The Constituent Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9 December 1946 in the Constitution Hall which is now known as the Central Hall of Parliament House.

Important facts

• The Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days to be precise) to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India.
• During this period, it held eleven sessions covering a total of 165 days. Of these, 114 days were spent on the consideration of the Draft Constitution.
• As to its composition, members were chosen by indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, according to the scheme recommended by the Cabinet Mission.
• The arrangement was: (i) 292 members were elected through the Provincial Legislative Assemblies; (ii) 93 members represented the Indian Princely States; and (iii) 4 members represented the Chief Commissioners’ Provinces.
• The total membership of the Assembly thus was to be 389.
• However, as a result of the partition under the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947, a separate Constituent Assembly was set up for Pakistan, and representatives of some Provinces ceased to be members of the Assembly.
• As a result, the membership of the Assembly was reduced to 299.
• On 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India.
• While deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the Assembly moved, discussed, and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled.
• The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950.