Historical Development of Indian Constitution UPSC & Other Exams

Siddharth Ranjan (PhD in Political Science, Polity, Governance & IR Faculty UPSC)

Polity Notes UPSC, Historical Development of Indian Constitution

Historical Development of Indian Constitution UPSC

• The East India Company was established in Britain in 1600 AD, at that time, Queen Elizabethan I ruled in Britain and Akbar ruled in India. 
• The arrival of the British in India occurred in 1608 AD, at that time, James I was ruled in Britain and Jahangir ruled in India.  
• The British came to India as traders, in the form of East India Company, which had the exclusive right of trading in India under a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I.  
• The ship that the British came to India was named Hector. The captain of this ship was William Hawkins.

• Gradually the East India Company increased its influence in India.
• From 1764, the East India Company began to establish its indirect occupation of India.
• In 1765, the Company, which till now had purely trading functions obtained the ‘diwani’ (i.e., rights over revenue and civil justice) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. This started its career as a territorial power. {The Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam, granted ‘Diwani’ to the Company after its victory in the Battle of Buxar (1764).}
• In 1773 the East India Company took direct possession of a part Indian territory.
• The rule of the Indian Territory was run by the East India Company till 1857, but the rule of the company was controlled by the British Government from time to time by law, that is, the rule was indirectly run by the British Government.
• In 1858, in the wake of the ‘sepoy mutiny’, the British Crown assumed direct responsibility for the governance of India. From 1858, the British government took over the government from the East India Company.
• From 1858 to 1947, the British government ruled India directly.
• The British Government started regulating the affairs of India through a series of acts. But their constitutional reforms were not genuinely guided towards ensuring responsible governance in India. Their basic purpose was to control the Indian administration through the office of Governor-General/Viceroy.
• The provisions inserted through these acts aimed at weakening our national struggle. But at the same time, these acts contained amalgamation of various provisions that led to the foundation of our present Indian Constitution.
• These constitutional reforms or series of act events are known as Historical development of Indian constitution.
• This Historical development of Indian constitution can be divided into two parts – The Company Rule (1773–1858) and The Crown Rule (1858–1947).
• India got independence in 1947.
• With Independence came the need of a constitution hence a Constituent Assembly was formed for this purpose in 1946. The Constituent Assembly was formed by elected members of the provincial assemblies.
• The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950.
• The constitution replaced the Government of India Act, 1935 as the country’s fundamental governing document, and the Dominion of India became the Republic of India.
• Various features of the Indian Constitution and polity have their roots in the British rule. There are certain events in the British rule that laid down the legal framework for the organization and functioning of government and administration in British India.

Position of Company

1608 – commercial function – 1773 – commercial + political function – 1833 – political function – 1858 – abolished

1.  The Company Rule (1773 to 1858)

• Regulating Act of 1773
• Act of settlement, 1781/The Amending Act, 1781
• Pitt’s India Act of 1784
• Act of 1786
• Charter Act of 1793
• Charter Act of 1813
• Charter Act of 1833
• Charter Act of 1853

1.1 Regulating Act of 1773

• It was the first step taken by the British Government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India.
• It recognized, for the first time, the political and administrative functions of the Company.
• It laid the foundations of central administration in India.
• It designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and created an Executive Council of four members to assist him. The first such Governor-General was Lord Warren Hastings.
• It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the governor-general of Bengal, unlike earlier, when the three presidencies were independent of one another.
• It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) comprising one chief justice and three other judges. Sir Elijah Imphey was the first Chief Justice of this Supreme Court.
• It prohibited the servants of the Company from engaging in any private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the natives.
• It strengthened the control of the British Government over the Company by requiring the Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) to report on its revenue, civil, and military affairs in India.

1.2 Act of settlement, 1781/The Amending Act, 1781

• The Governor General was excluded from the purview of the Supreme Court. The servants of the company which earlier came within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court were now exempted from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
• By the enactment of this Act, the court’s geographical jurisdiction became limited to only Calcutta.
• The Appellate jurisdiction shifted in the hands of the Governor-General and its Executive Council. Now, the appeals went from Provincial Courts to the Governor-General in council.
• This act asserted that Mohammedan law should be applied on the Mohammedan cases and similarly, the Hindu law must be applied to Hindu cases. (formal starting of differential civil code)
• The court now had no jurisdiction in the revenue matters concerning revenue, or any act was done in the collection thereof, the government now became independent of the control of the court in the matter of revenue.

1.3 Pitt’s India Act of 1784

• Pitt’s India Act (1784), named for the British prime minister William Pitt the Younger, established the dual system of control by the British government and the East India Company.
• It distinguished between the commercial and political functions of the Company.
• It allowed the Court of Directors to manage the commercial affairs but created a new body called Board of Control to manage the political affairs. Thus, it established a system of double government.
• This board was made of six people viz. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State, and four Privy Councilors nominated by the King.
• This Board of control was empowered to control all matters of civil or military government or revenues. The board was given full access to the company’s records. It had the powers to send Governors to India and full authority to alter them.
• The Company’s territories in India were for the first time called the British possessions in India.

Note: Regulating Act, 1773 only recognized the political and administrative functions of the Company, not declare them as british possessions.

• It placed the Indian affairs under the direct control of the British Government.
• The British Government was given the supreme control over Company’s affairs and its administration in India.
• It empowered the Board of Control to supervise and direct all operations of the civil and military government or revenues of the British possessions in India.
• The number of members in the Executive Council was reduced from 4 to 3.

1.4 Act of 1786

• The Governor General Bengal was given the power to repeal or enforce the decisions of his council under special circumstances (veto power).
• The Governor General was also given powers of the Commander-in-Chief (first acquired both these powers).
• This Act gave Lord Cornwallis the power of working as Both Governor General & Commander in Chief.

1.5 Charter Act of 1793

• The first Charter Act related to the governance of British India was the Charter Act of 1793, also known as the East India Company Act 1793.
• Charter refers to a formal written grant or document issued by the British Crown or the British Parliament that outlines the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the British East India Company, particularly in its governance of India. These charter acts were legislative instruments that defined the legal framework within which the East India Company could operate in India and conduct its affairs.
• Provision was made to pay salary to members of the Board of Controllers from Indian Revenue.
• The court was given the right to interpret the law.
• The company’s exclusive rights were extended for 20 years. Company got a monopoly of trade with India for another 20 years.

1.6 Charter Act of 1813

• Christian missionaries were allowed to preach religion in India. (or proselytization)
• St. Thomas was the first missionary to India.
• The right of trade was granted to all the citizens of Britain by abolishing the Company’s trade monopoly, but the Company’s monopoly on trade with China and the trade of tea was allowed.
• Other special rights of the company were extended for 20 years.
• A provision was made to spend Rs 1 lakh per year on the education of Indians.

1.7 Charter Act of 1833

• It is also known as the Saint Helena Act, 1833.
• East India Company lost its monopoly of tea trade and China trade.
• British colonization of India was legalized by this act. It ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body, which became a purely administrative body.
• This Act was the final step towards centralization in British India. It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General of India and vested in him all civil and military powers.
• Thus, the act created, for the first time, a Government of India having authority over the entire territorial area possessed by the British in India. Lord William Bentick was the first governor-general of India. Thus, the country’s administration was unified under one control.
• The Governor-General of India was given exclusive legislative powers for the entire British India. The Governors of Bombay and Madras lost their legislative powers.
• The laws made under the previous acts were called as Regulations while laws made under this act were called as Acts.
• It provided that the company’s territories in India were held by it ‘in trust for His Majesty, His heirs and successors’.
• The Charter Act of 1833 attempted to introduce a system of open competition for selection of civil servants, and stated that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any place, office and employment under the Company. This was the first act that gave permission for Indians to have a share in the country’s administration. It stated that merit should be the basis of employment to government service and not birth, colour, religion or race. However, this provision was negated after opposition from the Court of Directors.
• The number of the members of the Governor General’s council was again fixed to 4, which had been reduced by the Pitt’s India act 1784. However, certain limits were imposed on the functioning of the 4th member. For example, the 4th member was not entitled to act as a member of the council except for legislative purposes. For the first, this fourth members of the council was Lord Macaulay.
• The act mandated that any law made in India was to be put before the British Parliament and was to be called ‘Act’.
• As per the act, an Indian Law Commission was established. The first Law Commission had Lord Macaulay as its chairman. It sought to codify all Indian law.
• This act also directed the Governor General-in-Council to adopt measures to mitigate the state of slavery, persisting in India since sultanate Era. The Governor General-in-Council was also directed to pay attention to laws of marriage, rights and authorities of the heads of the families, while drafting any laws.

1.8 Charter Act of 1853

• This was the last of the series of Charter Acts passed by the British Parliament between 1793 and 1853.
• It separated, for the first time, the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s council. It provided for the addition of six new members called legislative councilors to the council.
• In other words, it established a separate Governor-General’s legislative council which came to be known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council.
• This legislative wing of the council functioned as a mini-Parliament, adopting the same procedures as the British Parliament. Thus, legislation, for the first time, was treated as a special function of the government, requiring special machinery and special process.
• It introduced, for the first time, local (not Indian) representation in the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. Of the six new legislative members of the governor general’s council, four members were appointed by the local (provincial) governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra. (G + 4 + 6)
• (G + 4 + 6) – Indian (Central) Legislative Council
• (G + 4) – Governor General’s Executive Council
• It introduced an open competition system of selection and recruitment of civil servants. The covenanted civil service was thus thrown open to the Indians also. Accordingly, the Macaulay Committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil Service) was appointed in 1854.
• At that time, the Civil Services of the company were classified into covenanted civil services (higher civil services) and uncovenanted civil services (lower civil services). The former was created by a law of the Company, while the later was created otherwise.
• It extended the Company’s rule and allowed it to retain the possession of Indian territories on trust for the British Crown. But it did not specify any particular period, unlike the previous Charters. This was a clear indication that the Company’s rule could be terminated at any time the Parliament liked.

2.  The Crown Rule (1858 to 1947)

After the revolution of 1857, the British Government felt the need for the cooperation of Indians to run the administration of India smoothly and in pursuance of this policy, various Acts were enacted by the British Parliament. The major of which is given below-

• Government of India Act of 1858
• Indian Councils Act of 1861
• Indian Councils Act of 1892
• Indian Councils Act of 1909
• Government of India Act of 1919
• Government of India Act of 1935
• Indian Independence Act of 1947

2.1 Government of India Act of 1858

• The act known as the Act for the Good Government of India, abolished the East India Company, and transferred the powers of government, territories and revenues to the British Crown.
• It provided that India henceforth was to be governed by, and in the name of, Her Majesty.
• The powers of British Crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India.
• It created a new office, Secretary of State for India, vested with complete authority and control over Indian administration. The secretary of state was a member of the British cabinet and was responsible ultimately to the British Parliament.
• It established a 15-member Council of India to assist the secretary of state for India in England. The council was an advisory body. The secretary of state was made the chairman of the council.
• It ended the system of double government by abolishing the Board of Control and Court of Directors.
• It changed the designation of the Governor-General of India to that of Viceroy of India.
• As per the act of 1858, the Governor General of India was given the additional title of the Viceroy of India. 
• Lord Canning thus became the first Viceroy of India. Viceroy was the direct representative of the British Crown in India.

• ‘The Act of 1858 was, however, largely confined to the improvement of the administrative machinery by which the Indian Government was to be supervised and controlled in England.
• It did not alter in any substantial way the system of government that prevailed in India.
• Royal Proclamation of 1858, made by Queen Victoria, assured the Indian princes that their territories and rights would be respected as long as they acknowledged British paramountcy, maintained law and order, and followed the advice of British officials on certain matters. It also promised non-interference in matters of religion and culture.

2.2 Indian Councils Act of 1861

• It made a beginning of representative institutions by associating Indians with the law-making process. It thus provided that the viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members of his expanded council legislative.
• In 1862, Lord Canning, the then viceroy, nominated three Indians to Central legislative council – the Raja of Benaras, the Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Dinkar Rao. Their scope was fixed in legislation purpose alone; they had no right to move some kind of vote of no confidence. Further, there was no statutory / specific provision for the nomination of Indians.
• It initiated the process of decentralisation by restoring the legislative powers to the Bombay and Madras Presidencies.
• It also provided for the establishment of new legislative councils for Bengal, North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP), Burma and Punjab, which were established in 1862, 1866 and 1897 respectively. (Total 7)
• It thus reversed the centralising tendency that started from the Regulating Act of 1773 and reached its climax under the Charter Act of 1833.
• This policy of legislative devolution resulted in the grant of almost complete internal autonomy to the provinces in 1937.
• It empowered the Viceroy to make rules and orders for the more convenient transaction of business in the council.
• It also gave a recognition to the ‘portfolio’ system, introduced by Lord Canning in 1859. Under this, a member of the Viceroy’s council was made in-charge of one or more departments of the government and was authorised to issue final orders on behalf of the council on matters of his department(s).
• It empowered the Viceroy to issue ordinances, without the concurrence of the legislative council, during an emergency. The life of such an ordinance was six months.
• The members of Central Legislative Council were given the right to ask questions but they cannot ask question on the budget.
• It replaced the President of the Board of Control with a Secretary of State for India, who became “in subordination to the cabinet, the fountain of authority as well as the director of policy in India”. He was to be advised by a Council of India, consisting of fifteen members, seven of whom were to be selected from the now superseded Court of Directors.
• As per the act of 1858, the Governor General of India was given the additional title of the Viceroy. He retained all his powers but instead of earlier dual control, he was now made answerable only to the secretary of state.

2.2.1 Delhi Durbar UPSC (Court of Delhi)

The Delhi Durbar was an Indian imperial style mass assembly organized by the British in Delhi, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Delhi Durbars were grand imperial gatherings where the British monarch or their representative would meet with Indian royalty, nobility, and dignitaries. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held four times, in 1877, 1903, 1911, and 1931, at the height of the British Empire.

2.2.1.1 The Delhi Durbar of 1877:

This event was organized to mark the proclamation of Queen Victoria as the Empress of India. It was a lavish affair, attended by Indian princes and dignitaries. The event took place in Delhi, which was chosen as the venue to emphasize the historical and symbolic importance of the city. The proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India with the title “Kaiser-i-Hind” was made by Lord Lytton, the then Viceroy of India, on January 1, 1877.

Queen Victoria was given the title “Empress of India” (or Kaisar-i-Hind) from 1 May 1876 under Royal Titles Act 1876.  The act was passed with the understanding that the British imperial title should be used only in India. Thus, the Queen began to use it in her signature in 1878 and in 1893 it appeared on the British coins.

India was already under crown control after 1858, but this title was a gesture to link the monarchy with the empire further and bind India more closely to Britain.

Celebrations were held in Delhi, in what is known as the Delhi Durbar, on 1 January 1877, led by the Viceroy, Lord Lytton.

2.2.1.2 The Delhi Durbar of 1903:

This event was organized to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as Emperor and Empress of India. It was a lavish affair, attended by Indian princes and dignitaries.

2.2.1.3 The Delhi Durbar of 1911:

This Durbar was held to mark the shifting of the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi. King George V and Queen Mary attended, and the decision to move the capital was announced during this event. It was also a significant moment in India’s history. King George V was the only monarch to attend a durbar.

2.2.1.4 The Delhi Durbar of 1931:

This Durbar was held to celebrate the silver jubilee of King George V’s reign. It was a somewhat more subdued event due to the economic challenges of the time.

2.3 Indian Councils Act of 1892

• It increased the number of additional (non-official) members in the Central and provincial legislative councils, but maintained the official majority in them.
• It increased the functions of legislative councils and gave them the power of discussing the budget and addressing questions to the executive. The members were given the right to ask questions on the budget (which was barred in the Indian Councils Act 1861) or matters of public interest but had to give notice of 6 days for it. They could not ask supplementary questions.
• The act made a limited and indirect provision for the use of election in filling up some of the non-official seats both in the Central and provincial legislative councils. The word “election” was, however, not used in the act. The process was described as nomination of some non- official members made on the recommendation of certain bodies.
• Central Legislative Council by the viceroy on the recommendation of the provincial legislative councils and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, and
• Provincial legislative councils by the Governors on the recommendation of the district boards, municipalities, universities, trade associations, zamindars and chambers.

2.4 Indian Councils Act of 1909

• This Act is also known as Morley-Minto Reforms.
• Lord Morley was the then Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto was the then Viceroy of India.
• It considerably increased the size of the legislative councils, both Central and provincial.  The number of members in the Central Legislative Council was raised from 16 to 60. The number of members in the provincial legislative councils was not uniform.
• It retained official majority in the Central Legislative Council but allowed the provincial legislative councils to have non-official majority.
• The legislative councils at the center and the provinces were to have four categories of members as follows:

1. Ex officio members: Governor-General and members of the executive council.
2. Nominated official members: Government officials who were nominated by the Governor-General.
3. Nominated non-official members: nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials.
4. Elected members: elected by different categories of Indians. (Indirect Election)
5. The elected members were elected indirectly. The local bodies elected an electoral college who would elect members of the provincial legislative councils. These members would, in turn, elect the members of the Central legislative council.
6. The elected members were from the local bodies, the chambers of commerce, landlords, universities, traders’ communities and Muslims.
7. It enlarged the deliberative functions of the legislative councils at both the levels. For example, members were allowed to ask supplementary questions, move resolutions on the budget, and so on.
8. It provided (for the first time) for the association of Indians with the executive Councils of the Viceroy and Governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian to join the Viceroy’s Executive Council. He was appointed as the law member.

• Two Indians were nominated to the Council of the Secretary of State for Indian affairs. In 1907, two Indians Sir Krishna Govinda (K.G) Gupta and Nawab Syed Hussain Bilgrami were appointed by Lord Morley as members of the council.
• The Act introduced communal representation in Indian politics. It introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of ‘separate electorate’. Under this, the Muslim members were to be elected only by Muslim voters. 
• Thus, the Act ‘legalised communalism’ and Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of Communal Electorate.
• At the time of this act, Lord Minto wrote to Lord Morley that ” we are planting snake teeth which will have terrible consequences.”
• This was intended to stop the growing tide of nationalism in the country by dividing the people into communal lines. The culmination of this step was seen in the partition of the country along religious lines.
• It also provided for the separate representation of presidency corporations, chambers of commerce, universities and zamindars.

2.5 Government of India Act of 1915

• The Government of India Act 1915 was an act of the Parliament of Britain, which consolidated prior Acts of Parliament concerning British India into a single act. It was passed in July 1915 and went into effect on 1 January 1916. 
• The Government of India Act 1915 and its supplemental act the following year made the English statute law relating to India easier to understand, and therefore easier to amend.
• The Government of India Act of 1915 bought about one firm reform and this was with regards to the jurisdiction of the High Courts. It was held in this act that no High Court could exert original jurisdiction over matters concerning Revenue, or any act done concerning or relation to it.

2.6 Government of India Act of 1919

• On August 20, 1917, the British Government declared, for the first time, that its objective was the gradual introduction of responsible government (i.e., some executive is responsible to the legislative, Indian minister) in India. The Government of India Act of 1919 was thus enacted, which came into force in 1921.
• This Act is also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms.
• Montagu was the Secretary of State for India and Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India.
• It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and provincial subjects.
• The central and provincial legislatures were authorized to make laws on their respective list of subjects. However, the structure of government continued to be centralized and unitary.
• It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts—transferred and reserved.
• The transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the legislative Council.
• The reserved subjects, on the other hand, were to be administered by the governor and his executive council without being responsible to the legislative Council.
• It means the reserved subjects were kept with the Governor acting with the executive council and transferred subjects were kept with Governor acting with the Indian Ministers.
• Thus, the Government of India Act of 1919 introduce diarchy in the Executive Government of the Provinces.
• This dual scheme of governance was known as ‘dyarchy’—a term derived from the Greek word di-arche which means double rule. However, this experiment was largely unsuccessful.
• It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorized the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
• It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism at the Centre. Thus, the Indian (Central) Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly). The majority of members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election. (Indirect 1892)
• It also introduced, for the first time, direct elections in the country. It granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax or education.

• It required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s executive Council (other than the commander-in-chief) were to be Indian.
• It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
• It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred to him some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of State for India.
• It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence, a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants. This was done on the recommendation of the Lee Commission on Superior Civil Services in India (1923–24).
• It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to inquire into and report on its working after ten years of its coming into force.
• The Government of India Act of 1919 provided for a legislative body called the “Chamber of Princes” (Narendra Mandal).
• The Chamber of Princes consisted of representatives from the various princely states, and its primary purpose was to provide a forum for the princes to discuss their concerns, interests, and grievances with the British authorities. It allowed the princely states to have a voice in the governance of India and participate in the law-making process, although its powers were limited.
• It survived until the end of the British Raj in 1947.

2.7 Indian Independence Act of 1935

• It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of provinces and princely states as units. However, the federation never came into being as the princely states did not join it.
• The Act Provided Provincial Autonomy. It divided legislative powers between the Provincial and Central Legislatures and within their defined sphere the provinces were no longer delegates of the Central Government but were autonomous units of administration.
• The Act made a three-fold division of powers between the Centre and the Provinces. Federal List (for centre with 59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54 items) and Concurrent List (for both with 36 items).
• Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy.
• The Act marked a second milestone towards a completely responsible government in India.
• It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ in its place. The provinces were allowed to act as autonomous units of administration in their defined spheres.
• Moreover, the Act introduced responsible governments in provinces (all executive are responsible to the legislative), that is, the governor was required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the provincial legislature. This came into effect in 1937 and was discontinued in 1939.
• It provided for the adoption of dyarchy at the Centre. Consequently, the federal subjects were divided into reserved subjects and transferred subjects. However, this provision of the Act did not come into operation at all. (Partial Responsible Government at Centre)
• It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces. Thus, the legislatures of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces were made bicameral consisting of a legislative council (upper house) and a legislative assembly (lower house). However, many restrictions were placed on them.
• It further extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes), women and Labour (workers).
• It abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of India Act of 1858. The secretary of state for India was provided with a team of advisors. Abolition of Indian Council and introduction of an advisory body in its place.
• Constitutional autocracy introduced by Government of India Act, 1935 vested the executive authority of provinces in the Governors and of center, in the Governor-General on the behalf of the Crown.
• It extended franchise. About 10 per cent of the total population got the voting right.
• The Federal Legislature had the power to legislate with respect to the subjects enumerated in the Provincial List if a proclamation of emergency was made by the Governor-General.
• The Federal Legislature could also legislate with respect to a Provincial subject of the Legislatures of two or more provinces desired this in their common interest.
• In case of Repugnancy in concurrent lists, a Federal law prevailed over the Provincial law to the extent of repugnancy, unless the provincial law received the assent of the Governor-General.
• It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and credit of the country.
• It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service Commission but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission for two or more provinces. (Central Public Services Commission – 1919)
• It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set up in 1937. It provided that the Federal Courts should consist of one Chief justice and not more than six judges. Sir Maurice gwyer was the first Chief Justice of this Federal Court.
• The Federal Court established by this Act has three kinds of jurisdictions i.e. Original, Appellate and Advisory.
• The Federal Court was given exclusive original jurisdiction to decide disputes between the Centre and constituent Units. The provision was made for filing of appeals from High Courts to the Federal Court and from Federal Court to the Privy Council.

2.8 Indian Independence Act of 1947

• The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British parliament on July 5, 1947. It received royal assent on July 18, 1947.
• It ended the British rule in India and declared India as an independent and sovereign state from August 15,1947.
• It provided for the partition of India and creation of two independent dominions of India and Pakistan with the right to secede from the British Commonwealth.
• It abolished the office of viceroy and provided, for each dominion, a governor-general, who was to be appointed by the British King on the advice of the dominion cabinet.
• Till the passage of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, India was a dependency (colony) of the British Empire. From August 15, 1947 to January 26, 1950, India’s political status was that of a dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations. India ceased to be a British dominion on January 26, 1950, by declaring herself a sovereign republic. However, Pakistan continued to be a British Dominion until 1956.

• His Majesty’s Government in Britain was to have no responsibility with respect to the Government of India or Pakistan.
• Established responsible government at the Centre & Provinces.
• Designated Governor General of India & Provincial Governors as Constitutional heads or nominal heads.
• Indian Independence Act of 1947 made Constituent Assembly a sovereign body.
• Declared India (British India) as an independent & sovereign state.
• It granted freedom to the Indian princely states either to join the Dominion of India or Dominion of Pakistan or to remain independent.
• It proclaimed the lapse of British paramountcy over the Indian princely states and treaty relations with tribal areas from August 15,1947.
• It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of the two dominions to frame and adopt any constitution for their respective nations and to repeal any act of the British Parliament, including the Independence act itself.
• It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of both the dominions to legislate for their respective territories till the new constitutions were drafted and enforced. (First parliament of independent India)
• No Act of the British Parliament passed after August 15, 1947 was to extend to either of the new dominions unless it was extended thereto by a law of the legislature of the dominion.
• It abolished the office of the secretary of state for India and transferred his functions to the secretary of state for Commonwealth Affairs.
• It provided for the governance of each of the dominions and the provinces by the Government of India Act of 1935, till the new Constitutions were framed. The dominions were however authorized to make modifications in the Act.
• It deprived the British Monarch of his right to veto bills or ask for reservation of certain bills for his approval. But this right was reserved for the Governor-General.
• The Governor-General would have full power to assent to any bill in the name of His Majesty.
• It designated the Governor-General of India and the provincial governors as constitutional (nominal) heads of the states. They were made to act on the advice of the respective council of ministers in all matters.
• It dropped the title of Emperor of India from the royal titles of the king of England.
• It discontinued the appointment to civil services and reservation of posts by the secretary of state for India. The members of the civil services appointed before August 15, 1947 would continue to enjoy all benefits that they were entitled to till that time.

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