C0NSTITUTION OF INDIA

SUMMARY

1. The world's lengthiest written constitution had 395 articles in 22 parts and
8 schedules at the time of commencement. Now the Constitution of India
has 448 articles in 25 parts and 12 schedules.

2. There are 104 amendments (took place on 25th January 2020 to

extend the reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha
and states assemblies) that have been made in the Indian
constitution so far.
Parts Subject Matter Articles
Covered
I The Union and its 1 to 4
territory
II Citizenship 5 to 11
III Fundamental Rights 12 to 35
IV Directive Principles of 36 to 51
State Policy
IV-A Fundamental Duties 51-A
V The Union Government 52 to 151
  Chapter I - The 52 to 78
Executive
  Chapter II - Parliament 79 to 122
  Chapter III - Legislative 123
Powers of President
  Chapter IV - The Union 124 to 147
Judiciary
  Chapter V - Comptroller 148 to 151
and Auditor-General of
India
VI The State Governments 152 to 237
  Chapter I - General 152
  Chapter II - The 153 to 167
Executive
  Chapter III - The State 168 to 212
Legislature
  Chapter IV - Legislative 213
 Powers of Governor
  Chapter V - The High 214 to 232
Courts
  Chapter VI - Subordinate 233 to 237
Courts
VIII The Union Territories 239 to 242
IX The Panchayats 243 to 243-O
IX-A The Municipalities 243-P to
243-ZG
IX-B The Co-operative 243-ZH to
Societies 243-ZT
X The Scheduled and Tribal 244 to 244-A
Areas
XI Relations between the 245 to 263
Union and the States
  Chapter I - Legislative 245 to 255
Relations
  Chapter II - 256 to 263
Administrative Relations
XII Finance, Property, 264 to 300-A
Contracts and Suits
  Chapter I - Finance 264 to 291
  Chapter II - Borrowing 292 to 293
  Chapter III - Property, 294 to 300
Contracts, Rights,
Liabilities, Obligations
and Suits
  Cpapter IV - Right to 300-A
Property
XIII Trade, Commerce and 301 to 307
Intercourse within the
Territory of India
XIV Services under the Union 308 to 323
and the States
  Chapter I - Services 308 to 314
  Chapter II - Public 315 to 323
 Service Commissions
XIV-A Tribunals 323-A to
323-B
XV Elections 324 to 329-A
XVI Special Provisions 330 to 342
relating to Certain
Classes
XVII Official Language 343 to 351
  Chapter I - Language of 343 to 344
the Union
  Chapter II - Regional 345 to 347
Languages
  Chapter III-Language of 348 to 349
the Supreme Court, High
Courts, and so on
Chapter IV-Special 350 to 351
Directives
XVIII Emergency Provisions 352 to 360
XIX Miscellaneous 361 to 367
XX Amendment of the 368
Constitution
XXI Temporary, Transitional 369 to 392
and Special Provisions
XXII Short title,
Commencement,
393 to 395
Authoritative Text in
Hindi and Repeals

3. NOTE: Part VII ( dealing with Part - B states) was deleted by the 7th
Amendment Act (1956). On the other hand, both Part IV - A and Part XIV-
A were added by the 42nd Amendment Act (1976), while Part OX-A was
added by the 74th Amendment Act (1992), and Part IX-B was added by
the 97th Amendment Act (2011).
4. The schedules of the Indian constitution are given below:-
 Numbers  Subject Matter
First 1. Names of the States and their territorial
Schedule jurisdiction.
  2. Names of the Union Territories and their
extent.
Second  Provisions relating to the emoluments,
Schedule allowances, privileges and so on of:
  1. The President of India
  2. The Governors of States
  3. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of
the Lok Sabha
  4. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of
the Rajya Sabha
  5. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of
the Legislative Assembly in the states
  6. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of
the Legislative Council in the states
  7. The Judges of the Supreme Court
  8. The Judges of the High Courts
  9. The Comptroller and Auditor-General of
India
Third Forms of Oaths or Affirmations for:
Schedule
  1. The Union ministers
  2. The candidates for election to the
Parliament
  3. The members of Parliament
  4. The judges of the Supreme Court
  5. The Comptroller and Auditor-General of
India
  6. The state ministers
  7. The candidates for election to the state
legislature
  8. The members of the state legislature
  9. The judges of the High Courts
Fourth Allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the
Schedule states and the union territories.
Fifth Provisions relating to the administration and
Schedule control of scheduled areas and scheduled
 tribes.
Sixth Provisions relating to the administration of
Schedule tribal areas in the states of Assam,
Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
Seventh Division of powers between the Union and
Schedule the States in terms of List I (Union List), List
II (State List) and List III (Concurrent List).
Presently, the Union List contains 100
subjects (originally 97), the state list contains
61 subjects (originally 66) and the concurrent
list contains 52 subjects (originally 47).
Eighth Languages recognized by the Constitution.
Schedule Originally, it had 14 languages but presently
there are 22 languages. They are: Assamese,
Bengali, Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Gujarati,
Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Mathili
(Maithili), Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi,
Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali,
Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Sindhi was
added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967;
Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added by
the 71 st Amendment Act of 1992; and Bodo,
Dongri, Maithili and Santhali were added by
the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.
Ninth Acts and Regulations (originally 13 but
Schedule presently 282) 19 of the state legislatures
dealing with land reforms and the abolition of
the zamindari system and of the. Parliament
dealing with other matters. This schedule was
added by the 1st Amendment (1951) to
protect the laws included in it from judicial
scrutiny on the ground of violation of
fundamental rights. However, in 2007, the
Supreme Court ruled that the laws included
in this schedule after April 24, 1973, are now
open to judicial review.
Tenth Provisions relating to the disqualification of
Schedule the members of Parliament and State
Legislatures on the ground of defection. This
schedule was added by the 52nd Amendment
Act of 1985, also known as Anti-defection
Law.
Eleventh Specifies the powers, authority and
Schedule responsibilities ofPanchayats. It has 29
matters. This schedule was added by the 73rd
Amendment Act of 1992.
 Twelfth Specifies the powers, authority, and
Schedule responsibilities of Municipalities. It has 18
matters. This schedule was added by the 74th
Amendment Act of 1992.
5. So this was the list of important articles, schedules, and articles of
the Indian constitution. This list is very important for the all types of
competitive exams to be held in India.
6.

What is the Basic Structure Doctrine?

There is no mention of the term “Basic Structure” anywhere in the Indian Constitution. The idea
that the Parliament cannot introduce laws that would amend the basic structure of the
constitution evolved gradually over time and many cases. The idea is to preserve the nature of
Indian democracy and protect the rights and liberties of people. This doctrine helps to protect and
preserve the spirit of the constitution document.
It was the Kesavananda Bharati case that brought this doctrine into the limelight. It held that the
“basic structure of the Constitution could not be abrogated even by a constitutional amendment”.
The judgement listed some basic structures of the constitution as:

1. Supremacy of the Constitution

2. Unity and sovereignty of India
3. Democratic and republican form of government
4. Federal character of the Constitution
5. Secular character of the Constitution
6. Separation of power
7. Individual freedom

Over time, many other features have also been added to this list of basic structural features.
Some of them are:

 Rule of law
 Judicial review
 Parliamentary system
 Rule of equality
 Harmony and balance between the Fundamental Rights and DPSP
 Free and fair elections
 Limited power of the parliament to amend the Constitution
 Power of the Supreme Court under Articles 32, 136, 142 and 147
 Power of the High Court under Articles 226 and 227

A.K. Gopalan Case SC contented that there was no violation of Fundamental

(1950) Rights enshrined in Articles 13, 19, 21 and 22 under the provisions of the
Preventive Detention Act, if the detention was as per the procedure
established by law. Here, the SC took a narrow view of Article 21.

Shankari Prasad Case This case dealt with the amendability of Fundamental Rights (the First
(1951) Amendment’s validity was challenged). The SC contended that the
 Parliament’s power to amend under Article 368 also includes the power to
amend the Fundamental Rights guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution.

Berubari Union case This case was regarding the Parliament’s power to transfer the territory of
(1960) Berubai to Pakistan. The Supreme Court examined Article 3 in detail and
held that the Parliament cannot make laws under this article in order to
execute the Nehru-Noon agreement. Hence, the 9th Amendment Act was
passed to enforce the agreement.

Golaknath case The questions in this case were whether amendment is a law; and
(1967) whether Fundamental Rights can be amended or not. SC contented that
Fundamental Rights are not amenable to the Parliamentary restriction as
stated in Article 13, and that to amend the Fundamental rights a
new Constituent Assembly would be required. Also stated that Article 368
gives the procedure to amend the Constitution but does not confer on
Parliament the power to amend the Constitution.

Kesavananda Bharati This judgement defined the basic structure of the Constitution. The SC
case (1973) held that although no part of the Constitution, including Fundamental
Rights, was beyond the Parliament’s amending power, the “basic
structure of the Constitution could not be abrogated even by a
constitutional amendment.” This is the basis in Indian law in which the
judiciary can strike down any amendment passed by Parliament that is in
conflict with the basic structure of the Constitution.

Indira Nehru Gandhi The SC applied the theory of basic structure and struck down Clause(4)
v. Raj Narain case of article 329-A, which was inserted by the 39th Amendment in 1975 on
(1975) the grounds that it was beyond the Parliament’s amending power as it
destroyed the Constitution’s basic features.

Maneka Gandhi A main issue in this case was whether the right to go abroad is a part of
case (1978) the Right to Personal Liberty under Article 21. The SC held that it is
included in the Right to Personal Liberty. The SC also ruled that the mere
existence of an enabling law was not enough to restrain personal liberty.
Such a law must also be “just, fair and reasonable.”

Minerva Mills case This case again strengthens the Basic Structure doctrine. The judgement
(1980) struck down 2 changes made to the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment
Act 1976, declaring them to be violative of the basic structure. The
judgement makes it clear that the Constitution, and not the Parliament is
supreme.

Waman Rao Case The SC again reiterated the Basic Structure doctrine. It also drew a line of
(1981) demarcation as April 24th, 1973 i.e., the date of the Kesavananda Bharati
 judgement, and held that it should not be applied retrospectively to
reopen the validity of any amendment to the Constitution which took place
prior to that date.

Shah Bano Begum Milestone case for Muslim women’s fight for rights. The SC upheld the
case (1985) right to alimony for a Muslim woman and said that the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 is applicable to all citizens irrespective of their religion.
This set off a political controversy and the government of the day
overturned this judgement by passing the Muslim Women (Protection on
Divorce Act), 1986, according to which alimony need be given only during
the iddat period (in tune with the Muslim personal law).

MC Mehta and Union This case dealt with 3 issues: Scope of Article 32; rule of Absolute
Of India (1986) Liability or Rylands vs Fletcher to be followed; issue of compensation. SC
held that its power under Article 32 is not restricted to preventive
measures, but also remedial measures when rights are violated. It also
held that in the case of industries engaged in hazardous or inherently
dangerous activities, Absolute Liability was to be followed. Finally, it also
said that the amount of compensation must be correlated to the
magnitude and capacity of the industry so that it will be a deterrent.

Indra Sawhney and SC examined the scope and extent of Article 16(4), which provides for the
Union of India (1992) reservation of jobs in favour of backward classes. It upheld the
constitutional validity of 27% reservation for the OBCs with certain
conditions (like creamy layer exclusion, no reservation in promotion, total
reserved quota should not exceed 50%, etc.)

S. R. Bommai case In this judgement, the SC tried to curb the blatant misuse of Article
(1994) 356 (regarding the imposition of President’s Rule on states).

Vishaka and State of This case dealt with sexual harassment at the workplace. In the
Rajasthan (1997) judgement, the SC gave a set of guidelines for employers – as well as
other responsible persons or institutions – to immediately ensure the
prevention of sexual harassment. These are called ‘Vishaka Guidelines’.
These were to be considered law until appropriate legislation was
enacted.

Samatha and State of This judgement nullified all mining leases granted by the Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh State government in the Scheduled areas and asked it to stop all mining
(1997) operations. It declared that forest land, tribal land, and government land in
scheduled areas could not be leased to private companies or non-tribal
for industrial operations. Such activity is only permissible to a government
undertaking and tribal people.

Lily Thomas v Union Here, the SC held that the second marriage of a Hindu man without
of India (2000) divorcing the first wife, even if the man had converted to Islam, is void
unless the first marriage had been dissolved according to the Hindu
Marriage Act.

I.R Coelho and State This judgement held that if a law is included in the 9th Schedule of the
of Tamil Nadu 2007 Indian Constitution, it can still be examined and confronted in court. The
9th Schedule of the Indian Constitution contains a list of acts and laws
which cannot be challenged in a court of law. The Waman Rao ruling
ensured that acts and laws mentioned in the IX schedule till 24 April 1973,
shall not be changed or challenged, but any attempt to amend or add
more acts to that schedule will suffer close inspection and examination by
the judiciary system.

Pedophilia case The SC restored the conviction and sentence of 6-year (RI) rigorous
(2011) imprisonment imposed on 2 UK nationals who were acquitted by the
Bombay High Court in a paedophilia case. The court said that “the sexual
abuse of children is one of the most heinous crimes.”

Aruna Shanbaug The SC ruled that individuals had a right to die with dignity, allowing
Case (2011) passive euthanasia with guidelines. The need to reform India’s laws on
euthanasia was triggered by the tragic case of Aruna Shanbaug who lay
in a vegetative state (blind, paralysed and deaf) for 42 years.

NOTA judgement This judgement introduced the NOTA (None-Of-The-Above) option for
(2013) Indian voters.

Lily Thomas and The SC ruled that any MLA, MLC or MP who was found guilty of a crime
Union Of India (2013) and given a minimum of 2 year imprisonment would cease to be a
member of the House with immediate effect.

Nirbhaya Case (2014) Introduction of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 and definition of
rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 , the
Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Code of
Criminal Procedures, 1973.

National Legal This case resulted in the recognition of transgender persons as a third
Services Authority gender. The SC also instructed the government to treat them as
and Union of India minorities and expand the reservations in education, jobs, education, etc.
(2014)

Triple Talaq The SC outlawed the backward practice of instant ‘triple talaq’, which
Judgement (2016) permitted Muslim men to unilaterally end their marriages by uttering the
word “talaq” three times without making any provision for maintenance or
alimony. Read about the Triple Talaq Bill, 2019.
 Right To Privacy The SC declared the right to privacy as a Fundamental Right protected
(2017) under the Indian Constitution. 

Repealing Section The SC ruled that Section 377 was unconstitutional “in so far as it

377 (2018) criminalises consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex.”

L Chandra Kumar The SC ruled that the power of judicial review vested in the Supreme
Case (1997) Court and High Courts by Articles 32 and 226 respectively is a part of
the basic structure of the Constitution.

Puttuswamy Case This SC judgement protects individual rights against the invasion of one’s
(2017) privacy.

Habeas Corpus Case A much-criticised judgement of the SC, in which the majority ruling went
(1976) against individual freedom and seemed to favour the state. Justice
Khanna’s dissent is also well-known.

Romesh Thapar Case Here, the SC held that the freedom of speech and expression includes
(1950) freedom of propagation of ideas that can only be ensured by circulation.


When media become govt propaganda arms then democracy is in serious trouble