIA	Concurrent list Language of the preamble Provision regarding trade, commerce and intercourse
From JAPAN	Law on which the Supreme Court function
From WEIMAR CONSTITUION OF GERMANY	Suspension of Fundamental Rights during the emergency
From CANADA	Scheme of federation with a strong centre Distribution of powers between centre and the states and placing. Residuary Powers with the centre
From IRELAND	Concept of Directive Principles of States Policy(Ireland borrowed it from SPAIN) Method of election of President Nomination of members in the Rajya Sabha by the President

SCHEDULES IN CONSTITUTION

Followings are the schedules in Constitution of India

First Schedule

List of States & Union Territories

Second Schedule

Salary of President, Governors, Chief Judges, Judges of High Court and Supreme court, Comptroller and Auditor General

Third Schedule

Forms of Oaths and affirmations

Fourth Schedule

Allocate seats for each state of India in Rajya Sabha

Fifth Schedule

Administration and control of scheduled areas and tribes

Sixth Schedule

Provisions for administration of Tribal Area in Asom, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram & Arunachal Pradesh

Seventh Schedule

Gives allocation of powers and functions between Union & States. It contains 3 lists

1. Union List (For central Govt) 97 Subjects.

2. States List (Powers of State Govt) 66 subjects

3. Concurrent List (Both Union & States) 47 subjects.

Eighth Schedule

List of 22 languages of India recognized by Constitution

1. Assamese	2. Bengali	3. Gujarati
4. Hindi	5. Kannada	6. Kashmiri
7. Manipuri	8. Malayalam	9. Konkani
10. Marathi	11. Nepali	12. Oriya
13. Punjabi	14. Sanskrit	15. Sindhi
16. Tamil	17. Telegu	18. Urdu
19. Santhali	20. Bodo	21. Maithili
22. Dogri

Sindhi was added in 1967 by 21 Amendment
Konkani, Manipuri ad Nepali were added in 1992 by 71 amendment Santhali, Maithili, Bodo and Dogri were added in 2003 by 92 amendment

Ninth Schedule

Added by Ist amendment in 1951. Contains acts & orders related to land tenure, land tax, railways, industries.{Right of property not a fundamental right now}

Tenth Schedule

Added by 52nd amendment in 1985. Contains provisions of disqualification of grounds of defection

Eleventh Schedule

By 73rd amendment in 1992. Contains provisions of Panchayati Raj.

Twelfth Schedule

By 74thamendment in 1992. Contains provisions of Municipal Corporation.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN INDIA

The Fundamental Rights in Indian constitution acts as a guarantee that all Indian citizens can and will live their lifes in peace as long as they live in Indian democracy. They include individual rigts common to most liberal democracies, such as equality before the law, freddom of speech and expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of religion, and the right to constitutional remedies for the protection of civil right.

Originally, the right to property was also included in the Fundamental Rights, however, the Forty-Fourth Amendment, passed in 1978, revised the status of property rights by stating that "No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law."

Following are the Fudamental Rights in India

Right to Equality	Article 14 :- Equality before law and equal protection of law Article 15 :- Prohibition of discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 16 :- Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment Article 17 :- End of untouchability Article 18 :- Abolition of titles, Military and academic distinctions are, however, exempted
Right to Freedom	Article 19 :- It guarantees the citizens of India the following six fundamentals freedoms:- 1. Freedom of Speech and Expression 2. Freedom of Assembly 3. Freedom of form Associations 4. Freedom of Movement 5. Freedom of Residence and Settlement 6. Freedom of Profession, Occupation, Trade and Bussiness Article 20 :- Protection in respect of conviction for offences Article 21 :- Protection of life and personal liberty Article 22 :- Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases
Right Against Exploitation	Article 23 :- Traffic in human beings prohibited Article 24 :- No child below the age of 14 can be employed
Right to freedom of Religion	Article 25 :- Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion Article 26 :- Freedom to manage religious affairs Article 27 :- Prohibits taxes on religious grounds Article 28 :- Freedom as to attendance at religious ceremonies in certain educational institutions
Cultural and Educational Rights	Article 29 :- Protection of interests of minorities Article 30 :- Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions Article 31 :- Omitted by the 44th Amendment Act
Right to Constitutional Remedies	Article 32 :- The right to move the Supreme Court in case of their violation (called Soul and heart of the Constitution by BR Ambedkar) Forms of Writ check Habeas Corpus :- Equality before law and equal protection of law

President of India

President of India is the head of the Union Executive. A Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister aids and advises the President in the excersie of his function.

President of India is also Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces.

Qualification	Must be a citizen of India Completed 35 years of age Eligible to be a member of Lok Sabha Must not hold any government post. Exceptions are: 1. President and Vice-President 2. Governor of any state 3. Minister of Union State
Election	Indirectly elected through ‘Electoral College’ consisting of Elected members of both the Houses of Parliament & Elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States. (No nominated members) Security deposit of Rs 15,000/- Supreme court inquires all disputes regarding President’s Election. Takes OATH in presence of Chief Justice of India, or in his absence, senior-most Judge of Supreme Court
Terms and Emoluments	5 year term Article 57 says that there is no upper limit on the number of times a person can become President Can give resignation to Vice-President before full-term Present Salary- Rs. 1,00,000/month (including allowances & emoluments)
Impeachment	Quasi-judicial procedure Can be impeached only on the ground of violation of constitution The impeachment procedure can be initiated in either House of the Parliament
Vacancy	In case of office falls vacant due to death, resignation or removal, the Vice-President act as President. It he is not available then Chief Justice, it not then senior-most Judge of the Supreme court shall act as the President of India The election is to be held within 6 months of the vacancy
Powers	Appoints PM, Ministers, Chief Justice & judge of Supreme Court & High Court, Chairman & members of UPSC, Comptroller and Auditor General, Attorney General, Chief Election Commissioner and other members of Election Commission of India, Governors, Members of Finance Commission, Ambassadors, etc Can summon & prorogue the sessions of the 2 houses & can dissolve Lok Sabha Appoints Finance Commission (after every 5 years) that recommends distribution of taxes between Union & State governments The President can promulgate 3 types of Emergencies:- 1. National Emergency (Article 352) 2. State Emergency (President’s Rule) (Article 356) 3. Financial Emergency (Article 360) He is the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces of India President appoints Chief of Army, Navy and Air force Declares wars & concludes peace subject to the approval of the Parliament No money bill or demand for grant can be introduced or moved in Parliament unless it has been recommended by the President He has the power to grant pardon, reprieve or remit of punishment or commute death sentences

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the only person to be elected to the office of President of India unopposed, as no other candidate filed nomination for the post of the President. He was elected to the office of President in July 1977.
Value of Vote of an MLA = State Population / (1000 X Total no. of elected MLA's) On the basis of the above formula, the value of the vote of an MLA from UP has the highest value and that from Sikkim the lowest. Value of Vote of an MP = Total value of votes of MLA's of all States / Total no. of elected MP's (LS + RS). The 1971 census is currently under consideration. The election is held through the system of proportional representation by means of the single - transferable vote by secret ballot. The candidate who gets 50 percent of votes is considered elected.
Supreme Court looks into all disputes related to Presidential election.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, was the only President who served two tenures in the office.
VV Giri is the only person who was elected as the President of the country as an independent candidate in 1969.

VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA

Following is the information about Vice President of India

Election	Elected by both the houses (Electoral College) in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote and the vote being secret. Nominated members also participate in his election The Supreme court has the final and exclusive jurisdiction for resolving disputes and doubts relating to the election of the Vice President of India
Criteria	Citizen of India More that 35 years of Age Posses the qualification of membership of Rajya Sabha Not hold any office of profit under union, state of local authority. However, for this purpose, the President, Vice-President, Governor of a State and a Minister of the Union or a State, are not held to be holding an office of profit
Other Points	Holds office for 5 years. Can be re-elected Term can be cut short if he resigns or by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha and agreed to by the Lok Sabha He is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Since he is not a member of Rajya Sabha, he has no right to vote Being the Vice-President of India, he is not entitled for any salary, but he is entitled to the salary and allowances payable to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha All bills, resolution, motion can be taken in Rajya Sabha after his consent Can discharge the function of the President, the Vice-President shall not perform the duties of the office of the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and shall not be entitled to receive the salary of the Chairman. During this period, he is entitled for the salary and privileges of the President of India Present salary is Rs. 85,000/month

Prime Minister of India

Powers of Prime Minister of India:-

Real excutive authority
He is the ex-officio Chairman of the Planning Commission, National Development Council, National Integration Council and Inter state Council
The President convenes and prorogues all sessions of Parliament in Consultation with him
Can recommend the dissolution of Lok Sabha before expiry
Appoints the council of ministers
Allocates portfolios. Can ask a minister to resign & can get him dismissed by President
Can recommend to the President to declare emergency on grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion
Advises President about President’s Rule in the State or emergency due to financial instability
Leader of the House