 The Constitution of India was framed by a Constituent Assembly set up under the

Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The Assembly consisted of 389 members representing
provinces (292), states (93), the Chief Commissioner Provinces (3) and Baluchistan (1).
 The Assembly held its first meeting on December 9, 1946, and elected Dr.
Sachhidanand Sinha, the oldest member of the Assembly as the Provisional President.
On December 11, 1946, the Assembly elected Dr Rajendra Prasad as its permanent
Chairman.
 The strength of the Assembly was reduced to 299 (229 representing the provinces and 70
representing the states) following withdrawal of the Muslim League members after the
partition of the country.
 The Constituent Assembly set up 13 committees for framing the constitution. On the
basis of the reports of these committees, a draft of the Constitution was prepared by a
seven-member Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr B R Ambedkar.
 The drafting Constitution was published in January, 1948 and people were given eight
months. After the draft was discussed by the people, the press, the provincial assemblies
and the Constituent Assembly in the light of the suggestions received, the same was
finally adopted on November, 26, 1949, and was signed by the President of the
Assembly. Thus, it took the Constituent Assembly 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to
complete the task.
 The Constitution of India was not an original document. The framers of the Constitution
freely borrowed the good features of other constitutions. However, while adopting those
features, they made necessary modification for its suitability to the Indian conditions and
avoided their defects. The Constitutions which exercised profound influence on the
Indian Constitution were that of UK, USA, Ireland, Canada etc.

 The parliamentary system of government, rule of law, law-making procedure and single
citizenship were borrowed from the British Constitution. Independence of Judiciary,
Judicial Review, Fundamental Rights and guidelines for the removal of judges of the
Supreme Court and High Courts were adopted from the US Constitution. The federal
system with a strong central authority was adopted from Canada.
  Directive Principles of State Policy were borrowed from the Constitution of the Republic
of Ireland. The idea of Concurrent List was borrowed from the Australian Constitution.
The provisions relating to emergency were influenced by the Weimer Constitution.
Above all, the Government of India Act, 1935, exercised great influence of the Indian
Constitution. The federal scheme, office of Governor, powers of federal judiciary, etc.,
were drawn from this Act. In short, the Indian Constitution incorporated the best features
of several existing constitutions.

Constituent Assembly

It was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected members of
the provincial assemblies. The 389 member Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two
years, eleven months and eighteen days to be precise) to complete its historic task of drafting the
Constitution for independent India, during which, it held eleven sessions over 165 days. Of these,
114 days were spent on the consideration of the draft Constitution. On 29 August 1947, the
Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar to prepare a draft Constitution for India. While deliberating upon the draft
Constitution, the assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out
of a total of 7,635 tabled. Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru, C.
Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Kanaiyalal Munshi, Ganesh
Vasudev Mavalankar, Sandipkumar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad
Mukherjee, Nalini Ranjan Ghosh, and Balwantrai Mehta were some important figures in the
assembly. There were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. Frank
Anthony represented the Anglo-Indian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P.
Modi. The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a
distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Ari Bahadur
Gurung represented the Gorkha Community. Prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy
Iyer, Benegal Narsing Rau and K. M. Munshi, Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the
Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit
Kaur and Vijayalakshmi Pandit were important women members.
The first temporary 2-day president of the Constituent Assembly was Dr Sachchidananda Sinha.
Later, Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly. The members of the
Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946.

Influence of other constitutions

British Constitution

 Parliamentary form of government

 The idea of single citizenship
 The idea of the Rule of law
 Institution of Speaker and his role
 Lawmaking procedure
 Procedure established by Law

United States Constitution

 Charter of Fundamental Rights

 Federal structure of government
 Electoral College
 Independence of the judiciary and separation of powers among the three branches of the government
 Judicial review
 President as supreme commander of
armed forces
 Equal Protection under law

Irish Constitution

 Directive principles of state policy

Australian Constitution

 Freedom of trade and commerce within

the country and between the states
 Power of the national legislature to make
laws for implementing treaties, even on
matters outside normal Federal jurisdiction
 Concurrent List
 Terminology for the Preamble

French Constitution

 Ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

Canadian Constitution

 A quasi-federal form of government a federal system with a strong central government

 Distribution of powers between the central government and state governments
 Residual powers retained by the central government

Constitution of the Soviet Union

 Fundamental Duties u/a 51-A

 A Constitutionally mandated Planning Commission to oversee the development of the
economy

Other Constitutions

 Emergency Provision u/a 356, Weimar Constitution (Germany)

 Amendment of Constitution, South Africa
 Due Procedure of Law, Japan
 First Day in the Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9 December, 1946 in the
Constitution Hall which is now known as the Central Hall of Parliament House. Decorated
elegantly for the occasion, the Chamber wore a new look on that day with a constellation of
bright lamps hanging from the high ceilings and also from the brackets on its walls.
Overwhelmed and jubilant as they were, the hon'ble members sat in semi-circular rows facing
the Presidential dias. The desks which could be warmed electrically were placed on sloping
green-carpeted terraces. Those who adorned the front row were Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Acharya J.B. Kripalani, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad, Smt. Sarojini Naidu, Shri Hare-Krushna Mahatab, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar, Shri Sarat Chandra Bose, Shri C. Rajagopalachari and Shri M. Asaf Ali.
Two hundred and seven representatives, including nine women were present.
The inaugural session began at 11 a.m. with the introduction of Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha, the
temporary Chairman of the Assembly, by Acharya Kripalani. While welcoming Dr. Sinha and
others, Acharyaji said: "As we begin every work with Divine blessings, we request Dr. Sinha to
invoke these blessings so that our work may proceed smoothly. Now, I once more, on your
behalf, call upon Dr. Sinha to take the Chair." Occupying the Chair amidst acclamation, Dr.
Sinha read out the goodwill messages received from different countries. After the Chairman's
inaugural address and the nomination of a Deputy Chairman, the members were formally
requested to present their credentials. The First Day's proceedings ended after all the 207
members present submitted their credentials and signed the Register.
Seated in the galleries, some thirty feet above the floor of the Chamber, the representatives of the
Press and the visitors witnessed this memorable event. The All India Radio, Delhi broadcast a
composite sound picture of the entire proceedings.

Some Facts

The Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days
to be precise) to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India.
During this period, it held eleven sessions covering a total of 165 days. Of these, 114 days were
spent on the consideration of the Draft Constitution. As to its composition, members were
chosen by indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, according
to the scheme recommended by the Cabinet Mission. The arrangement was: (i) 292 members
were elected through the Provincial Legislative Assemblies; (ii) 93 members represented the
Indian Princely States; and (iii) 4 members represented the Chief Commissioners' Provinces. The
total membership of the Assembly thus was to be 389. However, as a result of the partition under
the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June, 1947, a separate Constituent Assembly was set up for Pakistan
and representatives of some Provinces ceased to be members of the Assembly. As a result, the
membership of the Assembly was reduced to 299. On 13 December, 1946, Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution

 This Constituent Assembly declares its firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as an
Independent Soverign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution;
 WHEREIN the territories that now comprise British India, the territories that now form
the Indian States, and such other parts fo India as are outside British India and the States
as well as such other territories as are willing to be constituted into the Independent
Soverign India, shall be a Union of them all; and
 WHEREIN the said territories, whether with their present boundaries or with such others
as may be determined by the Constituent Assembly and thereafter according to the law of
the Constitution, shall possess and retain the status of autonomous Units, together with
residuary powers and exercise all powers and functions of goverrnment and
administration, save and except such powers and functions as are vested in or assigned to
the Union, or as are inherent or implied in the Union or resulting therefrom; and
 WHEREIN all power and authority of the Soverign Independent India, its constituent
parts and organs of government, are derived from the people; and
 WHEREIN shall be guaranteed and secured to all the people of India justice, social
economic and political : equality of status, of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of
thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to law
and public morality; and
 WHEREIN adequate safeguards shall be provided for minorities, backward and tribal
areas, and depressed and other backward classes; and
  WHEREBY shall be maintained the integrity of the territory of the Republic and its
soverign rights on land, sea, and air according to justice and the law of civilized nations;
and
 this ancient land attains its righful and honoured placed in the world and make its full and
willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.

This Resolution was unanimously adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 January 1947.
Late in the evening of 14 August, 1947 the Assembly met in the Constitution Hall and at the
stroke of midnight, took over as the Legislative Assembly of an Independent India.

On 29 August, 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the
Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India. While
deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the Assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as
many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled.

The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November, 1949 and the hon'ble members
appended their signatures to it on 24 January, 1950. In all, 284 members actually signed the
Constitution. On that day when the Constitution was being signed, it was drizzling outside and it
was interpreted as a sign of a good omen.

The Constitution of India came into force on 2 6 January, 1950. On that day, the Assembly
ceased to exist, transforming itself into the Provisional Parliament of India until a new
Parliament was constituted in1952

The Important Ones are:

 Union Power Committee- Jawahaelal Nehru

 Fundamental Rights and Minority Committee- V.B. Patel
 Provincial Constitution Committee- V.B. Patel
 Drafting Committee- B. R. Ambedkar
 Flag Committee- Jivatram Kripalani
 Steering Committee- K.M. Munshi
First Female:

 The first Indian woman to be awarded the Bharat Ratna - Smt Indira Gandhi.
 The first lady Governor of an Indian state was Smt Sarojini Naidu.
 The first lady Chief Minister of State was Smt Sucheta Kripalani.
 The first lady Central minister of the country was Smt Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.
 The first woman president of the Indian National Congress was Annie Besant.
 The first woman to become the Chief Election Commissioner was Mrs Rama Devi.
 The first woman to be appointed Chief Justice of a state High Court was Justice Leila
Seth.
 The first woman to be appointed judge of the Supreme Court was Justice M Fatima
Beevi.
 The first woman to be appointed the Speaker of Lok Sabha is Mrs Meira Kumar.
 The first woman president of UN General Assembly - Mrs Vijayalaxmi Pandit.
 Important Amendment

Reorganisation of states on linguistic basis and

7 1956 abolition of Class A, B, C and D states and
introduction of Union Territories.

Adjustments to Indian territory as a result of

9 1960
agreement with Paksitan.

Dadra, Nagar and Haveli included in Indian Union

10 1961
as a Union Territory on acquisition from Portugal.

Goa, Daman and Diu included in Indian Union as

12 1961
a Union Territory on acquisition from Portugal.

The state of Nagaland formed with special

13 1963
protection under Article 371A.

Pondicherry incorporated into Indian Union after

14 1962
transfer by France.

21 1967 Sindhi added as language in the 8th schedule.

Privy purse paid to former rulers of princely states

26 1971
abolished.

36 1975 Sikim included as an Indian state.

Fundamental Duties prescribed, India became

42 1976
Socialist Secular Republic.

Right to Property deleted from the list of

44 1978
fundamental rights.

Defection to another party after election made

52 1985
illegal.

61 1989 Voting age reduced from 21 to 18.

Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali added as languages

71 1992
in the Eighth Schedule.
 Introduction of Panchayati Raj, addition of Part IX
73 1993
to the Constitution.

74 1993 Introduction of Nagarpalikas and Municipalities.

Free and compulsory education to children

86 2002
between 6 and 14 years.

Bodo, Dogri, Santhali and Maithli added to the list

92 2003
of recognised languages. Service Tax introduced.

1960, 1970, Extension of reservation of seats for SC/ST and

8,23,45,62, 79
1980, 1989, nomination of Anglo-Indian members in
and 95
2000 and 2010 Parliament and State Assemblies.

Substituted Odia for Oriya in the Eighth Schedule

96 2011
to the Constitution

Introduction of Part IXB in the Constitution

97 2012
pertaining to Co-operative Societies

101 2016 Introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST)

The 42nd amendment was the most comprehensive amendment which had 59 clauses and
carried out so many changes that it has been described as a "Mini Constitution".

The 52nd amendment was the only amendment to be unanimously adopted by the Parliament.
The Constitution (24th Amendment) Act, 1971:

It affirms the power of the Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution including
Fundamental Rights.

The Constitution (31st Amendment) Act, 1973:

Increases the elective strength of the Lok Sabha from 525 to 545. Under the Act, the upper limit
of representatives of the States goes up from 500 to 525 and that of the Union Territories
decreases from 25 to 20.

The Constitution (36th Amendment) Act, 1975:

By this Act, Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Indian Union. The Bill received the
Presidential assent on May 16, 1975 but the Act came into force from April 25. 1975, the day on
which it was passed by the Rajya Sabha.

(The Bill, before being given the Presidential assent, was rectified by the Legislative Assemblies
of 13 States. Under the Constitution, the amendment is required to be rectified by the
Legislatures of not less than half of the States).

The Constitution (37th Amendment) Act, 1975:

Was passed by the parliament on April 26, 1975 to provide for a Legislative Assembly and 1
Council of Ministers to Arunachal Pradesh, the country's north-eastern most nation Territory.
(Arunachal Pradesh Assernbh ntis inaugurated on August 15, 1975)

Pr Constitution (38th Amendment) Act, 1975:

It received esidential assent on August 1, 1975. The Act makes the declaration of emergency
non-judiciable.

Constitution (39th Amendment) Act, 1975:

The Bill was passed 1979 on August 7 and received Presidential assent on August The Act
places beyond challenge in courts the election to
Parliament of a person holding the office of Prime Minister or Speaker and the election of
President and Vice-President.

The Constitution (40th Amendment) Act, 1976:

This Amendment has three-fold objectives : 1. It places beyond challenge in courts some major
Central laws; 2. It gives similar protection to several State enactments, mostly relating to land
legislation, by including them in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution and 3. It provides that
the limits of the territorial waters and the maritime zones of India shall be specified from time to
time by laws made by Parliament.

The Constitution (43rd Amendment) Act, 1978:

It received the Presidential assent on April 13, 1978. This Act repealed some of the provisions of
the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act passed during the Emergency. It restored civil liberties
by deleting Article 3ID which gave powers to Parliament to curtail Trade Union activity.

This Act, which was rectified by more than half of the States, also restored legislative powers to
the States to make appropriate provision for anti-national activities consistent with the
Fundamental Rights.

Under the Act, the judiciary was also restored to its rightful place. The Supreme Court was given
the power to invalidate State laws, a power taken away by the 42nd Amendment Act. The High
Courts could also look into the question of constitutional validity of Central laws thereby
enabling persons living in distant places to obtain Speedy Justice without having to come to the
Supreme Court.

The Constitution (45th Amendment) Act, 1980:

Passed by the Parliament in January 1980 seeks to extend reservation of seats for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the representation of the Anglo- Indians in the Lok Sabha and
the State Assemblies for 10 years, i.e., upto January 25, 1990.

The Constitution (46th Amendment) Act, 1982:

Passed in July 1982, enables the State Governments to plug loopholes and realise sales tax dufes
and also to bring about some uniformity in iax rates in case of certain items.

The Constitution (49th Amendment) Act, 1984:

The Amendment of 1984 has enabled the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution to
be made applicable to the tribal areas of the State of Tripura. This amendment is intended to give
a constitutional security to the autonomous District Council functioning in the State.

The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985:

The act has made defection to another party, after elections illegal. Any member defecting to
another party after elections will be disqualified from being member of Parliament or State
Legislature.

The Constitution (53rd Amendment) Act, 1986:

It confers Statehood on Mizoram and ensures against unnecessary interference by the Central
Government by the laws relative to spheres of social relationship and community conduct
applicable to Mizoram.

The Constitution (54th Amendment) Act, 1986:

It enhances the salaries of Judges of High Courts and Supreme Court of India. The salary of
Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India will be Rs. 10,000; Chief Justice of High Courts Rs.
9,000/-. Judges of Supreme Court Rs. 9,000/- and Judges of High Courts Rs. 8,000

The Constitution (55th Amendment) Act, 1987:

It grants Statehood to Arunachal Pradesh which consequently became the 24th State of the
Indian Union.

The Constitution (56th Amendment) Act, 1987:

It confers Statehood on Goa and forms a new Union Territory of Daman and Diu. Goa thus
became the 25th State of the Indian Republic.

The Constitution (57th Amendment) Act, 1987:

It made a special provision for the setting up of the new State of Goa. Consequently Daman and
Diu were separated from the former to form a Union Territory.

The Constituiion (58th Amendment) Act, 1988:

It provides for special arrangements with regard to reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in
the State of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya. By amending Article 322
the adjustment of seats has been frozen until 2000 A.D.

The Constitution (59th Amendment) Act, 1988:

It empowered the Central Government to impose Emergency in Punjab when deemed necessary.
Under the amendment, President's rule can be extended upto three years. Earlier maximum
period was two years.

The Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1989:

It lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

The Constitution (62nd Amendment) Act, 1989:

It provided for the extension by another 10 years of reservation of seats in the Parliament and
State Assemblies for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and reservation for Anglo Indian
Community by nomination.

The Constitution (63rd Amendment) Act, 1989:

It repealed Amendment 59 which empowered the government to impose emergency in Punjab.

The Constitution (64th Amendment) Act, 1990:

It extended the President's rule in Punjab by six months.

The Constitution (66th Amendment) Act, 1990:

To bring land reforms within the purview of 9th Schedule of the Constitution.

The Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991:

Delhi made National Capital Region. The Act also made provision for Legislative assembly and
a council of ministers for Delhi.

The Constitution (70th Amendment) Act, 1992:

Before this act was made Article 54 relating to the election of the President provided for an
electoral college consisting only of the elected members of Parliament as well as the legislative
assemblies of the States (not of Union Territories).

The amendment provide for inclusion of members of legislature of Pondicherry and Delhi.

The Constitution (71st Amendment) Act, 1992:

The act amends the 8th Schedule to the Constitution to include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali
Languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

The Constitution (72nd Amendment) Act, 1992:

Article 332 amended to determine the number of reserved seats for STs in the State Assembly of
Tripura, until readjustment of seats made on the basis of census 2000.

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1993:

Part IX relating to Panchayats inserted in the constitution to provide Gram Sabha, constitution of
panchayats at village and other levels, direct elections to all seats, fixing the tenures, reservation
for SC, ST and 33% seats for women etc.

The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1993:

A new Part IX- A relating to Municipalities, i.e., Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and
Municipal Corporations.

The Constitution (75th Amendment) Act, 1994:

Article 332 (Part XIV-A) amended to give timely relief to the rent litigants by setting-up State-
level Rent Tribunals to reduce the tiers of appeals, and to exclude jurisdiction of all courts except
Supreme Court under Act 136.
The Constitution (76th Amendment) Act, 1994:

This Act aims at the reservation of seats in educational institutions and reservation of
appointments or posts in public services for Backward Classes, SCs and STs. The Supreme
Court, on 16th Nov., 1992 ruled that the total reservation under Article 16(4) should not exceed
50%.

The Constitution (77th Amendment) Act, 1995:

Article 16(4A) provides reservation in promotion for the SC and the ST.

The Constitution (78th Amendment) Act, 1995:

The amendments to Acts placed in the 9th Schedule are immunised from legal challenge,
through a number of amending Acts along with a few principal Acts so that its implementation
becomes smooth.

The Constitution (79th Amendment) Act, 1999:

Extended the reservations for SC/ST in services as also nomination of 2 Anglo-Indians to Lok
Sabha up to 2010.

The Constitution (80th Amendment) Act, 2000:

Related to the revenue sharing between the Centre and the States whereby States overall share
was increased to 26% as per the Tenth Finance Commission's recommendations.

The Constitution (81st Amendment) Act, 2000:

Related to carrying forward backlog vacancies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Constitution (82nd Amendment) Act, 2000:

Related to relaxation in qualifying marks and reservation of posts in super speciality courses in
Medical and Engineering disciplines, etc. for Scheduled Castes/ Tribes etc. (Both 81st & 82nd
amendments were made in supersession of Supreme Court's judgements).
The Constitution (83rd Amendment) Act, 2000:

Related to the reservation of seats under Panchayati Raj in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Constitution (84th Amendment) Act, 2000:

Related to creating of new States of Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Uttaranchal.

The Constitution (85th Amendment) Act, 2001:

Amended Article 16(4A) to provide for consequential seniority in promotion by virtue of rule of
reservation for the. Government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes.

The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002:

Provides for (i) insertion of a new article 21A that the State shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the state may, by
law, determine.

The Constitution (87th Amendment) Act, 2003:

This Article provides that in Article 81 of the Constitution, in clause (3), in the proviso, in clause
(ii), for the figures "1991", the figures "2001" shall be substituted.

The Constitution (88th Amendment) Act, 2003:

This Article provides for the insertion of a new article 268A which states that taxes on services
shall be levied by the Government of India and such tax shall be collected and appropriated by
the government of India and the States in the manner provided in clause (2).

The Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003:

This Article provides for the amendment of Article 338 and insertion of a new article 338A
which provides that there shall be a National Commission for ST.

The Constitution (90 Amendments) Act, 2003:

This Amendment provided that for elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State of Assam,
the representation of the Scheduled Tribes and non-Scheduled Tribes in the constituencies
included in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District, so notified, and existing prior to the
constitution of the Bodoland Territorial Areas District, shall be maintained.

The Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003:

This Article provides that the total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the
Council of Ministers shall not exceed fifteen per cent of the total number members of the House
of the people.

The Constitution (92nd Amendment) Act, 2003:

This Article provides for the inclusion of four new language, viz. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and
Santhali in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act, 2005:

In this Amendment, a provision has been inserted that the State (i.e. Parliament or other
legislatures) can make laws for the advancement of the SC, ST or the OBCs of citizens in matters
of admission to educational institutions, including private unaided institutions.

The Constitution (94th Amendment) Act, 2006:

This article provides that in article 164 of the Constitution, in clause (1), in the proviso, for the
word "Bihar", the words "Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand" shall be substituted
 Panchayat

 In Tripura, Panchyat Raj System exists.

 But, in Nagaland Meghalaya & Mizoram there are no any Panchyat Raj as because they
exempted under Article 243M(2) and also enjoying Special Constitutional Provision
under Article 371A, 371B, 371C,371F,371G,371H by the Constitution of India.
 The Following states having autonomous districts & Councils formed Under Sixth
Schedule of Constitution, thereby these areas are ruled by self-govt. So there are no any
Panchyati Raj System.
 In Assam, Panchayati Raj Institutions do not exist in 6 districts covered under
Autonomous Councils. These 6 districts are Karbi Anglong, North Cachar, Baksha,
Kokrajhar, Chirang and Udalguri.
 In Arunachal, the whole of Arunachal Pradesh is covered by Panchayati Raj Institutions.
 In Tripura, The areas under Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TAADC)
do not have Panchayati Raj Institutions but they have Elected Village Committees. Rest
of Tripura has Panchayati Raj Institutions.
 In Manipur, the hill areas consisting of the Districts Senapati, Churachandpur, Ukhrul,
Tamenglong and Chandel are not covered under Panchayati Raj Institutions. Rest of
Manipur has PRIs.
 Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram do not have PRIs. However, Mizoram has elected
Village Councils.
 Indian Penal Code

It is one of the principles of the English criminal law that to constitute guilt there must be a
guilty intent along with the act itself and that a crime is not committed if the mind of the person
doing the act in question be innocent. The maxim governing the above proposition is actus non
facit reum, nisi mens sit rea, i.e., the act itself does not constitute guilt unless done with a
guilty intent.

There must be an intention to do some act before a person can be guilty of crime. In the words of
Lord Kenyon “the intent and act must both concur to constitute a crime.”

 Thus mens rea in the case of murder means malice aforethought;

 in the case of theft an intention to seal and
 In the case of receiving stolen goods knowledge that the goods were stolen.

The maxim, therefore, connotes that the act itself does not make a man guilty unless his intention
was to commit a crime. You shoot a jackal but actually killed a man behind a bush who was
concealed from your view.

No offence has been committed if you were not negligent and the act will be excusable as an
accident. You are working with a hatchet and the head flies, off, killing a man who is standing
by.

There is no offence if you have taken proper precaution and the act is excusable as an accident.
But if you kill a man under circumstances which afford you no legal justification, you are guilty
of murder.

The maxim actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea is rooted in the antiquity of English legal
history. The requirement of a guilty state of mind at least for the more serious crimes had come
to be developed even by the time of Coke. In his Institutes, Coke categorically states the law as
follows:

“If one shoot at any wild fowl upon a tree, and the arrow killeth any reasonable creature after off,
without any evil intent in him, this is per infortunium.”
It would thus appear that even from the time of Coke onwards it was well-settled that the
doctrine of mens rea epitomised the twin premise of English criminal jurisprudence that in order
to constitute a crime, there must be an actus rea accompanied by the requisite mens rea. To put in
simple language, a completed offence requires both physical overt acts as also a guilty state of
mind.

In crimes, requiring mens rea as well as actus rea, the physical act must be contemporaneous
with the guilty mind; it is not enough that a mentally innocent act is subsequently followed by
mens rea.

To put in the classic words of Lord Kenyon, C.J. in Fowler v. Pedget, (1798) 101 E.R. 1103 at p.
1106: “The intent and the act must both concur to constitute the crime.”

This principle is well highlighted in the oft quoted words of Lord Wright in the celebrated case
of Sherras v. De Rutzen, (1895)1 QB 918, as under:

“There is a presumption that mens rea, an evil intention, or a knowledge of the wrongfulness of
the act, is an essential ingredient in every offence, but that presumption is liable to be displaced
either by the words of the statute creating the offence or by the subject matter with which it
deals, and both must be considered.”

The aforesaid view has the stamp of approval by their Lordships of the Supreme Court in Ravula
Hariprasad Rao v. State, A.I.R. 1965 S.C. 722. However, the more meaningful authoritative
enunciation in this context is that by Krishna Iyer, J. In R.S. Joshi v. Ajit Mills Ltd., A.I.R. 1977
S.C. 2279, in the following terms:

The definitions clearly visualise that state of mind when they state whether the act must have
been done ‘voluntarily’, ‘knowingly’, ‘dishonestly’, ‘fraudulently’, accidentally’, or the like.