Provisional Parliament of India (Omitted)
Official heading: “[Provisions as to provisional Parliament and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof.]”
At constitutional commencement in 1950, general elections had not yet occurred. Article 379 designated the body functioning as the Constituent Assembly of the Dominion of India immediately before commencement to be the Provisional Parliament of India, exercising all powers conferred on Parliament until both Houses were duly constituted. Following the first general elections and the establishment of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in May 1952, the transitional provisional parliament provisions became obsolete and were omitted by the Seventh Amendment in 1956.
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part XXI, Article 379, printed page 250
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- Not yet checked
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1. In One Sentence
Article 379 formerly designated the Constituent Assembly as the Provisional Parliament, and was omitted in 1956 after general elections.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Between 26 January 1950 and May 1952, India was governed by a single-chamber "Provisional Parliament", which was the Constituent Assembly acting in a legislative capacity.
Article 379 authorized this Provisional Parliament to pass laws, enact the First Constitutional Amendment (1951), and oversee national governance until democratic general elections were conducted.
Once the first elected Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) took office in 1952, the provision served its purpose and was omitted by the Seventh Amendment in 1956.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
In 1951, the Provisional Parliament enacted the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to organize India’s first general elections.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 379 managed the supreme legislative transition between 1950 and 1952.
- Provisional Parliament role: Constituent Assembly functioned as the sovereign unicameral legislature.
- Omitted in 1956: Repealed by section 29 and the Schedule of the Seventh Amendment.
- Enacted First Amendment: The Provisional Parliament validly enacted the First Constitutional Amendment in 1951 (upheld in Shankari Prasad).
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 XXI, Article 379, printed page 250 • 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.