Competition Coaching Centre Siliguri
& Gangtok
Email: ccc4job@gmail.com
NET: PAPER 1
Higher Education System
Policies,
Governance, and Administration.
Constitution
of India:
The Constitution of
India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining
fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers
and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights,
directive principles and the duties of citizens. It is the longest written
constitution of any sovereign country in the world. The nation is governed on
the basis of this Constitution. B. R. Ambedkar is regarded as the chief
architect of the Indian Constitution.
The Constituent
Assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to frame the Constitution.
Originally, the Constitution had 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules.
Presently, it consists of 450 articles (divided into 24 parts) and 12
schedules.
Various
sources of our Constitution:
1. Government of India Act of 1935 – Federal
Scheme, Office of Governor, Judiciary, Public Service Commission, Emergency
provisions and administrative details.
2. British
Constitution – Parliamentary System, Rule of law, Lagislative Procedure, Single
Citizenship, Cabinet System, Prerogative Writs, Parliamentary Privileges and
Bicameralism.
3. US Constitution –
Fundamental rights, independence of judiciary, judicial review, impeachment of
president, removal of Supreme court and high court judges and post of vice
president.
4. Irish
Constitution– Directive Principles of State Policy, nomination of members of
Rajya Sabha and method of election of president
5. Canadian
Constitution– Federation with a strong centre, vesting of residuary power in
the centre, appointment of state Governor by the centre and advisory
jurisdiction of Supreme Court.
6. Australian
Constitution– Concurrent list, joint sitting of two houses of Parliament.
7. Constitution of
Germany– Suspension of fundamental rights during emergency.
8. French Constitution– Republic and ideals of
liberty, equality and fraternity in the Preamble.
9. South African
Constitution- Procedure for amendment of the constitution and election of
members of Rajya Sabha.
10. Japanese
Constitution- Procedure established by Law.
11. Constitution of
former USSR: Procedure of five-year plan, fundamental duties, ideals of justice
in Preamble.
Fundamental
rights:
Right to equality
(Article 14-18)
Right to freedom
(Article 19-22)
Right against
exploitation (Article 23-24)
Right to freedom of
religion (Articles 25-28)
Cultural &
educational rights (Articles 29-30)
29: - Protection of
interests of minorities Article
30: - Right of
minorities to establish and administer educational institutions Article
31:- Omitted by the
44th Amendment Act
Right to
constitutional remedies (Article 32).
Fundamental Duties in
the Indian Constitution Fundamental duties in Indian constitution are based on
Japanese model. Ten duties in the the Indian Constitution were included in the
Indian Constitution by 42nd amendment act, 1976 on the basis of Swarn Singh
Committee. Eleventh duty was added by 86th Amendment act, 2002.
Fundamental rights and fundamental duties are
co-relative. 11 Fundamental Duties of the citizens towards the State have been
enumerated in Article 51-A in part-IV A of our Constitution.
List of
fundamental duties for citizens:
·
To oblige with the Indian Constitution and respect the
National Anthem and Flag
·
To cherish and follow the noble ideas that inspired the
national struggle for freedom
·
To protect the integrity, sovereignty, and unity of
India
·
To defend the country and perform national services if
and when the country requires
·
To promote the spirit of harmony and brotherhood amongst
all the people of India and renounce any practices that are derogatory to women
·
To cherish and preserve the rich national heritage of our
composite culture
·
To protect and improve the natural environment including
lakes, wildlife, rivers, forests, etc.
·
To develop scientific temper, humanism, and spirit of
inquiry
·
To safeguard all public property
·
To strive towards excellence in all genres of individual
and collective activities
The 11th fundamental duty which was added to this list is:
·
To provide opportunities for education to children
between 6-14 years of age, and duty as parents to ensure that such
opportunities are being awarded to their child.
President:
Articles 52 to 153 of
the Constitution deal with the Union executive. The Union executive consists of
the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the council of ministers
and the attorney general of India.
The President is the
head of the Indian State. He is the first citizen of India. Impeachment of
President: The President can be removed from office by a process of impeachment
for ‘violation of the Constitution’. The impeachment charges can be initiated
by either House of Parliament. These charges should be signed by one-fourth
members of the House (that framed the charges), and a 14 days’ notice should be
given to the President.
The
executive powers and functions of the President are:
All executive actions
of the Government of India are formally taken in his name.
According to article
75 he appoints the Prime Minister of India and according to Article 77 with
consent of the Prime Minister he appoints the other ministers. They hold office
during his pleasure.
He appoints the
Attorney-General of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the
Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, the chairman and
members of the Union Public Service Commission, the governors of states, the
chairman and members of Finance Commission, and administrators of UTs and so
on.
Legislative
powers The President is an integral part of the Parliament of India, and enjoys
the following legislative powers.
Ø He can summon or prorogue the Parliament and
dissolve the Lok Sabha. [Art. 85]
Ø He can also summon a joint sitting of both
the Houses of Parliament, which is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha. [Art. 108]
Ø He can address the Parliament at the
commencement of the first session after each general election and the first
session of each year. [Art. 87]
Ø He can send messages to the Houses of
Parliament, whether with respect to a bill pending in the Parliament or
otherwise.
Ø He can appoint any member of the Lok Sabha to
preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Speaker and the
Deputy Speaker fall vacant. Similarly, he can also appoint any member of the
Rajya Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the
Chairman and the Deputy Chairman fall vacant.
Ø He nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha
from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in
literature, science, art and social service.[Art. 80(1)]
Note: His prior recommendation or permission is
needed to introduce certain types of bill in the Parliament. For example, a
bill involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, or a bill for
the alteration of boundaries of states or creation of a new state.
According to Article
123, he can promulgate ordinances when the Parliament is not in session. An
ordinance issued under Art. 123 must receive approval of Parliament (both the
houses) within six weeks of reassembly of the parliament.
Veto
power of the President: A
bill passed by the Parliament can become an act only if it receives the assent
of the President. However, the President has the veto power over the bills
passed by the Parliament, i.e. he can withhold his assent to the bills.
Absolute
Veto: It refers to the
power of the President to withhold his assent to a bill passed by the
Parliament. The bill then ends and does not become an act. Usually, this veto
is exercised in the following two cases: With respect to private members’
bills; and with respect to the government bills when the cabinet resigns (after
the passage of the bills but before the assent by the President) and the new
cabinet advises the President not to give his assent to such bills.
Suspensive
Veto: The President
exercises this veto when he returns a bill for reconsideration of the
Parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or
without amendments and again presented to the President, it is obligatory for
the President to give his assent to the bill. The President does not possess
this veto in the case of money bills.
Vice-President
:
The Vice-President
occupies the second highest office in the country. He is accorded a rank next
to the President in the official warrant of precedence. Election He is elected
by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses
of Parliament.
Thus, this electoral college
is different from the electoral college for the election of the President in
the following two respects:
Ø It consists of both elected and nominated
members of the Parliament.
Ø It does not include the members of the state
legislative assemblies.
Ø The executive powers and functions of the
Vice-President are:
The
functions of Vice-President are twofold:
Ø He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya
Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of the
Speaker of Lok Sabha.
Ø He acts as President when a vacancy occurs in
the office of the President due to his resignation, removal, death or
otherwise.
Ø He can act as President only for a maximum
period of six months, within which a new President has to be elected.
Further, when the
sitting President is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness
or any other cause, the Vice-President discharges his functions until the
President resumes his office.
While acting as
President or discharging the functions of President, the Vice President does
not perform the duties of the office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha. During
this period, those duties are performed by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
If the offices of
both the President and the Vice-President fall vacant by reason of death,
resignation, removal etc the Chief Justice of India or in his absence the senior
most judge of the Supreme Court acts as President.
Note: For the first time, during the 15-day visit
of Dr. Rajendra Prasad to the Soviet Union in June 1960, the then
Vice-President Dr. Radhakrishnan acted as the President. For the first time, in
1969, when the President Dr. Zakir Hussain died and the Vice President V.V.
Giri resigned, the Chief Justice Md. Hidayatullah acted as President.
Prime
Minister:
In the scheme of
parliamentary system of government provided by the Constitution, the President
is the nominal executive authority and Prime Minister is the real executive
authority. The President is the head of the State while Prime Minister is the head
of the government.
Appointment of the Prime Minister Article 75
says that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President. The President
appoints the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime
Minister. But, when no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, then the
President may exercise his personal discretion in the selection and appointment
of the Prime Minister.
The term of the Prime
Minister is not fixed and he holds office during the pleasure of the President.
So long as the Prime Minister enjoys the majority support in the Lok Sabha, he
cannot be dismissed by the President. However, if he loses the confidence of
the Lok Sabha, he must resign or the President can dismiss him.
Powers
and functions of Prime Minister:
The powers and
functions of Prime Minister can be studied under the following heads:
Ø He recommends persons who can be appointed as
ministers by the President.
Ø He can recommend dissolution of the Lok Sabha
to the President at any time.
Ø He is the chairman of the Planning
Commission, National Development Council, National Integration Council,
Inter-State Council and National Water Resources Council.
Council
of Ministers:
Which
articles in the Constitution deal with the Council of Ministers?
Two articles – Article 74 and Article 75 of the
Indian Constitution deal with the Council of Ministers. Where article 74
mentions that the council will be headed by the Prime Minister of India and
will aid and advise the President, article 75 mentions the following things:
- They are appointed by the President on the
advice of Prime Minister
- They along with the Prime Minister of India
form 15% of the total strength of the lower house i.e. Lok Sabha. (The
number cannot exceed 15%)
- 91st Amendment Act provided for the
disqualification of the minister when he stands disqualified as a member
of Parliament. (Difference between Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha can be referred to in the linked article.)
- A Minister ceased to exist as one if he is not
a member of either house of Parliament for six consecutive months.
- Parliament decides the salary and allowances
of the council of ministers.
Collective
Responsibility of the Council of Ministers
In England, the Cabinet system is based on
conventions. The framers of our Constitution considered it fit to incorporate
the system in the Constitution. The principle of collective responsibility
finds a place in Art. 75(3) where it is stated that the Council of Ministers
shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. In other words, this
provision means that a Ministry which loses confidence in the Lok Sabha is
obliged to resign. The loss of confidence is expressed by rejecting a Money
Bill or Finance Bill or any other important policy measure or by passing a
motion of no-confidence or rejecting a motion expressing confidence in the
Ministry. When a Ministry loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha the whole of
the Ministry has to resign including those Ministers who are from the Rajya
Sabha. The Ministers fall and stand together. In certain cases, the Ministry
may advise the President to dissolve Lok Sabha and call for fresh elections.
Types of Ministers:
The Indian Constitution does not categorize
ministers into ranks, however, in practice seen in India, ministers are basically
3 types:
1.
Cabinet Ministers—He
is present and he participates in every meeting of the Cabinet.
2.
Minister of State with
independent charge—He is a Minister of State who does not work under a
Cabinet Minister. When any matter concerning his Department is on the agenda of
the Cabinet, he is invited to attend the meeting.
3.
Minister of State—He
is a Minister who does not have independent charge of any Department and works
under a Cabinet Minister. The work to such Minister is allotted by his Cabinet
Minister.
Governor:
The Governors of
the states of India have similar powers
and functions at the state level as those of the President of India at Union level.
Governors exist in the states while lieutenant governors or administrator exist
in union territories including National
Capital Territory of Delhi. The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real
power lies with the Chief ministers of
the states and
his/her councils of ministers. Although, in union territories, the real power
lies with the lieutenant governor or administrator, except in NCT of Delhi and
Puducherry where he/she shares power with a council of ministers headed by a
chief minister. Most, if not all governors are not local to the state that they
are appointed to govern.
Qualifications:
Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution
of India specify eligibility requirements for the post
of governor. They are as follows:
A governor must:
·
be a citizen of India
·
be at least 35 years of age.
·
not be a member of the either house of
the parliament or house of the state legislature.
·
not hold any office of profit.
·
not be a resident of the same state.
Powers and functions:
The primary
function of the governor is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution
and the law as incorporated in his/her oath of office under Article 159 of the
Indian constitution in the administration of the State affairs. All his/her
actions, recommendations and
supervisory powers (Article 167c, Article 200, Article 213, Article 355, etc.)
over the executive and legislative entities of a State shall be used to
implement the provisions of the Constitution. In this respect, the governor has
many different types of powers:
·
Executive powers related
to administration, appointments and removals,
·
Legislative powers related
to law making and the state legislature, that is State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan
Sabha) or State Legislative Council (Vidhan
Parishad),
·
Discretionary powers to
be carried out according to the discretion of the governor
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