Unit 4 of Constitutional Law – II (syllabus: Module IV — emergency provisions; amendment and the basic structure doctrine; services, UPSC, Election Commission, Attorney General, Comptroller and Auditor General, Finance Commission and the National Commissions; inter-State trade and commerce; co-operative societies). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- On what grounds and by what procedure may a Proclamation of Emergency be made?
- How do Articles 358 and 359 differ in their effect on fundamental rights?
- When may President's rule be imposed, and how far is the Proclamation reviewable?
- May an Assembly be dissolved to prevent a party from staking a claim?
- What are the limits on Parliament's power to amend the Constitution?
- Does a State tax offend the freedom of trade under Article 301?
- How are the constitutional watchdog offices insulated from the executive?
- What does Part IXB require of a State law on co-operative societies?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Constitution of India, s. 352
- Constitution of India, s. 358, 359
- Constitution of India, s. 356, 355, 365
- Constitution of India, s. 356(1), 163, 159
- Constitution of India, s. 368
- Constitution of India, s. 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 307
- Constitution of India, s. 148, 149, 150, 151, 316, 317, 319, 324
- Constitution of India, s. 243ZH, 243ZI, 243ZJ, 243ZK, 243ZL
Leading cases
- Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act 1978
- S. R. Bommai v Union of India
- Rameshwar Prasad v Union of India
- Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala
- Jindal Stainless Ltd v State of Haryana
- Constitution of India
- Constitution (Ninety-seventh Amendment) Act 2011