Government confident women's bill will clear Lok Sabha

A day after the historic bill to reserve one-third of all legislative seats in India for women was cleared by the Rajya Sabha, the government's flagship legislation Wednesday continued to disrupt the Lok Sabha where ministers said it would be passed by March 16.

After smelling the first victory in the upper house over the Women's Reservation Bill, the government appeared confident that the proposed bill will clear the next hurdle and sail through the Lok Sabha despite opposition from the parties with their support base in the Hindi heartland of northern India.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.K. Bansal said it would be passed in the lower house before March 16 when parliament goes for a three-week recess and resumes April 12.

'We intend to get the bill passed in the Lok Sabha before March 16,' Bansal told IANS.

Official sources said the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha will meet Friday to decide tabling of the bill in the house next week.

The Trinamool Congress, which is a ruling ally of the Congress and abstained from the Tuesday vote, expressed its unhappiness over the bill.

Why was there was no reservation for women in the Rajya Sabha, party chief Mamata Banerjee, also the railway minister, questioned. Banerjee told reporters her party supported the bill in principle but would discuss the stand to be taken in the Lok Sabha when the bill came up there.

As the Trinamool's, which has crucial 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha and is the biggest ally of the UPA, stand remains unclear, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said

'the government will manage to get the support of all its allies. We will manage the family.'

Demands over the withdrawal of suspension of seven dissenters who were muscled out by marshals from the Rajya Sabha Tuesday also grew Wednesday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties, which support the bill, also called for revocation of the suspension of the members mainly from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) who were suspended and evicted for unruly behaviour in the upper house.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said the government should bring a motion and withdraw the suspension. He said the members should meet chairman Hamid Ansari and 'make amends for what happened'.

He was supported by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury.

But the parliamentary affairs minister said the government would consider the revocation only if the suspended MPs express their regrets to the chairman.

'It (the suspension) was a well considered action as they (the members) had insulted the dignity of the house. The minimum thing is to go to the chairman,' Bansal told reporters.

RJD member Prem Chand Gupta disagreed saying it was not correct to insist on an apology from the members as 'whatever happened, took place in particular circumstances'.

The issue rocked the Lok Sabha which was adjourned for the day after SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav and RJD leader Lalu Prasad staged noisy protests.

BJP's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde told reporters that the government should 'not lower the dignity of the house' by bringing in marshals. Munde said the government should bring a motion to withdraw the suspension.

The Yadav trinity reiterated their opposition to the women's bill demanding that the proposed legislation should have a quota for women from the Dalit, tribal and minority communities.

read more...

Laws in India

• 
  

  Information all citizens should have for survival and before Betrayal.

  The breaking or violation of a presumptive social contract (trust, or confidence) that produces moral and psychological conflicts,between and organizations. Often betrayal is the act of supporting a rival group, or it is a complete break from previously decided upon or presumed norms by one party from the others.
  
  If the public servant/officerdoes not do his/duty properly,watch what happens:
  Sec. 167 IPC: Public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person.
  Whoever, being a public servant, and being, as such public servant, charged with the preparation or translation of any document, frames or translates that document in a manner which he knows or believes to be incorrect, in- tending thereby to cause or knowing it to be likely that he may thereby cause injury to any person, shall be punished udth imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both’.
  Sec. 166 IPC:
  Public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person.
  
  “Whoever, bring a public servant, knowingly disobeys any direction of law as to the way in which he is to conduct himself as such public servant, intending to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will, by such disobedience, cause injury to any person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
  Sec. 217 IPC:
  Public servant disobeying direction of law with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture.
  “Whoever , being a public servant, knowingly disobeys any direction of the law as to the way in which he is to conduct himself as such public servant, intending thereby to save, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby save, any person from legal punishment, or subject him to a less punishment than that to which he is liable, or with intent to save, or knowing that he is likely thereby to save, any property from forfeiture or any charge to which it is liable by law, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
  Sec.218 IPC:- Public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture.
  
  Whoever, being a public servant, and being as such public servant, charged with the preparation of any record or other writing, frames that record or writing in a manner which he knows to be incorrect, oath intent to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, loss or injury to the public or to any person, or with intent thereby to save, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby save, any person from legal punishment, or with intent to save, or knowing that he is likely thereby to save, any property from forfeiture or other charge to which it is liable by law, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
  What happens if you fool the police or a public servant:
  See. 177 IPC. Furnishing false information
  ‘Whoever, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months.’ or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
  Or, if the information which he is legally bound to give respects the commission of an offense, or is required for the purpose of preventing the commission.of an offense, or in order to the apprehension of an offender, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both”.
  Sec. 182 IPC: “False information with intent to cause public servant to use his power to the injury of another person.
  ‘Whoever gives to any public servant any information which he knows or believes to be false, intending thereby to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, such public servant
  (a) to do or omit anything which such public servant ought not to do or omit if the true state of facts respecting which such information is given were known by him, or
  (b) to use the lawful power of such public servant to the injury or annoyance of any person.
  shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or u,,ith fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or u7ith both.
  Sec.211 IPC:
  False charge of offense made with intent to injure.
  ‘Whoever, with intent to cause injury to any person, Institutes or causes to be instituted any criminal proceeding against that person, or falsely charges any person with having committed an offense, knowing that there is no lawful ground for such proceeding or charge against that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or fine, or with both.
  And if such criminal proceeding be instituted on a false charge of an offense punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for seven years or upwards, shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine’.
  Notice:The laws are made for the citizens to use them not to misuse.
  
  

read more...

RTE Act to be amended to include disabled kids

Children with any kind of disability will soon be entitled to reservation in admission in private schools in their neighbourhood with the Union Cabinet on Thursday approving introduction of a Bill in Parliament to amend the Right to Education Act, 2009.

The amendment also aims at changing the mandate of school management committees constituted under the Act for aided minority institutions.

The Act provides for free and compulsory education as a fundamental right of every child in the 6-14 age group and earmarks 25% of seats to children from "economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups" in private schools. The amendment will ensure inclusion of children with disabilities within the meaning of "children belonging to disadvantaged groups", I&B minister Ambika Soni said after the Cabinet meeting.

The existing Act refers to disabled children as defined under the Person with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection and Full Participation) Act, 1996. The amendment will treat children with disabilities as defined in the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.

The amendment will also take care of concerns raised by certain minority groups that provisions regarding the management committee under the Act are inconsistent with Article 30 of the Constitutions which gives minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions freely.

As per the RTE Act, the management committee should comprise elected representatives of the local authority, parents or guardians of children, and teachers.

After considering the concerns raised by these groups, the government decided to bring amend the Act to ensure that School Management Committees constituted under the Act by aided minority institutions shall perform an advisory function only.

In other schools, such committees will monitor the working of the school, prepare and recommend school development plans and monitor the utilisation of the grants received from the government and local authority.

read more...

Indian Parliament-

           What is Parliament?

According to the Constitution of India, the union legislative body is called the Parliament. The Hindi term for Parliament is Sansad.  The Parliament includes the President and the two Houses – the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). This kind of system, with two Houses, is called a bicameral legislature

                                       Rajya Sabha-

The Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the Upper House of Parliament. The House has a maximum of 250 members, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature, science, and social services. The remaining 238 members are elected by the members of the legislative bodies from the States and Union Territories.  The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and unlike the Lok Sabha, it cannot be dissolved at any time.

Each member of the Rajya Sabha serves for a term of six years. But one third of its members retire at the expiration of every two years. The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. It, however, elects a Deputy Chairman from among its members who takes care of the day-to-day working of the House.  Both Houses have equal legislative powers except in the area of finance where the Lok Sabha is given overriding powers.

                                          Lok Sabha-

The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the Lower House of Parliament. The members are directly elected to the House. The electorate consists of all citizens who have attained 18 years of age and are otherwise not disqualified to vote under the law. Under the Constitution, the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha can be 552 members. The Constitution provides that up to 530 members would represent territorial constituencies in the states, up to 20 members would represent the Union Territories, and two members would be appointed by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian community if there is inadequate representation of the community.

The minimum age for qualification as a member of the Lok Sabha is 25 years. Each Lok Sabha is formed for a period of five years, at the end of which the House is dissolved. The House can be dissolved before the completion of the term or it can be extended by a Proclamation of Emergency. The period of extension cannot exceed one year at a time.  A Speaker and a Deputy Speaker, elected by the members of the Lok Sabha, conduct day to day business. The Deputy Speaker presides during the absence of the Speaker.

        What are the functions of Parliament?

Parliament has four primary functions- to make laws, to sanction government expenditure, to oversee the work of the government, and to represent the interests of the people. In the Indian system, the Council of Ministers are also Members of Parliament (that is, there is an overlap of the legislative and executive functions for several members) For those members who are part of the Council of Ministers, there is an additional responsibility of the executive as compared to those who are not in the Council of Ministers.  The broad functions of Parliament can be described as follows-

• Legislative responsibility- To pass laws

• Oversight responsibility- To ensure that the executive (i.e. government) performs its duties satisfactorily

• Representative responsibility- To represent the views and aspirations of the people of their constituency in Parliament

• “Power of the Purse” responsibility- To approve and oversee the revenues and expenditures proposed by the government 

          What constitutes the Government of India? 

The President is the formal, constitutional head of the Republic of India. After the Lok Sabha elections, the President invites the leader of the party or parties with the majority of votes in the Lok Sabha to form the Government.  The President appoints the leader of the majority party as the Prime Minister and on the advice of the Prime Minister appoints other ministers. The ministers can be chosen from both Houses of Parliament. The political power is vested with the Prime Minister and his team of ministers – the Council of Ministers.  The Council of Ministers constitutes the Government of India and the government is headed by the Prime Minister.  The Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, (together forming the Executive) is responsible for the governance of the country and is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. If the Lok Sabha passes a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers, the term of the Government comes to an end.    As the leader of the majority, the Prime Minister is also the Leader of the Lok Sabha. He has to perform certain parliamentary functions like proposing dates of calling the House in session to the Speaker and drawing up the programme of official business.  The leader of the largest party in opposition in each House is designated as the Leader of the Opposition. Till 18^th December 2009 leader of opposition in LS was Mr. L. K. Aadvani but at present he has replaced by Susma Swaraj

      What is the role of the President of India with regard to Parliament?

The President is the constitutional head of Republic of India, directly elected by an electoral college that includes elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.  The President performs certain constitutional functions-

• The President invites the leader of the majority party to form the Government after a new Lok Sabha is duly elected

• The President nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha and has the right to nominate two members from the Anglo Indian community to the Lok Sabha if they are under-represented

• On the advice of the Executive, the President summons the two Houses of Parliament to meet from time to time

• The President has the power to discontinue a session in the two Houses and dissolve the Lok Sabha (in consultation with the Executive)

• The President has to agree to sign a Bill before it can become a law

• If the Houses are not in session, the President can enact or promulgate Ordinances having the same validity as a law passed in Parliament.

• The President has the power to appoint the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of Rajya Sabha on an interim basis

• The President has the right to address either or both Houses of Parliament

• The President has the power to call both Houses for a joint sitting in case a dispute arises over passing a Bill. In the joint sitting, the matter is decided by majority vote

      
       What are the special powers of Rajya Sabha? 

Rajya Sabha enjoys certain special powers. They are as follows-

• Rajya Sabha can declare that it would be in the national interest for the Parliament to make laws on any subject in the State List

• Rajya Sabha is empowered to make laws creating one or more All India Services, which would be common to the Union and State, if it is deemed to serve the national interest. The services such as the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, and All-India Judicial Service are part of the All India Services.

read more...

Indian Polity & Constitution

What is Democracy-?

“Democracy is not just about Rights. It is also about Responsibilities. Democracy is not just about asserting our own identity. It is also about respecting the identity of others. Democracy is not just about seeking benefits. It is also about contributing to the process of nation building.” 

What is Politics-?

Politics refers to the relationship between government and society.

What is Political Science-?

 Political Science is concerned with a systematic study of ‘politics’ in human societies. Integration and Conflict are two sides of coin “Politics.”

What is State-?

State is a social organisation with a fixed territory and stability in society living within that territory. State is distinguished from other forms of social organisation in terms of sovereign power exercised by it. Here Sovereignty is defined as undisputed legal authority over a territory.

In ancient India, the Saptanga Theory of State elaborated in Kautilya’s Arthshastra mentions seven elements — Swami, Amatya, Janpada, Durga, Kosa, Danda and Mitra. In the west, writers like Harold

J. Laski and J.W. Garner have referred to four elements of state as follows-

1. Population
2. Territory
3. Government
4. Sovereignty [Central theme]

What is Government-?

The state has to exercise sovereign power over the territory and the people within its jurisdiction. For doing this it needs an organisation with persons exercising power on its behalf. Government is such an organisation of the state, with defined powers and functions for the different organs [Legislature, Executive and Judiciary] of the governments. Government of a State can be democratic or non-democratic, unitary or federal and Presidential or Parliamentary.

Indian State-

The origin of State in India is as old as Vedas, when Dharma was the cardinal principle of Politics in India. Manusmiriti is the earliest text to elaborate the principles of social life, propounds decentralization and welfare activities as the basis of the state organisation. Gradually ancient state has evolved into modern state. John Locke propounded the Doctrine of Consent and John Stuart Mill gave much importance to representative and responsible government.

Nation-

The concept of Nation refers to sense of belongings from a particular State or Region. A society claims distinction on the basis of some common characteristics of its people. Some characteristics that form the basis of such a claim are: lineage, culture, language, religion, territory, race, and so on. The idea of nation and the process of nationalism emphasize the sense of solidarity, and resemblances on various grounds. A sense of belonging among the people is provided by these factors either singly or in combination turned out as a Nation.

Nation Building-

This is the process of consolidation of various social groups [whole population] under a common tag. It is one of the main objectives of the sate to maximize the level of integration in society which is known as Nation Building.

Political System-

The political system of a state refers to the sum total of ideology or principles on which government of a State has been organised to discharge its duties or functions towards Citizens and to exercise the sovereign power of State. The political system of modern states are organised on the basis of constitution of a particular state.

Classification of Government-

Government of a modern state can be classified into various forms like democratic or autocratic, unitary or federal and parliamentary or presidential etc. This classification of government usually based upon the following factors-

S. No.	Basis/Factors	Type of Government
1.	Nature of exercise of power	Democratic or Autocratic
2.	Nature of executive agency	Parliamentary or Presidential
3.	Territorial distribution of power	Federal or Unitary
4.	Nature of constitution	Hard or Soft

Political Culture-

Political Culture of a country refers to a set of beliefs and attitudes prevailed in a particular political society.

Political Socialization-

The process by which a particular set of attitudes, belief and orientations is passed on from one generation to another is known as political socialization. It is study of “what, when and how people learn about politics”. Inter-generational continuity is the essence of political culture. The willingness of people to accept new ideas and beliefs is a matter of learnt behaviour. Thus, the learning process to acquire existing political culture is known as political socialization. Individuals acquire certain social obligations through ordinary course of interactions. Process of political socializations is not necessarily a conscious process. Various factors such as international developments, domestic transformations, historical events, and social stirrings shape the process of political socialization. There is a direct linkage between political culture and political socialization. Political socialization is the process by which political cultures are formed, maintained and changed. Thus, it is important to study the process of political socialization in order to understand political stability and development of political system. An individual acquires a particular belief, value and attitude towards politics of a state through manifest and latent transmission of information. The teaching of civics syllabus in the schools is an example of manifest political socialization. Latent political socialization process implies transmission of non-political attitudes towards prevalent institutions in a political system. It involves the fundamental aspects of culture in a political system. Political socialization takes place through a variety of institutions and situations. These are family, peer groups, educational institutions, secondary groups/such as work place, the mass media, government and political party machineries.

Who makes Government in a State i.e. Political Parties-

Political Party refers to a political or social institution with a common ideology. Party system in a state varies from state to state as one party system, two party system and multi party system

Political Participation-

The study of political participation implies the study of actual involvement of people in the decision-making process rather than popular attitude of becoming involved. It refers to the involvement of mango peoples in policy making, implementing and its evaluation. In contemporary context effective participation of citizens in decision-making process has been emphasized through decentralization of power. Effective political participation is also achieved through the various emerging concepts like pressure groups, interest groups, civil society and NGO’s.

Political Development-

Political Development refers to gradual changes occurred into the political structure and political culture of a state during a certain time period. Political development is related to increasing governmental efficiency in the use of human and material resources of the nation for the common good. It also highlighted the notion of national political capacity or efficiency. Political development it refers to the capacity building of the government in discharging its duties or responsibilities. The concept of political capacity referred only to two basic areas of development: ability of a government to collect revenues from its subjects to implement its preferred policies and its ability to mobilize human resources.

Cardinal Theories of Politics-

                                 Liberalism-

An ideology based on a commitment to individualism, consent and toleration: modern liberalism differs from classical liberalism. According to this ideology economic system is based upon Laissez-faire approach and it advocated *capitalism. Ideology also advocated the concept of free market and liberalization. Almost all developed countries on globe supported this ideology

*A type of economic system which precedes socialism or communism. It is based on private ownership of the means of production and on the exploitation of the wage labour.

                                    Socialism-

A political ideology based on the principle of state ownership of resources and industry along with responsibility of socio-economic development. Socialism is a clear contrast to Laissez faire and advocated more interference from government side. Traditional Socialism is different from ** democratic socialism.

1. **Democratic Socialism refers to a mixed ideology aiming at bringing about socialism through democratic means. The ideology was consciously articulated by Nehru and endorsed by the Indian Parliament from time to time.

Marxism-

This ideology was advocated and founded by Karl Marx. Marxism is based upon the principle of classless society. Lenin of former USSR and Mayo of China were the main supporter of this ideology. Marx advocated replacement of capitalism by communism.

                                    Fascism-

Fascism refers to a political ideology which advocates an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism). NAZI party of Germany under leadership of Adolf Hitler and Italy’s Mussolini were the prime advocator of this ideology

                               Gandhism-

One more political or economic ideology put forward by Mahatma Gandhi of India is known as Gandhism. This ideology is based upon the principle of non-violence and decentralization of power to local government

Few important terms in Polity-

Bourgeoisie-

This is a French term signifying citizen class or working class. The term is frequently used by Marxist socialists to denote the class of proprietors, capitalists, manufacturers, merchants, persons with a business of their own and members of liberal professions as opposed to the ‘proletariat’ who live only by selling their labour.

Proletariat-

In ancient Rome the property–less class which served the state by producing children proles. However, the most prevalent usage refers to the one developed by Marx. In this sense proletariat includes those in industry, agriculture and intellectual posts who live by the sale of their labour, as opposed to the capitalist bourgeoisie.

Elite-

This term denotes a group of persons who hold positions of eminence in society. The term is also used to refer to leaders in different fields, e.g. political elite and business elite.

Trade Union-

An association of wage earners of workers for the purpose of improving their conditions and protecting their interests

Syndicalism-

A movement of labour unions which favored “direct action” culminating in a revolutionary general strike to secure workers’ ownership and control of industry. It originated under the influence of Robert Owen and acquired its more violent aspects in France besides getting its name from the word ‘Syndicate’ (union trade).

Indian Polity-

The preamble of Indian constitution says that India is a Sovereign [undisputed legal right of Indian citizens over the state], Socialist [adhere to socialism ideology], Secular [without any religion and equal respect for all prevailed ones], Democratic [government by the people or by their elected representatives] Republic [A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens] country.

Some cardinal features of Indian Polity incorporated by Indian Constitution-

• Written
• Partially rigid and partially flexible
• Impartial Judiciary with Judicial Review
• Directive Principles of State Policy
• Universal Adult franchise
• Emergency Provisions
• Power distribution between Union and State on doctrine of “Pitch and Substance.”
• Independent Agencies like UPSC, EC and CAGI
• Positive Discrimination
• PRI

Government Form	Parliamentary Government on lines of British Parliament
Nature of State	Quasi-Federal [India is union of states but centre is more powerful]
Executive agency of Government	Legislature and executive organs are based upon the fusion principle not on separation of power like in USA
Liberty	Fundamental Rights and Independent Judiciary

Who made Indian Constitution-?

Indian Constitution was drafted and adopted by a Constituent Assembly that was not elected directly by the people. In fact, the Legislative Assemblies of the Indian Provinces elected it indirectly. The Assemblies themselves were elected in 1946 according to the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935. The Constituent Assembly could be called real representative of the people because it had representation of almost all shades of opinions. The words socialist and secular added into preamble of India constitution by 42^nd Amendment Act in 1976. Here it should be noted that Mr. K. T. Shah [then member of constitution assembly] advocated addition of these word into preamble but move was strongly opposed by Nehru. Here are few important details regarding development of Indian constitution-

• Cabinet Mission recommended the establishment of constitution assembly
• Each province was allotted seats in constitution assembly in proportion of its population and members were elected from provincial legislative assemblies indirectly
• Total member of constitution assembly was 385. Out of which 93 were representative of Indian States and rest were from British Indian council. Total 205 members were from Indian national congress. After partition total number members of constitutional assembly reduced to 299 but of whom 284 members were actually present and signed on the final Indian Constitution on 26^th November 1949.
• The main communities recognized for appropriate representation were General, Muslim and Sikh
• 1^st meeting of Constitution Assembly- 9-23, December 1946
• Objective Resolution of Indian Constitution put forward by Nehru on 13^th December 1946 and adopted by assembly on 22^nd Jan 1947 after a comprehensive debate
• Dr. Sinha was elected as temporary president of Constitution Assembly who later replaced by Dr. Rajendra Prasad
• Constitution assembly worked through various individual committees on separate subject matter which later drafted into a single unified document by Drafting Committee of Constitution Assembly
• Drafted Committee was established in 1947 under chairmanship of Mr. B. R. Ambedkar
• 11^th last meeting and adoption- 26^th November 1949
• Full adoption or ratification- 26^th January 1950 [this date was choosed because on the same date earlier National Congress adopted Indian Constitution in 1930s]
• It took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to frame Indian Constitution

Important Committees established by Constitution Assembly-

Committee	Chairman
Committee on the Rules of Procedure	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Steering Committee	Do
Finance and Staff Committee	Do
Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag	Do
Credential or Bonafide Committee	Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar
House Committee	B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Order of Business Committee	K. M. Munshi
Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly	G. V. Mavalanker
States Committee	Jawahar Lal Nehru
Union Powers Committee	Do
Union Constitution Committee	Do
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas	Sardar Patel
Minorities Sub-Committee	H. C. Mukherjee
Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee	J. B. Kriplani
North-East Frontier Tribal Areas Committee	Gopinath Bardoloi
Drafting Committee	B. R. Ambedkar

Various provisions copied from outside sources in Indian Constitution-

The Constitution of India, as opted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949, was not something absolutely new. It was, to a great extent, influenced by the Government of India Act of 1935 that was passed by the British Parliament. In addition Constitution Assembly copied many provisions from the already working constitution of various countries which makes Indian Constitution most lengthy and comprehensive document in world of constitution. The provisions took by constitution assembly from various country’s constitutions are as follows-

S. No.	Provision	Source
1.	Federal Structure, Office of Governor, Power Division, Judiciary and Public service commission	GOI Act 1935
2.	Parliamentary system, Rule of Law, Single Citizenship, Office of CAG, Legislation, Cabinet form of govt., Prerogative writs and Bicameralism	Britain
3.	Fundamental Rights, Judicial Review, Office of Vice-President, Independence of Judiciary, Impeachment of President and Impeachment process of SC and HCs Judges	USA
4.	Quasi Federal Structure with strong center [residuary powers], Appointment of state governors by center and Advisory/review role of supreme court	Canada
5.	Concurrent List [List III], Freedom of trade, Commerce and interstate trade, Joint Sitting of Parliament	Australia
6.	Preamble & Fundamental Duties	USSR
7.	Emergency Provisions and suspension of rights during emergency	Weimer constitution of Germany
8.	Amendment Procedure, Indirect election of RS members and PRIs	South Africa
9.	Directive Principles of State Policy, Election process of President & Nomination of members by President	Irish Constitution of Ireland
10.	Procedures established by law	Japan
11.	Idea of Justice in SOCIAL, EDUCATION, ECONOMIC and POLITICAL	Russian Revolution, 1917
12.	Idea of Liberty, Equality and fraternity	French Revolution, 1789-1799

read more...

Right to Information Act

The Right to Information act is a law enacted by the Parliament of India access to records of the Central Government and State Governments. The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir - which is covered under a State-level law.

This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 13 October 2005 . Information disclosure in India was hitherto restricted by the Official Secrets Act 1923 and various other special laws, which the new RTI Act now relaxes.

State-level laws

The RTI Laws were first successfully enacted by the state governments of — Tamil Nadu (1997)Goa (1997), Rajasthan (2000), Karnataka (2000), Delhi (2001), Maharashtra (2002), Madhya Pradesh (2003), Assam (2002) and Jammu and Kashmir (2004). The Maharashtra and Delhi State level enactments are considered to have been the most widely used. The Delhi RTI Act is still in force. Jammu & Kashmir, has its own Right to Information Act of 2009, the successor to the repealed J&K Right to Information Act, 2004 and its 2008 amendment.

           Freedom of Information Act

Passage of a national level law, however, proved to be a difficult task. Given the experience of state governments in passing practicable legislation, the Central Government appointed a working group under H. D. Shourie and assigned it the task of drafting legislation. The Shourie draft, in an extremely diluted form, was the basis for the Freedom of Information Bill, 2000 which eventually became law under the Freedom of Information Act, 2002

Information

The Act specifies that citizens have a right to:

• request any information (as defined).
• take copies of documents.
• inspect documents, works and records.
• take certified samples of materials of work.
• obtain information in form of printouts, diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes 'or in any other electronic mode' or through printouts.

read more...

Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan Chief Justice of India

Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan
Chief Justice of India

• 
  
  Balakrishanan, Konakuppakatil Gopinathan, B.Sc., LL.M
  
   
  
  
  
• 
  
  Born on 12-05-1945.   Enrolled  as  an  Advocate  of  the  Kerala  Bar  Council on 16-03-1968. Practised on both on Civil and Criminal sides at Erinakulam. Appointed as a Munsif in the Kerala Judicial Service on 10-01-1973 and later resigned from service and resumed practice as an Advocatein the Kerala High Court. On 26-09-1985   -   appointed as a judge  of  the  Kerala  High Court.  On 24-11-1997-transferred to Gujarat High Court. On 16-07-1998 became the Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat and was transferred to the High Court of Judicature at Madras and assumed charge there as Chief Justice on 09-09-1999. 
  
   
  
  
  
• 
  
  On 08-06-2000 elevated as the Judge, Supreme Court.
  
   
  
  
  
• 
  
  Appointed as The Chief Justice of India in the forenoon of 14.01.2007.
  
  
  

read more...