Durga Das Basu Shorter Constitution of India (2 Volume Set)

Incorporating the latest amendments brought by the
Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016
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Book Description
D.D. Basil's Shorter Constitution of India is a work of rare genius and has been useful to lawyers and judges ever since it was first published. In this revision exercise our effort has been to include only those Supreme Court cases which have furthered or changed the interpretation of the Constitution. Late Justice Durga Das Basu had a unique talent of stating accurately and in few words the propositions laid down in different decisions of the Courts. We have tried our best to maintain this basic approach in revising the book.
We have edited portions from the book which are no longer relevant because of changes in the law and in society, though some such portions have been retained for their historical importance in the evolution of the law. We have also tried to re-organize parts of the book for the reader to have a better understanding of the schematic development of the law. We have retained the views of the original author on the interpretation of different provisions of the Constitution, as much as possible, and also highlighted them to the reader in some parts.
While updating the commentary with judgements delivered in the years 2008 to mid 2017, we found that the Supreme Court has decided several fresh issues which have come up before the Court during this period. The judgments of the Supreme Court on the illegalities committed by the authorities in allotment of natural resources such as the 2G spectrum and coal blocks, regulation of mining activities tor protection of the environment and for sustainable development, the development of affirmative action law in favour of weaker sections of our society, the rights of the transgender community, the validity of triple talaq as a mode of dissolution of Muslim marriages, the scope of power of the States to impose non-discriminatory taxes on goods in the course of inter-state trade, and the recognition of the fundamental right to privacy under our Constitution are some important contributions made by the Court to the development of Constitutional law of the country in the last decade which have been covered in this revised edition.
However, in some matters, the Courts have with an overzealous approach to reform our society ventured into areas that are within the domain of the Executive and the Legislature, which has invited criticism lor judicial overreach. In some other matters, the Courts while striking down executive action have not balanced conflicting rights and moulded the relief appropriately so as to meet the ends of justice, as a result of which, the judgments have had serious adverse consequences for certain sectors of our developing economy. Sometimes, personal opinions of Judges on matters which are not germane to legal issues at hand are expressed in judgments. The Constitutional function of the Courts is to interpret and uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land. While performing this Constitutional function, the Courts, it they are to maintain their prestige and authority, should not transgress the limits of judicial power. At the same time, the Judiciary must continue to remain an effective check on the transgressions of the Executive and Legislative arms of the State.
In the revision exercise I have been assisted by several young lawyers, editors and law students. Exceptionally talented young lawyers at the bar Bhabna Das, Shikhar Saha and Karun Pahwa have put in untiring efforts and have done extensive work on the book. Gaurav Rai, my bright legal assistant, i!ii> made very insightful and methodical contribution to the revision exercise. Ris-hi Dixit of LexisNexis, having a scholastic bent of mind, joined in as a part of the team and has even us great support.
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Contents
The Constitution of India
Part I - The Union and its Territory
Part II - Citizenship
Part III - Fundamental Rights
Part IV - Directive Principles of State Policy
Part IV A - Fundamental Duties
Party V - The Union
    Chapter I - The Executive
    Chapter II - Parliament
    Chapter III - Legislative Powers of the President
    Chapter IV - The Union Judiciary
    Chapter V - Comptroller and Auditor-General of India 
Part VI - The States
    Chapter I - General
    Chapter II - The Executive
    Chapter III - THE State Legislature
    Chapter IV - Legislative Power of the Governor
    Chapter V - The High Courts in the States
    Chapter VI - Subordinate Courts
Part VII - Art. 238 Omitted by the Constitution (7th Amendment) Act 1056
Part VIII - The Union Territories
Part IX - The Panchayats
Part IX A - The Municipalities
Part X - The Scheduled and Tribal Areas
Part XI - Relations between the Union and the States
    Chapter I - Legislative Relations
    Chapter II - Administrative Relations
Part XII - Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
    Chapter I - Finance
    Chapter II - Borrowing
    Chapter III - Property, Contracts, Rights, Liabilities, Obligations and Suits
    Chapter IV - Right to Property
Part XIII - Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the Territory of India
Part XIV - Services under the Union and the States
    Chapter I - Services
    Chapter II - Public Service Commissions
Part XIV A - Tribunals
Part XV. - Elections
Part XVI - Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes
Part XVII - Official Language
    Chapter I - Language of the Union
    Chapter II - Regional Languages
    Chapter III - Language of the Supreme Court, High Courts, Etc.
    Chapter IV - Special Directives
Part XVIII - Emergency Provisions
Part XIX - Miscellaneous
Part XX - Amendment of the Constitution
Part XXI - Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
Part XXII - Short Title, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindi and Repeals
Schedule
Appendices    
Appendix I - The constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) order, 2019
Appendix II - Extracts from the constitution (Forty-Fourth Amendment) Act, 1978
Appendix III - The constitution (Eighty-Eighth Amendment) Act, 2003
Appendix IV - The constitution (One Hundredth Amendment) Act, 2015
Consolidated Subject Index of Volumes 1 & 2
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Author Details
Acharaya Dr. Durga Das Basu
M.A. LL.D. (Cal); D. Litt. (Cal. Burd; Rabindrabharti; Kalyani);
Saraswathi, Vacaspti, Vidyavaridhi, Prajnabharati, Nyayaratnakara, Neetibhaskara, Nyayabharati,
Manava Ratna. Honoary Professor, Banaras Hindu University; Retired Judge, High Court, Calcutta;
Formerly Member, Union Law Commission; Tagore Law Professor, Asutosh Memorial; Lecturer, Calcutta University; Recipient, National Award, Padmabhushan (1985); National Research Professor of India (1986); National Citizen's Award (1991); Honorary Fellow, Asiatic Society, Calcutta (1994)
Justice R BANUMATHI, Former Judge Supreme Court of India,
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