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THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
395 Articles, organised into 25 Parts and 12 Schedules, make up the Constitution of India

PARTS
Each Part collates Articles on specific themes. E.g. Fundamental Rights in Part III.

SCHEDULES
Each Schedule contains provisions necessary to apply related Articles.

Original Manuscript

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Browse digitised, edited and paragraph-numbered versions of critical primary materials related to the Indian Constitution and its origins.
HISTORICAL CONSTITUTIONS
The Constitution of India 1950 was preceded by British authored framework legislation to govern India, and proto-constitutional drafts by several Indian individuals and groups. These Historical Constitutions are archived here.

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DEBATES
The Constitution of India 1950 was drafted by a Constituent Assembly. 167 days of plenary assembly debates from 9 December 1946 to 24 January 1950 are archived here.

Browse digitised, edited and paragraph-numbered versions of critical primary materials related to the Indian Constitution and its origins.

PETITIONS
Feedback and suggestions from groups, organizations, and individuals to the Constituent Assembly on India’s new Constitution.

COMMITTEE REPORTS
Documents prepared by smaller groups of Constituent Assembly members which conducted preliminary research and advanced recommendations on specific constitutional topics.
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Travel through the various stage of the constitution-making process, discover the contributions of diverse institutions, and learn more about the framers of the Constitution through their biographies.

THE CONSTITUTION FRAMERS
Learn about the members of the Constituent Assembly, the role they played in India’s freedom movement and their contributions to constitution-making.

STAGES OF CONSTITUTION-MAKING
A stage-by-stage overview of the drafting of the Constitution of India 1950. Begin with our popular video on the making of the Indian Constitution.
INSTITUTIONS
The Constitution of India 1950 was drafted by the collective work of the following institutions:

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
A 389-member body responsible for drafting India’s Constitution.

COMMITTEES
Committees were created by the Constituent Assembly comprising smaller groups of members delegated with various responsibilities.

CONGRESS ASSEMBLY PARTY
An unofficial forum consisting of Assembly members belonging to the Indian National Congress that met on the side-lines of the Assembly.
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Discover a wide range of writings and original multimedia content, in the form of blogs, podcasts and videos, that offer valuable insights into the history of India's Constitution, highlighting its relevance to current events both in India and worldwide. We rely on our extensive database of primary materials to produce this content.

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1946 Assembly Debates
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53. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive authority of the Federation shall be vested in the President and may be exercised by him either directly or through persons acting under his authority.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision–

(a) the supreme command of the Defence Forces of the Federation shall be vested in the President;

(b) the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence shall be vested in the President–

(i) in all cases where the conviction is by a Court Martial;

(ii) where the conviction is by a court other than a Court Martial, in the case of offences against Federal laws relating to matters with respect to which the Federal Parliament has, and the Legislature of the unit in which the person is convicted has not, the power to make laws :

Provided that nothing in this clause shall affect any power of any officer of the Armed Forces of the Federation to suspend, remit or commute a sentence passed by a Court Martial;

(c) where any person has been sentenced to death in a Province, the President shall have all such powers of suspension, remission, or commutation of the sentence as are vested in the Provincial Government under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.

(3) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Federal Parliament from conferring functions on authorities other than the President or be deemed to transfer to him any functions conferred by any existing law on any Provincial Government, court, officer, or local or other authority.