Transitional Presidential Amendment of First and Fourth Schedules (Omitted)
Official heading: “[Power of the President to amend the First and Fourth Schedules in certain contingencies.]”
During late 1949, several princely state merger agreements were still being finalized. Article 391 authorized the Governor-General / President to amend the First and Fourth Schedules to incorporate boundary adjustments before the first general election. 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 391, printed page 251
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- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Article 391 formerly authorized presidential adjustments to state schedules in 1950, and was omitted in 1956.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 391 allowed the President to quickly update the lists of States and Rajya Sabha seat allocations as princely states completed merger processes.
Once the territorial boundaries stabilized and Parliament assumed full legislative power under Articles 3 and 4, Article 391 became redundant.
It was omitted by the Seventh Amendment in 1956.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
In early 1950, the President updated the First Schedule to incorporate a newly merged princely enclave under Article 391.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 391 was a transitional schedule modification power.
- Princely integration adjustments: Updated First and Fourth Schedules for late mergers.
- Omitted in 1956: Repealed by the Seventh Amendment.
- Replaced by Articles 3 and 4: Modern state reorganizations require Parliamentary statutes.
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 391, 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.