Article 387

Population Determination for Initial Elections (Omitted)

Official heading: “[Special provision as to determination of population for the purposes of certain elections.]”

Historical / Omitted Provision

Because the 1941 census was disrupted by World War II and Partition caused massive demographic displacement, Article 387 empowered the President to determine population figures for initial delimitation and SC/ST reservation. After the 1951 census was completed, Article 387 was omitted by the Seventh Amendment in 1956.

Amendment: Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 (s. 29 and Sch.)Effective Date: 01-11-1956Modern Constitutional Status: Omitted from the operative Constitution. Authorized presidential orders to determine population estimates for the first general elections before 1951 census figures were published.

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 387, printed page 251
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 387 formerly authorized presidential population determinations for the 1951 elections, and was omitted in 1956.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 387 solved a logistical challenge for India’s first general elections.

With millions of partition refugees relocating and no fresh census available, the President was empowered to estimate state and SC/ST populations.

Once regular decennial census operations resumed in 1951, the article was omitted by the Seventh Amendment in 1956.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

In 1950, the President issued a population determination order fixing seat allocations for West Bengal and Punjab.

Core takeaway: Article 387 enabled delimitation to proceed before census figures were published.

Illustrative Notice: The article is omitted; census determinations are now governed by standard definitions in Articles 81, 330, and 332.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 387 was an emergency demographic clause for initial elections.

Post-partition demographics: Provided an interim population benchmark for 1951 elections.
Omitted in 1956: Repealed by the Seventh Amendment.
Superseded by regular census: Normal decennial census schedules took over.

5. Historical constitutional wording — not operative

[Special provision as to determination of population for the purposes of certain elections.]—Omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956).

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 XXI, Article 387, printed page 251 • 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