Continuity of All Courts, Authorities, and Public Officers Across India
Official heading: “Courts, authorities and officers to continue to function subject to the provisions of the Constitution”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part XXI, Article 375, printed page 248
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
- Not yet reviewed
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
Mandates that all courts, civil, tax, and police authorities, and public officers throughout India continue to exercise their functions subject to the Constitution.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 375 is a vital institutional preservation clause ensuring continuous administration on 26 January 1950.
It commands that all courts of civil, criminal, and revenue jurisdiction, all administrative authorities, and all executive officers throughout the territory of India shall continue to exercise their respective functions.
This continuity is expressly governed by the condition: "subject to the provisions of this Constitution".
Thus, magistrate courts, revenue collectors, municipal officers, and police forces continued daily operations without requiring fresh appointments, but their powers became instantly subordinated to constitutional guarantees and Fundamental Rights.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
On 27 January 1950, a district magistrate in Uttar Pradesh convened court and issued land revenue orders.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 375 guarantees continuous, stable administrative functioning across all public offices in the Republic.
- Universal coverage: Applies to all judicial, executive, revenue, and statutory authorities across India.
- Subjection to Constitution: Subordinates all continued powers to constitutional boundaries.
- Seamless transition: Avoided the necessity of re-appointing hundreds of thousands of civil servants upon independence.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
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 XXI, Article 375, printed page 248 • 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.