Features of the Constitution and its Comparison to Various Constitutions
The Indian Constitution is the supreme law of the land, a social document which reflects the "will of the people". All the powers, functions and validity of legislation lie in the constitution.
The Indian Constitution is the supreme law of the land, a social document which reflects the "will of the people". All the powers, functions and validity of legislation lie in the constitution. Therefore, it is supreme over the legislature itself. It is said to be a living document. Its flexibilities lie with amendments and interpretations with time. It is an instrument that makes the system of the country work. It took nearly three years to frame the Indian Constitutional draft. It caters...
Its flexibilities lie with amendments and interpretations with time. It is an instrument that makes the system of the country work. It took nearly three years to frame the Indian Constitutional draft. It caters to both the grievances of everyday governance and the trouble of exceptional circumstances with time. An endeavour has been made to highlight constitutional rule in India with its salient features, which serve as a unique framework.
1. Modern Constitution
The Constitution of India was framed in the mid-twentieth century, which came up to be an advantage to the makers as it was possible for them to refer to and take cognizance of other's constitutions which were operating in various nations of the world.
Thus, it drew upon a rich fund of mankind's exposure, wisdom, heritage, and traditions in the area of the governmental process in order to fashion a system suited to India's political, social and economic conditions.[1] Though it is inspired by several Constitutions but has adopted those principles in new patterns and directions that were suitable for it.
2. Written and Lengthy Constitution
The Constitution of India is a written, lengthy and detailed document that elaborates on all the provisions. It originally had 395 Articles organised under 22 Parts and 8 Schedules, but presently it contains Preamble, 461 Articles, 25 Parts and 12 schedules after many amendments.[2] It was the longest constitutional draft in the world till; Yugoslavia had the impertinence to adopt a longer one.
3. Rigid and Flexible
The combination of flexibility and rigidity is a complimentary feature of the Indian constitution. The amending procedure can be seen as the ground of scaling the rigidity and flexibility of the constitution. The power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure is mentioned in Article 368 of the Constitution.[3]
Indian Constitution has a certain provision which requires a simple majority with the ordinary legislation in the Houses of Parliament for the amendment, which could be seen as its flexibility. But, it has few provisions that cannot be amended easily and require a special majority of the house, highlighting the rigid nature of the Indian Constitution.
4. Preamble
The Preamble of the Constitution of India declares the philosophy behind the constitution and has played a significant role in forming the nation's fate.
It constitutes India to be a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic. "The arch of the Constitution of India pregnant from its Preamble, Chapter III (Fundamental Rights) and Chapter IV (Directive Principles) is to establish an egalitarian social order guaranteeing fundamental freedoms and to secure justice – social, economic and political- to every citizen through the rule of law."[4]
5. Responsible Government
An essential explanation behind the decision of this arrangement of government in the form of parliamentary was that the individuals had a long encounter of this framework under the Government of India Acts.
In spite of the fact that the British form of parliamentary government was embraced, appointing a hereditary ruler as the head of the country was not appropriate, on the grounds that India had turned into a 'Republic' nation.
In this manner, the head of the Parliamentary form of government was an elected president. The Constitution builds up a parliamentary type of government both at centre and state where the executive organ is answerable for its actions to the elected legislative organ.
This Indian framework is fundamentally different from the presidential framework in America. Whereas the American system is based on the doctrine of separation of powers between the executive and legislative organs, the Indian system is based on the principle of coordination and cooperation of the two organs.[5]
6. Fundamental Rights and Duties
The Indian Constitution guarantees some basic human rights to the people in Part III, like the Right to Equality, Equal Protection of Laws, Right to Freedom, Right to life and personal liberty, Right to freedom of religion and many more.
Every one of these rights in Part III is accessible to the State subjects. Also, the Constitution mentions some reasonable restrictions that draw a balance between individual freedom and social control.
The concept of Fundamental Rights has been borrowed from the US Constitution, which was the first constitution to successfully give shape to basic human rights, which came to be incorporated in the form of ten amendments that embody the Lockean ideas about the protection of life, liberty, and property.[6]
The tradition of fundamental rights in the British model and the Australian Constitution falls short in declaring these rights and merely guarantees few ideal rights.
Essentially, the constitution additionally gives a list of 11 obligations of the citizens which are known as the Fundamental Duties. In the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, upon the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee these Fundamental Duties were incorporated under Part IV in Article 51-A of the constitution.
There is no judicial enforcement for any of these Fundamental Duties. But, there is a moral and ethical obligation for citizens to appreciate these duties.
7. Directive Principles
'Directive Principles of State Policy' are listed in Part IV of the Constitution from Article 36 to Article 51. These are guidelines provided for the State to advance the welfare of individuals and society by verifying and securing social order. There is no judicial enforcement for these principles by courts for their infringement.
Article 38 of the Constitution declares that 'these standards are major in the administration of the nation and it will be the obligation of the state to apply these standards in making laws'.
8. Adult Franchise
Another element of the Constitution is that every individual who is over the age of 18 years has the privilege and an equivalent right to cast his vote without any discrimination on the ground of gender, religion, caste, class, etc.
Universal adult suffrage is a significant concept of democracy which expels social disparities and keeps up the standard of political equality to every citizen who has registered for voting. India has "One man, one vote" principle for an adult franchise.
The voting age in Countries like Japan and Denmark is 25 years, whereas, in Norway and Switzerland, it is 23 and 20 years, respectively. America, Turkey, Britain, and Russia have their minimum age for casting franchises is 18 years, like that in India.
9. Independent Judiciary
The basic feature of the Constitution has the separation of power among three institutions of legislation, executive and judiciary. The Indian constitution demands an independent judiciary for the smooth functioning of a democratic country. Our constitution has a solitary coordinated arrangement of Courts for the Union and the States, which function under respective laws, and the Supreme Court heads the whole framework.
Another classic component of our Constitution is the independent judiciary with limited "Judicial Review". The fundamental element of the courts' judicial power under the constitution works as a centile to the Rule of Law.
Despite the fact that both the Indian and the American Constitutions are federal in nature, both are very different in their judicial system as the USA embraces a dual system of courts, i.e. a federal judiciary having a Supreme Court at the top along with a separate and parallel judicial system in each State-India on the other side has unified and not a dual system of courts.
In India where the Supreme Court, the High Court, and the Lower Courts establish a unified, single judiciary and have jurisdiction over each case emerging under any law, whether authorized by Parliament or State Legislature.
The unified judicial system avoids diversity in remedial procedures and confusing jurisdictional conflicts between the two parallel judicial systems, such as in the USA.[7] The Indian framework, in this way, has the benefit over its American counterpart.
10. Federal Constitution
Another amazing element of the Indian Constitution is that it has a federal framework with the quality of a unitary government. The Constitution of India accommodates the division of power between the Centre and the States. The performance of the constitution, which establishes a dual polity with a two-tier governmental framework, keeps the federal fabric intact.
The features that highlight and demonstrate that there is a federal character in the Indian Constitution are the written constitution, the bicameral legislature, the independent judiciary, the rigidity of the constitution and the supremacy of the constitution.
This federal nature turns into a unitary system at whatever point a crisis is declared like an emergency, and the residuary power of the centre also underlines the unitary feature.
India belongs to the federal family having Australia, the USA, and Canada as its members and is furnished as a notable example with 'co-operative federalism', which is also characterised as the 'quasi-federal'. Federal family members are very rigid with their Constitutions, except for India. There have been only 27 amendments to the American Constitution, while India has made 103 amendments to its Constitution to date.
11. Single Citizenship
Ordinarily, a native of a federal state has a double citizenship as there are two arrangements of government like the USA, yet India, notwithstanding being a federal state, pursues single citizenship. The Constitution of India accommodates one and uniform citizenship to each person in the nation.
There is no discrimination or segregation of any individual in India based on his place of birth or habitation.[8] Also, in India, an individual can move to any territory of the nation or live anywhere in the domain of India except restricted places.
12. Minorities and Backward Classes
Homogeneity is lacking in Indian society, where there exists diversity in culture, class, language, religion etc. At the time of independence, people belonging to a minority or lower class felt insecure because society does not allow them to live and work freely.
So in order to promote a sense of security and uplift the minorities and backward classes, our constitution granted them some special rights and reservations. No special privilege has, however, according to any section in the matter of representation in the legislature.[9]
[1] Jain MP, Indian Constitutional Law, (7th ed, 2016), page 10.
[2] Id at 11.
[3] (1) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may, in the exercise of its constituent power, amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of this Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this article.
(2) An amendment of this Constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament, and when the Bill is passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting, it shall be presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill, and thereupon the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms of the Bill:
Provided that if such amendment seeks to make any change in –
(a) article 54, article 55, article 73, article 162, article 241 or article 279A or
(b) Chapter IV of Part V, Chapter V of Part VI, or Chapter I of Part XI, or
(c) any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule, or
(d) the representation of States in Parliament, or
(e) the provisions of this article,
the amendment shall also require to be ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States by resolutions to that effect passed by those Legislatures before the Bill making provision for such amendment is presented to the President for assent.
[4] C. Ravichandran Iyer v. Justice A.M Bhattacharjee, (1995) 5 SCC 457, 471 (para 14).
[5] Jain MP, Indian Constitutional Law, (7th ed, 2016), page 16.
[6] B. Bailyn, Ideology Origins of the American Revolution, (1967).
[7] Jain MP, Indian Constitutional Law, (7th ed, 2016), page 19.
[8] Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
[9] JAIN, Safeguards to Minorities: Constitutional Principles, Policies and Framework in I.L.I., Minorities and the Law (1972).
Meenakshi Chahar
Meenakshi is an alumnus of NUSRL, Ranchi. She has demonstrable exposure in varied fields of law gained through internships. She is a reliable researcher and author in writing useful, and authoritative articles. She has strong interest in Constitutional Law, Business laws and Intellectual Property Rights.
