Legislative Relations Between Centre and states

Articles 245 to 255 of Part XI of the Indian Constitution deal with the legislative relations between Centre and state. Aside from the articles mentioned above, several others deal with the same topics. The Legislative relations between centre and state are divided into four categories:

The territorial scope of Central and state legislation.
Legislative subjects are distributed.
State-level parliamentary legislation.
The federal government’s power over state legislation.

Territorial Extent of Centre and State Legislation

The authority to create laws for application across India, including its states, union territories, and provisional territories, rests with the Indian Parliament.
Similarly, individual states possess the jurisdiction to formulate and enforce laws within their respective borders, which can pertain to the entire state or specific regions within it.
Furthermore, the Parliament holds the power to enact laws with extra-territorial reach, affecting Indian citizens and their assets in any global location.

Subject Distribution

The constitution of India distributes the legislation between centre and states in an elaborate scheme. There are three lists of distributions.

List I( Union List)
- It has an exclusive subject allotted only to the Union government( Central Government).
- There are 100 subjects in the Union list that includes defense, foreign affairs, banking, minting currency, etc.
List II (State List)
- List II that is state list some subjects are allocated only to the state government.
- There are 59 subjects that include:
- Public order, and Police, Public Health, Local Government, Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries, etc.
List III (Concurrent List)
- In list III or concurrent list, both the central and state government has power over the subjects.
- When there is a difference in opinion between the state and the centre arises, the law of the parliament will prevail.
- These 52 items in the Concurrent list include Criminal law and procedure, Civil Procedure, Marriage, Education.

Parliamentary Legislation in the State Field

Under the following five unusual circumstances, the Constitution empowers Parliament to pass laws on any issue listed in the State List

When the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution declaring that it is necessary for the national interest for Parliament to pass legislation, the Parliament gains the authority to pass legislation on the State List.
Two-thirds of the members present and voting should vote in favour of such a resolution.
The resolution is valid for one year and can be renewed as many times as needed, but not for more than one year.
The legislation enacted loses its force six months after the resolution is no longer in force.
This provision does not limit the ability of state legislatures to pass laws on the same subject. In the event of a conflict between state law and legislative law, the latter will prevail.

During a national emergency, under Article 250

During a National Emergency, the article enables Parliament to pass laws that apply to the entire country or any part of India’s territory on all topics on the State List.
However, such a statute might be repealed six months after the emergency proclamation has ended.
A state legislature’s ability to pass laws on the same issue is also unrestricted in this case. However, if a legislative and state law conflict, the latter takes precedence.

Article 252

When state legislatures issue resolutions: When the legislatures of two or more state governments pass resolutions requesting that the Parliament enact laws on a subject listed in the State List, the Parliament can enact laws to regulate that subject
A law approved in this manner is only applicable to the states that have passed the resolutions.
However, any other state government may adopt it later by enacting a resolution in its legislature to that effect. Only the Parliament, not the legislatures of the involved states, can alter or repeal such a statute.
The impact of approving such a resolution is that the state legislature’s power over that issue is completely surrendered. It is placed entirely in the hands of Parliament, which can then create legislation about it.
Article 253 gives Parliament the power to enact legislation for the entire country or any part of India’s territory to execute treaties, international agreements, and conventions.
Article 256–During President’s Rule: When the President’s Rule is imposed in a state, the Parliament is given the right to pass legislation on any subject listed in the State List that pertains to that state
A law passed by Parliament remains in effect even after the President’s term ends. This means that the length of time for which a regulation is in effect does not coincide with the duration of the President’s administration.
The state legislature can later repeal, amend, or re-enact such legislation.