2. A Carbon Copy of the 1935 Act

The critics said that the framers of the Constitution have included a large number of the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1935 into the Constitution of India. Hence, they called the Constitution as a "Carbon Copy of the 1935 Act” or an "Amended Version of the 1935 Act”. For example, N. Srinivasan observed

that the Indian Constitution is "both in language and substance a close copy of the Act of 1935”. Similarly, Sir Ivor Jennings, a British Constitutionalist, said that "the Constitution derives directly from the Government of India Act of 1935 from which, in fact, many of its provisions are copied almost textually”.

Further, P.R. Deshmukh, a member of the Constituent Assembly, commented that "the Constitution is essentially the Government of India Act of 1935 with only adult franchise added”.

The same Dr. B.R. Ambedkar answered the above criticism in the Constituent Assembly in the following way : "As to the accusation that the Draft Constitution has reproduced a good part of the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935, I make no apologies. There is nothing to be ashamed of in borrowing. It involves no plagiarism. Nobody holds any patent rights in the fundamental ideas of a Constitution. What I am sorry about is that the provisions taken from the Government of India Act, 1935, relate mostly to the details of administration”.20