The Constitution of India
Polity is the highest-scoring block in MPSC Rajyaseva and Combined papers, and almost all of it comes back to a few dozen articles. This tree branches the Constitution into eight parts — from the Preamble through Fundamental Rights, DPSP, the Union and State governments, local self-government, constitutional bodies, and emergency and amendment provisions. Click any part to see its articles, and any article to read what it actually does, the landmark cases attached to it, high-yield revision facts, and practice questions shaped around real exam patterns.
The eight branches
Preamble, Union & Citizenship
4
Fundamental Rights (Part III)
8
DPSP & Fundamental Duties
3
Union Government (Part V)
6
State Government (Part VI)
4
Local Self-Government (IX & IXA)
4
Constitutional Bodies
3
Emergency & Amendment
3
Facts examiners keep returning to
The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950. It originally had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules; it now has around 470 articles in 25 parts and 12 schedules.
Articles 20 and 21 are the only Fundamental Rights that cannot be suspended even during a National Emergency — a safeguard added by the 44th Amendment, 1978, after the 1975-77 Emergency.
The basic structure doctrine came from Kesavananda Bharati (1973), decided by a 13-judge bench with a 7-6 majority. Parliament can amend any article but cannot destroy the Constitution's essential framework.
Article 32 (Supreme Court writs) applies only to Fundamental Rights; Article 226 (High Court writs) applies to Fundamental Rights "and for any other purpose" — so High Court writ jurisdiction is wider.
The Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects for Panchayats (73rd Amendment) and the Twelfth Schedule lists 18 subjects for municipalities (74th Amendment). This pair is asked almost every year.
Local body elections are conducted by the State Election Commission under Article 243K — not by the Election Commission of India, which handles Parliament, State legislatures and the President and Vice-President.
The 91st Amendment (2003) capped ministers at 15% of the legislature — for States with a floor of 12 ministers, which matters directly for Maharashtra.
S. R. Bommai (1994) made Article 356 justiciable and established that a majority is proved on the floor of the House, not in the Governor's assessment.
Articles at a glance
| Article | Topic | Part | Landmark cases & links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preamble | Preamble | Preamble, Union & Citizenship | Berubari Union (1960); Kesavananda Bharati (1973); LIC of India (1995) |
| Art. 1 | Union of States | Preamble, Union & Citizenship | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar; Articles 2, 3 and 4 |
| Art. 3 | New States | Preamble, Union & Citizenship | States Reorganisation Act 1956; Bombay Reorganisation Act 1960; Article 4 |
| Art. 5-11 | Citizenship | Preamble, Union & Citizenship | Citizenship Act 1955; Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 |
| Art. 13 | Judicial Review | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | Doctrine of Severability, Eclipse & Waiver; Kesavananda Bharati (1973) |
| Art. 14 | Equality | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | E. P. Royappa (1974); Maneka Gandhi (1978); Indra Sawhney (1992) |
| Art. 15-16 | Non-discrimination | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | Indra Sawhney (1992) — 50% ceiling; 103rd Amendment (EWS, 2019) |
| Art. 17 | Untouchability | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar; Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955; SC/ST (PoA) Act 1989 |
| Art. 19 | Six Freedoms | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | Romesh Thappar (1950); Shreya Singhal (2015); 44th Amendment (1978) |
| Art. 21 | Life & Liberty | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | A. K. Gopalan (1950); Maneka Gandhi (1978); K. S. Puttaswamy (2017) |
| Art. 21A | Right to Education | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | Unni Krishnan (1993); 86th Amendment (2002); RTE Act 2009 |
| Art. 32 | Writs | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar; Article 226 (High Courts); five writs |
| Art. 36-51 | DPSP | DPSP & Fundamental Duties | Irish Constitution; Minerva Mills (1980); Article 37 |
| Art. 40 | Village Panchayats | DPSP & Fundamental Duties | Mahatma Gandhi; Balwantrai Mehta Committee (1957); 73rd Amendment (1992) |
| Art. 51A | Fundamental Duties | DPSP & Fundamental Duties | Swaran Singh Committee; 42nd Amendment (1976); 86th Amendment (2002) |
| Art. 52-53 | The President | Union Government (Part V) | Articles 54, 55 (election); Article 74 (aid and advice); Article 61 (impeachment) |
| Art. 74-75 | PM & Council | Union Government (Part V) | 42nd & 44th Amendments; 91st Amendment (2003); Article 78 |
| Art. 110 | Money Bill | Union Government (Part V) | Speaker of the Lok Sabha; Article 109; Aadhaar case (2018) |
| Art. 123 | Ordinance | Union Government (Part V) | D. C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar (1987); Krishna Kumar Singh (2017); Article 213 |
| Art. 124 | Supreme Court | Union Government (Part V) | Collegium system; Three Judges Cases; NJAC struck down (2015) |
| Art. 148 | CAG | Union Government (Part V) | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar; Public Accounts Committee; Articles 149-151 |
| Art. 153-155 | The Governor | State Government (Part VI) | Sarkaria Commission; Punchhi Commission; S. R. Bommai (1994) |
| Art. 163-164 | CM & Council | State Government (Part VI) | Article 164(1A); 91st Amendment (2003); Article 167 |
| Art. 169 | Vidhan Parishad | State Government (Part VI) | Article 171 (composition); Maharashtra Legislative Council (78 seats) |
| Art. 214-215 | High Courts | State Government (Part VI) | Article 226 (writs); Article 227 (superintendence); Bombay High Court (1862) |
| Art. 243B | Three-tier Panchayat | Local Self-Government (IX & IXA) | 73rd Amendment (1992); Balwantrai Mehta Committee (1957); Vasantrao Naik Committee (1961) |
| Art. 243D | Panchayat Reservation | Local Self-Government (IX & IXA) | 73rd Amendment (1992); Maharashtra Zilla Parishads Act 1961 |
| Art. 243G | 11th Schedule | Local Self-Government (IX & IXA) | Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects); Activity Mapping; Article 243W |
| Art. 243W | Municipalities | Local Self-Government (IX & IXA) | 74th Amendment (1992); Twelfth Schedule (18 subjects); Article 243Q |
| Art. 280 | Finance Commission | Constitutional Bodies | Article 243I & 243Y (State Finance Commissions); 15th Finance Commission |
| Art. 315-323 | UPSC & State PSC | Constitutional Bodies | Maharashtra Public Service Commission; Article 320; Article 323 |
| Art. 324 | Election Commission | Constitutional Bodies | Article 243K (State Election Commission); Chief Election Commissioner |
| Art. 352 | National Emergency | Emergency & Amendment | 44th Amendment (1978); Emergency of 1975-77; Articles 358 & 359 |
| Art. 356 | President's Rule | Emergency & Amendment | S. R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994); Sarkaria Commission; Article 365 |
| Art. 368 | Amendment | Emergency & Amendment | Shankari Prasad (1951); Golaknath (1967); Kesavananda Bharati (1973); Minerva Mills (1980) |
Article summaries follow standard reference material (Laxmikanth, NCERT and the bare Act) and are written for revision, not for legal advice or citation. Article numbering and amendment counts reflect the position as commonly taught for competitive exams. "Asked in" tags indicate commonly cited past exam topics and are illustrative, not exhaustive.