Manipur State Constitution Act 1947

Manipur State Constitution Act
Constitution-making Committee
Territorial extentManipur
Passed byManipur (princely state)
Passed26 July 1947[1]
Enacted1947[2]
Signed byMaharaja Bodhchandra Singh
Date of expiry15 October 1949[3]
Status: Unknown

Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 is an act which enabled the princely state of Manipur to have a de jure written constitution enacted by the last Maharajah of Manipur, Bodhchandra Singh.[4] Under the constitution, a Legislative Assembly was elected in mid-1948 and a ministry was formed, which was responsible to the Maharaja. The constitution is deemed to have lapsed on 15 October 1949, when the Maharaja signed a merger agreement with the Indian Union. The validity of the act in present time is debated.[5][6]

  1. ^ Sudhirkumar Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements (2011), p. 120: "The Constitution Drafting Committee submitted its draft to the State Council on 15 May 1947. The State Council passed it on 26 July 1947 and presented the same to the Maharaja for his assent. After duly approved by the Maharaja, the report became the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947."
  2. ^ Manchanda, Rita (2015). Making war, making peace : conflict resolution in South Asia. Tapan K. Bose. New Delhi, India. p. 100. ISBN 978-93-5150-098-8. OCLC 897946353.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Sudhirkumar Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements (2011), pp. 146–147: "Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947 lapsed, coalition ministry in the state ceased to function, the legislature dissolved and the post of Dewan abolished with effect from 15 October 1949."
  4. ^ Banerjee, S. K. (1958). "Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 19 (1): 35–38. JSTOR 42748891.
  5. ^ Das (2010), p. 123: "The Manipur State Constitution did not lose its validity with the signing of the merger agreement"
  6. ^ Banerjee, S. K. (1958). "Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 19 (1): 35–38. ISSN 0019-5510. JSTOR 42748891. We come to the interesting question of whether the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947 is still in force or not. At page 239 para 456 of Halsbury's Laws of England, Volume 11 (1933 edition) we read, "in conquered or ceded countries which at the time of their acquisition, had already laws of their own, the Crown has power to alter and change those laws, but until this is actually done the ancient laws of the countries remain in force" From this we may conclude that if the Manipur State Constitution Act, has not been specifically repealed it is to be taken as being still in force