 INTRODUCTION

 The Constitution of India came into force on January 26,

1950.

 It is a comprehensive document containing 395 Articles

(divided into 22 Parts) and 12 Schedules.

 The Constitution of the country reflects the basic

principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group
that determine the powers and duties of the
government and guarantee certain rights to the people
in it.

 It reflects the ideology and system of the Nation.

 It is the prime sources of other laws.

 PECULIAR FEATURES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

 Indian Constitution differs from the federal systems of

the world in certain fundamental aspects, which are as
follows:

The Mode of Formation:

 India had a thoroughly Centralised Unitary Constitution
until the Government of India Act, 1935 which for the
first time set up a federal system in the manner as in
Canada viz., by creation of autonomous units and
combining them into a federation by one and the same
Act.

Position of the States in the Federation:

 In a federal system, a number of safeguards are
provided for the protection of State’s rights as they are
independent before the formation of federation. In
India, as the States were not previously sovereign
entities, the rights were exercised mainly by Union,
e.g., residuary powers.

Citizenship etc.:
 There is single citizenship in India, with no division of
public services or of the judiciary.

Residuary Power:
 Residuary power is vested in the Union.

 In other words, the Constitution of India is neither

purely federal nor purely unitary.
 It is a combination of both and is based upon the
principle that “In spite of federalism the national
interest ought to be paramount as against autocracy
stepped with the establishment of supremacy of law”.

 DOCTRINE OF SEVERABILITY

 Invalid part of the law shall be severed and declared

invalid if really it is severable, i.e., if after separating
the invalid part the valid part is capable of giving effect
to the legislature’s intent, then only it will survive,
otherwise the Court shall declare the entire law as
invalid.
 This is known as the rule of severability.

 Article 13 only says that any law which is inconsistent

with the fundamental rights is void “to the extent of
inconsistency” and this has been interpreted to imply
that it is not necessary to strike down the whole Act as
invalid, if only a part is invalid and that part can survive
independently.

 In A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras, the Supreme Court

ruled that where an Act was partly invalid, if the valid
portion was severable from the rest, the valid portion
would be maintained, provided that it was sufficient to
carry out the purpose of the Act.

 DOCTRINE OF ECLIPSE

 A law made before the commencement of the

Constitution remains eclipsed or dormant to the extent
it comes under the shadow of the fundamental rights,
i.e. is inconsistent with it, but the eclipsed or dormant
parts become active and effective again if the
prohibition brought about by the fundamental rights is
removed by the amendment of the Constitution.

 This is known as the doctrine of eclipse.

 The inconsistent part will revive only once the conflict
has been cured.

 Basically, the inconsistent part will become eclipsed or

dormant and will not be dead altogether. It will become
effective once inconsistency is removed.
Case Law -
The doctrine was first evolved in Bhikaji Narain Dhakras v.
State of M.P., A.I.R. 1955 S.C. 781.

Facts –
 In this case, the validity of C.P. and Berar Motor
Vehicles Amendment Act,1947, empowering the
Government to regulate, control and to take up the
entire motor transport business was challenged.
 The Act was perfectly a valid piece of legislation at the
time of its enactment.
 But on the commencement of the Constitution, the
existing law became inconsistent under Article 13(1),
as it contravened the freedom to carry on trade and
business under Article 19(1)(g).
 To remove the infirmity the Constitution (First
Amendment) Act, 1951 was passed which permitted
creation by law of State monopoly in respect of motor
transport business.

Judgement
In case of a pre-Constitution law, it was held, that the
doctrine of eclipse would apply.

Point to remember
 There was a dispute regarding the applicability of the
doctrine of eclipse, whether it should be applicable to
both pre-Constitution and postConstitution laws or only
to pre-constitution laws.
 Some decisions were in favour of both laws and some
were in favour of pre-constitution laws only
 There is no unambiguous judicial pronouncement to
that effect.
 WAIVER

 The doctrine of waiver of rights is based on the premise

that a person is his best judge and that he has the
liberty to waive the enjoyment of such rights as are
conferred on him by the State.

 However, the person must have the knowledge of his

rights and that the waiver should be voluntary.

 The doctrine was discussed in Basheshar Nath v. C.I.T.,

AIR 1959 SC 149, where the majority expressed its
view against the waiver of fundamental rights.

 It was held that it was not open to citizens to waive any

of the fundamental rights.

 Any person aggrieved by the consequence of the

exercise of any discriminatory power, could be heard to
complain against it.
 SINGLE PERSON LAW

 A law may be constitutional, even though it relates to a

single individual, if that single individual is treated as a
class by himself on some peculiar circumstances.

CASE – Charanjit Lal Chowdhary v. Union of India

FACTS

 In this case, the petitioner was an Ordinary shareholder

of the Sholapur Spinning and Weaving Co. Ltd.

 The company through its directors had been managing

and running a textile mill of the same name

 Later, on account of mismanagement, a situation had

arisen that Brought about the closing down of the mill,
thus affecting the production of an essential
commodity, apart from causing Serious unemployment
Amongst Certain section of the community.

 The Central Government issued an Ordinance which

was later replaced by an Act, known as Sholapur
Spinning & Weaving Co. (Emergency Provisions) Act,
1950.
 With the passing of this Act, the management and the
administration of the assets of the company were
placed under the control of the directors appointed by
the Government.

 As regards the shareholders, the Act declared that they

could neither appoint a new director nor could take
proceedings against the company for winding up.

 The petitioner filed a writ petition on the ground that

the said Act infringed the rule of equal protection of
laws as embodied in Article 14, because a single
company and its shareholders were subjected to
disability as compared with other companies and their
shareholders.

JUDGEMENT

 The Supreme Court dismissed the petition and held the

legislation as valid.

 It laid down that the law may be constitutional even

though it applies to a single individual if on account of
some special circumstances or reasons applicable to
him only, that single individual may be treated as a
class by himself.

 However, in subsequent cases the Court explained that

the rule of presumption laid down in Charanjit Lal’s
case is not absolute, but would depend on facts of each
case.

 For a valid classification there has to be a rational

nexus between the classification made by the law and
the object sought to be achieved.

 For example a provision for district-wise distribution of

seats in State Medical colleges on the basis of
 population of a district to the population of the State
was held to be void (P. Rajandran v. State of Mysore,
AIR 1968 SC 1012).

 RIGHT OF EQUALITY

 Article 14 : Equality before law and equal protection of

law

 Article 14 of the Constitution says that “the State shall

not deny to any person equality before the law or the
equal protection of the laws within the territory of
India”.

 Equality before Law

 The expression ‘equality before the law’ is borrowed

from English Common Law
 It is a declaration of equality of all persons within the
territory of India, implying thereby the absence of any
special privilege in favour of any individual.
 The term Equality before Law is a negative term,

 Equal Protection of Laws

 The second expression “the equal protection of the

laws” is based on the last clause of the first section of
the Fourteenth Amendment to the American
Constitution
 It directs that equal protection shall be secured to all
persons within the territorial jurisdiction of the Union in
the enjoyment of their rights and privileges without
favouritism or discrimination.
 The term Equal Protection of Laws is a positive concept
Article 14 applies to all persons and is not limited
to citizens
A corporation, which is a juristic person, is also
entitled to the benefit of this Article
(Chiranjit Lal Chowdhurary v. Union of India, AIR
1951 SC 41).

 Equals are to be governed by the same laws. But as

regards unequals, the same laws are not
complemented.

 In fact, that would itself lead to inequality.

 Equality is a comparative concept.

 A person is treated unequally only if that person is

treated worse than others, and those others (the
comparison group) must be those who are ‘similarly
situated’ to the complainant.

 In Raj Bala v. State of Haryana AIR 2016 SC 33

Supreme Court held that the declaring a piece of
legislation as arbitrary and thereby unconstitutional
implies value judgement. It has no application under
the Indian constitution
 LEGISLATIVE CLASSIFICATION

 To separate persons similarly situated from those who

are not, legislative classification or distinction is made
carefully between persons who are and who are not
similarly situated.

 The Supreme Court in a number of cases has upheld

the view that Article 14 does not rule out classification
for purposes of legislation.

 Article 14 does not forbid classification or

differentiation which rests upon reasonable grounds of
distinction.

 The Supreme Court in State of Bihar v. Bihar State

‘Plus-2’ lectures Associations, (2008) 7 SCC 231 held
that now it is well settled and cannot be disputed that
Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality
before the law and confers equal protection of laws.

 It prohibits the state from denying persons or class of

persons equal treatment; provided they are equals and
are similarly situated.

 It however, does not forbid classification.

 In other words, what Article 14 prohibits is

discrimination and not classification if otherwise such
classification is legal, valid and reasonable.
 TEST OF VALID CLASSIFICATION

 Since a distinction is to be made for the purpose of

enacting a legislation, it must pass the classical test
enunciated by the Supreme Court in State of West
Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar, AIR 1952 SC 75.

 Permissible classification must satisfy two

conditions, namely;

 it must be founded on an intelligible differentia which

distinguishes persons or things that are grouped
together from others left out of the group;

 And the differentia must have a rational nexus with the

object sought to be achieved by the statute in question.

 The classification may be founded on different basis,

such as, geographical, or according to objects or
occupation or the like.

 A legal and valid classification may be based on

educational qualifications.
 SCOPE OF ARTICLE 14

 The true meaning and scope of Article 14 has been

explained in several decisions of the Supreme Court.

 The rules with respect to permissible classification as

evolved in the various decisions have been summarised
by the Supreme Court in Ram Kishan Dalmiya v. Justice
Tendulkar, as follows

(i) Article 14 forbids class legislation, but does not forbid

classification.

(ii) Permissible classification must satisfy two

conditions, namely,

(a) it must be founded on an intelligible differentia which

distinguishes persons or things that are grouped together
from others left out of the group, and

(b) the differentia must have a relation to the object

sought to be achieved by the statute in question.

(iii) The classification may be founded on different basis,

namely geographical, or according to objects or
occupations or the like.

(iv) In permissible classification, mathematical nicety and

perfect equality are not required. Similarly, nonidentity of
treatment is enough.

(v) Even a single individual may be treated a class by

himself on account of some special circumstances or
reasons applicable to him and not applicable to others; a
law may be constitutional even though it relates to a
single individual who is in a class by himself.

(vi) Article 14 condemns discrimination not only by

substantive law but by a law of procedure.
(vii) There is always a presumption in favour of the
constitutionality of an enactment and the burden is upon
him who attacks it to show that there has been a clear
transgression of the constitutional principles.

 ARTICLE 15 - PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION

ON GROUNDS OF RELIGION

Article 15(1)
Prohibits the State from discriminating against any citizen
on grounds only of:
(a) Religion (b) Race (c) Caste (d) Sex (e) Place of Birth
Article 15(2)
lays down that no citizen shall be subjected to any
disability, restriction or condition with regard to –
 access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places
of public entertainment; or
 the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places
of public resort,
 maintained wholly or partially out of State funds or
dedicated to the use of the general public.

Article 15(3)
The State can make special provision for women and
children.
It is under this provision that courts have upheld the
validity of legislation or executive orders discriminating in
favour of women (Union of India v. Prabhakaran, (1997) 2
SCC 633).

Article 15(4)
permits the State to make special provision for the
advancement of –Socially and educationally backward
classes of citizens;
Scheduled casts; and
Scheduled tribes.

Article 15(5)
permits the State to make special provision for the
advancement of any
Socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or
The Scheduled Castes or
The Scheduled Tribes

so far as such special provisions relate to their admission

to educational institutions including private educational
institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other
than the minority educational institutions referred to in
clause (1) of article 30..

Article 15(6)
permits the State to make

special provision for the advancement of any economically

weaker sections of citizen

special provision for the advancement of any economically

weaker sections of citizen so far as such special provisions
relate to their admission to educational institutions
including private educational institutions, whether aided or
unaided by the State, other than the minority educational
institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30. subject
to a maximum of ten per cent. of the total seats in each
category.

 ARTICLE 16 - EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY IN

MATTERS OF PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT

Article 16(1)
guarantees to all citizens’ equality of opportunity in
matters relating to employment or appointment of office
under the State.

Article 16(2)
prohibits discrimination against a citizen on the grounds of
religion race caste, sex descent, place of birth or
residence.
Article 16(3), 16(4) and 16(5). contains exceptions -

Article 16(3)
Parliament can make a law for classes of employment or
appointment to an office under the Government of a State
on a Union Territory, under any local or other authority
within the State or Union Territory, residence within that
State or Union Territory prior to such employment or
appointment shall be an essential qualification.

[Article 16(4)]
A provision can be made for the reservation of
appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of
citizens.

[Article 16(4A)]
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making
any provision for reservation in matters of promotion, with
consequential seniority, to any class or classes of posts in
the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of
the State, are not adequately represented in the services
under the State.

[Article 16(4B)]
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from
considering any unfilled vacancies of a year which are
reserved for being filled up in that year in accordance with
any provision

[Article 16(5)]
A law shall not be invalid if it provides that the incumbent
of an office in connection with the affair of any religious or
denominational institution or any member of the
governing body thereof shall be a person professing a
particular religion or belonging to a particular
denomination.
[Article 16(6)]
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making
any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts
in favour of any economicallyweaker sections of citizens in
addition to the existing reservation and subject to a
maximum of ten per cent. of the posts in each category.

CASE EXAMPLES -
Secy. of State of Karnataka v. Umadevi (2006) 4
SCC 1

The Supreme Court held that adherence to the rule of

equality in public employment is a basic feature of the
Constitution.

Hence a Court would certainly be disabled from passing an

order in a violation of Article 14.

Equality of opportunity is the hallmark and the

Constitution has provided also for affirmative action to
ensure that unequal’s are not treated as equals.

Thus any public employment has to be in terms of the

Constitutional Scheme.

 ARTICLE 17 – Abolition of Untouchability

 Article 17 says that “Untouchability” is abolished and

its practice in any form is forbidden.

 The enforcement of any disability arising out of

“Untouchability” shall be an offence punishable in
accordance with law.

 Untouchability does not include an instigation to social

boycott (Davarajiah v. Padamanna, AIR 1961 Mad. 35,
39).

 In 1955 Parliament enacted the Untouchability

(Offences) Act 1955.
 In 1976, the Act was amended and renamed as the
“Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955” making changes
in the existing law namely, all offences to be treated as
non-compoundable and offences punishable upto three
months to be tried summarily.

 ARTICLE 18 – ABOLITION OF TITLES

 Article 18 is more a prohibition rather than a

fundamental right.

Article 18 provides as under:

 No title ,other than a military or academic distinction,

shall be conferred by the State.

 No citizen of India shall accept any title from any

foreign State.

 No person, who is not a citizen of India shall, while he

holds any office or trust under the State, accept without
the consent of the President, any title from any foreign
State.
 No person, holding any office of profit or trust under
State shall without the consent of the President, accept
any present, emolument or office of any kind from or
under a foreign State.

 The theory of equality does not mandate that merit

should not be recognized.

 The Court has held that the National awards do not

amount to “titles” within the meaning of Article 18(1)
and they should not be used as suffixes or prefixes.

 If this is done, the defaulter should forfeit the National

award conferred on him/ her.

 RIGHTS RELATING TO FREEDOM

Articles 19-22 guarantee certain fundamental freedoms.

Article 19(1), of the Constitution, guarantees to the

citizens of India six freedoms, namely:

 Freedom of speech and expression

 Assembe peaceful without Arms
 Form association and Unions
 Move freely throughout the territory of India
 Reside and settle in part of territory of India
 practise any profession, or to carry occupation, trade or
business

The Constitution under Articles 19(2) to 19(6)

permits the imposition of restrictions on these
freedoms subject to the following conditions:
 The restriction can be imposed by law and not by a
purely executive order issued under a statute;
 The restriction must be reasonable;
 The restriction must be imposed for achieving one or
more of the objects specified in the respective clauses
of Article 19.

Reasonableness
It is very important to note that the restrictions should be
The following factors are usually considered to assess the
reasonableness of a law:
The objective of the restriction;
The nature, extent and urgency of the evil sought to be
dealt with by the law in question;
How far the restriction is proportion to the evil in question
Duration of the restriction
The conditions prevailing at the time when the law was
framed.
The onus of proving to the satisfaction of the Court that
the restriction is reasonable is upon the State.
Procedural and Substantivizes
It is the reasonableness of the restriction and not of the
law that has to
be found out, and if the legislature imposes a restriction
by one law but
creates countervailing advantages by another law passed
as part of the same
legislative plan, the court can take judicial notice of such
Acts forming part
of the same legislative plan (Lord Krishna Sagar Mills v.
Union of India, AIR
1959 SC 316).
The phrase ‘reasonable restrictions’ connotes that the
limitation imposed
upon a person in the enjoyment of a right should not be
arbitrary or of an
excessive nature.

 PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN

 Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below

the age of fourteen in any factory or mine.

 The Supreme Court has issued detailed guidelines as to

child labour in M.C. Mehta v. State of T.N

 PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC IN HUMAN BEINGS AND

FORCED LABOUR

 Article 23 imposes a complete ban on traffic in human

beings, begar and other similar forms of forced labour.

 The contravention of these provisions is declared

punishable by law.

 A person who is asked to do any labour without

payment or even a labourer with payment against his
desire can complain against the violation of his
fundamental right under Article 23.

 ‘Traffic’ in human beings means to deal in men and

women like goods, such as to sell or let or otherwise
dispose them of.

 ‘Begar’ means involuntary work without payment.

 The State can impose compulsory service for public
purposes such as conscription for defence or social
service etc

 While imposing such compulsory service the State

cannot make any discrimination on grounds only of
religion, race, caste or class or any of them. (Clause 2
of Article 23).

 RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION

 Article 25 gives to every person the:

 freedom of conscience, and
 the right freely to profess, practice and propagate
religion.

But this freedom is subject to restrictions imposed

by the State on the following grounds:

 public order, morality and health,

 other provisions in Part III of the Constitution,

 any law regulating or restricting any economic,

financial; political or other secular activity which may
be associated with religious practice, and

 any law providing for social welfare and reform or the

throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public
character to all classes and sections of Hindus.

 The Supreme Court in State of Karnataka v. Dr. Praveen

Bhai Thogadia, (2004) 9 SCC 684, held that secularism
means that State should have no religion of its own and
each person, whatever his religion, must get an
assurance from the State that he has the protection of
 law to freely profess, practice and propagate his
religion and freedom of conscience.

 The freedom of religion conferred by the present Article

is not confined to the citizens of Indian but extends to
all persons including aliens and individuals exercising
their rights individually or through institutions (Ratilal v.
State of Bombay, (1954) SCR 105, Stanslaus v. State,
AIR 1975 M. 163).

 THE CONCEPT OF RELIGION

 Our Constitution does not define the word religion.

 Religion is certainly a matter of faith with individuals or

communities and it is not necessarily theistic

 There are well-known religions in India like Buddhism

and Jainism which do not believe in God or in any
Intelligent First Cause.

 A religion undoubtedly has its basis in any system of

beliefs or doctrines which are regarded by those who
profess that religion as conducive to their spiritual well
being, but it would not be correct to say that religion is
nothing else but a doctrine or belief.

 A religion may not only lay down a code of ethical rules

for its follower to accept, it might prescribe rituals and
observances, ceremonies and modes or worship which
are regarded as integral parts of religion and those
forms and observances might extend even to matters
of food and dress (Justice Mukherjee in Commr. of
H.R.E., Madras v. Sirur Mutt, A.I.R. 1954 S.C. 282).
 FREEDOM TO MANAGE RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS

 Article 26 deals with the collective rights of religious

denominations.

In the words of our Supreme Court:

 “The word ‘denomination’ mean a collection of
individuals classed together under the same name: a
religious sect or body having a common faith and
organization and designated by a distinctive name.
 Each one of such sects or sub-sects can certainly be
called a religious denomination, as it is designated by a
distinctive name.
 The followers of Ramanuja, who are known by the
name of Shri Vaishnavas, undoubtedly constitute a
religious denomination, and so do the followers of
Madhavacharya and other religious teachers”
(Mukherjee J. in Commr. Of H.R.E., Madras v. Sirur
Mutt., A.I.R. 1954 S.C. 282).

However, a religious denomination is not a ‘citizen’.

Article 26,grants to every religious denomination or

any
sect thereof the right –
 to establish and maintain institutions of religious and
charitable purposes;
 to manage its own affairs in matters of religion;
 to own and acquire movable and immovable property;
and
 to administer such property in accordance with law.

 All these rights are subject to public order, morality and

health, and therefore, if they conflict then the right will
give way to these exceptions.
 A denomination’s right to manage its own affairs in
matters of religion is subject to the State’s power to
throw open Hindu religious institutions of a public
nature to all classes or sections of Hindus covered in
Article 25.
 FREEDOM AS TO PAYMENT OF TAX FOR THE
PROMOTION OF ANY PARTICULAR RELIGION

 According to Article 27, no person can be compelled to

pay any taxes, the proceeds of which are specially
appropriated in payment of expenses for the promotion
or maintenance of any particular religion or religious
denomination.

 It is notable that freedom not to pay taxes is only with

respect to those taxes the proceeds of which are
specially appropriated in payment of expenses for the
promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or
denomination.
 FREEDOM AS TO ATTENDANCE AT RELIGIOUS
INSTRUCTION OR RELIGIOUS WORSHIP IN
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Article 28 prohibits religious instruction in certain

educational institutions and gives freedom to a person to
participate in such religious instructions.

The Article states that –

No religious instruction can be provided in any educational

institution wholly maintained out of State funds.

However, this prohibition does not extend to an

educational institution which is administered by the State
but has been established under any endowment or trust
which requires that religious instruction shall be imparted
in such institution.

No person attending an educational institution recognized

by the State or receiving aid out of State funds cannot be
required:
to take part in any religious instruction that may be
imparted in such institution; orto attend any religious
worship that may be conducted in such institution
or any premises attached thereto, unless such person or if
such person is a minor, his guardian has given his consent
thereto.
 CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS ( RIGHTS
OF MINORITIES )

 Minority
 Minority should be determined in relation to a
impugned legislation.
 The determination of minority should be based on the
area of operation of a piece of legislation.
 If it is a State law, the population of the State should be
kept in mind and if it is a Central Law the population of
the whole of India should be considered.

Protection of interests of Minorities

Article 29 guarantees two rights:

Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of

Indian or any part thereof having a distinct language,
script or culture of its own has the right of conserve the
same.

No citizen can be denied admission into any educational

institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of
State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste,
language, or any of them An exception is made to this
right to the effect that if a special provision is made for the
admission of persons belonging to educationally or/and
socially backward classes or scheduled castes
or scheduled tribes it shall be valid.

Right of Minorities to establish and administer educational

institutions

Following rights are declared in Article 30:

All minorities, whether based on religion or on language,
shall have theright to establish and administer educational
institutions of their choice.
It may be noted here that this right is not limited only to
linguistic
minorities but it extends to religious minorities also.
The maladministration may be checked by the State but
administration cannot be entrusted to outside hands.
Mal-administration defeats the very object of Article 30,
which is to
promote excellence of minority institutions in the field of
education.
In the matter of medium of instruction also, the minorities
are completely
free to adopt any medium of their choice.
The State cannot, in granting aid to educational
institutions, discriminate
against any educational institution on the ground that it is
under the
management of a minority, whether based on religion or
language.
It has been held that the State cannot impose conditions
in granting aid
to such institutions.
Further, the minority institutions are also entitled to
recognition and
the State cannot deny them that right, merely because
they do not
follow the directions of the State which impair rights under
Article 30.
Case examples -
In DAV College v. State of Punjab, AIR 1971 SC 1737
it was held that any community – religious or linguistic,
which is numerically
less than 50 percent of the population of that State, is a
minority
within the meaning of Article 30.
The right conferred on religious and linguistic minorities to
administer
educational institutions of their choice, though couched in
absolute terms,
is not free from regulation.
Delhi Abibhavak Mahasangh v. U.O.I. and others
Article 30(1) of the Constitution does not permit,
minorities to indulge
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in commercialization of education in the garb of
constitutional protection.
For the application of this right minority institutions are
divided into three
classes:
institution which neither seek aid nor recognition from the
State
institution that seek aid from the State; and
institutions which seek recognition but not aid.
While the institutions of class (i) cannot be subjected to
any regulations
except those emanating from the general law of the land
such as labour,
contract or tax laws, the institutions in classes (ii) and (iii)
can be subjected
to regulations pertaining to the academic standards and to
the better
administration of the institution, in the interest of that
institution itself.
T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka
Right of minorities included right to determine the
procedure and method
of admission and selection of students, which should be
fair and transparent
and based on merit.
The Constitution (44th Amendment Act) has introduced
new sub-clause
(1A) which provides that wherever compulsory acquisition
of any property
of an educational institution established and administered
by a minority is
provided under any law, the State shall ensure that the
amount fixed by
or determined under any such law is such as would not
restrict or abrogate
the right guaranteed under this Article.
 ARTICLE 31A, 31B , 31C RELATING TO PROPERTY

Right to property is no more a fundamental right which

was previously guaranteed under Part III of the
Constitution by Article 31.

But the right to property has been inserted by Article 300A

under Part XII of the Constitution.

Article 300A reads Article 300A reads “No person shall be

deprived of his property save by authority of law”.

Saving of Laws Providing for Acquisition of Estates etc.

Then follows Article 31A which is an exception to the right

of equality as guaranteed in Article 14 and to the six
freedoms as guaranteed in Article 19, if they come into
conflict with any law mentioned in Article 31A.

Such laws are those which provide for

–the acquisition by the State of any estate or any rights
therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such
rights.
the taking over of the management of any property by the
State for
a limited period in the public interest or in order to secure
the proper management of the property, or
the amalgamation of two or more corporations either in
the public
interest or in order to secure the proper management of
any of the
corporations, or
the extinguishment or modification of any rights of
managing agents, secretaries and treasurers, managing
directors or managers of corporations, or of any voting
rights of shareholders thereof, or
the extinguishment or modification of any rights accruing
by virtue of any agreement, lease or licence for the
purpose of searching for, or winning
any mineral or mineral oil or the premature termination or
cancellation of any such agreement, lease or licence.
However, limitations have been imposed with respect to
the laws relating to the acquisition of the estates.

They are:
If such a law is made by a State Legislature then it cannot
be protected by the provisions of Article 31A unless such
law having been reserved for the consideration of the
President has received his assent, and
If the law provides for the acquisition of
(i) any land within the ceiling limit applicable in that area,
(ii) any building or structure standing thereon or
apartment thereto, it (law) shall not be valid unless it
provides for payment of compensation at a rate which
shall not be less than
the market value thereof.

This provision, however, has been amended by the

Constitution (29th Amendment) Act.

Validation of certain Acts and Regulations

Article 31B protects certain laws against attack on the
ground of violation of any fundamental rights.
These laws also relate mainly to land reforms.

Saving of Laws giving effect to certain Directive Principles

Article 31C added by 25th Amendment of the Constitution
lifted to the constitutional limitations on the powers of
State, imposed by Article 14 (equality before law) and
Article 19 (freedoms) as regards law giving effect to the
policy of the State towards securing the principles
specified in clause (b) or clause (c) of Article 39.
These principles are –
that the ownership and control of the matenal resources of
the community
are so distributed as best to subserve the common good,
and
that the operation of the economic system does not result
in the concentration
of wealth and means of production to the common
detriment.
The issue whether the 24th, 25th and 29th Amendments
made by Parliament
were valid or not was raised in the Supreme Court.
In [Kesavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala, (1973) S.C.C.
225], the majority
judgement upheld the power of Parliament to amend the
Constitution
provided it did not alter its basic framework.
By the 42nd Amendment in Article 31-C for the words the
principles
specified in clause (a) or clause (c) of Article 39 the words
in all or any of
the principles laid down in Part IV were substituted. But
this substitution
was held to be void by the Supreme Court in Minerva Mills
v. Union of
India, (1980) 2 SCC 591.

Remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights

It is a cardinal principle of jurisprudence that where there
is a right there
is a remedy (ubi jus ibi remedium) and if rights are given
without there
being a remedy for their enforcement, they are of no use.
While remedies are available in the Constitution and under
the ordinary
laws, Article 32 makes it a fundamental right that a person
whose
fundamental right is violated has the right to move the
Supreme Court
by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of this
fundamental right.
It is really a far-reaching provision in the sense that a
person need not
first exhaust the other remedies and then go to the
Supreme Court.
He can directly raise the matter before highest Court of
the land and
the Supreme Court is empowered to issue directions or
orders or writs
in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition,
quo warranto
and certiorari, whichever may be appropriate for the
enforcement of the
right, the violation of which has been alleged.
Article 32 empowers the Supreme Court to issue orders
which enforce
fundamental rights.
The right guaranteed by Article 32 shall not be suspended
except as
provided in the Constitution. Constitution does not
contemplate such
suspension except by way of President’s order under
Article 359 when a
proclamation of Emergency is in force.
Supplementary Provisions
Articles 33-35 – contain certain supplementary provisions.
Article 33 authorizes Parliament to restrict or abrogate the
application
of fundamental rights in relation to members of armed
forces, paramilitary
forces, police forces and analogous forces.
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Article 34 is primarily concerned with granting indemnity
by law in respect
of acts done during operation of martial law.
Article 35 provide that wherever Parliament has by an
express provision
been empowered to make a law restricting a fundamental
right Parliament
alone can do so, (and not the state legislature).
Amendibility of the fundamental rights
Until the case of I.C. Golak Nath v. State of Punjab, the
Supreme Court
had been holding that no part of our Constitution was
unamenable and
that Parliament might, by passing a Constitution
Amendment Act, in
compliance with the requirements of Article 368, amend
any provision of
the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights and
Article 368 itself.
Core constitutional values/ overarching principles like
secularism; egalitarian
equality etc. fall out side the amendatory power under
Article 368 of the
Constitution and Parliament cannot amend the
constitution to abrogate
these principles so as to rewrite the constitution.
Under our Constitution, while some features are capable of
being amended
by Parliament, pursuant to the amending power granted
by Article 368, the
essential features - the basic structure - of the
Constitution is beyond such
powers of Parliament. The power to make changes to the
basic structure of
the Constitution vests only in the people sitting, as a
nation, through its
representatives in a Constituent Assembly.
 FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

 Article 51A imposing the fundamental duties on every

citizen of India

 It was inserted by the Constitution Fortysecond

Amendment) Act, 1976.

 The objective in introducing these duties is not laid

down in the Bill except that since the duties of the
citizens are not specified in the Constitution, so it was
thought necessary to introduce them.

Few Fundamental Duties are

 To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and

institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;

 To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired

our national struggle for freedom;

 To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and

integrity of India;

 To defend the country and render national service

when called upon to do so;

 To value and preserve the rich heritage of our

composite culture;
 To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the
spirit of inquiry and reform;

 To safeguard public property and to abjure violene;

 Since the duties are imposed upon the citizens and not
upon the States, legislation is necessary for their
implementation.

 Fundamental duties can’t be enforced by writs (Surya

Narain v. Union of India, AIR

 The Supreme Court in AIIMS Students’ Union v. AIIMS

(2002) has reiterated that though the fundamental
duties are not enforceable by the courts, they provide a
valuable guide and aid to the interpretation of
Constitutional and legal issues.

 Further, in Om Prakash v. State of U.P. (2004) , the

Supreme Court held that fundamental duties enjoined
on citizens under Article 51-A should also guide the
legislative and executive actions of elected or
nonelected institutions and organizations of citizens
including municipal bodies.
BILL

 A Bill is a draft statute which becomes law after it is

passed by both the Houses of Parliament and assented
to by the President.

 All legislative proposals are brought before Parliament

in the forms of Bills.

TYPES OF BILLS AND THEIR SPECIFIC FEATURES

(i) Bills may be broadly classified into Government Bills

and Private Members’ Bills depending upon their
initiation in the House by a Minister or a Private Member.

(ii) Content wise, Bills are further classified into:

(a) Original Bills which embody new proposals, ideas or

policies,
(b) Amending Bills which seek to modify, amend or revise
existing Acts,
(c) Consolidating Bills which seek to consolidate existing
law/enactments on a particular subject,
(d) Expiring Laws (Continuance) Bills which seek to
continue Acts which, otherwise, would expire on a
specified date,
(e) Repealing and amending Bill to cleanse the Statute
Book,
(f) Validating Acts to give validity to certain actions, (g)
Bills to replace Ordinances,
(g) Money and Financial Bills, and
(i) Constitution Amendment Bills.

(iii) However, procedurally, the Bills are classified as

(a) Ordinary Bills
(b) Money Bills and Financial Bills
(c) Ordinance Replacing Bills and
(d) Constitution Amendment Bills.

MONEY BILL

 Money Bills are those Bills which contain only

provisions dealing with all or any of the matters
specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f) of clause (1) of article
110 of the Constitution.

 As per the provisions of article 109 of the Constitution,

the Rajya Sabha has limited powers with respect to
Money Bills.

 A Money Bill after having been passed by the Lok

Sabha, and sent to Rajya Sabha for its
recommendations, has to be returned to Lok Sabha by
the Rajya Sabha, with in a period of fourteen days from
the date of its receipt, with or without
recommendations.

 It is open for the Lok Sabha, to either accept or reject

all or any of the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha.

 If the Lok Sabha accepts any of the recommendations

of the Rajya Sabha, the Money Bill is deemed to have
been passed by both Houses with the amendments
recommended by the Rajya Sabha and accepted by the
Lok Sabha.

 If the Lok Sabha does not accept any of the

recommendations of the Rajya Sabha, the Money Bill is
deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the
form in which it was passed by the Lok Sabha without
any of the amendments recommended by the Rajya
Sabha.

 In case a Money Bill is not returned by the Rajya Sabha

to the Lok Sabha within a period of fourteen days from
the date of its receipt, it is deemed to have been
passed by both Houses in the form in which it was
passed by the Lok Sabha after the expiry of said period.
FINANCIAL BILL

Category A Financial Bill

 Introduced in the Lok Sabha on the recommendation of
the President.
 However once it has been passed by the Lok Sabha, it
is like an ordinary Bill and there is no restriction on the
powers of the Rajya Sabha on such Bills.

Category B and Ordinary Bills

 Introduced in either House of Parliament.

ORDINANCE BILL

 Ordinance replacing Bills are brought before Parliament

to replace an Ordinance, with or without modifications,
promulgated by the President under article 123 of the
Constitution of a subject.

 To provide continuity to the provisions of the

Ordinance, such a Bill has to be passed by the Houses
of Parliament and assented to by the President within
six weeks of the reassembly of Parliament.

 ORDINANCE MAKING POWERS

President
In Article 53 the Constitution lays down that the
“executive power of the Union shall be vested in the
President”.

The President of India shall, thus, be the head of the

‘executive power’ of the Union.

The various powers that are included within the

comprehensive expression ‘executive power’ in a modern
state have been classified under various heads as follows:

(i) Administrative power, i.e., the execution of the laws

and the administration of the departments of Government.

(ii) Military power, i.e., the command of the armed forces

and the conduct of war.

(iii) Legislative power, i.e., the summoning; prorogation,

etc. of the legislature.

(iv) Judicial power, i.e., granting of pardons, reprieves etc.

to persons convicted of crime.

These powers vest in the President under each of these

heads, subject to the limitations made under the
Constitution. Ordinance-making power The most important
legislative power conferred on the President is to
promulgate Ordinances. Article 123 of the Constitution
provides that the President shall have the power to
legislate by Ordinances at any time when it is not possible
to have a parliamentary enactment on the subject,
immediately. This is a special feature of the Constitution of
India. The ambit of this Ordinance-making power of the
President is co-extensive with the legislative powers of
Parliament, that is to say it may relate to any subject in
respect of which parliament has the right to legislate and
is subject to the same constitutional limitations as
legislation by Parliament. According to Article 13(3)(a)
“Law” includes an “Ordinance”. But an Ordinance shall be
of temporary duration. It may be of any nature, i.e., it may
be retrospective or may amend or repeal any law or Act of
Parliament itself. This independent power of the executive
to legislate by Ordinance has the following peculiarities:
66 EP-JI&GL (i) the Ordinance-making power will be
available to the President only when both the Houses of
Parliament have been prorogued or is otherwise not in
session, so that it is not possible to have a law enacted by
Parliament. However, Ordinance can be made even if only
one House is in Session because law cannot be made by
that House in session alone. Both the Houses must be in
session when Parliament makes the law. The President’s
Ordinance making power under the Constitution is not a
co-ordinate or parallel power of legislation along with
Legislature. (ii) this power is to be exercised by the
President on the advice of his Council of Ministers. (iii) the
President must be satisfied about the need for the
Ordinance and he cannot be compelled (iv) the Ordinance
must be laid before Parliament when it re-assembles, and
shall automatically cease to have effect at the expiration
of 6 weeks from the date of re-assembly or before
resolutions have been passed disapproving the Ordinance.
(v) the period of six weeks will be counted from the latter
date if the Houses reassemble on different dates.

2. Of the Governor The executive power of the State is

vested in the Governor and all executive action of the
State has to be taken in the name of the Governor.
Normally there shall be a Governor for each State but the
same person can be appointed as Governor for two or
more States. The Governor of a State is not elected but is
appointed by the President and holds his office at the
pleasure of the President. The head of the executive
power to a State is the Governor just as the President for
the Union. Powers: The Governor possesses executive,
legislation and judicial powers as the Presidents except
that he has no diplomate or military powers like the
President. Ordinance making power This power is
exercised under the head of ‘legislative powers’. The
Governor’s power to make Ordinances as given under
Article 213 is similar to the Ordinance making power of the
President and have the force of an Act of the State
Legislature. He can make Ordinance only when the State
Legislature or either of the two Houses (where it is
bicameral) is not in session. He must be satisfied that
circumstances exist which render it necessary to take
immediate action. While exercising this power Governor
must act with the aid and advise of the Council of
Ministers. But in following cases the Governor cannot
promulgate any Ordinance without instructions from the
President: (a) if a Bill containing the same provisions
would under this Constitution have required the previous
section of the President. (b) he would have deemed it
necessary to reserve a Bill containing the same provisions
for the consideration of the President. (c) an Act of the
State legislature containing the same provisions would
under this Constitution have been invalid under having
been reserved for the consideration of the President, it
had received the assent of the President. The Ordinance
must be laid before the state legislature (when it re-
assembles) and shall automatically cease to have effect at
the expiration of six weeks from the date of the re-
assembly unless disapproved earlier by that legislature.

LEGISLATIVE POWER OF UNION AND STATES

Two sets of government
A federal constitution establishes a dual polity as it
comprises two levels of
Government.
Central
Government
A Central Government
have jurisdiction over
the whole country and
reach down to the
person and property
of every individual
therein.
State
Government
It exercises jurisdiction
in one of the States
into which the country
is divided under the
Constitution.

DELEGATED LEGISLATION

The three relevant justifications for delegated

legislation are:

 the limits of the time of the legislature

 the limits of the amplitude of the legislature, not

merely its lack of competence but also its sheer
inability to act in many situations, where direction is
wanted; And

 the need of some weapon for coping with situations

created by emergency.

Classification of delegated legislation

 The American writes classify delegates legislation as
contingent and subordinate.
 Further, legislation is either supreme or subordinate.

Supreme
The Supreme Law or Legislation is that which proceeds
from supreme or sovereign power in the state and is
therefore incapable of being repealed, annulled or
controlled by any other legislative authority.

Subordinate
Subordinate legislation is that which proceeds from any
authority other than the sovereign power, and is,
therefore, dependent for its
continued existence and validity on some sovereign or
supreme authority.
Classification of subordinate legislation

 Executive Legislation
 This system empowers the executive to make rules and
orders which do not require express confirmation by
the legislature.
 Thus, the rules framed by the Government under the
various Municipal Acts fall under the category.

 Judicial legislation
 Under various statues, the High Courts are authorised
to frame rules for regulating the procedure to be
followed in courts. Such rules have been framed by the
High Courts under the Guardians of Wards Act,
Insolvency Act, Succession Act and Companies Act, etc.

 Municiple legislation
 Municipal authorities are entrusted with limited and
sub-ordinate powers of establishing special laws
applicable to the whole or any part of the area under
their administration known as bye-laws.

 Autonomus legislation
 Under this head fall the regulations which autonomus
bodies such as Universities make in respect of matters
which concern themselves

 Colonial legislation
 The laws made by colonies under the control of some
other nation, which are subject to supreme legislation
of the country under whose control they are.
Principles applicable

A body, to which powers of subordinate legislation are

delegates must
directly act within the powers which are conferred on it
and it cannot act
beyond its powers except to the extent justified by the
doctrine of implied
powers.
The doctrine of implied powers means where the
legislature has conferred
any power, it must be deemed to have also granted any
other power
without which that power cannot be effectively exercised.
Subordinate legislation cannot take effect unless
published. Therefore, there
must be promulgation and publication in such cases.
Although there is no
rule as to any kind of publication.
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Conditional legislation is defined as a statute that provides
controls
but specifies that they are to come into effect only when a
given
administrative authority finds the existence of conditions
defined in the
statue.
While delegating the powers to an outside authority the
legislature must
act within the ambit of the powers defined by the
Constitution and
subject to the limitations prescribed thereby.
There is a limit that essential powers of legislation or
essential legislative
functions cannot be delegated. However, there is no
specific provision in
the Constitution prohibiting the delegation. On the
question whether
such doctrine is recognized in our Constitution, a number
of principles in
various judicial decisions have been laid down which are
as follows:
The primary duty of law-making has to be discharged by
the Legislature
itself. The Legislature cannot delegate its primary or
essential legislative
function to an outside authority in any case.
The essential legislative function consists in laying down
the ‘the policy
of the law’ and ‘making it a binding rule of conduct’. The
legislature, in
other words must itself lay down the legislative policy and
principles and
must afford sufficient guidance to the rule-making
authority for carrying
out the declared policy.
If the legislature has performed its essential function of
laying down the
policy of the law and providing guidance for carrying out
the policy, there
is no constitutional bar against delegation of subsidiary or
ancillary powers
in that behalf to an outside authority.
It follows from the above that an Act delegating law-
making powers to a
person or body shall be invalid, if it lays down no
principles and provides
no standard for the guidance of the rule-making body.
In applying this test the court could take into account the
statement
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in the preamble to the act and if said statements afford a
satisfactory
basis for holding that the legislative policy or principle has
been enunciated
with sufficient accuracy and clarity, the preamble itself
would satisfy the
requirements of the relevant tests.
In every case, it would be necessary to consider the
relevant provisions of
the Act in relation to the delegation made and the
question as to whether
the delegation made is intra vires or not will have to be
decided by the
application of the relevant tests.
Delegated legislation may take different forms, viz.
conditional legislation,
supplementary legislation subordinate legislation etc., but
each form is
subject to the one and same rule that delegation made
without indicating
intelligible limits of authority is constitutionally
incompetent.
SEPERATION OF POWERS
 It is generally accepted that there are three main
categories of governmental functions –
e Judiciary
 According to the theory of separation of powers, these
three powers and functions of the Government must, in
a free democracy, always be kept separate and
exercised by separate organs of the Government.

 Thus, the legislature cannot exercise executive or

judicial power; the executive cannot exercise legislative
or judicial power of the Government.

 Article 50 of the Constitution of India dealing with

Separation of judiciary from executive.

 It provides that the State shall take steps to separate

the judiciary from the executive in the public services
of the State.

 The value of the doctrine lies in the fact that it seeks to

preserve human liberty by avoiding the concentration
of powers in one person or body of persons.

 The different organs of government should thus be

prevented from encroaching on the province of the
other organ.

 In India, the executive is part of the legislature. The

President is the head of the executive and acts on the
advice of the Council of Ministers.

 The Constitution of India does not recognize the

doctrine of separation of power in its absolute rigidity,
but the functions of the three organs of the
 government have been sufficiently differentiated.

 None of the three of organs of the Government can

take over the functions assigned to the other organs .
CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILLS

 As per the procedure laid down in the Constitution,

Constitution Amendment Bills can be of three types
viz.,

1. Requiring simple majority for their passage in each

House

2. Requiring special majority for their passage in each

House i.e., a majority of the total membership of a
House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of
the members of that House present and voting

3. Requiring special majority for their passage and

ratification by Legislatures of not less than one- half of
the States by resolutions to that effect passed by those
Legislatures

 A Constitution Amendment Bill under article 368 can be

introduced in either House of Parliament and has to be
passed by each House by special majority.

 Under provisions of article 108 of the Constitution, if

after a Bill passed by one House and transmitted to the
other House:-

a) is rejected by the other House;

b) or the Houses have finally disagreed as to the
amendments to be made in the Bill;
c) Or more than six months elapse from the date of its
receipt by the other House without the Bill being
passed by it,

the President may, summon them to meet in a joint sitting

for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill.

 If at the joint sitting of the two Houses, the Bill is

 passed by a majority of the total number of members
of both Houses present and voting, it shall be deemed
to have been passed by both Houses.
 However there is no provision of joint sittings on a
Money Bill or a Constitution Amending Bill.

 After the dissolution of Lok Sabha all Bills except the

Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha and pending
therein, lapse.

LAW MAKING PROCESS ( HOW BILL BECOMES AN

ACT )

1. A Bill undergoes three readings in each House of

Parliament.

 The First Reading consists of the Introduction of a Bill.

 The Bill is introduced after adoption of a motion for

leave to introduce a Bill in either of the House.

 With the setting up of the Department-related

Parliamentary Standing Committees, invariably all Bills,
barring Ordinance replacing Bills; Bills of innocuous
nature and Money Bills, are referred to the these
Committees for examination and report within three
months.

 The next stage on a Bill i.e., second reading start only

after the Committee summits its report on the Bill to
the Houses.
 The Second Reading consists of two stages: the ‘first
stage’ consists of discussion on the principles of the Bill
and its provisions generally on any of the following
motions:

 that the Bill be taken into consideration;

 that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee of the

RajyaSabha ;

 that the Bill be referred to a Joint Committee of the

Houses with the concurrence of the Lok Sabha;

 that it be circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion

thereon;

 The ‘second stage’ signifies the clause-by clause

consideration of the Bill as introduced or as reported by
the Select/Joint Committee.

 Amendments given by members to various clauses are

moved at this stage.

 The Third Reading refers to the discussion on the

motion that the Bill (or the Bill as amended) be passed
or returned (to the Lok Sabha, in the case of a Money
Bill) wherein the arguments are based against or in
favour of the Bill.

 After a Bill has been passed by one House, it is sent to

the other House where it goes through the same
procedure. However the Bill is not again introduced in
the other House, it is laid on the Table of the other
House which constitutes its first reading there.

2. After a Bill has been passed by both Houses, it is

presented to the President for his assent.
 The President can assent or withhold his assent to a Bill
or he can return a Bill, other than a Money Bill, for
reconsideration.

 If the Bill is again passed by the Houses, with or without

amendment made by the President, he shall not
withhold assent there from.

 But, when a Bill amending the Constitution passed by

each House with the requisite majority is presented to
the President, he shall give his assent thereto.

3. A Bill becomes an Act of Parliament after being

passed by both the Houses of Parliament and
assented to by the President.

 PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES
 Parliamentary Committees play a vital role in the
Parliamentary System.

 They are a vibrant link between the Parliament, the

Executive and the general public.

The need for Committees arises out of two factors:

 The first one being the need for vigilance on the part of
the Legislature over the actions of the Executive

 Second one is that the modern Legislature these days

is over-burdened with heavy volume of work with
limited time at its disposal

 It thus becomes impossible that every matter should be

thoroughly and systematically scrutinised and
considered on the floor of the House.

 If the work is to be done with reasonable care, naturally

some Parliamentary responsibility has to be entrusted
to an agency in which the whole House has confidence.

 Entrusting certain functions of the House to the

Committees has, therefore, become a normal practice.

 This has become all the more necessary as a

Committee provides the expertise on a matter which is
referred to it.

 In a Committee, the matter is deliberated at length,

views are expressed freely, the matter is considered in
depth, in a business-like manner and in a calmer
atmosphere.

 In most of the Committees, public is directly or

indirectly associated when memoranda containing
suggestions are received, on-the-spot studies are
conducted and oral evidence is taken which helps the
Committees in arriving at the conclusions.
 The Committees aid and assist the Legislature in
discharging its duties and regulating its functions
effectively, expeditiously and efficiently.

 Through Committees, Parliament exercises its control

and influence over administration

TYPES OF COMMITTEES
Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds:
a) Ad hoc Committees and the Standing Committees.
b) Other Committees

 Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific

purpose and they cease to exit when they finish the
task assigned to them and submit a report.

 Apart from the Ad hoc Committees, each House of

Parliament has Standing Committees like the Business
Advisory Committee, the Committee on Petitions, the
Committee of Privileges and the Rules Committee, etc.

 OTHER COMMITTEES
These Committees act as Parliament’s ‘Watch Dogs’ over
the executive. These are the Committees on Subordinate
Legislation, the Committee on Government Assurances,
the Committee on
Estimates, the Committee on Public Accounts and the
Committee on Public Undertakings and Departmentally
Related Standing Committees (DRSCs).