Article 310

Tenure of Public Servants and the Doctrine of Pleasure

Official heading: “Tenure of office of persons serving the Union or a State”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XIV, Article 310, printed pages 173–174
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Declares that civil and defense personnel hold office during the pleasure of the President or the Governor, except as expressly provided by the Constitution.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 310 enshrines the "Doctrine of Pleasure", derived from British constitutional law.

Union civil and defense personnel hold office at the pleasure of the President; State civil personnel hold office at the pleasure of the Governor.

However, this pleasure is not absolute in India. It is expressly restricted by constitutional protections (such as Article 311 inquiry safeguards and tenure for Supreme Court judges, High Court judges, CAG, and Election Commissioners).

Clause (2) allows the government to enter into contracts with specialists providing compensation if the post is abolished before agreed terms.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A government department claims it can dismiss a permanent civil servant at any moment without reasons because the employee holds office "at the pleasure of the President".

Core takeaway: Article 310 doctrine of pleasure is strictly subordinated to the mandatory inquiry protections of Article 311 and cannot be exercised arbitrarily.

Illustrative Notice: Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, the CAG, and Election Commissioners are constitutionally insulated from the doctrine of pleasure.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 310 establishes executive supremacy over public posts while qualifying it through constitutional safeguards.

Doctrine of pleasure: Executive heads possess ultimate dismissal authority over civil and defense personnel.
Subordinate to Constitution: Subject to express exceptions (judges, CAG, CEC) and mandatory inquiry protections (Art. 311).
Special contract compensation: Clause (2) permits compensation clauses in employment contracts for technical experts.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) Except as expressly provided by this Constitution, every person who is a member of a defence service or of a civil service of the Union or of an all-India service or holds any post connected with defence or any civil post under the Union holds office during the pleasure of the President, and every person who is a member of a civil service of a State or holds any civil post under a State holds office during the pleasure of the Governor of the State. (2) Notwithstanding that a person holding a civil post under the Union or a State holds office during the pleasure of the President or, as the case may be, of the Governor of the State, any contract under which a person, not being a member of a defence service or of an all-India service or of a civil service of the Union or a State, is appointed under this Constitution to hold such a post may, if the President or the Governor, as the case may be, deems it necessary in order to secure the services of a person having special qualifications, provide for the payment to him of compensation, if before the expiration of an agreed period that post is abolished or he is, for reasons not connected with any misconduct on his part, required to vacate that post.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XIV, Article 310, printed pages 173–174 • 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.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource