Article 35

Exclusive Parliamentary Power to Enact Penal & Enforcement Laws

Official heading: “Legislation to give effect to the provisions of this Part”

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Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part III, Article 35, printed pages 20–21
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 35 reserves exclusive power to Parliament (excluding State Legislatures) to make laws prescribing punishments for violating Fundamental Rights and establishing enforcement machinery.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

To ensure that Fundamental Rights and protections against social evils have uniform force across the entire territory of India, Article 35 bars state legislatures from making laws on certain core rights matters.

Parliament has exclusive legislative power to: (1) prescribe residence requirements for employment under Article 16(3); (2) empower other courts with writ jurisdiction under Article 32(3); (3) modify rights for armed forces and police under Article 33; (4) enact acts of indemnity for martial law under Article 34; and (5) prescribe punishments for offences declared under Part III, specifically Article 17 (Untouchability) and Article 23 (Forced labour).

Under this power, Parliament enacted landmark civil rights statutes including the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

Clause (b) ensures that laws in force prior to the Constitution prescribing punishments remain in effect until altered or repealed by Parliament.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A state legislature attempts to pass its own criminal statute defining a lesser punishment for practising untouchability within its state.

Core takeaway: Under Article 35(a)(ii), only Parliament has the power to prescribe punishment for offences declared in Article 17. The state law is void for lack of legislative competence.

Illustrative Notice: State governments can enact rules and administer police machinery, but substantive penal legislation for Part III violations must originate in Parliament.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 35 guarantees legal uniformity and national consistency for fundamental liberties.

State legislatures are completely barred from enacting laws on matters enumerated in Article 35.
Ensures that punishments for untouchability and forced labour are identical across all states.
Pre-constitutional laws continue in force until explicitly altered or repealed by Parliament.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,— (a) Parliament shall have, and the Legislature of a State shall not have, power to make laws— (i) with respect to any of the matters which under clause (3) of article 16, clause (3) of article 32, article 33 and article 34 may be provided for by law made by Parliament; and (ii) for prescribing punishment for those acts which are declared to be offences under this Part; and Parliament shall, as soon as may be after the commencement of this Constitution, make laws for prescribing punishment for the acts referred to in sub-clause (ii); (b) any law in force immediately before the commencement of this Constitution in the territory of India with respect to any of the matters referred to in sub-clause (i) of clause (a) or providing for punishment for any act referred to in sub-clause (ii) of that clause shall, subject to the terms thereof and to any adaptations and modifications that may be made therein under article 372, continue in force until altered or repealed or amended by Parliament. Explanation.—In this article, the expression "law in force" has the same meaning as in article 372.

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 III, Article 35, printed pages 20–21 • 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.
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LegislationProtection of Civil Rights Act, 1955Source or archive portal
Parliament of India (Ministry of Law and Justice) • Act No. 22 of 1955 (originally Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955) • Human source-link check pending
Parliamentary penal statute enacted under Article 35(a)(ii) prescribing punishments for the practice of untouchability declared an offence by Article 17.

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