PREAMBLE OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

The word preamble means a ‘statement or introduction that comes before words spoken or written’

The constitution of India begins with a preamble. It is like an introduction to the Constitution. It was inspired
by the objectives Resolution adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947. The preamble helps us to understand
the ‘spirit’ or ‘philosophy’ of the constitution.
According to Pandit Thakur Das Bhargava, “the preamble is the most precious part of the constitution. It is the
soul of the constitution”

The parts of the Preamble

The preamble of the Indian Constitution can be divided into four parts.
1. Source of authority
2. The type of government sought to be established
3. Objectives of the constitution
4. Adoption and enforcement of the Constitution.
THE TEXT OF THE PREAMBLE IS AS FOLLOWS:

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA”, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a “SOVEREIGN
SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC” and to secure to all its citizens.
JUSTICE, social, economic and political.
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all.
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the Unity and Integrity of the Nation.
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this 26th day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT, &
GIVING OURSELVES TO THIS CONSTITUTION”.
1. Source of authority
The source of authority of the Indian Constitution is the people of India. The Constitution of India has been
prepared by the people through their representatives.

2. The type of government sought to be established

(SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC)
The preamble declares that the objective of the constitution is to establish a Sovereign, Socialist, secular,
democratic, republic government.
 SOVEREIGN implies supreme authority, free from external control, which means both internally and
externally India is supreme.
 SOCIALIST- the term “Socialist” generally implies a system of government in which the means of
production is wholly or partially controlled by the State.
 SECULAR- the word “SECULAR” has been inserted by the Constitution Forty-Second Amendment Act
in 1976. the word ‘secular’ means a state in which there is no official recognition to any particular religion.
Rather all the religions are treated on an equal footing.
 DEMOCRATIC- Democracy is a system of government in which supreme powers are vested in the
people and are exercised by the people directly or through their elected representatives. It is a government of
the people, by the people and for the people.
 REPUBLIC- A state, in which executive head of the state is not a hereditary monarch, but elected
representatives, is called a Republic. In India,, the executive head is the President of India who is an elected
representative of the people of India.

3. Objective clause
the following are the objectives contained in the Preamble.
i. Justice (Social, Economic and Political)
the first objective set out by the Preamble is to secure social, economic and political justice. Justice is nothing
but the right of the people to secure redress from the Courts of Law.
the constitution guarantees justice to all the people in social, political and economic spheres of life. The
preamble refers to:
a) political justice which implies allowing free and fair participation of the people in the political life of the
country.
b) Social justice which implies absence of any kind of discrimination.
c) Economic justice which implies equitable distribution of income and wealth among the people of India.

the fundamental rights and Directive Principles of State Policy embodies in the Constitution aims to achieve
this objective.
ii. Liberty (of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship)
the preamble assures to all citizens liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. The constitution of
India guarantees fundamental Right to Freedom of Speech and expression. Further it also guarantees freedom
of conscience and freedom to profess practice or propagate any religion.
iii. Equality (of status and opportunity)
part III of Constitution guarantees Right to Equality . Discrimination on the basis of race, religion, caste, sex
or place of birth is prohibited.
iv. To promote fraternity.
fraternity means brotherliness. It implies that all citizens should have a feeling that they are members of
the same family with common interests. Many provisions in the constitution have been incorporated with a
view to promote this kind of feeling in the citizens. For instance, we have single citizenship to promote the
feeling that we are all Indian citizens.
v. To assure dignity of individual
the constitution gives due place to individual and guarantees valuable freedom to individual to develop his
personality.
 vi. To assure unity and integrity of the nation

the preamble also aims at achieving the unity and integrity of nation. The word ‘integrity’ was added by the
42nd Amendment to constitution. The word ‘integrity is intended to put an end to separatist tendencies and
make people feel that every part of India is their home.

4. Enacting clause.
the constitution was adopted on 26th November 1949 and it came into force on 26th January 1950.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (PART III (Article 14 to 35)

THE CONCEPT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

“ Rights are what we may expect from others and others from us, and all genuine rights are conditions of
social welfare”.
rights are not a selfish claim of anybody on the society. Nobody can claim his right if it harms the general
interest of the society. When I assert my rights, then I do a public good because, I guarantee to others what I
claim for myself.

MEANING OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Fundamental rights are those basic rights without which a human life becomes meaningless. By fundamental
rights we mean those rights which form the essential condition of good life and which constitute the essentials
of human progress.
in the absence of these rights the growth and development of human personality is not possible.
part III of the constitution (Article 14 to 35) guarantees six categories of Fundamental
rights. These are:

1. Right to equality - Article 14 to 18

2. Right to freedom -Article 19 to 22
3. Right against Exploitation - Article 23 to 24
4. Right to Freedom of religion - Article 25 to 28
5. Cultural and educational Rights - Articles 29 to 30
6. Right to Constitutional remedies -Article 32
 previously the right to Property in Article 31 was also guaranteed as a fundamental right. It has been deleted
by the 44th Amendment Act, 1978. now Right to Property is not a fundamental right, it is now only an ordinary
right.
Right to Equality (Article 14 to 18)

Article 14 declares 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”
although the expression ‘equality before the Law’ and ‘equal protection of the laws’ may seem to be identical,
they in fact mean different things. They can be clearly distinguished as under
Equality before the Law
the clause ‘equality before the Law’ is taken from the English law.
• -this expression implies that there is no special privileges given to any person in particular.
• -it means that no man is above the Law of the land.
• -it means that every person , high or low, is subjected to the ordinary Law of the Land.
• It means that every person is amenable to the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts.
• the law makes no distinction between a Chief Minister and a common man or between the Chief
Secretary and a clerk.
• each one is responsible for his acts.
Equal Protection of the Laws
- this expression implies equality of treatment under equal circumstances.
- in other words, all persons who are in the same circumstances will be governed by the same set of rules.
- it is a guarantee of equal treatment.
-Equal law should be applied with an equal hand to all persons who are equals.
- the rule is that ‘among equals, the Law should be equal’.

to understand and appreciate the correct meaning and scope of this provision, it most be borne in mind that, by
birth and attainment all persons are not equal. Always one will differ from the other in one respect or the then
other. If that is natural position, then to apply to all of them, the same types of laws, is like imposing similar
burden or conferring similar rights upon persons who are not similarly situated.
take an example, there are two persons ‘A’ and ‘B’ income of ‘A ‘ is Rs. 1,000/- and income of ‘B’ is Rs.
2,00,000/-. If the government imposes a uniform rate of income tax of Rs.500/- on both ‘A’ and ‘B’ , then in
this case the government has taken half of the income of the poor person whose income is only Rs. 1000/-(A)
and it has taken only a small fraction of the income of the other person whose income is Rs. 2,00,000/-, it
looks on the face of it a discriminatory law, a law which in the guise of equality is creating inequality by
making a poor man poorer and a rich man more richer.
Exception to Right to Equality

It should be noted that there are certain exceptions allowed by the Indian Constitution in the exercising of Right to
Equality. They are
(1)The President or the Governor is not answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers
and duties of his office.(Art 361(1))
(2) No criminal proceedings shall be instituted against the President or the Governor during their term of office.
(361(2))
(3) No person shall be liable to any civil or criminal proceedings if he reports in a newspaper or radio or
television any true proceedings of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or any Legislative Assembly or Council.
(4) Rulers of foreign countries, their official diplomats, their ambassadors and members of consulates etc., enjoy
immunity from criminal and civil proceedings.
(5) The United Nations and its agencies are entitled to diplomatic immunity.
(6) Members of Parliament and of State Legislatures are not liable in respect of anything done or said within the
House.
Prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, sex, caste or place of birth
or any of them -(Article 15)
Article 15(1)- the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on ground only of religion, race, caste, sex, and
place of birth or any of them.

Article 15(2)- prohibits not only the State but also private persons.

Accordingly, it lays down that no citizen shall on grounds mentioned in clause (1) be subjected to any disability,
restriction or conditions with regard to access to public places such as public restaurants, wells, tanks, bathing
ghats, roads and places of public resorts.
Just like any other right, even this right is not absolute. There are 2 important exception to Article 15.
Article 15 (3) and (4) permits Protective Discrimination in favour of women, children, Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes.
Article 15 (3) – state can make any special provision for women and children.
For example, reservation of seats for women in buses and railways are valid. Hence it would not be violation of
article 15(1)
Article 15(4) state can make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally
backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes.
For example, a law which provides for reservation of seats to OBC, SC and ST’s in the Educational
Institutions.etc. , is valid.
Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment (Article 16)

Article 16 (1) of the Constitution guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to
employment or appointment to any office under the state.

Article 16 (2) of Constitution says that no citizen shall be ineligible on the basis of caste, colour, race, religion,
sex or place of birth for employment under the state.

This guarantee is available only to the citizens of India and not to the foreigners.

Right to Employment indicates equality of opportunity in public employment and not the right to be employed. At
the same time, State has the power to prescribe the necessary qualifications, tests etc. for selecting any
candidate to the suitable post. Not only equality of opportunity is guaranteed, but it also guarantees that no
citizen shall on ground only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be
ineligible for, or discriminated against, in respect of any employment or office under the State.
Exceptions to Article 16

1. Article 16(3)- Residence can be a ground for Reservation of Posts.

there may good reasons for reserving certain posts in the State for the residents only.
E.g. There can be reservation of jobs in Karnataka for residents of Karnataka only
reservation for Hyderabad Karnataka People Under Article 371(J)

2. Article 16(4)- the state is empowers to make special provision for the reservation of appointments of posts in
favour of any backward classes of citizens which is the opinion of the state are not adequately represented in the
services under the State.

Article 16(4-A)- This Clause which was newly added by the 77th Amendment Act in the year 1995 empowers the
State to make any provision for reservation in matters of promotions for SC’s and ST’s which in the opinion of
the State are not adequately represented in the services of the State.

Article 16(4-B- this clause which was newly added by the 81 Amendment Act in the year 2000 seeks to end the
50% ceiling limit for SC’s and ST;s and other Backward Classes in backlog vacancies which could not be filled
up due to non-availabitity of eligible candidates of these categories in the previous years

3. Article 16(5) –Religious qualification can be prescribed for an admission in religious institution.
Abolition of Untouchability (Article 17)
The article declares “Untouchability” is abolished its practice in any form is forbidden.
the practice of untouchability shall be an offence and punishable in accordance with law.

the Abolition of Titles (Art-18)

Prior to independence, the royalty and the nobles had many titles such as His highness, Raja Maharaja, Dewan
bahadur , Rai Bahudar etc., some of which were hereditary.
Article 18 abolishes all titles and the state is prohibited from conferring any titles on any person.
Exception to this Article.
1) The Article doesnot prevent public instititution , such as Universities , to confer titles or honours by way of
honouring their leaders or men of merit. Eg., Hon. Doctorate titles
2) The state is not debarred from awarding military bravery medals such as Param Vir Chakra, Maha vir Chakra
etc.,which can be used as titles . Similarly academic distinctions such as can also be used as titles.
3) The state is not preventing from conferring titles for exceptional services towards the advancement of Art,
Literature, Science, Public Servicey s etc., by way of awarding Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushana, Padma
Bhushan and Padmashri.
 2) RIGHT TO FREEDOM (Article 19 to Article 22)
There are at present six freedoms guaranteed by the constitution
Right to property was eliminated by the 44th Amendment .
i) Freedom of speech and Expression
-this freedom means that everyone has a right to express his opinions freely, by word of mouth, writing,
printing , pictures, or electronic media, or in any other manner.
- each one has the liberty to propagate his view.
- Freedom of speech includes the right to communicate effectively and to persons in India and abroad.
- Advertisement for products are also considered as part of Freedom of Speech and Expression.
-the Press has the same rights as those of an individual. It cannot claim better rights.
However. Art. 19 permits the State to put reasonable restrictions on the exercise of Right to Freedom and
Expression on grounds of;
(i) Sovereignty and Intergrity of India
(ii) seurity of the State.
(iii) Friendly relation with foreign states.
(iv) Public order.
(v) Decency or Morality
(vi) contempt of court
(vii) Defamation
(viii) Incitement to an offence
Bijoe Emanuel V/s State of Kerala-(National Anthem Case).
Freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) includes freedom to remain silent. This principle has been laid down by
the Supreme Court in the above case.

(ii) Article 19(1)(b) freedom of assembly

- this article gurantees the freedom to assemble peacefully without arms.

-This freedom means people have a right to assemble and hold demonstrations, take out processions , conduct
public meetings
- in order to claim this right the assembly must be (i)peaceful and (ii) unarmed
- the right is subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of (i) the sovereignty amd integrity of india and
(ii) public order.
-the right does not mean that a citizen may hold meetings any where on any body’s prperty.
- the government has a right to control the time and place of a meeting.
- the right to take out processions on a public street is subject to the order of traffic authorities.
- this applies to all processions whether religious or non-religious
iii) Article 19(1)(c)Freedom to form Associations or Unions

-This freedom means that citizens have the right to form Associations or Unions and continue them.

-Therefore workers and employers have the freedom to form their associations and trade unions in order to
safeguard their rights, to make demands for better conditions of work or service, and to extract better deals
from the employers
iv) Article 19 (1)(d)- Freedom of Movement
- This freedom guarantees the Right to all citizen of India to move freely throughout the territory of India .
This right, however does not extend to travel abroad. And like all other rights discussed above, it is also
subjected to reasonable restrictions which the State may impose under Article 19 (5).

v) Article 19 (1) (e) – Freedom of reside and Settle

Article 19 (1) (e) guarantees to a citizen the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
The purpose of this Article is to remove internal barriers within the country to enable every citizen to travel freely
and settle down in any part of a State or Union territory. This freedom is also subjected to reasonable
restriction in the interest of general public or for the protection of the interest of any Scheduled tribes.
vii). Article 19 (1)(f)- Freedom to own and acquire property

Before constitution 44th Amendment in 1978, Article 19 (1)(f) has guaranteed to every citizen of India the right to
acquire, hold and dispose of property . But this has been deleted by the Constitutional 44 th Amendment in
1978.
viii) Article 19(1)(g)-Freedom to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business

Article 19 (1) (g) provides that all citizens shall have the right to practice any profession or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business.
It covers all the avenues and methods by which a person earns his livelihood, lawfully.

Restrictions to freedom of profession can be imposed on grounds of

a) General public interest
b) Prescribing professional or technical qualification
c) Creating partial or complete monopoly favouring the state.
Protection given to accused persons(Article-20)
Article 20 of constitution of India provides the following three safeguard to persons accused of crimes

a. Protection Against Ex-post Facto Law

b. Protection Against Double Jeopardy
c. Protection against Self-Incrimination

Protection Against Ex-post Facto Law

Clause 1 of Article 20 imposes a limitations on the law – making power of the legislature. It prohibits making of
retrospective criminal laws.
The legislature can make law by giving prospective effect and retrospective effect.
Prospective – a law is said to be prospective when it is applicable only to cases which shall arise after its
enactment.
Retrospective law – after the act. An enactment or law provides that it should be deemed to have come into effect
from a past, it is retrospective in nature.
b. Protection Against Double Jeopardy: Article, Clause 2

It says that “no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than
once.”

So if anyone who has been charged of an offence has been prosecuted and punished by
judicial authority then , he cannot be punished for the same offence again.-Maqbool
Hussain V. State of Bombay.

c. Prohibition against Self-Incrimination- Article 20, clause3

It simply says that, No Person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness
against himself.
Protection of Life and Personal Liberty (Artcle21)

It says that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the
procedure established by law”.
The words ‘Right to life and Personal Liberty’ have been interpreted by the Supreme Court in a
wider sense so as to include the fallowing.
1. Right to Live with human dignity
2. Right to livelihood
3. Right to Shelter
4. Right to Privacy- Telephone tapping is a violation of right to life and personal liberty and
freedom of speech and expression under article 19(1)(f).
5. Right to get pollution free water and air.
6. Right to education
7. Right to get free legal aid.
8. Right against inhuman treatment by the police.
Protection against Arbitrary arrest and Detention (Article 22)

Article 22 provides the safeguards, which must be given to an arrested persons. Article 22
deals with two separate matters.
1. Persons arrested under the ordinary law of crimes.
2. Persons detained under the law of ‘Preventive Detention’.

Right of arrested persons under the ordinary law

Article 22 guarantees four rights on persons arrested for any offence under an ordinary
criminal law.
a. The right to be informed ‘as soon as may be of grounds of arrest.
b. The Right to consult and to be represented by a lawyer of his own choice.
c. The Right to be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours; and
Preventive Detention

Preventive Detention: the imprisonment of person with the aim of preventing them from
committing offence.
Punitive Detention: imprisonment of person for the offence he allready committed.

While the object of the punitive detention is to punish a person for what he has allready
done, the object of preventive detention is not to punish a man for having done something,
but to stop him before he does it and to prevent him from doing it. No offence is proved nor
is any charge formulated.
Parliament has the power to make a law for preventing detention for reasons connected with
defence, foreign affairs or the security of India.
The authority ordering the detention of a person under the preventive detention law shall

a. Communicate to him, as soon as may be, the grounds on which the order of his detention
has been made, and
b. Afford him the earliest opportunity of making the representation against the order.

The parliament has enacted a number of Preventive Detention Laws in the form of;

Preventive detention Act 1951

Maintenance of internal security act, 1971,
National security act
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (prevention)Act, 1987 (TADA)AND
Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) .
Right against Exploitation-Article 23 and 24

 Prohibition of traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms of
forced labour -Aarticle-23.
 Prohibition of compulsory services Article -23
 Under this article the state can force people to do compulsory service for the
public purpose.
 Prohibition of Child Labour Article -24
 Children below the age of fourteen years will not be allowed to work in
factories, mines or other dangerous places so that their health is not adversely
affected.
Right to freedom of Religion (Article 25 to 28)
Article 25-28 grants every persons the freedom of conscience and the right to
freely profess, practice and propagate the religion.
‘Freedom of conscience’ means absolute internal freedom of the citizen to mould
his relation with God in whatever manner he likes. when this freedom is
expressed outwardly it is to profess and practice religion.
Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article-32)

It is true that a declaration of fundamental rights is meaningless unless there

is effective machinery for the enforcement of the rights. It is remedy,
which makes the right real. If there is no remedy there is no right at all.
Without the remedy the right remain only like a paper tiger.
It was therefore with this objective that our Constitution makers
incorporated a long list of fundamental rights and also have provided for
the enforcement of these rights under Article 32 of Constitution.
Article 32 is itself a fundamental right.
Article 32 (1) guarantees the right to move the Supreme Court by
“appropriate proceeding” for the enforcement of fundamental rights
conferred by part III of the constitution.
Article 32(2) confers power on the Supreme Court to issue appropriate
directions or orders or writs, including writs in the nature of Habeas
corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Quo-warranto and Certiorari for the
enforcement of any of the rights conferred by part III of the constitution.
The Constitution under Article 32 provides for remedies by way of Writs.
There are 5 kinds of writs. They are
1. Habeas Corpus
the word Habeas Corpus is a Latin term which means ‘you may have his
body. This is a writ by which a person who has been illegally detained or
imprisoned is ordered by court to be brought and produced before it and
in case his arrest or detention is found to be illegal or wrongful, the court
orders for his release.
2. Mandamus
the word Mandamus means a Command or an order. By this order, there
is direction to a public authority, officer, court or government or any
executive authority to do the act or not to do the act. This writ is available
only against public authority and not against private individuals.
3. Prohibition
Superior Court issue this writ to an inferior court or tribunal to prevent
it from going beyond the powers conferred on it. It is a direction not to
exceed the limits. The object of this writ is to prevent an inferior court
from going beyond the powers conferred upon it by law.
4. Certiorari
This is writ issued by the Superior court to an inferior Court or tribunal
to remove a suit pending before it and decide about the validity of such
proceedings. If there is already an order and the trial is completed, then
this writ may be issued to quash such orders.
5.Quo-warranto

The term quo-warranto literally means “what is your authority”?

The object of this writ is to prevent a person from occupying a public office
who has no proper authority. If a person has occupied any office to which
he has no right, then the court questions such a person to show under
what authority he has occupied that office.

This is how the constitution of India guarantees the fundamental or basic

rights to all classes of citizens without any discrimination and at the same
time also takes care to see that these rights do not remain only on paper.
Therefore the Supreme court of India is called the Guardian or custodian
or Guarantor of fundamental rights.
 DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF
STATE POLICY(part IV Art 36 to
51)

SOCIALIST PRINCIPLES GANDHIAN PRINCIPLES LIBERAL PRINCIPLES

Articles -38,39, Articles- 40, 43, 43b, Articles-
39a,41,42,43,43A, 47. 46, 47, 48. 44,45,48,48a,49,50,51.