Third Schedule: Forms of Oaths and Affirmations

Oaths and affirmations under the Third Schedule of the Constitution of India are the formal, legally required declarations that public functionaries — Members of Parliament, Union and State Ministers, Members of State Legislatures, and Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts — must make before they can lawfully enter upon their respective offices. The Third Schedule itself does not create this requirement; it supplies the standard text that various substantive articles of the Constitution refer to when they direct a person to "make and subscribe an oath or affirmation."

What the Third Schedule Contains

The Third Schedule lays down the prescribed forms of oath or affirmation for several categories of office-holders: Union Ministers, candidates seeking election to Parliament, sitting Members of Parliament, State Ministers, Members of State Legislatures, and Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. Each category has its own specified wording, but the underlying commitments are similar — allegiance to the Constitution, fidelity to the office being assumed, and, for ministerial and judicial oaths, an undertaking to discharge duties conscientiously.

Why "Oath or Affirmation"

Every relevant constitutional provision uses the phrase "oath or affirmation," giving the person entering office a choice between a religiously worded oath and a secular affirmation. Both carry identical legal weight. The declaration is not a ceremonial add-on; it is a precondition tied to the validity of a person taking up the office in question.

Oath as a Qualification for Parliament — Article 84

Article 84 lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. Along with the minimum-age requirement (thirty years for the Council of States, twenty-five years for the House of the People) and any additional qualification Parliament may prescribe by law, it requires that a person be a citizen of India who has made and subscribed, before a person authorised by the Election Commission, an oath or affirmation in the form set out in the Third Schedule. This oath is tied to eligibility itself — a person cannot be validly chosen to fill a parliamentary seat without it.

Oath Before Taking a Seat — Article 99

Article 99 separately requires every member of either House of Parliament to make and subscribe the prescribed oath or affirmation before the President, or a person appointed by the President for the purpose, before actually taking his or her seat. This is distinct from the Article 84 oath: Article 84 concerns the qualification to be chosen as a candidate, while Article 99 concerns the formality that a duly elected member must complete before functioning as a member of the House.

Oath of Office and Oath of Secrecy for Ministers

Before a Minister enters upon office, the President administers two separate declarations — an oath of office and an oath of secrecy — both in forms set out in the Third Schedule. Analogous provisions apply at the state level: State Ministers take their oaths before the Governor of the State, in forms specified for that purpose in the same Schedule.

Oath for Judges of the Supreme Court — Article 124

Article 124 provides that a person appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court must, before entering upon office, make and subscribe an oath or affirmation before the President, or a person appointed by the President, according to the form set out in the Third Schedule. The Schedule likewise supplies forms of oath for Judges of the High Courts and for Members of State Legislatures, extending the same constitutional discipline to state-level constitutional functionaries.

Table: Oath-Taking Under the Third Schedule

Office	Governing Article	Administered Before
Parliamentary candidate	Article 84	Person authorised by the Election Commission
Member of Parliament (before taking seat)	Article 99	President or person appointed by the President
Union Minister (oath of office and oath of secrecy)	—	President
State Minister	—	Governor
Member of State Legislature	—	Governor or person appointed by the Governor
Judge of the Supreme Court	Article 124	President or person appointed by the President
Judge of a High Court	—	Governor of the State (or person appointed)

Significance of the Oath Requirement

The oath or affirmation performs several functions in India's constitutional scheme. It formally marks the transition of a person from private citizen, or candidate, into a public office-holder. It also operationalises accountability by binding the office-holder, at the very outset of their tenure, to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and to perform their duties faithfully. Because the Constitution treats the oath as a threshold requirement rather than a formality, failure to take it in the prescribed form can affect whether a person is validly functioning in that office.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• The Third Schedule is a frequently tested schedule; know the categories of office-holders whose oath forms it prescribes.
• Distinguish the stages at which oaths occur: Article 84 (qualification/candidate oath before the Election Commission's nominee), Article 99 (member's oath before the President, before taking a seat), and Article 124 (Supreme Court Judges, before the President).
• Remember that oaths for State Ministers, State Legislature members, and High Court Judges are administered by or under the authority of the Governor, not the President.

Mains

• Discuss the constitutional significance of oaths and affirmations as a mechanism of accountability for public office-holders in India.
• Explain how the Third Schedule operationalises the substantive obligations imposed by different constitutional articles on Members of Parliament, Ministers, and judges.

FAQ

Q1. What is the Third Schedule of the Indian Constitution? It is the Schedule that lays down the prescribed forms of oath or affirmation to be taken by Union and State Ministers, candidates and members of Parliament and State Legislatures, and Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts before they enter upon their respective offices.

Q2. Which article requires a parliamentary candidate to take an oath under the Third Schedule? Article 84 requires a person to make and subscribe the Third Schedule oath or affirmation, before a person authorised by the Election Commission, as one of the qualifications for being chosen to Parliament.

Q3. Does a Member of Parliament take the oath again before taking their seat? Yes. Article 99 separately requires every member of either House to make and subscribe the oath or affirmation before the President, or a person appointed by the President, before actually taking their seat.

Q4. Who administers the oath to Union Ministers? The President administers both the oath of office and the oath of secrecy to a Union Minister, in the forms prescribed by the Third Schedule, before the Minister enters upon office.

Q5. Can a person choose an affirmation instead of an oath? Yes. The Constitution consistently uses the phrase "oath or affirmation," letting the person entering office choose either the religiously worded oath or a secular affirmation; both carry identical legal effect.

Quick Revision

• Third Schedule = prescribed forms of oaths/affirmations for Ministers, MPs/MLAs (candidates and members), and Judges of the Supreme Court/High Courts.
• Article 84 — oath/affirmation as a qualification for Parliament membership, before an Election Commission-authorised person.
• Article 99 — oath/affirmation by MPs before the President (or nominee), before taking their seat.
• Union Ministers take an oath of office AND an oath of secrecy, administered by the President.
• Article 124 — Supreme Court Judges take the oath before the President (or nominee).
• State-level equivalents (Ministers, MLAs, High Court Judges) are administered under the Governor's authority.
• "Oath or affirmation" — both forms are legally equivalent; the choice rests with the individual.

Sources

• The Constitution of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India — https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india/
• India Code — The Constitution of India (Articles 75, 84, 99, 124 and the Third Schedule) — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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