UNIT I.ppt

UNIT I-
INTRODUCTION
Dr.K.P.Dhanabalakrishnan
Professor & HoD
Department of Aeronautical Engineering
Hindusthan Institute of Technology

Unit I - Introduction
 Historical Background
 Constitute Assembly of India
 Philosophical Foundation of the Indian
Constitution
 Preamble
 Fundamental Rights
 Directive Principles of State Policy
 Fundamental Duties
 Citizenship
 Constitutional Remedies for Citizens

First Drafting Committee
 After the independence of the country, on 29th
August 1947, a drafting committee was set up by
the constituent assembly which consisted of seven
members.
 The seven members were – Alladi Krishnaswami
Ayyar, N. Gopalaswami, B.R. Ambedkar, K.M
Munshi, Mohammad Saadulla, B.L. Mitter and
D.P. Khaitan. Wherein, B.R Ambedkar was
elected to be the Chairman of the Committee.
 First 'Draft Constitution of India' was published in
Feb, 1948.

Sources of Indian Constitution
 The Constitution of India is also termed as a
‘Bag of Borrowings’. The authors of our
Constitution were wise enough to borrow all the
goods from not just one but from the constitution
of several Countries.

Sources of Indian Constitution

Salient Features of The Constitution of
India
Longest Written Constitution
 The Indian Constitution is the Longest Constitution in the
World. It originally consisted of a preamble, 395 Articles
in 22 parts, 12 schedules, and 5 Appendices.
Combination of Rigidity and Flexibility
 The Indian Constitution is a combination of rigidity and
flexibility. While some provisions of the Constitution can
be amended by the Parliament by a simple majority, others
require a two-third majority of the members of the
parliament as well as ratification of not less than one-half
of the state legislatures (Article 368). Again, some
provisions of the Constitution can be amended by the
parliament alone by a two-third majority.

Salient Features of The Constitution
of India
Parliamentary System of Government
 The Constitution provides for a parliamentary system of
government under which the real executive power rests
with the Council of Ministers and the President is only a
nominal head.
Fundamental Rights
 The Constitution contains an elaborate list of Fundamental
Rights. The state cannot make laws which take away or
abridge any of the fundamental rights of the citizens.
Fundamental Duties
 The constitution also contains a list of 11 fundamental
duties of the citizens.

of India
Directive Principles of State Policy
 The Constitution outlines certain Directive Principles of
State Policy which the government has to keep in mind
while formulating any policy.
Secular State
 The Constitution makes India a secular state. This means
that there is no state religion and the state is completely
detached from religious dogmas. It also implies that
citizens are free to profess, practice and propagate any
religion. However, freedom of religion is not absolute and
the same can be regulated in the interest of the public.

of India
Independent & Integrated Judiciary
 The Constitution provides a single integrated judiciary
with the Supreme Court at the top. Below the Supreme
Court, there are high Courts at the state level. Under the
High Court, there are Subordinate courts.
People as Source of Authority
 The Constitution draws its authority from the people and
has been promulgated in the name of the people. This is
evident from the Preamble which states 'We, the people of
India... do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this
Constitution.

of India
Universal Adult Franchise
 The Constitution introduces universal adult franchise and
accords the right to vote to all citizens above 18 years of
age without discrimination.
Emergency Powers
 The Constitution vests extraordinary powers in the
President during emergencies arising out of armed
rebellion or external aggression; emergency due to
the breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state;
and financial emergency when the credit of the country is
threatened. In fact, during emergency the federal
Constitution can virtually be converted into a unitary
Constitution.

of India
Single Citizenship
 It provides single citizenship. All persons residing in
different parts of the country are treated as Indian citizens
and are entitled to the same rights of citizenship. There is
no separate citizenship of different states.
Bicameral Legislature
 It provides a bicameral legislature at the Centre consisting
of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The former
contains representative of the people, while the latter
contains representatives of the states.

of India
Special Provision of Minorities
 The Constitution makes special provision for minorities,
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, etc. It not only
reserves seats for them in the Parliament and State
legislatures, but also grants them certain special rights and
privileges.
Panchayati Raj
 The Constitution provides constitutional basis to
Panchayati Raj institutions as well as urban local bodies.

of India
Strike Balance between Constitutional Supremacy and
Parliamentary Sovereignty
 The Supreme Court through its power of judicial review
can declare the laws passed by the Parliament as
unconstitutional. On the other hand, the Parliament can
amend major portions of the Constitution.

Preamble
The term Preamble refers to the introduction or preface to
the Constitution.

Preamble
The word sovereign means that India is both internally as
well as externally free and is not dependent upon any
outside authority.
The term 'socialist' in the Preamble (inserted by the 42nd
Amendment) refers to elimination of inequality in income
and status and standards of living.
Secularism implies that the state is only concerned with
relations between various citizens and is not concerned with
relations of man with God. Further, it means that the state
has no religion of its own.

Preamble
The term Democratic implies that the government draws its
authority from the people. The rulers are elected by the
people and are accountable to them.
The word republic implies that the head of the state in India
shall be an elected person and shall hold office for a fixed
term. The President of India is the chief executive head of
India.

Preamble
Justice
 The preamble speaks of social, economic, said political
justice.
 Social justice implies that discrimination on the basis of
caste, race, sex or religion should cease.
 Economic justice implies that the gap between the rich
and the poor is bridged, and that exploitation ceases.
 Political justice implies that all citizens should have equal
opportunity to participate in the political system.

Preamble
Liberty
 Derived from Latin word 'liber' means freedom. Certain
minimal rights must be enjoyed by every person in a
community for a free and civilized existence.
Equality
 All citizens are equal before law and enjoy equal
protection of the laws of the land.
Fraternity
 Fraternity means a sense of brotherhood. Fraternity is also
sought to be promoted by ensuring equal rights to all.
Fraternity is not possible unless the dignity of each
individual is presented and respected.

Fundamental Rights
1.Right to Equality
 Equal legal rights for all citizens are completely
safeguarded by the right to equality. Inequality based on
caste, creed, religion, place of birth, race, or sex strictly
is prohibited by the Right to Equality.

Fundamental Rights
2.Right to Freedom
 It can also be called as Right to Liberty. Every person’s
most treasured desire is for them to be free.

Fundamental Rights
3.Right Against Exploitation
 This is a crucial Fundamental Right that ensures that no
citizen is subjected to any form of forced labor. No one
may be forced to labor against their will, even if money
is provided. The Indian constitution prohibits any form
of forced labor. If a lower-than-minimum wage is paid,
it is considered forced labor.
 In addition, the article declares human trafficking to be
unconstitutional. As a result, buying and selling men and
women for unlawful and immoral purposes is
prohibited. In addition, this article declares this ‘bound
labor’ unconstitutional.

Fundamental Rights
3.Right Against Exploitation

Fundamental Rights
4. Cultural and Educational Rights
 Cultural and educational rights give all members of
society the right to preserve their cultural script or
language. The image of Indian society that springs to
mind is one of diversity. Our Constitution thinks that
variety is our strength in such a diverse society. As a
result, one of the fundamental rights of minorities is the
right to preserve their culture.

Fundamental Rights
5.Right to Freedom of Religion

Fundamental Rights
Right to Constitutional Remedies
 In India, there is a right that allows a person to go to the
Supreme Court if they want their fundamental rights
protected.

Citizenship
• The Constitution of India provides for single citizenship.
All persons residing in different parts of the country
enjoy Indian citizenship (Article 5). There is no separate
citizenship of states.
A person can acquire citizenship of India in five ways.
• Citizenship by Birth
• Citizenship by Descent
• Citizenship by Registration
• Citizenship by Naturalisation
• By Incorporation of Territory

Citizenship
By Incorporation of Territory
• If any new territory is added to India, the Government of
India can specify the persons of the territory who shall be
citizens of India by reasons of their connection with that
territory.

Citizenship
Citizenship can be terminated in three ways
• A citizen may voluntarily renounce his citizenship by making necessary
declaration to this effect in the prescribed form. Usually citizenship is
renounced by a citizen who wants to become the national to another
country.
• The citizenship can be terminated if a person voluntarily acquires the
citizenship of any other country by naturalization, registration or
otherwise.
• The Central Government can deprive a naturalized citizen of his
citizenship, if it is satisfied that the citizenship was acquired by fraud,
false representation or concealment of material facts; or if the person
shows disloyalty towards the Indian Constitution or indulges in trade
with enemy countries during war; or if the person has been sentenced to
imprisonment for a period of two years or more within five years of his
registration of naturalization or if he has been continuously residing out
of India for more than seven years.

Directive Principles of State Policy
• Directive Principles of State Policy are a set of
guidelines for the government. These guidelines must
be kept in mind while formulating laws and policies for
the people. However, it is not mandatory for the states to
implement them.
• These principles seek to provide social and economic
basis for democracy and the establishment of a welfare
state. Unlike the Fundamental Rights, the Directive
Principles of State Policy are non-justiciable, which
implies that no action can be brought against the State
before a court of law for its failure of implementing the
Directive Principles of States policy.

Constitutional Remedies for Citizens
• Article 32 was incorporated in the Indian Constitution to
assure that the citizens and individuals are not subject to
unreasonable vitiation of fundamental rights. This article
guarantees the right to constitutional remedies. Any
individual, whose fundamental right has been violated by
the state, has the right to approach the Supreme Court of
India for enforcement of the said right.
• Dr Ambedkar, who was the chairman of the drafting
committee of the Indian Constitution, rightly called this
article as: ‘The very soul of the Constitution and the
very heart of it.’

Writs under article 32:
• Article 32 also empowers the Supreme Court of India to
issue Writs. Any citizen aggrieved by the state can file
a writ petition.
Writ of Habeas Corpus: ‘Habeas Corpus’ translates
literally to ‘to have a body’. This writ is issued by the
Supreme Court when the personal liberty of an individual is
vitiated, particularly in cases of illegal detention.
Writ of Mandamus: ‘Mandamus’ means ‘we command’.
The writ of mandamus is used by higher courts to enforce
their decisions on the lower courts. The Supreme court can
invoke this writ in circumstances when the lower public
authority has a duty, but it fails in doing so.

Writ of Quo Warranto: The literal meaning of ‘Quo
Warranto’ is ‘by what warrants’. The Supreme Court can
invoke the writ of quo warranto in cases where the activities
carried out by a holder of public office exceeds their
authority.
Writ of Certiorari: ‘Certiorari’ means ‘to certify’ or ‘to
quash’. This writ of Certiorari can be invoked to quash a
lower court or tribunals have passed the order of that. It can
only be issued against judicial orders.
Writ of Prohibition: The writ of Prohibition is also known
as ‘stay order’. This writ is invoked by the Supreme Court
to get any lower court to stop acting beyond its jurisdiction.

UNIT I.ppt

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UNIT I.ppt