Question

Tension area between nature and states

Answer 1

In India, before the formation of the federation the States were not ‘sovereign’ entities.

As such, there was no need for safeguards to protect ‘States’. On account of the exigencies of the situation, the Indian federation has acquired characteristics which are quite different from the American model.

(i) The residuary powers under the Indian Constitution are assigned to the Union and not to the States. However, it may be noted that the Canadian Constitution does the same mode of distrib­uting the powers cannot be considered as eroding the federal nature of the Constitution.

(ii) Though there is a division of powers between the Union and the States, the Indian Constitution provides the Union with power to exercise control over the legislation as well as the administration of the States. Legislation by a State can be disallowed by the President, when reserved by the Governor for his consideration.

The Governor is appointed by the President of the Union and holds office “during his pleasure”. Again these ideas are found in the Canadian Constitution though not in the Constitution of the U.S.A.

(iii) The Constitution of India lays down the Constitution of the Union as well as the States, and no State, except Jammu and Kashmir, has a right to determine its own (State) Constitution.

(iv) When considering the amendment of the Constitution we find that except in a few specific matters affecting the federal structure, the States need not even be consulted in the matter of amendment of the Constitution. The bulk of the Constitution can be amended by a Bill in the Union Parliament being passed by a special majority.

(v) In the case of the Indian Constitution, while the Union is indestructible, the States are not. It is possible for the Union Parliament to reorganise the States or to alter their boundaries by a simple majority in the ordinary process of legislation.

The ‘consent’ of the State Legislature concerned is not required; the President has only to ‘ascertain’ the views of the Legislatures of the affected States. The ease with which the federal organisation may be reshaped by an ordinary legislation by the Union Parliament has been demonstrated by the enactment of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. A large number of new States have, since, been formed.

(iv) Under the Indian Constitution, there is no equality of representation of the States in the Council of States. Hence, the federal safeguard against the interests of the lesser States being overridden by the interests of the larger or more populated States is absent under our Constitution. Its federal nature is further affected by having a nominated element of twelve members against 238 repre­sentatives of the States and Union Territories.

Centre State Relations

The Constitution of India provides a dual polity with a clear division of powers between the Union and the States, each being supreme within the sphere allotted to it. The Indian federation is not the result of an agreement between independent units, and the units of Indian federation cannot leave the federation.

Thus the constitution contains elaborate provisions to regulate the various dimensions of the relations between the centre and the states.

The relations between centre and state are divides as:

1. Legislative relations

2. Administrative relations 

3. Financial relations

1. Centre State Legislative Relations

Articles 245 to 255 in Part XI of the Constitution deal with the legislative relations between the Centre and the State.

Extent of laws made by Parliament and by the Legislatures of States

The Parliament can make laws for the whole or any part of the territory of India. Territory of India includes the states, UTs and any other area for the time being included in the territory of India. Whereas, the state legislature can make laws for whole or any part of state.

The Parliament can alone make ‘extra territorial legislation’ thus the laws of the Parliament are applicable to the Indian citizens and their property in any part of the world.

Subject-matter of laws made by Parliament and by the Legislation of States

The Constitution divides legislative authority between the Union and the States in three lists- the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List. The Union list consists of 99 items. The Union Parliament has exclusive authority to frame laws on subjects enumerated in the list. These include foreign affairs, defence, armed forces, communications, posts and telegraph, foreign trade etc.

The State list consists of 61 subjects on which ordinarily the States alone can make laws. These include public order, police, administration of justice, prison, local governments, agriculture etc.