Govt. Exams
Entrance Exams
Articles 12-35 establish justiciable Fundamental Rights (Part III), while Articles 36-51 provide non-justiciable DPSP (Part IV).
Landmark cases like Kesavananda Bharati (1973) established that courts can use DPSP for constitutional interpretation and as guidelines for judicial review.
The distinction is crucial: Rights are enforceable, DPSP are aspirational but legally significant for governance and judicial reasoning.
The 73rd Amendment (1992) made Articles 243 et seq. mandatory for panchayats.
Key features include: three-tier system (village, block, district) for states with population above 20 lakh; five-year tenure; regular elections; and reservation provisions.
Women's reservation was set at 33% (not 50%).
The amendment makes these provisions constitutionally binding on all states.
Article 356 (Emergency Provisions) allows the President to declare President's Rule (National Emergency at state level) when satisfied that the constitutional machinery has broken down and the state cannot be governed according to the Constitution.
This typically follows dismissal of the state government.
The President acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers but the constitutional ground is the failure of constitutional governance in the state.
Article 80 specifies that Rajya Sabha has a maximum strength of 250 members (238 elected + 12 nominated by President).
Lok Sabha has 545 members including 2 Anglo-Indians nominated by President (not 545 including nominated members separately).
Lok Sabha members serve 5-year terms, not 6.
Rajya Sabha members are elected by state legislatures, not directly elected by universal adult suffrage.
The Preamble mentions: Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic, Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. 'Federal' is not explicitly stated in the Preamble, though federalism is incorporated through Articles 1-7 and other constitutional provisions. 'Socialist' and 'Secular' were added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976.
