Indian Polity: Schedules and Important Articles of the Constitution

The Indian Constitution originally had 395 Articles, 22 Parts, and 8 Schedules. It now has 470+ Articles and 12 Schedules after amendments. Schedules and article numbers are among the most directly tested facts in PSC exams.

All 12 Schedules

Schedule	Subject	Key Content
First	States and Union Territories	Names and territories of 28 states + 8 UTs
Second	Salaries and Emoluments	President, Governors, Speaker, Judges, CAG
Third	Oaths and Affirmations	Forms of oaths for President, Ministers, MPs, Judges
Fourth	Rajya Sabha Seat Allocation	Seats per state (based on population); UP has most (31)
Fifth	Scheduled Areas & Tribes (non-NE)	Administration of tribal areas (except NE states)
Sixth	Tribal Areas in NE	Autonomous districts in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram
Seventh	Division of Powers	Union List (100), State List (61), Concurrent List (52)
Eighth	Official Languages	22 languages (originally 14; last added: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali in 2003)
Ninth	Acts shielded from judicial review	Added by 1st Amendment (1951); land reform laws; Supreme Court ruled in Kesavananda Bharati that laws violating basic structure can be reviewed
Tenth	Anti-Defection Law	Added by 52nd Amendment (1985); disqualification for defection
Eleventh	Panchayat powers	29 subjects for Panchayats (added by 73rd Amendment, 1992)
Twelfth	Municipality powers	18 subjects for Municipalities (added by 74th Amendment, 1992)

Mnemonic for Schedules: “States Salary Oaths Rajya Tribes-non-NE Tribes-NE Lists Languages Shield Defection Panchayat Municipality”

Seventh Schedule — Three Lists

List	Items	Examples
Union List	100 subjects	Defence, Atomic energy, Foreign affairs, Railways, Banking, Currency, Census, Post
State List	61 subjects	Police, Public health, Agriculture, Land, Local government, State taxes
Concurrent List	52 subjects	Education, Forest, Trade unions, Marriage, Bankruptcy, Electricity, Criminal law

Key fact: Residuary powers lie with Parliament (Union), not states (Article 248).

Eighth Schedule — 22 Languages

Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.

Not included: English (associate official language, not in 8th Schedule).

Part III: Fundamental Rights (Articles 12–35)

Article	Right
14	Equality before law & equal protection of laws
15	Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth
16	Equality of opportunity in public employment
17	Abolition of Untouchability
18	Abolition of Titles (except military/academic)
19	6 Freedoms: (a) Speech, (b) Assembly, (c) Association, (d) Movement, (e) Residence, (g) Profession
19(1)(f)	Right to Property — removed by 44th Amendment (now Article 300A, legal right only)
20	Protection against ex-post-facto laws, double jeopardy, self-incrimination
21	Right to Life and Personal Liberty (most expanded article by Supreme Court)
21A	Right to Education (6–14 years) — added by 86th Amendment, 2002
22	Protection against arrest and detention
23	Prohibition of human trafficking and forced labour
24	Prohibition of child labour (below 14) in factories/mines
25–28	Freedom of Religion
29–30	Cultural and Educational Rights of minorities
32	Right to Constitutional Remedies (“Heart and Soul of Constitution” — Ambedkar)

Article 20 and 21 cannot be suspended even during Emergency.

Part IV: Directive Principles (Articles 36–51)

Not enforceable in court, but fundamental in governance.

Article	Directive
38	State to secure social order for welfare
39	Equal pay for equal work; prevent concentration of wealth
39A	Free legal aid (added 42nd Amendment)
40	Organization of village panchayats
41	Right to work, education, public assistance
43	Living wage for workers
44	Uniform Civil Code
45	Early childhood care (originally education up to 14; shifted to 21A)
46	Promotion of weaker sections (SC/ST)
47	Prohibition of intoxicating drinks
48	Organization of agriculture and animal husbandry
48A	Protection of environment and forests (42nd Amendment)
51	International peace and security

Part IVA: Fundamental Duties (Article 51A)

Added by 42nd Amendment (1976) — originally 10 duties, 11th added by 86th Amendment (2002): provide education to children aged 6–14.

Key duties: respect Constitution and national flag; cherish freedom struggle ideals; protect sovereignty; promote harmony; preserve heritage; protect environment; develop scientific temper; safeguard public property; strive for excellence.

Other Critical Articles

President and Emergency

Article	Subject
52	President of India
53	Executive power vested in President
61	Impeachment of President
72	Pardoning power of President
74	Council of Ministers to aid President (42nd Amendment: President shall act on CoM advice)
76	Attorney General of India
110	Money Bill definition
112	Annual Budget
123	Ordinance-making power of President (when Parliament not in session; valid 6 weeks after reassembly)
143	Advisory jurisdiction of Supreme Court (President can seek SC opinion)

Emergency Provisions (Part XVIII)

Article	Type	Detail
352	National Emergency	War, external aggression, armed rebellion; proclaimed by President on Cabinet’s written advice; needs Parliament approval in 1 month
356	State Emergency (President’s Rule)	Failure of constitutional machinery in state; max 6 months, extendable to 3 years
360	Financial Emergency	Threat to financial stability; never invoked in India’s history

Key fact: 352 has been proclaimed 3 times — 1962 (China war), 1971 (Pakistan war), 1975 (internal disturbance, Indira Gandhi).

Governor, High Court, Services

Article	Subject
153	Governor of State
161	Pardoning power of Governor (except death sentence and court-martial)
165	Advocate General of State
214	High Court for each state
226	Writ jurisdiction of High Courts (wider than SC — can issue writs for fundamental rights AND other rights)
263	Inter-State Council
280	Finance Commission
300A	Right to Property (legal right, not fundamental)
311	Safeguards for civil servants — no dismissal/removal without inquiry
312	All-India Services (IAS, IPS, IFoS)
368	Amendment procedure — Simple majority / Special majority / Special + state ratification

Article 370

Special status to Jammu & Kashmir — substantially abrogated on 5 August 2019 by Presidential Order (Article 370(1)(d)). J&K reorganized into two UTs: J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (without). Supreme Court upheld the abrogation in December 2023.

Five Writs (Article 32 and 226)

Writ	Meaning	Purpose
Habeas Corpus	”Produce the body”	Against unlawful detention
Mandamus	”We command”	Directs public authority to perform duty
Prohibition	”To forbid”	Prevents lower court from exceeding jurisdiction
Certiorari	”To be certified”	Transfers case from lower to higher court
Quo Warranto	”By what authority”	Challenges illegal occupation of public office

Mnemonic: HMPCQ — “His Majesty’s Post Carries Quickly”

Constitutional Amendments — Most Tested

Amendment	Year	Subject
1st	1951	9th Schedule added; restrictions on free speech
7th	1956	Reorganization of states
24th	1971	Parliament can amend Fundamental Rights
42nd	1976	”Mini Constitution” — added Fundamental Duties, words “socialist, secular, integrity” to Preamble
44th	1978	Reversed many 42nd changes; Right to Property removed from FRs
52nd	1985	Anti-defection (10th Schedule)
61st	1989	Voting age reduced from 21 to 18
73rd	1992	Panchayati Raj (11th Schedule)
74th	1992	Municipalities (12th Schedule)
86th	2002	Right to Education (Article 21A, 51A(k))
101st	2016	GST
103rd	2019	10% EWS reservation

Quick Recall

• Heart and Soul of Constitution? Article 32
• Emergency never proclaimed? Financial Emergency (Art. 360)
• Anti-defection in which schedule? 10th (52nd Amendment)
• Uniform Civil Code article? 44
• Ordinance power? Article 123 (President), Article 213 (Governor)
• Advisory jurisdiction of SC? Article 143
• Right to Education article? 21A

Related Notes

Hub: Indian Polity — Complete Guide for Kerala PSC

More on Constitutional Foundations:

• Preamble
• Citizenship
• Important Articles Quick

Practice this topic: Schedules & Sources Quiz