Power Struggle in the Indian Constitution

Filed under: Knowledge

The Constitution of India has many contradictions, attempts to diminish the power of the President and freedoms of the people. Here is a funny example introduced in the FORTY-SECOND AMENDMENT ACT, 1976 during the emergency when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister:

Section (3) of Article 77 in the Constitution of India reads:

(3) The President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India, and for the allocation among Ministers of the said business.

The 42nd Amendment then added section (4) to Article 77 – Conduct of Government Business:

(4) No court or other authority shall be entitled to require the production of any rules made under clause (3) for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India.

Which I thought was funny, because it basically says if by section (3) the President wishes to make any rule to improve the conduct of government business, then as per section (4) no one is required to implement that rule!

Luckily for us, after the emergency, when Morarji Desai was Prime Minister; section (4), an attempt by a Prime Minister to diminish the power of a President, was removed (see 57) from the constitution in the FORTY-FOURTH AMENDMENT ACT, 1978