Important features and structure of constitution

2. Constitution –
Structure and
Principles

3. LECTURE
OUTLINE
1) Preamble and Constitutional Values.
2) Important Feature of Constitution.
3) Structure of Constitution.

4. LECTURE
OUTCOMES
• Understand preamble of the Constitution and constitutional
values.
• Learn the important features of the Constitution.
• Know the structure od Indian constituton.

5. STRUCTURE
At the initial
395 Articles,
22 Parts and
08 Schedules
02 Apendices
Now
448 Articles
25 Parts and
12 Schedules.
104 Amendments
05 Apendices

6.  Part I :Union and its Territory
 Part II :Citizenship.
 Part III :Fundamental Rights.
 Part IV :Directive Principles of State Policy.
 Part IVA :Fundamental Duties.
 Part V :The Union.
 Part VI :The States.
 Part VII :States in the B part of the First schedule (Repealed).
 Part VIII :The Union Territories
 Part IX :The Panchayats.
 Part IXA :The Municipalities.
 Part IXB :The Co-operative Societies.
 Part X :The scheduled and Tribal Areas
PARTS

7.  Part XI :Relations between the Union and the States.
 Part XII :Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
 Part XIII :Trade and Commerce within the territory of India
 Part XIV :Services under the Union, the States.
 Part XIVA :Tribunals.
 Part XV :Elections
 Part XVI :Special Provisions Relating to certain Classes.
 Part XVII :Languages
 Part XVIII :Emergency Provisions
 Part XIX :Miscellaneous
 Part XX :Amendment of the Constitution
 Part XXI :Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
 Part XXII :Short title, date of commencement, Authoritative text in Hindi and Repeals
PARTS

8. SCHEDULES
FIRST SCHEDULE
 The States.
 The Union territories.
SECOND SCHEDULE
 PART A— Provisions as to the President and the Governors of States.
 PART B— [Repealed.]
 PART C— Provisions as to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of the People and the
Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and the Deputy
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative
Council of a State.
 PART D— Provisions as to the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts.
 PART E— Provisions as to the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
THIRD SCHEDULE
 Forms of Oaths or Affirmations.

9. SCHEDULES
FOURTH SCHEDULE
 Allocation of seats in the Council of States.
FIFTH SCHEDULE
Provisions as to the Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes
 PART A—General.
 PART B—Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes.
 PART C— Scheduled Areas.
 PART D—Amendment of the Schedule.
SIXTH SCHEDULE
 Provisions as to the Administration of Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and
Mizoram.
SEVENTH SCHEDULE
 List I—Union List.
 List II—State List.
 List III-—Concurrent List.

10. SCHEDULES
EIGHTH SCHEDULE
 Languages.
NINTH SCHEDULE
 Validation of certain Acts and Regulations.
TENTH SCHEDULE
 Provisions as to disqualification on ground of defection.
ELEVENTH SCHEDULE
 Powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats.
TWELFTH SCHEDULE
 Powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities, etc.

11. AMENDMENTS
The Constitution (101st Constitutional Amendment) Act, 2016
Goods and Services Tax (GST) has commenced with the enactment of the 101st Constitution
Amendment Act, 2016 on 8th September 2016 and the subsequent notifications.
The Constitution (Hundredth Constitutional Amendment) Act,
2015
This amendment is the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh
The Constitution (Ninety-eighth Amendment) Act, 2013
To empower the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.
The Constitution (Ninety-sixth Amendment) Act, 2011
It has substituted "Odia" for "Oriya".

12. APENDICES
APPENDIX I— The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954.
APPENDIX II— Re-statement, with reference to the present text of the Constitution, of the exceptions
and modifications subject to which the Constitution applies to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
APPENDIX III— Extracts from the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978
APPENDIX IV— The Constitution (Eighty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2003.
APPENDIX V— The Constitution (One Hundredth Amendment) Act, 2015.

13. • It is An Introductory Statement of Indian Constitution.
• It is The Main Philosophy of Constitution.
PREAMBLE

15. The Constitution of India has some outstanding features which distinguishes it from other
constitutions. The framers of our constitution studied other constitutions, selected their valuable
features and put them with necessary modifications in our constitution. They succeeded doing this.
The fact that the constitution, for last 70 years, has been working satisfactorily is a testimony to its
quality and utility.
SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN
CONSTITUTION

16. WRITTEN CONSTITUTION
• The Constitution of India is a written constitution. It was framed by a Constituent Assembly which was
established for the purpose in 1946.
• There are two types of constitutions in the world. Most of them are written. The first modern written
constitution was the American constitution. The British constitution is unwritten, consists of customs and
conventions which have grown over the years.
• The framers of our constitution tried to put everything in black and white.

17. LONGEST CONSTITUTION
• The Constitution of India is the longest in the world. Originally it had 395 Articles divided into 22 parts and 8
Schedules. A number of amendments (98 so far), passed since its enforcement in 1950, have also become a part
of the Constitution. Today it has 444 Articles divided into 22 parts and 12 Schedules.
• The constitution of USA has 7 Articles, of China 138, Japanese 103, and Canadian 107 Articles.

18. RIGID YET FLEXIBLE CONSTITUTION
• Whether a constitution is rigid or flexible depends on the nature of amendments.
• Some provisions of our Constitution can be amended by the Parliament with simple majority. The amendment of
most other provisions of the constitution requires a special majority in both houses of the parliament. There are
some other provisions of constitution which cannot be amended by the parliament alone. These different
amendment procedures make our constitution partly flexible and rigid.

19. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
The Constitution of India guarantees six fundamental rights to every citizen.
 Right to Equality.
 Right to Freedom.
 Right against Exploitation.
 Right to Freedom of Religion.
 Cultural and Educational Rights.
 Right to Constitutional Remedies.

20. FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 incorporated fundamental duties under Article 51-A in Part IV-A,
upon the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee. These duties are applicable to citizens only and there
is a moral obligation on the citizens to perform these duties. However, these duties cannot be judicially enforced.

21. DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE
POLICY
These are guidelines to the State to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting social order,
enumerated in Part IV of the Constitution from Art. 36 to 51. There are non-justiciable in nature i.e. not enforceable
by the courts for their violation. However, the Constitution itself declares that ‘these principles are fundamental in
the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws’. Hence,
they impose a moral obligation on the state authorities for their application.

22. PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY
In India, there is a parliamentary form of government. The majority party in the Lok Sabha forms
government. The government is run by the Prime Minister and other members of the Council of Ministers.
The Cabinet exercises the executive powers and is responsible to the concerned legislature.
In Presidential form of government, the President is the executive head. In India, the President is only the
nominal head.

23. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
India is a federation, although the word 'federation' does not find a place in the whole text, the elements of
federation are present in the Indian Constitution. There is constitutional division of powers between the
Union and the states. There is also an independent judiciary. The
Supreme Court arbitrates the disputes between the Union and the states. All these provisions make India a
federation. But in Indian Federation, the Union is strong as compared to the states. The Union has more
financial powers and the states largely depend upon it for their economic development.

24. JUDICIAL REVIEW
Another significant feature of the Indian Constitution is the provision for Judicial Review. This means that the
Supreme Court of India is empowered to declare a law passed by the Indian Parliament
as null and void if it is inconsistent with the Fundamental Rights.
In the case of the Acts passed by the State Legislatures, this power is vested with the concerned High Courts.

25. UNIVERSAL ADULT FRANCHISE
Article 326 of the Constitution of India provides universal adult suffrage. The voting age has now come down
from 21 to 18. Anybody who has completed 18 years of age, irrespective of his caste, creed, sex or religion, is
eligible to vote in general elections.
This is one of the most revolutionary aspects of Indian democracy.

26. LANGUAGE POLICY
India is a country where different languages are spoken in various parts. Hindi and English have been made
official languages of the central government. A state can adopt the language spoken by its people in that
state also as its official language.
Although India is a multi-lingual state, the constitution provides that Hindi in Devnagri script will be the
national language. It shall be the duty of the union to promote and spread Hindi language.

27. SINGLE CITIZENSHIP
India is a country where different languages are spoken in various parts. Hindi and English have been made
official languages of the central government. A state can adopt the language spoken by its people in that
state also as its official language.
Although India is a multi-lingual state, the constitution provides that Hindi in Devnagri script will be the
national language. It shall be the duty of the union to promote and spread Hindi language.

28. EMERGENCY PROVISIONS
The President has been given the power to tackle the unusual situations where the security of any part or
whole of India is threatened, to maintain the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of the nation. Whenever an
emergency is imposed the Centre enjoys all the power and the States become subordinate. Our Constitution
provides emergency provisions for the purpose of protection against any condition where the security of
India or any part thereof is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion. Part XVIII of our
Constitution contains the emergency provisions for the three different kinds of emergencies: (i) National
Emergency, (ii) State Emergency and (iii) Financial Emergency.

29. SOCIAL EQUALITY
(UNTOUCHABILITY)
Part III of the Indian Constitution which contains the Fundamental Rights aims at providing political equality
as well as social equality. Apart from the basic fundamental rights, our Constitution prohibits the practice of
untouchability in any form and lays down that no citizen shall be denied access to any public place, of the
enjoyment of any amenity or privilege, only on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

30. SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR
MINORITIES
Our constitution contains special provisions for minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other
Backward Classes. It not only provides reservation of seats for them in the Parliament and the state
legislature but also gives them special rights and privileges. Our Constitution provides them with various
opportunities under the fundamental rights for their survival. The main purpose of these provisions is to
uplift the minorities so that they are at par with the majority and there is no discrimination of any kind
among the citizens.

31. RULE OF LAW
The concept of ‘rule of law’ was borrowed from Britain. It implies that no man is above the law and all individuals are
subject to the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts. Following Montesquieu’s approach, in the year 1885, A.V. Dicey on
observing the UK model laid down three principles to be arising out of Rule of Law.
1. Supremacy of Law.
2. Equality before Law.
3. Predominance of Legal Spirit.
The Indian Constitution has borrowed the Rule of Law from the British Constitution. Absence of arbitrary power is the
first essential of Rule of Law upon which our whole constitutional system is based. Governance must be by rule, and
not arbitrary, vague and fanciful. Under our Constitution, the Rule of Law pervades over the entire field of
administration and every organ of the state is regulated by Rule of Law. The concept of Rule of Law cannot be upheld in
spirit and letter if the instrumentalities of the state are not charged with the duty of discharging their function in a fair
and just manner.

33. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
SOVEREIGNTY:
It means absolutely independent; it is not under the control of any other state. Before 1947, India
was not sovereign as it was under the British rule. Now it can frame its policy without any outside
interference.

34. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
SOCIALISM:
It implies a system which will endeavour to avoid concentration of wealth in a few hands and will
assure its equitable distribution. It also implies that India is against exploitation in all forms and believes in
economic justice to all its citizens.

35. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
SECULARISM:
India is a country of several religions and each individual has fundamental profess any religion he
likes. The state neither force its citizen to accept any specific religion nor discriminate on the basis of religion.

36. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
DEMOCRACY:
Means, the power of the government is vested in the hands of the people. People exercise this
power through their elected representatives who, in turn, are responsible to them. All the citizens enjoy
equal political rights.

37. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
REPUBLIC:
Means, the head of the State is not a hereditary monarch but a President who is indirectly elected
by the people for a definite period.

38. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
JUSTICE:
Living in a democratic system alone does not ensure justice to citizens in all. Even now a number of
cases where not only social and economic justice but also political justice is denied.

39. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
LIBERTY:
The Preamble prescribes liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship as one of the core
values. These have to be assured to every member of all the communities.

40. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
EQUALITY:
Equality is a significant constitutional value as any other. The Constitution ensures equality of status
and opportunity to every citizen for the development of the best in him/her.

41. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
FRATERNITY:
In the absence of fraternity, a plural society like India stands divided. Therefore, to give meaning to
all the ideals like justice, liberty and equality, the Preamble lays great emphasis on fraternity.

42. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
THE DIGNITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL:
It is essential to secure the dignity of every individual without which democracy cannot function. It
ensures equal participation of every individual in all the processes of democratic governance.

43. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
UNITY AND INTEGRITY:
To maintain the independence of the country intact, the unity and integrity of the nation are very
essential. Our Constitution expects from all the citizens of India to uphold and protect the unity and integrity
of India as a matter of duty.

44. CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
INTERNATIONAL PEACE :
The Indian Constitution directs the state:
 To promote international peace and security,
 Maintain just and honorable relations between nations,
 Foster respect for international law and treaty obligations,
 Encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.