Unit 1 of Constitutional Law – I (syllabus: Module 1 — constitutionalism and rule of law; East India Company and Crown rule; the freedom struggle to the Indian Independence Act 1947; the Constituent Assembly; the Preamble; salient features; Part II and the Citizenship Act 1955). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- Is the Preamble a part of the Constitution, and can it be amended?
- May a court use the Preamble to read words into an Article whose language is clear?
- Is secularism merely a word added in 1976, or does it carry legal consequences?
- Who became a citizen of India when the Constitution commenced?
- What happens to Indian citizenship when a citizen takes the citizenship of another country?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Constitution of India, s. Preamble, with Art. 368
- Constitution of India, s. Preamble
- Constitution of India, s. Preamble, with Art. 356
- Constitution of India, s. Art. 5
- Citizenship Act, 1955, s. s. 9, with Art. 9 of the Constitution
Leading cases
- Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala
- A.K. Gopalan v State of Madras
- S.R. Bommai v Union of India
- Pradeep Jain v Union of India
Full case summaries
- Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala (Supreme Court, 1973) — Parliament may amend any provision, but not the basic structure
- In re Berubari Union (Supreme Court, 1960) — the Preamble is a key, not a source of power; territory is ceded by amendment, not by an Article 3 law
- S.R. Bommai v Union of India (Supreme Court, 1994) — the Preamble's strong Centre, the federal character, and the limits on President's rule