Government of India Act 1935

The Council of State.

3 Of the one hundred and fifty-six seats in the Council of State to be filled by representatives of British India one hundred and fifty seats shall be allocated to the Governors' Provinces, the Chief Commissioners' Provinces and the Anglo-Indian, European and Indian Christian communities in the manner shown in division (i) of the relevant Table of Seats appended to this Part of this Schedule, and six seats shall be filled by persons chosen by the Governor-General in his discretion.

4 To each Governor's Province, Chief Commissioner's Province and community specified in the first column of division (i) of the Table there shall be allotted the number of seats specified in the second column opposite to that Province or community, and of the seats so allotted to a Governor's Province or a Chief Commissioner's Province, the number specified in the third column shall be general seats, the number specified in the fourth column shall be seats for representatives of the scheduled castes, the number specified in the fifth column shall be Sikh seats, the number specified in the sixth column shall be Muhammadan seats, and the number specified in the seventh column shall be seats reserved for women.

5 A Governor's Province or a Chief Commissioner's Province, exclusive of any portion thereof which His Majesty in Council may deem unsuitable for inclusion in any constituency or in any constituency of any particular class, shall be divided into territorial constituencies—

(a) for the election of persons to fill the general seats, if any;

(b) for the election of persons to fill the Sikh seats, if any; and

(c) for the election of persons to fill the Muhammadan seats, if any,

or, if as respects any class of constituency it is so prescribed, may form one territorial constituency.

To each territorial constituency of any class one or more seats of that class shall be assigned.

6 (1) No person shall be entitled to vote at an election to fill a Sikh seat or a Muhammadan seat in the Council of State unless he is a Sikh or a Muhammadan, as the case may be.

(2) No person who is, or is entitled to be, included in the electoral roll for a territorial constituency in any Province for the election of persons to fill a Sikh seat or a Muhammadan seat in the Council of State shall be entitled to vote at an election to fill a general seat therein allotted to that Province.

(3) No Anglo-Indian, European or Indian Christian shall be entitled to vote at an election to fill a general seat in the Council of State.

(4) Subject as aforesaid, the qualifications entitling persons to vote in territorial constituencies at elections of members of the Council of State shall be such as may be prescribed.

7 Nothing in the two last preceding paragraphs shall apply in relation to British Baluchistan, and a person to fill the seat in the Council of State allotted to that Province shall be chosen in such manner as may be prescribed.

8 In any Province to which a seat to be filled by a representative of the scheduled castes is allotted, a person to fill that seat shall be chosen by the members of those castes who hold seats in the Chamber or, as the case may be, either Chamber of the Legislature of that Province.

9 In any Province to which a seat reserved for women is allotted, a woman to fill that seat shall be chosen by the persons, whether men or women, who hold seats in the Chamber or, as the case may be, the Chambers of the Legislature of that Province.

10 Persons to fill the seats allotted to the Anglo-Indian, European and Indian Christian communities shall be chosen by the members of Electoral Colleges consisting of such Anglo-Indians, Europeans and Indian Christians, as the case may be, as are members of the Legislative Council of any Governor's Province or of the Legislative Assembly of any Governor's Province.

The Rules regulating the conduct of elections by the European Electoral College shall be such as to secure that on any occasion where more than one seat falls to be filled by the College no two of the seats to be then filled shall be filled by persons who are normally resident in the same Province.

11 A person shall not be qualified to hold a seat in the Council of State unless—

(a) in the case of a seat allotted to a Governor's Province or a Chief Commissioner's Province, he is qualified to vote in a territorial constituency in the Province at an election of a member of the Council of State, or, in the case of a seat allotted to British Baluchistan, possesses such qualifications as may be prescribed;

(b) in the case of a seat allotted to the Anglo-Indian, the European or the Indian Christian community, he possesses such qualifications as may be prescribed.

12 Subject to the provisions of the four next succeeding paragraphs, the term of office of a member of the Council of State shall be nine years :

Provided that a person chosen to fill a casual vacancy shall be chosen to serve only for the remainder of his predecessor's term of office.

13 Upon the first constitution of the Council of State persons shall be chosen to fill all the seats allotted to Governors' Provinces, Chief Commissioners' Provinces and communities, but, for the purpose of securing that in every third year one-third of the holders of such seats shall retire, one-third of the persons first chosen shall be chosen to serve for three years only, one-third shall be chosen to serve for six years only and one-third shall be chosen to serve for nine years, and thereafter in every third year persons shall be chosen to fill for nine years the seats then becoming vacant in consequence of the provisions of this paragraph.

14 In the case of a Province specified in column one in division (ii) of the Table of Seats, the numbers specified as respects seats of different classes in columns two to six, in columns seven to eleven and in columns twelve to sixteen respectively shall be the numbers of the seats of the different classes to be filled upon the first constitution of the Council by members chosen to serve for three years only, by members chosen to serve for six years only, and by members chosen to serve for nine years.

15 The person chosen upon the first constitution of the Council to fill the Anglo-Indian seat shall be chosen to serve for nine years; of the seven persons then chosen to fill the European seats, three shall be chosen to serve for three years only, one shall be chosen to serve for six years only and three shall be chosen to serve for nine years; and, of the two persons then chosen to fill the Indian Christian seats, one shall be chosen to serve for three years only and one shall be chosen to serve for nine years.

16 Upon the first constitution of the Council of State two of the persons to be chosen by the Governor-General shall be chosen to serve for three years only, two shall be chosen to serve for six years only and two shall be chosen to serve for nine years.