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Constitutional Law II

Semester 2 · 21 topics in 5 units

Past question papers for Constitutional Law II

Unit I 6 topics

  1. Federalism: the nature of the Indian federationIs India federal? The federal and unitary features of the Constitution, what Wheare and others said about it, and how the Supreme Court has answered the question.6 min
  2. Centre-State legislative relationsArticles 245 to 255, the three lists, residuary power, the doctrines of pith and substance and colourable legislation, repugnancy, and when Parliament may legislate on State subjects.7 min
  3. Centre-State administrative and financial relationsArticles 256 to 263 and 268 to 293: Union directions to States, inter-State bodies, the distribution of taxes, the Finance Commission, the GST Council, and the Sarkaria and Punchhi reports.7 min
  4. Freedom of trade, commerce and intercourseArticles 301 to 307: freedom of inter-State trade, the limits Parliament and the States may impose, and how the courts moved from Atiabari Tea to the nine-judge Jindal Stainless decision.5 min
  5. Official language and local self-governmentArticles 343 to 351 in brief, then the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Amendments in detail: Gram Sabha, composition, reservation, State Election Commission, State Finance Commission and the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules.7 min
  6. Article 370 and special provisions for StatesThe history of Article 370, the 2019 Presidential Orders and Reorganisation Act, the Supreme Court's 2023 judgment upholding them, and the special provisions in Articles 371 to 371-J.6 min

Unit II 4 topics

  1. The President of IndiaElection, qualifications and impeachment of the President, the executive powers, the constitutional position under Article 74, and the ordinance and pardoning powers with the leading cases.8 min
  2. The GovernorAppointment and removal of the Governor, the limited discretion under Article 163, ordinances, assent to Bills after the 2025 Tamil Nadu judgment and Presidential reference, and the report under Article 356.7 min
  3. Parliament and the State legislaturesComposition of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State legislatures, legislative councils, sessions, the kinds of Bills and how each is passed, joint sittings, money Bills after the Aadhaar case, and the budget.7 min
  4. Council of Ministers and collective responsibilityArticles 74, 75, 163 and 164, collective and individual responsibility, the Prime Minister and Chief Minister, appointment of a Chief Minister in a hung Assembly, the size cap and non-member Ministers.6 min

Unit III 3 topics

  1. The Speaker and parliamentary privilegesHow the Speaker is elected and removed, what the office decides, and the privileges of Parliament under Articles 105 and 194, from Keshav Singh to Sita Soren.7 min
  2. Anti-defection lawThe Tenth Schedule: grounds of disqualification, the merger exception, the Speaker as tribunal, and the cases from Kihoto Hollohan to Subhash Desai.6 min
  3. The Supreme Court and the High CourtsAppointment of judges from the First Judges case to the NJAC judgment, removal and independence, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and the transfer of High Court judges.8 min

Unit IV 4 topics

  1. Subordinate judiciary and administrative tribunalsArticles 233 to 237 and High Court control over the district judiciary, then Articles 323A and 323B and the long contest over the independence of tribunals.7 min
  2. Services under the Union and States: protection of civil servantsPart XIV of the Constitution: the doctrine of pleasure under Article 310, the safeguards of Article 311 and its exceptions, and the Public Service Commissions.6 min
  3. The Election Commission of IndiaArticles 324 to 329: the Commission's composition and powers, the bar on election litigation, and the cases from Mohinder Singh Gill to Anoop Baranwal and the electoral bonds judgment.7 min
  4. State liability in tort and contractWhen the Union or a State can be sued for the wrongs of its servants, how the sovereign-function test has shrunk since Kasturilal, compensation as a constitutional remedy, and the formalities Article 299 imposes on government contracts.9 min

Unit V 4 topics

  1. Emergency provisionsNational emergency under Article 352 and its effects on rights and federalism, President's Rule under Article 356 after Bommai, and the never-used financial emergency, with the Forty-fourth Amendment safeguards.7 min
  2. Constitutional interpretationHow courts read the Constitution: the literal rule, harmonious construction, pith and substance, colourable legislation, severability and eclipse, purposive and living-document readings, and the use of the Preamble, Assembly debates and foreign decisions.6 min
  3. Amendment and the basic structureThe three procedures for amending the Constitution under Article 368, the long contest over amending fundamental rights from Shankari Prasad to Kesavananda, and how the basic structure doctrine has been applied since.6 min
  4. Schedules and review of the working of the ConstitutionWhat each of the twelve Schedules contains, the Ninth Schedule after I.R. Coelho, and the review of the Constitution's working by the Venkatachaliah Commission, Sarkaria and Punchhi, with an assessment for the essay question.7 min