UNIT 6 BASIC FEATURES

Structure
Objectives
Introduction
Government of India Act, 1935
Constituent Assembly
Essential Features
6.4.1
6.4.2
6.4.3
6.4.4
6.4.5
6.4.6

Sovereign, Democratic, Republic

Union of States
Fundamental Rights
Directive Principles of State Policy
Fundamental Duties
The Union: Executive, Legislature and Judiciary

Emergency Provisions
6.5.1
6.5.2
6.5.3

General Emergency
Declaration of Constitutional Emergency
Financial Emergency

Federalism
6.6.1

centre-state Relations

Relative Flexibility
Let Us Sum Up
K -?yWords
Some Useful Books
Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

6.0

OBJECTIVES

In this Unit we shall discuss the salient features of the Indian Constitution in the
backdrop of the relevant events that preceded the coming into force of the Constitution.
After going through this unit you should be able to:
List out the essential features of the Indian Constitution; and
Highlight the significance of the salient features.

6.1

INTRODUCTION

The Constitution of India is the will of the people of the country. It sets the broad
functional parameters of governance. The Constitution was prepared after lengthy
deliberations in the Constituent Assembly, which began on 6 December 1946 and
came into force on 26 January 1950.

6.2

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1935

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The precursor to the Indian Constitutio~lwas the Government of India Act of 1935,
usually referred to as the 1935 Act. The Indian Independence Act, 1947 held that until
a new Constitution came into force, the 1935 Act would be the Constitutional Law
of India. \
The 1935 ~ cwas
t the product of the Report of a Joint Select Committee that was
discussed in the British Parliament before finally receiving the assent of the Queen,
on 2 August 1935. Some of the features of the 1935 Act, with modifications though,
were later incorporated in the Constitution of India. These include a federal structure
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Basic Feature+

in tlie form of a Union government and State government(s) [Centre and State(s)]
and the division of powers between them [Union List, State List and Concurrent List]
bicameral Legislature-the Lower House and tlie Upper House [Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha at the Union level; and State Legislative Assembly and State Legislative
Council, at the State level], Federal Court [the Supreme Court].
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6.3 CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

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For the purpose of writing a constitution, a Constituent Assembly was convened.

Constitution making was no easy task. Tlie Constitiltion liad to live up to the aspirations
of the people who had been exposed to several centuries of injustice, social exploitation
and discrimination, as well as two centuries of colonial dominance. Moreover, if it
were to be applicable and acceptable to diverse religious, political and regional sections,
it had to embody their interests. Tlie motto with wliich the constitution-making exercise
was undertaken was 'consensus', rather than the 'majority principle'. In this,
representatives from diverse ideological backgrounds, and several of them with a legal
background, worked together. At the liead of tlie exercise was Dr. Rajendra Prasad,
a veteran of the freedom ~novementwho was later to hold the office of the President
of India for two successive terms, and the leading light was the first Prime Minister
of Independent India, Jawaharlal Neliru. Renowned members of the Assembly
ilicluded T T Krislinamachari, Dr. B R Ambedkar, Alladi Krishna Swami Iyer and
Gopalaswami Aiyangar, Sliyama Prasad Mukherji, J B Kriplani, Vallabhai Patel and
Pattabli i Sitaramayya.

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Tliere were to be 381 members in the Constituent Asse~nbly.They represented the

various political parties and belonged to tlie Congress Party, Communist Party of
India, Praja Party, Krisliak Praja Party, Scheduled Castes Federation, Non-Congress
Sikhs, Unionist Muslims and the Muslim League. Besides, independent Members and
representatives from the Governor's Provinces and the Princely States were also
represented in tlie Assembly. Tliere never was this full strength of the Assembly.
The provisions of the Constitution were extensively debated upon in the several
Co~nmitteesthat were formed for tlie purpose before being presented to the Assembly
for its consideration. On the basis of tlie deliberations in tlie Assembly, the Drafting
Committee, which was constituted on 29 August 1947, prepared the draft text of the
Constitution. Dr. B R Ambedkar was the chairman of the Drafting Committee. Tlie
final document, after making amendments to the draft Constitution, was signed on 26
November 1949, and two months later it came into force. We have examined the
constitution-making exercise in greater detail in Unit 5 of Block 2.
It is, indeed, creditable that the Members of the Constituent Assembly completed the
exercise of preparing a Co~istitutionwithin a period of three years and appended their
signatures to the document wliile it took many more years for other countries to have
their first Constitution. Also, it goes to tlie credit of the coilntry and is a testimony
to tlie broad vision of tlie Constitution makers that tlie Constitution of India was never
abrogated, and a new one introduced. Tlie Indian Constitution was never seriously
questioned since the time it came into force. Tlie changing requirements were attended
to through effecting amendments to the Constitution while its essential features were
retained; they occasionally came under strain, though.

6.4 ESSENTIAL FEATURES

The essential features of the Constitution of India are as follows: Tlie Constitution is
supreme; Tlie sovereignty of India cannot be surrendered or pledged; India is a
Republic and cannot be turned into a monarchy; Democracy is a way of life than
merely providing for adult francl~ise;Secularis~nand independent judiciary are two

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Philosophy o f Indian
Conrtltution

pedestals of this democracy. Amendments to the Constitution can be made without

altering its essentials. We shall discuss some of these features.

6.4.1 Sovereign, Democratic, Republic

The 'Preamble' to the Constitution declares that the people of the country are the
sovereigns. In other words, 'sovereignty' rests in the people and is exercised through
the institutions that have been created for that purpose. The sovereignty of the
country can not be pledged, i.e., India can not be turned into a colony or a dependency
of another country. The entire course of the Freedom Movement was on this
quintessential principle of sovereignty.

In the Preamble it is also stated that the country shall be a Republic and shall adhere
to a democratic form of government. In a Republic there is no scope for a Monarch
to reign over the people, but tlie people tliemselves rule the country through their
elected representatives.

6.4.2 Union of States

An important feature of the Constitution is that it has constituted India as a Union of
States (Art 1). There is also scope in the Constitution to create new States as well .
as to admit new ones. Notable examples of these are the formation of States, for the
first time after in 1956 by bifurcating some of the then existing States on a linguistic
basis-Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Tl~rougl~
the bifurcation
of the Bombay State Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed. More recently, in the
year 2000, three new States- Uttaranchal, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand- were created.
An example of the admissio~iof new States into the Indian Union is the admission
of Sikkim, in 1975, till then a protectorate of India, into the Union. The provision for
admitting new States should also be understood in the context that some of the
Princely States were yet not ready by the time the Constitution would come into force
to become part of India. 'The Nizam's State of Hyderabad is one such example. And,
besides, there were French and Portuguese colonies-Pondicherry and Goa that
remained to be integrated with India.
The Constitution, thus, provides for creating new States and admitting new territories.
Once they become part of India they do not have the right to secede.

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Try to write the answers in your own words.
I) What was the principle that formed the constitution making exercise in India.

.......................................................................................................................
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2) Which was the state admitted into the Indian Union in 1975?

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.......................................................................................................................

3) Republic is a form of government in which

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Basic Featurcr

6.4.3 Fundamental Rights

The Fundamental Rights provided for in the Constitution could be surnmarised as

Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right Against Exploitation, Right to Religion,
Cultural and Educational Rights and the Right to Constitutio~ialRemedies. The Right
to Property was made a legal riglit through the Forty Fourth Constitutional Amendment
Act, and is hence, not a Fundamental Right now. In the larger interests of the country,
the property belonging to any person can be acquired by paying a 'compensation'.

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The Fundamental Rights are enshrined in Part 111 of the Constitution, and their
implementation is guaranteed by the Supreme Court. In other words, Fundamental
Rights are justiceable. Indeed, some of the Fundamental Rights, it might be noted, are
applicable only to the citizens of the country and not to foreigners. Article 20, Article
21 and Article 22 are, however, applicable to all. At the same time, it should also be
borne in mind that what is applicable is the 'restriction' on the Right.
Except during an 'Emergency', Fundamental Rights cannot be suspended. However,
even during an Emergency Article 20 Article 21 cannot be withheld. The Constitution
was amended by the Forty Fourth Amendment Act and through Article 359-1 A it was
stated that Article 20 and Article 2 1 cannot be suspended even when a proclamatio~i
of Emergency is in operation.
Rigltt to Freedom

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The Constitution also ensures the Right to Freedom under Articles 19 to 22. Article
19 guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression, right to peaceful
assembly, right to form associations, right to visit and residC in any part of the country
and the right to profess and practice ones religion. These rights too, are subject to any
reasonable restrictions that can be imposed by the state under clauses 2 to 6 of
Article 19.
Article 20 guarantees that no person shall be punished on the basis of laws that are
enacted after a crime has been committed (protection from ex post facto laws),
protection from being punished more than once for the same offence (protection from
double jeopardy) and protection from standing trial against oneself (protection &om
self-incrimination). Article 2 1 ensures the protection of 'personal life and liberty'. In
other words, the state does not have the right to take away the life of a person, except
through the procedure established by law. Article 22 prohibits detention of person's
without trial. However, preventive detention of a person up to three months and, in
some cases, beyond that is permitted.
Right to Equality

Article 14, guarantees the Right to Equality before the Law and the Right to Equal
Protection of the Laws. In other words, this article ensuresthat all persons can be
tried in a court of law and every person can approach the courts for justice and that
no person shall be discriminated against in the application of laws, nor can any person
claim special privileges and favourit ism.
Article 15 guarantees protection from discrimination on the basis of 'religion, race,
caste, sex or pIace of birth', and provides for equal access and thus the Right against
Discrimination. It also, however, states clearly that the state can make special provisions
for the uplift of certain categories of people like socially and culturally backward
classes and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. An example in this context is
the reservation provided in educational institutions and in the public services to the
disadvantaged sections of the society. As one commentator observed, "the framers
of the Indian Constitution sought to shape an overarching Indian identity even as they
acknowledged the reality of pluralis~nby guaranteeing fundamental rights, in some
cases through specific provisions for the protection of minorities."
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Philosophy o f Indian
Constitution

Article 16 provides for the Right to Equality of Opportunity in employment. Continuing

with its desire to ensure equality o f all citizens, the Constitution also abolished
'~ntouchabilit~
whose
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practice is a crime under Art 17, while Article 18 abolished
Tittles.

6.4.4 Directive Principles of State Policy

The Directive Principles o f State Policy (DPSP) are an adaptation from the Irish
Constitution. These are broad guidelines which have to be borne in mind while
enacting laws and in implementing them. Unlike the Funda~nentalRights, the DPSP
are not justiciable. Simplistically understood the DPSP have a 'welfare' connotation.
The Constitution doe$ not provide for their guarantee and, therefore, their enforcement
can not be questioned in a court o f law.
Fundamental Rights and the DPSP "together, not individually" form the core o f the
Constitution; "the true conscience". The DPSP prescribes that tlie state shall ensures
(a) adequate means o f livelihood for all, (b) distribution o f wealth and control over it,
rather than concentration, in the common good, (c) equal pay for equal work for both
men and women (d) non-abuse o f the health o f all workers and (e) the protection of
the children o f the country from exploitation and tlieir growth in an atmosphere of
freedom and dignity.

6.4.5 Fundamental Duties

The Fundamental Duties enshrined in the Constitution are intended to obligate all the
citizens to strive for the colnmon benefit o f all. They are expected to accord respect
to the Constitution, the National Tri-colour and the Anthem. They are called upon to
strive for upholding the unity and integrity o f the country and work for a harmonious
society setting aside all divisive tendencies. The citizens o f the country have a duty
to protect its resources both natural and material and work towards higher levels of
achievement.

6.4.6 The Union: Executive, Legislature and Judiciary

There are, as all students o f Political Science know, three organs or branches 01
government, i.e., legislature, executive and judiciary. A harmonious functioning among
the three is vital for the furtherance o f a country.

Legislature
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At its Independenc India chose to adopt a parliamentary form o f government. I n

the President i s the Head o f the State while real executive
such a form o f gove
Head o f Government, the Prime Minister, in association
power i s exercised
all o f who are collectively responsible to Parliament.
with his Council

Executive
I n India, the legislature and the executive are drawn from one another, while the
judiciary is an independent body. The legislature comprises o f the House o f People
(Lok Sabha), Council o f States and the President o f India. A member o f the Union
Council o f Ministers has hecessarily to be a member o f either o f the lower house, the
Lok Sabha or the Upper house, the Rajya Sabha.

President
Both the houses of Parliament and tlie legislatures in the States elect the President
by means o f a 'single transferable vote'. The Office o f the President, its functions,
powers tenure, method o f election and re-election, impeachment, and the qualifications
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required to hold the office are enunciated in Articles 52 to 62. All activities of tlie
state are carried out in tlie lianie of the President as tlie executive power is vested
in tlie President (Art 52). As in the United States, in India, too, the President is tlie
Supreme Commander of tlie Armed Forces. Tlie President summolls both the houses
of Parlia~neritand addresses its joint sessions. He has the power to remit sentences
and grant reprieve. He appoints all the important functionaries of the state such as
the Prinie Minister and the Council of Ministers, Judges of tlie Supreme Court and
High Courts, the Attorney General, Governors of States, Chairpersons of Commissions
like the Election Commission of India and heads of orgal isations like tlie Comptroller
and Auditor General of India (C&AG).

Basic Features

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

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The Prime Minster is the Head of Gover~imentand presides over the meeting of the
Union Couricil of Ministers. It needs to be kept in mind tliat there is a difference
between tlie Cabinet and tlie Cou~icilof Ministers; tlie Cabinet is co~nposedof
Ministers of Cabinet rank and Ministers of State, while the Council also includes the
Deputy Ministers. Tlie Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Parliament.
Activities of tlie Ministries are brought under scruti~iyby the opposition during the
two-hour long Question Hour at tlie beginning of each day of tlie Session in Parliament.
The Council of Ministers makes recomniendations to tlie President, in what is called
'aids and advises', in tlie affairs of the country. Important among tlie recommendations
tliat we should be aware are those relating to dissolution of the Lok Sabha, declaring
war or declaring a 'state of Emergency'.

Tlie Indian Parliament is tlie supreme law-making body of tlie country. It is a bicameral
legislature as in the United Kingdom, the United States and several other countries.
Tlie upper house is known in Hindi as the Rajya Sablia and in English as the Council
of States. It cotnprises tlie Chairman, wlio is also the Vice-President of India, the
elected members and 12 nominated members, eacli holding a term of six years, with
one-third of its membership retiring every two years.
A significant aspect and point of difference between tlie Rajya Sablia and its equivalent,
the American Senate is tliat the membership of eacli State in it is proportional to its
population, whose legislative asse~nbly~elects
tlie members of the Rajya Sablia. Thus,
all States of the Indian Union do not send an equal number of representatives.
Tlie lower house of Parliament is tlie House of the People, better known as the Lok
Sabha. Its members are elected for single term of five years or less directly by all
eligible voters by rneans of 'universal adult suffrage' from territorially delimited
constituencies.
Tlie Rajya Sabha lias little power over money bills. These car1 riot be introduced in
tlie Rajya Sablia. It lias to return such bills to the Lok Sablia with its recommendations
within 14 days, and it is for the Lok Sabha to accept or reject any of its
recommendations. In case of a deadlock over a non-money bill between the Lok
Sabha and the Rajya Sablia, the President convenes a joint sitting of tlie two houses
to debate and vote on tlie bill.
A bill takes tlie form of an Act only after the President gives his assent to the same.
Tlie President is empowered to withhold assent to a bill passed by both houses of
Parliament or refer it to Parliarne~itwith liis suggestions. There have been very few
occasions when tlie President withheld liis assent, but of course, on the premise that
the bill ran in contradiction with 'public opinion'. One such instance was the Postal
to he infringing olr tile privacy of tlie people.
Bill tliat was t~loiikrl~:
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t'l~ilosophy of I n d i a n

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

<'onntitution

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.

ii) Try to write the answers in your own words.

I ) What rights do Article 20 and 21 deal with? Can these rights be restricted or
temporarily suspended?

2) What are the Fundamental Duties enshrined in the Indian constitution?

3) The Union Cabinet consists of

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a) 'The Prime Minister, Ministers of Cabinet rank and Ministers of State.

b) Cabinet rank Ministers and Ministers of State
c) Prime Minister and Cabinet rank Ministers

Jurlicinry
The third and very important organ of the government is the Judiciary. The highest
court of appeal is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has both appellate and
original jurisdiction, as do the High Courts in the respective States.
'The Supreme Court is the custodian of the Constitution. Laws enacted by the legislature
can be declared invalid by the Supreme Court, if it is of the opinion that they are not
in conformity with tlle provisions of the Constitution. This power is known as the
power of 'judicial review'. Besides, the Supreme Court and the High Courts can also
issue writs to the government and its agencies. A well-known example is the Writ of
Habeas Corpus. By pleading for the issuance of such a writ an applicant asks the
Supreme Court to direct the concerned police authorities to present before the court
a person who is missing and is believed to be under their custody.
The President of India appoints all Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts and
the Chief Justices. The Constitution also clearly lays down the procedure for impeaching
the Judges and Parliament alone can impeach a Judge of the Supreme Court. The
instance of initiating the inlpeachnlent of a Supreme Court Judge occurred just once,
when Justice K Ramaswamy was sought to be impeached, but the motion failed to
succeed.
The Supreme Court and Parliament have on occasion entered into a tug. This was
finally resolved with the Constit~~tion
Anlendment Act stating that the Supreme Court
has the power only to state whether an Act was in contravention of the provisions
of the Constitution or not.

6.5

EMERGENCY PROVISIONS

Emergency Provisions are enshrined in Part XVI I1 of the Constitution under Articles
352 to 360. There are three types of Enlergency that can be declared.

6.5.1 General Emerglency

An emergency can be proclaimed when the security of the country is under threat
01. is l~liderthe da11gc.r af' a t l ~ ~ efi-o~;)
; ~ t hostile countries during times of war or

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external aggression or armed rebellion. (Article 352). Emergency was declared under
this provision for the first time in tlie wake of the war with China on October 26,
1962. It continued upto January 10, 1968. Another proclamation of emergency took
place on December 3, 1971, in the wake of the India-Pakistan war. During its
continuation, a third Emergency was declared was on June 25, 1975. It was revoked
in 1977. Critics argue that the third emergency was intended niore to retain Mrs.
Indira Gandhi in power than there was the actual threat. It was the darkest period
for Indian democracy as there were arbitrary detentions for a prolonged period of
time and accusations of widespread infringement of Funda~nentalRights.

6.5.2 Declaration of Constitutional Emergency

,The most contentious and abused emergency provision is Art~cle356. Ifthe President
receives a report from the Governor of a State stating that the constit~ttionalmachinery
has broken down or that the administration of the State can no longer be carried out
in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Constitution of India, an emergency
can be declared in that State. The President may do so even if he is otherwise
satisfied of a constitutional breakdown in a state. The provision allows dismissing the
State government and bringing it under President's Rule or Central Rule. Under such
a condition, the Governor of the State assumes all functions and carries out the
administration in the State, on behalf of the President, i.e. the Centre, with the aid of
his advisors appointed by the President upon the,recommendation of the Union Council
of Ministers.
There were several instances when Article 356 was brought into force in various
States. The first instance of dismissing a State government by invoking Article 356
even while it continued to elljoy tlie confidence of the State Legislature occurred in
1959, in Kerala, when the Communist goverlirnellt of the day was dismissed. It
generated a major controversy and it was argued that it was a wrong decision as the
government commanded a majority on the State Assembly. On the other hand, the
supporters of the decision held that public dissatisfaction manifest in the form of
agitation against tlie government and its policies was reason enough to conclude that
there, indeed, was a break down of law and order, and, hence, it was correct to
in1pose President's Rule.
Other instances include the dismissal of State governments en masse twice, in 1977
after the Janata Party swept the general elections and subsequently in 1979 when the
Congress Party returned to power. Other contentious occasions on which invoking the
provision was resorted are in 1984 in Andllra Pradesh and later in Karnataka when
the S R Bommai government was dismissed, and the court later subsequently held
that the decision was incorrect.

6.5.3 Financial Emergency

Financial emergency ciln be declared under Article 360 in conditions in which the
financial stability or credit of the country or any part of the country is threatened.
However, as provided for in the Forty Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act of 1979,
such a proclamation needs to be approved by the both the Lok Sablia and the Rajya
Sabha within two months from the date of its proclamation, or, if the Lok Sablia is
at that time dissolved, within 30 days from the date it (the new house) is reconstituted.

6.6 FEDERALISM
At the time of Independence the diversity of the country was such that the Constitution
makers thought it fit to have a strong Union government (Centre) within a federal
framework. Provisions relating to Centre-State relations are enumerated in Part XI
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I'hilosophy or Indian
Constitution

o f the Constitution. The Indian Co~istitutiollprovides for gover~imentswith specified

powers in the various States, too. India's Constitution thus has both centralising and
de-centralising features.
For more than a decade and a Iialf after Independence, the Centre and the States had
almost no problems. Scholars attribute this to the existence o f Congress governments
in most o f the States in the country as well as at the Centre, the towering personality
o f the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and also the leadership in the States
as well as at the Centre that was less prone to schism, but guided more by idealism.
The balance in relations tilted more in favour o f the Centre when Indira Gandhi was
the Prime Minister o f the country. This was due not only to tlie Emergency that was
imposed in 1975, but also because o f weak leaders at tlie State-level whose survival
in political power was dependent on tlie clout that they could wield at the Central
level.
By tlie 1990s, at least a few o f the States came to exercise greater leverage vis-avis the Centre. A Central goverliment that lacked an absolute majority in Parliament
had to depe~idon tlie support o f its regional allies-the Dravida Munnetra Kazliagam
and the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazliagam in Tamil Nadu, the Telugu
Desam in Andhra Pradesh, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, National Conference in Jammu
and Kashmir, the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, and the more recent splinter groups
o f tlie erstwhile Janata Party that have,established themselves in the different States.

6.6.1 a Centre-State Relations

Proble~nsin Centre-State; relations came to the fore after lion-Congress governments
came to power in several States--Orissa, West Bengal, Kerala, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar in the late 1960s.
Firinncinl Relntiorls
Another conte~~tious
issue i s the sharing o f financial resources between the Centre
and the States and allccation o f Central grants to various States. While States have
since long been demanding the allocation o f larger portions, a new proposition suggested
is allocation on the 'basis o f performance'.
Governor's Rule
Yet another point of difference is the 'imposition o f Governor's Rule on a State arid
hislher role while in office, besides that o f histher abrupt removal. Governors are
generally appointed with the concurrence o f the Chief Minister o f the concerned
State, and tlie Sarkaria Commission, too, in 1988, recommended the same. The
recommendation, however, has not always been adhered to, as. The Sarkaria
Comtqission sought to herald co-operative federalism. However, most o f its
recommendations await implementation.

6.7 RELATIVE FLEXIBILITY

The Indian Constitution provides room for amendment. In this sense, the Constitution
is not rigid unlike that in some other countries. As has been noted by several scholars,
a Constitution is a living document and, hence, it has to reflect the changing times.
An amendment to the Preamble made the principle o f secularism an integral feature
o f the Constitution.
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When a Constitution_ls amended it is expected that it would bring a change for the
better. I n other words, it would 'give more' than 'take away any'. Article 368.
together with other articles, empowers Parliament to make amendments to the
Constitution. I n fact, tlie occasion for debate, on what tlie fundamental features o f the

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Constitution are, was created when certain amendments were made to the Constitution.
The amendment procedure laid down in the Constitution is both rigid and soft for
different articles. While some need only a simple majority, most need a majority of
two-thirds present and voting in both the Houses of Parliament and the assent of the
President. The toughest amendment procedure prescribed requires, besides the twothirds present and voting and requirement, also the consent of at least half the number
of Legislatures in States in the country. And further more, it also requires the assent
of the President.

Basic Festuh

Two of the most vehemently contested aspects were one, on the authority of Parliament
to effect amendment itself to any article of the Constitution and two, on who holds
supremacy of decision over an amendment.
While the Indian Parliament held that it was the supreme authority and had, therefore
the right to amend any article in the Constitution, its critics said it was the Constitution
that is supreme and not Parliament, whose creation Parliament was as much as any
other institution. It was, in the final analysis, resolved that Parliame~itis rightfully
authorised to amind the Constitution, but only so long as it did not amend the 'basic
features of the Constitution. Besides, the Supreme Court has the power to decide
whether an amendment to the Constitution, indeed, were against the basic features
of the Constitution or not.
Check Your Progress Exercise 3
Vote: i) Use the .space given below for your answers.

i) Try to write the answers in your own words.

) What is habeas corpus?

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2)

Examine the Parliaments powers to amend the Constitution of India.

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3)

Can the Indian Parliament amend the basic structure of the Constitution?

6.8 LET US SUM UP

The Indian Constitution is a~successfuldocument and it has sought to foster the best
democratic tradition. The tradition that it had established had the resilience to correct
occasional anomalies, which itself is proof df its success. The Constitution incorporates
federalism, guarantees the fundamental rights of the people of the country, a system
of checks and balances through the institutions of President, Council of Ministers,
Parliament and the Supreme Court.

6.9

KEY WORDS

Constitutional guarantee of Rights :

Council of Ministers

The protection that the Constitution

explicitly offers from being violated by
the state.
It co~np~ises
of the Prime Minister,,
Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and
Deputy Ministers.
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Philosophy of Indian
Constitution

Amendment

A definitive and formal process of

Constitution change

Bicameral

A Parliament that has two Houses (an

Upper House and a Lower House).

Enactment

Executive

The point at which a Law, as expressed

in an Act of Parliament, comes into
force.
Those from within the Government who
define and implement policy, and who
are answerable to Parliament for their
administration.

Ex post facto

From or by an after act, or thing done

afterward; i n consequence of a
subsequent act; retrospective.

6.10 SOME USEFUL BOOKS

Austin, ~ranvill,The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation, Oxford University
Press, 1996.
Bakshi, P. M., The Constitution of India (with special comments by the author)
University Law Publishing House, 1999.

6.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1) Decisions based on consensus.

2) Sikkim.
3) People themselves rule through their elected representatives.
Check Your Progress, Exercise 2

1) Article 20 guarantees fair trail and Article 21 protects an individuals life and
liberty. While restrictions can be placed on most Fundamental Rights under certain
circumstances, the 44th Amendment stated that Article 20 and Article 21 cannot
be restricted even during an Emergency.
2) Citizens are obligated to strive for the common benefit of all, uphold the; unity arid
integrity of the country, work for a harmonious society and protect the country's
resources.

Check Your Progress Exercise 3

1) It's a writ issued by the court to the state authorities to 'produce the body' or
person before the court.
2) Parliament can amend some articles of the Constitution with a simple majority, but
most amendments require the approval of two-thirds of the members sitting and
voting and the accent of the President. A few even require the additional consent
of at least half of state legislatures.
3) Since the Constitution and not the Parliament is supreme, the Parliament cannot
amend or alter the basic feature of the Constitution.
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