CONSTITUTIONAL LAW – I A Student's Companion to the Fundamentals of the Indian Constitution

Constitutional Law is the first subject a law student meets that will not sit still. Its rules are short, its meanings are long, and almost every proposition worth knowing was settled by a judgment that overruled an earlier one. This book is written for the student who has to master that moving subject in a single semester, and who would rather understand it than memorise it. The Enriched and Expanded Edition covers the whole of Constitutional Law – I in forty-one chapters, arranged in five Parts: the foundations of constitutional government and the making of the Indian Constitution; the State, the meaning of "law" and the guarantee of equality; protective discrimination and the freedoms of Article 19; life, liberty and faith under Articles 20 to 28; and the rights of minorities, the writ remedies, the right to property and the Directive Principles. Six appendices supply a table of cases, a glossary of legal terms and Latin maxims, a list of the important constitutional amendments, a guide to writing examination answers, a consolidated objective answer key and a set of quick revision charts. What distinguishes this edition is its apparatus. Every chapter opens with a statement of learning outcomes and a scene-setting problem, and closes with a summary and a graded set of questions — short answer, medium, essay and objective, with an answer key. Landmark judgments are not mentioned in passing but set out in Case Spotlight boxes with their facts, the issue, the holding, why the decision matters, a worked illustration and a companion case. Illustrations put doctrine on a named human being; Exam Pointers say how a topic is actually asked; Common Error boxes name the mistakes that cost marks; and comparative tables set out side by side the concepts students most often confuse. The law is stated as it stands after the recent reservation, electoral and privacy decisions, and the text is written throughout in a voice that speaks to the reader directly without giving up professional precision. It is intended for LL.B. and B.A. LL.B. students preparing for university examinations, for candidates in judicial service and civil service examinations, and for anyone who wants a clear, current and honest account of the constitutional law of India.