Privy Purse Sums of Former Princely Rulers (Omitted)
Official heading: “Privy purse sums of Rulers”
Article 291 originally guaranteed tax-free annual privy purse sums charged on the Consolidated Fund of India to the former Rulers of princely states pursuant to integration covenants. Following landmark political and legal battles culminating in the Privy Purse Case (Madhav Rao Scindia v. Union of India, 1971), Parliament enacted the Twenty-sixth Amendment in 1971, which omitted Article 291 and Article 362 and inserted Article 363A, terminating all royal recognitions and privy purses.
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part XII, Article 291, printed page 171
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1. In One Sentence
Article 291 formerly guaranteed tax-free privy purse payments to former princely rulers, and was omitted by the Twenty-sixth Amendment in 1971.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
When over 500 princely states acceded to India between 1947 and 1949, the Government of India signed covenants guaranteeing rulers an annual tax-free pension known as the "Privy Purse".
Article 291 gave constitutional sanction to these privy purse payments, making them non-voted charges on the Consolidated Fund of India exempt from all taxes on income.
By the late 1960s, continuing hereditary royal pensions was viewed as incompatible with democratic egalitarianism and socialism.
After the Supreme Court struck down a presidential derecognition order in Madhav Rao Scindia (1971), Parliament passed the 26th Amendment, omitting Article 291, abolishing all privy purses, and extinguishing all princely titles and privileges.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A student studying constitutional jurisprudence reads about the historic abolition of royal privy purses and titles in India.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 291 represents a decisive constitutional shift from princely integration covenants to republican equality.
- Guaranteed princely stipends: Maintained tax-free privy purses between 1950 and 1971.
- Omitted by 26th Amendment: Repealed on 28 December 1971.
- Abolished hereditary privileges: Solidified egalitarian republican principles under the Preamble and Article 14.
5. Historical constitutional wording — not operative
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XII, Article 291, printed page 171 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.