Article 373

Transitional Presidential Orders Regarding Preventive Detention

Official heading: “Power of President to make order in respect of persons under preventive detention in certain cases”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XXI, Article 373, printed page 247
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

Open official PDF at this article Report a text or source error

AI-assisted source comparisons are noted with the citations below; the check date remains pending until a human confirms the link. The report link opens your email app; you choose whether to send it.

1. In One Sentence

Authorized the President to exercise Parliamentary powers under Article 22(7) regarding preventive detention until Parliament enacted legislation or for one year.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 373 was an emergency transitional provision enacted to cover the interval before the newly constituted Parliament could meet and enact a comprehensive federal preventive detention law.

Under Article 22(7), Parliament has the power to prescribe maximum detention periods and procedures for Advisory Boards.

Until Parliament made such provision, or for up to one year from commencement (whichever was earlier), Article 373 substituted the President for Parliament in Article 22(7).

The President exercised this power to issue the Preventive Detention (Extension of Duration) Order, 1950, which was challenged and considered in the historic Supreme Court ruling of A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950), before Parliament enacted the Preventive Detention Act, 1950.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

In February 1950, before the first general elections, an individual was detained under an order issued pursuant to transitional presidential rules.

Core takeaway: Article 373 provided temporary presidential authority to regulate preventive detention procedures pending the first meeting of Parliament.

Illustrative Notice: The transitional power expired within one year in 1951 upon the enactment of central preventive detention legislation.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 373 was a temporary bridge for preventive detention regulation that expired in 1951.

One-year ceiling: Lapsed automatically after one year from constitutional commencement.
Substituted President for Parliament: Temporary executive proxy for Article 22(7) powers.
A.K. Gopalan precedent: Central to early landmark fundamental rights jurisprudence on Article 22.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

Until provision is made by Parliament under clause (7) of article 22, or until the expiration of one year from the commencement of this Constitution, whichever is earlier, the said article shall have effect as if for any reference to Parliament in clauses (4) and (7) thereof there were substituted a reference to the President and for any reference to any law made by Parliament in those clauses there were substituted a reference to an order made by the President.

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

•
Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XXI, Article 373, printed page 247 • 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