Unit 1 of Constitutional Law – II (syllabus: Module I — concept and features of Indian federalism; States and Union territories; local self-government; scheduled and tribal areas; special status; cooperative and competitive federalism; legislative, administrative and financial relations). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- Is India a federation, and what turns on the answer?
- How far may Parliament redraw the map of India, and where does the power stop?
- When may a State law operate on something outside the State?
- A law fits an entry in one List and touches an entry in another. Which List governs?
- When is a law colourable, and does the legislature's motive matter?
- How is Parliament's competence tested where no specific entry fits?
- When does Art. 254 apply, and when is a clash a question of competence instead?
- What may the Union direct a State to do, and what follows from disobedience?
- What does the Constitution guarantee to Panchayats and Municipalities, and what does it leave to the State?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Constitution of India, s. 1, 246, 248
- Constitution of India, s. 2, 3, 4
- Constitution of India, s. 245
- Constitution of India, s. 246 and Seventh Schedule
- Constitution of India, s. 246 and Seventh Schedule List III Entry 42
- Constitution of India, s. 248 and Seventh Schedule List I Entry 97
- Constitution of India, s. 254
- Constitution of India, s. 256, 257, 365
- Constitution of India, s. 243B, 243D, 243E, 243G, 243K, 243Q, 243T, 243U, 243W
Leading cases
- State of West Bengal v Union of India
- In re Berubari Union and Exchange of Enclaves
- State of Bihar v Charusila Dasi
- Prafulla Kumar Mukherjee v Bank of Commerce Ltd
- K. C. Gajapati Narayan Deo v State of Orissa
- Union of India v H. S. Dhillon
- Hoechst Pharmaceuticals Ltd v State of Bihar
- Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act 1992 and Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act 1992
Full case summaries
- State of West Bengal v Union of India (1963)
- In re Berubari Union and Exchange of Enclaves (1960)
- Prafulla Kumar Mukherjee v Bank of Commerce Ltd, Khulna (1947)
- State of Bihar v Charusila Dasi (1959)
- K. C. Gajapati Narayan Deo v State of Orissa (1953)
- Union of India v H. S. Dhillon (1971)
- Hoechst Pharmaceuticals Ltd v State of Bihar (1983)
- Samsher Singh v State of Punjab (1974)
- S. R. Bommai v Union of India (1994)