Pending Bills at Constitutional Commencement (Omitted)
Official heading: “[Provision as to Bills pending in the Dominion Legislatures and in the Legislatures of Provinces and Indian States.]”
Article 389 provided that bills pending in the Dominion Legislature or provincial legislatures immediately before 26 January 1950 did not lapse, but were transferred to the Provisional Parliament or provisional state legislatures. It was omitted by the Seventh Amendment in 1956.
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part XXI, Article 389, printed page 251
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1. In One Sentence
Article 389 formerly preserved pending legislative bills across the 1950 transition, and was omitted in 1956.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 389 prevented unfinished legislation from lapsing when the Constitution commenced.
Bills introduced before 26 January 1950 could be taken up by the Provisional Parliament or state legislatures.
The article was omitted by the Seventh Amendment in 1956.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A labor regulation bill introduced in the Dominion Legislature in late 1949 was taken up and passed by the Provisional Parliament in early 1950 under Article 389.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 389 provided continuity for pending legislative business in 1950.
- Non-lapsing rule: Prevented pre-1950 bills from expiring upon constitutional commencement.
- Omitted in 1956: Repealed by the Seventh Amendment.
- Replaced by constitutional bill rules: Articles 107 and 196 govern contemporary lapses.
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 389, 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.