The Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India.It was established on 25 January 1950 under Article 324 of the Constitution of India. Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. The commission presently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, appointed by the president. The President … Read more The Election Commission of India

Preamble of the Indian Constitution (Secular, Democratic and Socialist-Philosophy behind It)

The Constitution of India begins with a Preamble which describes the nature of the Indian State and the objectives it is committed to secure. K.M. Munshi describes the Preamble as the political horoscope of the constitution. Thakur Dass Bhargawa says Preamble is the most precious part and the soul of the constitution. The Preamble reads: … Read more Preamble of the Indian Constitution (Secular, Democratic and Socialist-Philosophy behind It)

Citizen’s Charter

Citizen’s Charter is a document which represents a systematic effort to focus on the commitment of the Organisation towards its Citizens in respects of Standard of Services, Information, Choice and Consultation, Non-discrimination and Accessibility, Grievance Redress, Courtesy and Value for Money. The main objective of the exercise to issue the Citizen’s Charter of an organisation … Read more Citizen’s Charter

State Executive : Powers and functions of Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers

Constitution of Indian under article 163 states that  There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them … Read more State Executive : Powers and functions of Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers

Powers and functions of The Vice President

Vice-President performs a dual role : (1) as Vice-President (2) as the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha which means that whosoever is the Vice-President, he/she presides over the Rajya Sabha and performs normal duties of a presiding officer. These include maintenance of order in the House, allowing … Read more Powers and functions of The Vice President

The Panchayats functions and responsibilities with special reference to 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments

The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992, which gave Constitutional status to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies (ULBs) respectively, in both letter and spirit in order to bring about greater decentralisation and increase the involvement of the community in planning and implementing schemes and, thus, increase accountability. The Amendments left important … Read more The Panchayats functions and responsibilities with special reference to 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments

Fundamental Rights & Duties

The Indian constitution originally provided 7 categories of fundamental rights. But one fundamental right, that to property was removed from the list of fundamental rights by 44th amendment. Right to property now is an ordinary legal right. Thus there are now 6 categories of fundamental rights. These are:  (1) Right to equality (Arts. 14-18). In … Read more Fundamental Rights & Duties

State Legislature : Organization, Powers and functions, with special reference to Jharkhand

Articles 168 to 212 in Part VI of the Constitution deal with the organisation, composition, duration, officers, procedures, privileges, powers and so on of the state legislature.In most of the States, the Legislature consists of the Governor and the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha). This means that these State have unicameral Legislature. In a Six States( … Read more State Legislature : Organization, Powers and functions, with special reference to Jharkhand

Parliamentary Committees

The functions of Parliament are not only varied in nature, but considerable in volume. The time at its disposal is limited. It cannot make very detailed scrutiny of all legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good deal of Parliamentary business is, therefore, transacted in the committees.These are committees, with MPs as … Read more Parliamentary Committees

High Court: Organization, Powers and functions

The India High Courts Act 1861 was enacted to create High Courts for various provinces and abolished Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay and also the Sadar Adalats in Presidency towns. These High Courts had the distinction of being the highest Courts for all cases till the creation of Federal Court of India, which … Read more High Court: Organization, Powers and functions

Emergency Provisions of the Constitution

An emergency is a situation demanding immediate action.The emergency provisions under Indian constitution can be traced back to the British rule in India, when by Act of parliament crown established its sovereignty over company’s territories in India in 1861 . The Governor General under the provisions exercised wide powers both legislative and executive. He was … Read more Emergency Provisions of the Constitution

Salient features of the Indian Constitution.

Lengthiest written Constitution: Originally our constitution contained 395 articles divided in 22 parts and 8 schedules. Constitution has been amended 98 times. Currently there are 25 Parts, 12 Schedules, and 448 Articles. These figures show our constitution as the most comprehensive constitution in the world. (British have no written constitution and Constitution of USA had … Read more Salient features of the Indian Constitution.

Union Legislature : Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha: 0rganisation and Functions

Parliament is the central institution through which the will of the people is expressed, laws are passed and government is held to account. It plays a vital role in a democracy, and endeavours to be truly representative, transparent, accessible, accountable and effective in its many functions. The Parliament has two Houses–Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. … Read more Union Legislature : Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha: 0rganisation and Functions

Principles of Natural justice & Rule of Law

  Rule of Law may be defined as a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards. It requires, as well, measures … Read more Principles of Natural justice & Rule of Law

Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers

The executive powers of the President are exercised by the Council of Ministers. The Constitution provides that “there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President in the excercise of his functions”. Here the word “shall” indicates that the President cannot function without the … Read more Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers

Functioning under a Coalition Government

Coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. Coalition governments are usually formed as no party can individually achieve a majority in the parliament. However, a coalition government may also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis. If a coalition collapses, a confidence vote is held … Read more Functioning under a Coalition Government

Directive Principles Of State Policy

An important feature of the constitution is the Directive Principles of State Policy. Although the Directive Principles are asserted to be “fundamental in the governance of the country,” they are not legally enforceable. Instead, they are guidelines for creating a social order characterized by social, economic, and political justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity as enunciated … Read more Directive Principles Of State Policy

Union Judiciary : The Supreme Court ; its role and powers

The Supreme Court is the highest court of The Indian Republic.  Judiciary, the third organ of the government, has an important role to play in the governance. It settles the disputes, interprets laws, protects fundamental rights and acts as guardian of the Constitution. India has a single unified and integrated judicial system and that the … Read more Union Judiciary : The Supreme Court ; its role and powers

Political Parties and Pressure Groups.

Political Parties and Elections Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections usually stand as members of political parties, … Read more Political Parties and Pressure Groups.

Powers and functions of President

The Union executive consists of the President, the Prime minister and the Council of ministers. Powers and functions of The President of India The President is the head of the Indian State. He is the first citizen of India and acts as the symbol of unity, integrity and solidarity of the nation. Article 52 of … Read more Powers and functions of President

Parliament’s control over Executive;

Parliament is the supreme law making body of the nation.The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha is empowered to pass a vote of censure against the ministry. Whenever such a motion is passed, the ministry has to resign. There are several means of Parliament’s control over Executive such … Read more Parliament’s control over Executive;

Law making process

Parliament is a supreme law making body of the nation. Any proposed law is introduced in the Parliament as a bill. After being passed by the Parliament and getting the President’s assent it becomes a law. There are two kinds of bills:-(i) ordinary bill and (ii) money bill. Every member of the Parliament has a … Read more Law making process

Basic structure of the Indian Constitution

The basic structure doctrine is an Indian judicial principle that the Constitution of India has certain basic features that cannot be altered or destroyed through amendments by the parliament. Key among these “basic features”, are the fundamental rights granted to individuals by the constitution. The doctrine thus forms the basis of a limited power of the Indian … Read more Basic structure of the Indian Constitution

Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG)

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) promotes accountability, transparency and good governance through high quality auditing and accounting.The Comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India is empower to audit all expenses from the combine Fund of the union or state governments, whether incurred within India or outside. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) … Read more Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG)

Privileges and immunities of Parliament and its Members

Parliamentary privilege  is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. The Presiding Officer i.e. Speaker in case of Lok Sabha and Chairman in case of Rajya Sabha, is the custodian … Read more Privileges and immunities of Parliament and its Members

Judicial Review

The Judiciary plays a very important role as a protector of the constitutional values that the founding fathers have given us. They try to undo the harm that is being done by the legislature and the executive and also they try to provide every citizen what has been promised by the Constitution under the Directive … Read more Judicial Review

State Executive : Powers and functions of Governor

The Governor is the head of the state executive. He is also the representative of the Centre in  the  state.  The Governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies in the hand of the  Chief Ministers of the states and the Chief Minister’s Council of Ministers. Article 153 of the Constitution states … Read more State Executive : Powers and functions of Governor

Centre-State Relationship:Administrative, Legislative and Financial

The Indian constitution provides for a federal framework with powers (legislative ,executive and financial) divided between the center and the states. However, there is no division of judicial power as the constitution has established an integrated judicial system to enforce both the central laws as well as state law. The Indian federation is not the … Read more Centre-State Relationship:Administrative, Legislative and Financial

Provisions relating to Administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribal Areas.

“The Scheduled Areas” are those tribal inhabited areas which are located in other parts of the country than the North-East India. These areas are located in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan. Besides these areas, some other regions of the country also are governed … Read more Provisions relating to Administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribal Areas.

Public interest Litigation

“Public interest Litigation”,is a litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection of “Public Interest” , such as pollution, Terrorism, Road safety, constructional hazards etc. Article 32 of the Indian Constitution contains the tool which directly joins the public with the judiciary. Public Interest Litigation is not mentioned in any constitution or a … Read more Public interest Litigation

Special provisions relating to reservation of seats for S C and ST. in Legislature,Services etc

Hindu society is divided into four varna, or classes, a convention which had its origins in the Rig Veda, the first and most important set of hymns in Hindu scripture which dates back to 1500-1000 B.C. At the top of the hierarchy are the Brahmins, or priests, followed by the Kshatriyas, or warriors. The Vaisyas, … Read more Special provisions relating to reservation of seats for S C and ST. in Legislature,Services etc

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