Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: 1 and 2 only
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
When the Constitution of India came into force it had to clearly state which earlier British enactments would cease to operate in the new constitutional scheme. Article 395 of the Constitution deals with repeal of certain Acts including the Government of India Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act 1947. This question examines the ability of candidates to recall which historical statutes were explicitly repealed by Article 395 and to distinguish them from other enactments that lapsed or operated independently.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Article 395 is placed in the last part of the Constitution and has a simple but important function. It repeals certain earlier enactments that formed the legal basis of British rule and the transfer of power, in order to remove any conflict with the new constitutional order. It expressly repeals the Government of India Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act 1947, along with any adaptations, orders, and related laws made under them. Other Acts such as the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act 1949 and the Government of India Act 1919 stand on a different footing and are not all explicitly mentioned in Article 395.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the text or summary of Article 395 of the Constitution of India.
Step 2: Note that Article 395 clearly mentions the repeal of the Government of India Act 1935.
Step 3: It also mentions repeal of the Indian Independence Act 1947, which had provided the framework for the Dominion status of India and Pakistan.
Step 4: Remember that the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act 1949 was a separate enactment dealing with appeals to the Privy Council, and it is not listed in Article 395 as a statute to be repealed.
Step 5: The Government of India Act 1919 had effectively been superseded by the Government of India Act 1935 and was not the primary statute in force at the time the Constitution was enacted.
Step 6: Therefore, among the four Acts listed, only the Government of India Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act 1947 are explicitly repealed by Article 395.
Step 7: Select the option that lists 1 and 2 only as the correct combination.
Verification / Alternative check:
A verification strategy is to think about why the framers would target particular Acts. The Government of India Act 1935 functioned as the constitutional framework for British India before independence, and the Indian Independence Act 1947 structured the transition to Dominion status. Both had to be clearly set aside to avoid legal ambiguity. By contrast, the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act 1949 narrowed appeals to the Privy Council and was consistent with moving toward a supreme court in India, but it was not the main constitutional charter. The 1919 Act had already been overtaken by the 1935 Act, so repealing it explicitly in 1950 was not as crucial. Standard constitutional commentaries mention only the 1935 and 1947 Acts as those repealed by Article 395, which confirms the selected combination.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The option that lists 1 and 3 only is incorrect because the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act 1949 is not one of the Acts named in Article 395. The option that lists 1, 2, and 3 only wrongly adds the 1949 Act, and the option that lists all four Acts incorrectly includes both the 1949 and 1919 Acts, which are not jointly repealed by Article 395. These distractor options rely on confusing the student about which enactments were the principal constitutional charters of British India and the transition to independence.
Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to assume that any colonial era statute mentioned in polity books must have been repealed together in one place. Another pitfall is to rely solely on memory of lists of Acts without understanding why they mattered historically. Learners may also confuse different repeal provisions and forget that Article 395 is specific rather than a blanket repeal of all earlier laws. To minimise such errors, it is useful to connect each statute with its role: 1935 as the constitutional framework, 1947 as the independence framework, and other Acts as supporting or transitional measures.
Final Answer:
Article 395 of the Constitution expressly repeals the Government of India Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act 1947, that is, Acts 1 and 2 only.
Discussion & Comments