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THE CONSTITUTION, MADE UNDERSTANDABLE

Article 299
Contracts

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26 Parts12 Schedules506 indexed article entries, including historical omissions
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Source edition: as on 1 May 2026. Omitted and struck-down reference entries remain labelled. Open the authoritative PDF ↗

Article 299 / Part XII

Contracts

included in edition
Plain languageOfficial textPurpose & sources
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THE PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE

What does this mean?

Government contracts must be expressed and executed in the constitutionally specified manner. The Article also addresses personal liability of the President, Governor and persons executing those contracts.

Taxes, government funds, financial sharing, property, borrowing, contracts and legal proceedings.

PURPOSE & CONTEXT

Why is this provision here?

Formal contract requirements identify when government is bound and distinguish official execution from personal liability.

Historical evidence

This Article number belongs to the original constitutional framework, but its present wording may include later amendments or substitutions. A provision-specific original Assembly debate has not been verified here. The explanation of function above is editorial inference from the text, not an attributed single motive of the framers. The original draft-making archive is a research resource, not proof of a particular historical reason.

The explanation of purpose is an editorial reading of the provision. A drafting motive is attributed only where a linked historical source supports it.

Limits, exceptions & reading carefully

Educational summary of the linked source text. Exceptions, provisos, implementing laws and applicable judgments must be read before applying it to a real case.

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Read the official constitutional text
299. Contracts.—(1) All contracts made in the exercise of the executive power of the Union or of a State shall be expressed to be made by the President, or by the Governor *** of the State, as the case may be, and all such contracts and all assurances of property made in the exercise of that power shall be executed on behalf of the President or the Governor *** by such persons and in such manner as he may direct or authorise. (2) Neither the President nor the Governor *** shall be personally liable in respect of any contract or assurance made or executed for the purposes of this Constitution, or for the purposes of any enactment relating to the Government of India heretofore in force, nor shall any person making or executing any such contract or assurance on behalf of any of them be personally liable in respect thereof.
Source-page notes · may concern neighbouring Articles

1. The words "or the Rajpramukh" omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 2. The words "nor the Rajpramukh" omitted by s. 29 and Sch., ibid. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 3. Ins. by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 34 (w.e.f. 20-6-1979).

Extracted from the Legislative Department’s May 2026 edition. Page footnotes may refer to neighbouring provisions; check their markers in the PDF. Inclusion in this edition does not by itself establish commencement or judicial effect.