Name: Integrated Judiciary
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 5 min 27 s
Description: The structure of the Indian judiciary is characterised by integration and hierarchy. Let us examine real-life cases and see how this structure comes to life!

Question

Briefly discuss the three-fold distribution of legislative powers in the Indian Constitution.

Accepted Answer

The Constitution of India establishes a federal structure to the Indian state. It delegates the legislative powers between the State and Union governments. The seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution enumerates the delegation through three lists. These three lists demarcate the legislative boundaries for the state and centre, on which they can exercise their powers separately.

The state list consists of subjects on which the state alone can legislate. This includes public order, police, hospitals and dispensaries, and so on. There are a total of $61$ items present in the state list. Similarly, the union list consists of subjects on which the union government alone can legislate. This includes foreign policy, atomic energy, defence and security, and so on. There are a total of $97$ items present in the Union List. Finally, the concurrent list consists of subjects, on which both the state and the center can legislate.

However, India is not a perfect federal state. The residual powers, i.e., the items that are not mentioned in either of the lists, lie with the union government. India is an example of 'holding together' federalism, where the union is more powerful than the states.

Briefly discuss the three-fold distribution of legislative powers in the Indian Constitution.

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