Important Articles in Indian Constitution

India is regarded as amongst the largest democracies in the world. Our Indian constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950, and was formulated with the context of almost 200 years of colonial rule, many freedom struggles, Indian national movement as well as considering communal violence and the country’s glorious history. Considered as the law of the land, it elucidates the powers and limitations of the three vital constituents of the State, i.e. Judiciary, Legislative and Executive. There are various important articles in Indian Constitution providing a common person with their fundamental rights, political code, procedures as well as their duties. Through this blog, we will be exploring the important articles in the Indian Constitution and their key features.

What are Articles in IndIian Constitution ? 

The Indian Constitution encompasses a total of 448 articles and each set of these articles correspond to the quintessential laws and guidelines pertaining to Legislatures, Constitutional Bodies, Fundamental Rights, Executive, Parts of Indian Constitution, Statutory Bodies, Schedules, to name a few. In simple terms, an article can be termed as a guideline and is in context to the section included in the different acts. Originally, there were a total of 395 articles in Indian Constitution which were expanded towards 448 with 104 amendments introduced.

An article in the Indian constitution is proper guidelines that define a rule. Moreover, it  is more of a principle which mainly defines an act. The constitution of India whose chief architect was a prolific Indian politician called B.R Ambedkar is an amalgamation of important articles. All those articles are dealing with the ruling framework of government, fundamental rights of a person, election scenario etc. So much so, it is rightly considered as the longest written constitution of any country. 

Most Important Articles in Indian Constitution

While preparing for Indian Polity for government exams and UPSC exams, it is essential to understand the different articles and amendments of the Indian Constitution. So, to help you ace your preparations, we have listed down the most important articles in the Indian Constitution and their features:

Important Articles in Indian Constitution	Details
Article 1	Name and territory of the Union
Article 3	Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states
Article 13	Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the Fundamental Rights
Article 14	Equality before the law
Article 16	Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
Article 17	Abolition of untouchability
Article 19	Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
Article 21	Protection of life and personal liberty
Article 21A	Right to elementary education
Article 25	Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion
Article 30	Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions
Article 31 C	Saving of laws giving effect to certain Directive Principles
Article 32	Remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights including writs
Article 38	State to secure a social order for the promotion of the welfare of the people
Article 40	The organisation of village panchayats
Article 44	Uniform Civil Code for the citizens
Article 45	Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of 6 years.
Article 46	Promotion of educational and economic interests of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other weaker sections
Article 50	Separation of judiciary from the executive
Article 51	Promotion of international peace and security
Article 51 A	Fundamental Duties
Article 72	Powers of President to grant pardons, suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases
Article 74	Council of Ministers to aid and advise the President
Article 76	Attorney-General of India
Article 78	Duties of the Prime Minister as respects the furnishing of information to the President, etc.
Article 110	Definition of Money Bills
Article 112	Annual Financial Statement (Budget)
Article 123	Power of President to promulgate ordinances during recess of Parliament
Article 143	Power of President to consult Supreme Court
Article 148	Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
Article 149	Duties and powers of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
Article 155	Appointment of the Governor
Article 161	Power of Governor to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases
Article 163	Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Governor
Article 165	Advocate-General of the state which British Laws are still used in India
Article 167	Duties of Chief Minister with regard to the furnishing of information to the Governor, etc.
Article 168	Constitution of Legislatures in the states
Article 169	Abolition or creation of Legislative Councils in the states
Article 170	Composition of Legislative Assemblies in the states
Article 171	Composition of Legislative Councils in the states
Article 172	Duration of State Legislatures
Article 173	Qualification for membership of the State Legislature
Article 174	Sessions of the State Legislature, prorogation and dissolution
Article 178	Speakers and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Article 194	Powers, privileges, and Immunity of Advocate-General
Article 200	Assent to bills by the governor (including reservation for President)
Article 202	Annual financial statement of the State Legislature
Article 210	Language to be used in the State Legislature
Article 212	Courts are not to inquire into proceedings of the State Legislature
Article 213	Power of governor to promulgate ordinances during recess of the State Legislature
Article 214	High courts for the states
Article 217	Appointment and the conditions of the office of the judge of a High Court
Article 226	Power of high courts to issue certain writs
Article 239AA	Special provisions with respect to Delhi
Article  243B	Constitution of Panchayats
Article 243C	Composition of Panchayats
Article 243G	Powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats
Article 243K	Elections to the Panchayats
Article 249	Power of Parliament to legislate with respect to a matter in the State List in the national interest
Article 262	Adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-state rivers or river valleys
Article 263	Provisions with respect to an inter-state council
Article  265	Taxes not to be imposed save by authority of law
Article 275	Grants from the Union to certain states
Article 280	Finance Commission
Article  300	Suits and proceedings
Article 300A	Persons not to be deprived of property save by authority of law (Right to property)
Article 311	Dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil capacities under the Union or a state.
Article  312	All-India Services
Article 315	Public Service Commission for the Union and for the states
Article 320	Functions of Public Service Commissions
Article 323-A	Administrative Tribunals
Article  324	superintendence, direction, and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission
Article 330	Reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the House of the People
Article 335	Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to Services and posts
Article 352	Proclamation of Emergency (National Emergency)
Article 356	Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in states (President’s Rule)
Article 360	Provisions as to Financial Emergency.
Article 365	Effect of failure to comply with or to give effect to, directions given by the Union (President’s Rule)
Article 368	Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure therefor
Article 370	Temporary provisions with respect to the state of Jammu and Kashmir

Must Read: Functions of the Parliament

List of Important Articles in Indian Constitution

Since you are familiar with the list of 80 articles, let’s move ahead and understand some of the important articles in the Indian Constitution. 

Article 12-35: This article talks about fundamental rights. There are basically 6 fundamental rights that fall in this article including the Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to Constitutional Remedies. 

Article 36-51: This sort of article deals with the directive principles of state policy. It is important to know that the directive principles of state policy have been solely borrowed from the constitution of Ireland. Moreover, they also have been copied from the Spanish constitution. 

Article 51 A: Another important article extracted from the Indian constitution is Article 51A. It deals with the fundamental duties of a citizen. All these fundamental duties framed under this article are essential to adhere to every citizen. 

Article 343: This article talks about the official language of the Union. Furthermore, the union’s official language should be Hindi based in Devanagari script. The language can be used for various official purposes and other international forms. 

Article 356: This article in Indian Constitution deals with the imposition of the president’s rule. The President is the supreme authority in the Indian political landscape, who has powers to make many decisions. This article comprehensively tells about how the president can exercise powers. Overall we can say that this article powers the president to withdraw from the union the executive and legislative powers of any state.

Article 370: This is one of the important articles of Indian Constitution. The article thrusts upon the special powers with respect to Jammu and Kashmir. On 5th of August,2019, this article was scrapped paving the way for two new Union territories. Earlier the state of Jammu and Kashmir was more autonomous in terms of formulation of laws for its permanent residents. The state had its own flag and constitution and legislative assembly under this article. 

Article 395: This particular article repeals the independence act 1947 and Government of India Act, 1935. It is important to mention that this article is more important in terms of landmark judgements as well as case laws.

Parts of the Constitution

Originally, the Indian constitution contained 395 articles that were divided into 22 parts and 8 schedules. Since its adoption, the number of articles has increased to 448 with various amendments and so have the parts of the constitution. The main parts of the Indian constitution are-

1. The Union and its Territory
2. Citizenship
3. Fundamental Rights
4. Directive Principles of the State Policy
5. Fundamental Duties
6. The Union 
7. The State
8. Repealed by Const. (7th Amendment) Act, 1956
9. Union Territory
10. Panchayati Raj
11. The Municipalities
12. Co-operative Societies
13. Scheduled and Tribal Areas
14. Relations between the Union and the States
15. Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
16. Trade, Commerce, and Intercourse within the territory
17. Services under the Union and the States
18. Tribunals
19. Elections
20. Special Provisions for certain classes
21. Official Language
22. Emergency Provisions
23. Miscellaneous
24. Amendment of the Constitution
25. Temporary, Transitional, and Special Provisions

Schedules in the Indian Constitution

• First Schedule: It contains the name of States and Union Territories
• Second Schedule: It contains provisions in relation to allowances, privileges, emoluments of government officials like the President, Governors, Chairman, Speakers, Judges etc.
• Third Schedule: It contains the forms of oath and affirmation
• Fourth Schedule: It contains the provisions in relation to the allocation of seats for States and Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha
• Fifth Schedule: It contains provisions in relation to the administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes
• Sixth Schedule: It contains provisions in relation to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram
• Seventh Schedule: It talks about the three legislative lists- Union, State, and Concurrent
• Eighth Schedule: It deals with the 22 official languages recognized by the Indian Constitution:
• Ninth Schedule: It talks about state acts and regulations like land reforms and
• abolition of the zamindari system. It protects the laws from judicial intervention.
• Tenth Schedule: It talks about defection and disqualification of the members of Parliament and State Legislatures on similar grounds.
• Eleventh Schedule: It contains the provisions that specify the powers, authority, and responsibilities of Panchayats. It has 29 matters.
• Twelfth Schedule: It deals with the provisions that specify the powers, authority, and responsibilities of Municipalities. 

Also read: Scope of Political Science

Books on Indian Constitution

• Indian Polity by Laxmikanth
• Introduction to the Constitution of India
• The Constitution of India by P. Bakshi
• The Indian constitution by Granville Austin
• The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution
• The Constitution of India: A Contextual Analysis by Arun K. Thiruvengadam

Important Questions

Here is a list of questions around important articles in the Indian Constitution for all the government job aspirants: 

• Which articles protect interests of minorities in India? 
• Bi-cameral legislature was introduced for the first time under which act? 
• Which articles abolish untouchability? 
• Constituent assembly adopted the constitution on which date? 
• Which article promotes equality before law? 
• Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases” is a part of which article in Indian constitution? 
• Can you name the article which supports free legal aid for all? 
• What is the relevance of Article 44 in the Indian constitution? 
• Special Address by the president is a part of which article? 
• Assent to bills comes under which article?

Also Read: Public Administration vs Political Science

Hope this blog has helped you with a thorough understanding of important articles in the Indian Constitution. Want to be part of overseas education in top-notch educational universities? Let the professionals at Leverage Edu facilitate your academic journey. Book your free 30 minutes of e-counseling with the team and explore world-class educational possibilities.