What is Article 389 of Indian constitution

www.hinsoli.com July 11, 2025

Title: Provisions as to temporary powers of certain authorities to make laws

Article 389 has been repealed.
It was a transitional provision and was omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956.

Article 389 granted temporary legislative powers to certain existing authorities (like Rajpramukhs or administrators) in Indian states, especially Part B and Part C States, where elected legislatures had not yet been formed after the Constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950.

At the time the Constitution came into force, many states didn’t yet have elected legislatures.
Article 389 allowed:
- The President (for Union territories and Part C states) and
- The Governor or Rajpramukh (for Part B states)
- To make laws temporarily, until the Constitutionally elected legislature was in place.
This was to avoid a legislative vacuum in the transitional period.

Aspect	Details
Applies To	Part B and Part C States and certain Union Territories
Provision Type	Temporary legislative powers
Powers Given To	President, Governor, or Rajpramukh
Purpose	To make laws until elected legislatures were established
Duration	Valid until the first elections and formation of State Legislatures
Repealed By	7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956

Authority	Territory/State Type
President of India	Union territories, Part C states
Governor	Part B states
Rajpramukh	Princely states or state unions

Ensured that laws could be made during the early phase of the Constitution.
Prevented governance paralysis in the absence of elected bodies.
Became unnecessary after the first general elections (1951–52) and was repealed when all states had functional legislatures.