The Constitution of India - A few points from book " You Must Know Your Constitution"

    I recently read the book "You Must Know Your Constitution" by Fali S Nariman. The author had an illustrious law career. He was the President of the Bar Association of India from 1991 to 2010. He was the Additional Solicitor General of India from May 1972 to June 1975 and duly resigned when internal emergency was imposed in June 1975. A man who has been not only witness but also a participant in establishment and strengthening of the edifice of law in the biggest democracy by number of citizens. The depth of this book does reflect his deep and wide career of about 6 decades. Here are a few nuggets of the books along with my musings on constitution:

A few outstanding quotes I found in the book:

• "I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it." -  Judge Learned Hand, in a speech titled "The Spirit of Liberty"
• "Justice is not a cloistered virtue; she must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny and respectful even though outspoken comments of ordinary men" - Lord Atkin
• "A Constitution however 'living' is inert; it does not 'work' on its own; it is worked by human beings whose conduct it may shape but whose character it cannot improve and whose tasks it cannot perform" - Granville Austin
• "However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot. The working of a Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution." - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in final reply to debate before adoption of constitution in Nov 1949.
• "The last word on the question of justice and fairness does not rest with the legislature" - A Constitution Bench of five judges in Mithu vs State of Punjab case - 1983. 

As I put together this write-up on next day of results of general election, I would like to point out the relevance of above quotes and would like to pay my reverence to Indian citizens who responded to the concern of fundamentals of constitution being in danger. This is profound for a country, that continues to remain secular while its twin at birth in modern form, chose to be a theological state. The Indian common man! I salute you!

Subsequent to this preamble, I would like to summarize a few points that I learned from this book and wasn't much aware of:

1. The flow of constitution adheres to certain logic. It starts with the definition of boundaries of India(part I) and citizenship (part II). Once that is done it moves to define the rights of those citizens (part III). And then moves to direct how these fundamental rights should be blended into governance (part IV - directive principles) and then it takes a lot of further twists and turns. (Those who are interested can read the book in discussion as well as "The Constitution of India" by DD Basu). 
2. There has been great tussle between the arms of state i.e. the government(the executive and legislature) and judiciary around what all can be and cannot be changed (in legal parlance amended) in the constitution. The most famous of that tussle is "Keshav Nanda Bharati" Case. A bench of thirteen judges heard this case! Through this verdict, the judiciary pointed out that amendments to constitution's basic structure can be struck down by courts. The power to amend constitution, though wide it might be, did not include the power to abrogate constitution or to alter its basic structure or framework.  This is very profound if pondered! For example, irrespective of the latest or the older wordings in the Preamble of Constitution, India is a secular country on account of fundamental rights the constitution has provided and on account of absence of criteria of religion, in selection of government and its public officers.  Similarly, federal structure isn't explicitly mentioned in the constitution. But the distribution of power between central and state governments is adhered to and implicit all across the constitution.    
3. Judiciary is considered to be the authentic interpreter of constitution as I quoted in the introduction at the beginning of this write-up.
4. The executive is "federal" in structure. The Chief Minister in any manner doesn't report to Prime Minister. But the High Court and Supreme Court are part of same structure and Supreme Court is superior court. This structure has been proposed and upheld by constitution.
5. There is this one schedule in constitution called "Ninth Schedule". It is 'Suraksha Kawach' of sorts for laws. If a law is included in Ninth Schedule, it cannot be challenged in courts. Currently there are whopping 284 Acts in this Schedule.
6. The "finance commission", its workings and responsibilities have been described and defined in the constitution. Finance commission is responsible to recommend the vertical and horizontal distribution of taxes. Vertical distribution means between center and state and horizontal mean the share of different states.

There a many such points in the constitution that are profound and impactful and are important for all of us, the common men and women to know. Those who know their rights cannot be easily shackled by the rules and laws by the entity that has monopoly on legal violence in the society (i.e. government). Thus it is not a bad idea that You Must Know Your Constitution. It is a book, that gets difficult to digest at time, but it is for sure a great diet for your brain!