INDIAN

POLITY
NOTES

FOR SSC & RAILWAY EXAMS

 INDIAN POLITY
Constitution is the fundamental law of the land. It contains a set of rules, according to which the state is
governed.
Constituent Assembly:-

• It was M N Roy, who put forward the idea of the Constituent Assembly for the first time.
• In 1935, the Indian National Congress, officially demanded a Constituent Assembly to frame the
Constitution of India.
• The concept of Constituent Assembly was included in August offer of 1940, Cripps proposal of 1942
and the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946.
• In November 1946, Constituent Assembly was constituted as per the Cabinet Mission Plan. Constituent
Assembly was a partly elected and partly nominated body.
• Dr. Sachchidanand Sinha, the oldest member of the Assembly was elected as the temporary President
and later Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President. Sir B N Rau was appointed as the
Constitutional advisor to the Assembly.
• In December 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the ‘Objective Resolution’ in the Assembly. Its modified
version forms the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
• To deal with the different tasks of Constitution making, Constituent Assembly appointed different
committees.
Name of the important Committee Chairman
Union Powers Committee Jawaharlal Nehru
Drafting Committee Dr. B R Ambedkar
Committee on the Functions
G V Mavalankar
of the Constituent Assembly

Enactment of the Constitution:-

• The Constitution Assembly adopted the Constitution of India on 26th November 1949
• Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950.
• Indian National Congress celebrated Purna Swaraj day on 26th January 1930. To commemorate this
incident, Constituent Assembly chose 26th January as the date of enactment of the Constitution.
Salient Features of the Constitution of India:-
I. Lengthiest written Constitution
II. Drawn various sources: The Constitution of India has borrowed many of its features from the various
Constitutions of the world

Sl.No. Source Features Borrowed

1 Govt. of India Act - 1935 Federal Scheme, Office of Governor, Public Service Commissions
2 British Constitution Rule of Law, Parliamentary form of Govt., Single Citizenship, Bicameralism,
Legislative procedure, Cabinet System, Prerogative writ
Judicial review, Fundamental rights, Office of Vice-President, Independence
3 US Constitution of Judiciary, Impeachment of the President, Removal of Supreme Court and
High Court judges
4 Canadian Constitution Federation with a strong centre, Vesting of residuary powers in the Centre,
Advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
5 Australian Constitution Concurrent List, Joint sitting of the two houses of the Parliament
6 French Constitution Ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, Republic
7 Japanese Constitution Procedure established by Law
8 Soviet Constitution Fundamental duties, Ideals of Justice (Social, Economic and Political) in
Preamble
South African Election of members of Rajya Sabha, Procedure for amendment of the
9 Constitution constitution

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 Weimar Constitution of
10
Germany Suspension of Fundamental Rights during emergency

11 Irish Constitution Directive Principles of State Policy, Method of election of President,

Nomination of members to Rajya Sabha
III. Federal Structure: This refers to the existence of more than one level of Government. For example, in
our country, we have Central Govt. and State Governments.
IV. Parliamentary Form of Government
V. Integrated and Independent Judiciary
VI. Fundamental Rights: These are a set of rights given to citizen, which are fundamental in nature. This is
to protect citizen from the absolute exercise of power by the State. There are 6 basic Fundamental Rights
and they are
i. Right to Equality
ii. Right to Freedom
iii. Right against exploitation
iv. Right to Freedom of Religion
v. Cultural and Educational Rights
vi. Right to Constitutional Remedies
VII. Directive Principles of State Policy
VIII. Fundamental Duties: These were added as per the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976. There
are eleven Fundamental Duties mentioned in the Constitution.
IX. Secularism: This means, the State is not promoting any one religion
X. Emergency Provisions: There are 3 types of emergencies
1. National Emergency (As per Art. 352)
2. President’s Rule (As per Art. 356 & 365) and
3. Financial Emergency (As per Art 360)
Preamble of the Indian Constitution:-

• Based on the ‘Objective Resolution’ drafted by Jawaharlal Nehru

• It has been amended by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act (1976), which added three new words
(Socialist, Secular, and Integrity)
• Key concepts in Preamble: Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic, Justice, Liberty, Equality,
and Fraternity
Schedules of the Indian Constitution:-

1st Schedule List of States & Union Territories

Provisions relating to the emoluments, allowances and so on of President, Governors,
Chief Justice and Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts, Comptroller and Auditor
2nd Schedule General of India
3rd Schedule Forms of Oath and affirmation
4th Schedule Allocation of seats in Rajya Sabha to the states and Union Territories
Provisions relating to the administration and control of scheduled areas and
5th Schedule scheduled tribes
Provisions relating to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam,
6th Schedule Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram
Division of powers between the Union and the states in terms of Union, State and
7th Schedule Concurrent lists
8th Schedule Languages recognised by the Constitution
9th Schedule Acts and orders related to land tenure, land tax, railway, industries
10th Schedule Provisions as to disqualification on ground of defection
11th Schedule Provisions of Panchayati Raj
12th Schedule Provisions of Municipal Corporations

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Parts of the Indian Constitution:-

Parts of Indian Constitution

Parts Articles Covered Subject Matter
I 1 to 4 Union and its Territories
II 5 to 11 Citizenship
III 12 to 35 Fundamental Rights
IV 36 to 51 Directive Principles of State Policy
IV - A 51 - A Fundamental Duties
V 52 to 151 The Union Government
VI 152 to 237 The State Governments
VIII 239 to 242 The Union Territories
IX 243 to 243 - O The Panchayats
IX - A 243 - P to 243 - ZG The Municipalities
IX - B 243 - ZH to 243 - ZT The Co-operative Socities
X 244 to 244 - A The Scheduled and Tribal Areas
XI 245 to 263 Relations between the Union and the States
XII 264 to 300 - A Finance, Property, Contracts, and Suits
XIII 301 to 307 Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the Territory of India
XIV 308 to 323 Services under the Union and the States
XIV - A 323 - A to 323 - B Tribunals
XV 324 to 329 - A Elections
XVI 330 to 342 Special Provisions relating to Certain Classes
XVII 343 to 351 Official Language
XVIII 352 to 360 Emergency Provisions
XIX 361 to 367 Miscellaneous
XX 368 Amendment of the Constitution
XXI 369 to 392 Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
XXII 393 to 395 Short title, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindi and
Repeals
Organs of the State

• There are 3 organs of the State; Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary

o Legislature: They are responsible for making new laws
o Executive: They implement the laws
o Judiciary: This include all the court system in the country and they provide justice

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Union Executive
• It consists of the President of India, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, and Attorney
General of India
I. President of India
➢ President of India is the head of the State as wells as part of both Union Executive and the
Parliament
➢ Qualification for election as President:
1. Should be a citizen of India
2. Should have completed 35 years of age
3. Should be qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha
4. Shouldn’t hold any office of profit
➢ Election: Indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of;
1. the elected members of both the houses of Parliament
2. the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the states and,
3. the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and
Puducherry
➢ Term of Office is 5 years
➢ Impeachment: It is the process of removing the President from his office. And impeachment
can be initiated only in the case of ‘violation of the Constitution’
➢ Important Powers and Functions of the President:
1. All executive actions of the Govt. of India are taken in his name and he is the Supreme
Commander of the defence forces
2. Appoints the Council of ministers, Attorney General of India, Comptroller and Auditor
General of India, Chief Election Commissioner, Chairman and other members of Finance
Commission, Chief Justice and other judges of Supreme Court and High Court.
3. Nominates 12 members to Rajya Sabha from literature, Art, Science, and Social Service;
and 2 members to Lok Sabha from Anglo Indian community
4. President can promulgate ordinance when the Parliament is not in session
5. Money bill can be introduced in the Parliament only with his prior recommendation
6. President of India also enjoys 3 types of Veto Power over the bills passed by the
Parliament. They are,
a. Absolute Veto
b. Suspensive Veto and
c. Pocket Veto.
7. President also has 5 types of pardoning powers.
a. Pardon
b. Commutation
c. Remission
d. Reprieve
➢ First President of independent India was Dr. Rajendra Prasad
➢ Mr. Ram Nath Kovind is the 14th and the current President of India

II. Vice-President of India

➢ Qualification for election as Vice-President:
1. Should be a citizen of India
2. Should have completed 35 years of age
3. Should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha
4. Shouldn’t hold any office of profit
➢ Election: Indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of;
1. Both the elected and nominated members of the Parliament
2. It doesn’t include the members of the State legislative assemblies
➢ Term of Office is 5 years

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 ➢ Important Powers and Functions of the Vice-President:
1. Acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha
2. Acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the President
3. Draws his salary in his capacity as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha
➢ Mr. Venkaiah Naidu is the 13th and the current Vice-President of India
III. Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers
➢ Prime Minister (PM) is the leader of the party that enjoys a majority in Lok Sabha
➢ President is the nominal executive head and PM is the real executive head
➢ PM is appointed by the President of India and all other ministers are appointed by the President
on the advice of PM
➢ President acts on the aid and advice of the council of ministers
➢ As per the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003, total strength of the council of ministers
should not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha
➢ Principle of collective Responsibility: This is the foundational principle of Parliamentary form
of Govt. This means council of ministers is collectively responsible to the parliament for all their
acts.

IV. Attorney General of India

➢ He is appointed by the President of India and he is also the first law officer of the Govt. of India.
➢ Qualification: Should be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court
➢ Advices Govt. of India on all legal matters
➢ He can participate in the proceedings of the Parliament but can’t vote

Union Legislature or Parliament

• It consists of the two houses (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) and the President of India.

V. Lok Sabha
➢ Also known as House of people
➢ Max. Strength=552; Elected representatives from different states=530; Elected representatives
from different Union Territories=20; Nomination (Nominated by the President of India) from
Anglo Indian Community=2. Except the two nominated members, all other members of Lok
Sabha are directly elected by the people. A Lok Sabha member is elected for a maximum of 5
years.
➢ Speaker is the presiding officer during the Lok Sabha sessions. And Speaker is elected from the
members of the Lok Sabha itself.
➢ Speaker Pro Tem: In the very first session of the newly elected Lok Sabha, the eldest member
of LS act as the Speaker Pro Tem. Once the actual speaker is elected, the office of the Speaker Pro
Tem automatically cease to exist. Speaker Pro Tem is appointed by the President of India.
➢ Important Powers and Function:-
1. No confidence motion can be initiated and passed in Lok Sabha
2. Money and Finance Bill can be introduced only in Lok Sabha
3. Lok Sabha in a special sitting can disapprove the continuance in force of a national
emergency proclaimed by the President. In such case, the president shall revoke the
national emergency
• G V Mavalankar is known as the Father of Lok Sabha (conferred by Jawaharlal Nehru) and he
was also the 1st Speaker of Lok Sabha
• Meira Kumar was the 1st Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha
• Indian constitution is the longest written constitution in the world
• 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976 is also known as the mini constitution
• The offices of the leader of the Houses and the leader of the opposition are not mentioned in the
constitution of India

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 VI. Rajya Sabha
➢ Also known as Council of State
➢ Max. Strength=250; Representatives of different states and union territories=238; Nomination
(Nominated by the President of India) of eminent scholars from Art, Literature, Science and
Social Science=12. No member of Rajya Sabha is directly elected. A Rajya Sabha member is
elected for a maximum of 6 years
➢ Chairman is the presiding officer during the Rajya Sabha sessions. And Vice-President of India
is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
➢ Important Powers and Function:-
1. It is a permanent house and not subject to dissolution. One third members of Rajya Sabha
retire after every second year.
2. If Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a special majority, in national interest Parliament
will be empowered to make a law on the subject specified in the resolution, for the whole
or any part of the territory of India.
3. If Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a special majority that it is necessary in the national
interest to create one or more All India Services, then Parliament will be empowered to
create by law such a service.

State Executive
• It consists of Governor, state Council of Ministers, and Advocate General
VII. Governor
➢ He is the nominal head of the state (real power lies with Chief Minister and state council of
ministers) and he is appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Union Council of
Ministers for a term of 5 years, but he can be removed from the post before the completion of
his tenure.
➢ A person may act as the Governor of two or more states.
➢ Important Powers and Functions:-
1. Appoints Chief Minister (CM) and other Council of Ministers (on the advice of the CM).
Also appoints Advocate General, Chairman and members of the State Public Service
Commission, Judges of District Courts.
2. Acts on the aid and advice of state council of ministers headed by CM.
3. Governor summons and prorogues the sessions of both the houses of the State
Legislature.
4. Governor has power to reserve certain bills for the consideration of the President.
5. He can promulgate ordinances, when the state legislature is not in session.
6. Money bill can be introduced in state legislative assembly only on the prior
recommendation of the Governor.
7. Governor can send a report to the President of India informing him that the State’s
Constitutional functioning has been compromised and recommending the president to
impose ‘President’s rule’ in the state.

VIII. Chief Minister and State Council of Ministers

➢ CM is appointed by the Governor and Council of ministers are also appointed by the Governor
on the advice of CM
➢ If a non-elected member is appointed as Minister, he/she has to become the member of the state
Legislature within 6 months.
➢ Principal of collective responsibility is followed.

IX. Advocate General

➢ He is appointed by the Governor and he is also the first law officer of a state
➢ Qualification: Should be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the High Court
➢ Advices State Govt. on all legal matters
➢ He can participate in the proceedings of the state legislature, but can’t vote

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State Legislature
• It consists of the State Legislative Assembly, State Legislative Council and the Governor

X. State Legislative Assembly

➢ Total strength can’t be more than 500. Members are directly elected by the people on the basis
of Adult Franchise
➢ Governor can nominate one member of Anglo Indian community to the Assembly, if this
community is not adequately represented in the house
➢ Formed for a maximum of 5 years, but can be dissolved before the tenure itself
➢ May be dissolved by the President in case of Constitutional emergency under Art. 356 of the
constitution
➢ Only 2 Union Territories (Puducherry and Delhi) in India are entitled (by law) to have an
elected legislative assembly
➢ Presiding officer is the Speaker, who is elected from among the members

XI. State Legislative Council

➢ At present Legislative Council is present only in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir.
➢ Consists of not more than 1/3rd of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly of the state and
not less than 40. Members are elected as well as nominated
➢ It is a permanent house and can’t be dissolved
➢ Presiding officer is the Chairman, who is elected from among the members

Judiciary
An integrated structure is followed in judiciary. This includes all the Court systems present in the
country. It is a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. They also interpret and apply the law in the
name of the State.
Supreme Court of India
➢ At present, Supreme Court (SC) of India comprises the Chief Justice and 33 other judges(total
34). SC Judges retire at the age of 65 years.
➢ Removal: Can be removed (On the ground of proved misbehaviour and incapacity) only by
an order of the President passed after an address in each house of the Parliament supported by
a special majority
➢ The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is of five folds. Original, Writ, Appellate, Advisory and
Revisory
Justice M. Fathima Beevi

• She was the 1st female judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court of India (1989) and the first
Muslim woman to be appointed to any higher judiciary.
• She is the 1st woman judge of a Supreme Court of a nation in India and Asia.

High Court
➢ High Court stands at the head of a State’s Judicial Administration
➢ Each High Court comprises of a Chief Justice and such other judges as the President may time
to time, appoint. The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President after the
consultation with the Chief Justice of India
➢ Judges hold office until the age of 62 years and are removable in the same manner as a judge of
the Supreme Court.
➢ High Court enjoys three fold jurisdiction. Original, Appellate, and Writ jurisdiction
➢ Calcutta High Court (established in 1862) is India’s oldest High Court

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