Article 372 and Article 372A of the Constitution of India
Continuance of existing laws, adaptation of pre-Constitution laws, and the President's transitional power to adapt laws.
In brief: Article 372 preserved laws that were in force immediately before the Constitution commenced, subject to the Constitution and until a competent legislature or authority altered, repealed or amended them. Article 372A later supplied a time-limited adaptation power connected with the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956.
Article 372: Continuance in force of existing laws and their adaptation
Article 372 is a transitional constitutional provision. Its basic purpose was to prevent a legal vacuum on 26 January 1950. Existing law did not automatically disappear merely because the Constitution commenced. Its continuance, however, is expressly subject to the other provisions of the Constitution.
Clause (1). Notwithstanding the repeal by the Constitution of the enactments referred to in Article 395, but subject to the Constitution, laws in force in the territory of India immediately before commencement continued until altered, repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority.
Clause (2). To bring an existing law into accord with the Constitution, the President was empowered to make necessary or expedient adaptations and modifications, including repeal or amendment, and specify the date from which the adapted law would operate. The clause also states that such adaptation or modification was not to be questioned in a court of law.
Clause (3). The adaptation power under clause (2) could not be exercised after three years from commencement of the Constitution. It also did not prevent a competent Legislature or authority from subsequently repealing or amending a law adapted or modified under clause (2).
Meaning of "law in force" under Article 372
Explanation I gives the expression a broad transitional meaning. It includes a law made before commencement of the Constitution and not previously repealed even where the law, or part of it, was not then in operation everywhere. Explanation II preserves the extra-territorial effect of qualifying pre-Constitution laws, subject to constitutional adaptation.
Explanation III makes clear that Article 372 does not extend the life of a temporary law beyond its own expiry. Explanation IV dealt specifically with certain provincial Ordinances under section 88 of the Government of India Act, 1935 and prescribed their transitional duration.
Article 372A: Power of the President to adapt laws
Article 372A was inserted by section 23 of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956. It addressed adaptations required because of the constitutional changes made by that Amendment.
Clause (1). For bringing laws in force immediately before commencement of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 into accord with the Constitution as amended, the President could make adaptation orders before 1 November 1957. The power included necessary or expedient repeal or amendment and the specification of the date from which the adapted law would have effect.
Clause (2). The provision did not prevent a competent Legislature or other competent authority from later repealing or amending a law adapted or modified by the President.
Difference between Article 372 and Article 372A
Article 372 concerns the constitutional transition at the commencement of the Constitution and preserves existing laws subject to constitutional supremacy. Article 372A concerns the later transition produced by the Seventh Amendment of 1956. Both provisions therefore served continuity and adaptation, but they operated in different transitional settings and contained different time limits for presidential adaptation.
Why these provisions remain important
Articles 372 and 372A explain how India's legal system maintained continuity while constitutional change took effect. Article 372 remains particularly significant as the constitutional bridge for pre-Constitution laws that continued after commencement, subject always to later legislative change and the controlling provisions of the Constitution.
Official text: For authoritative wording and amendment notes, consult the current Constitution published by the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, and India Code.
