KSLU Solved Question Papers
Constitutional Law II
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 4
2022 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 4 Constitutional Law II 2022 Mar Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2022 Mar examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2022 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2022 Mar examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
(a)Explain the scheme of distribution of legislative powers between union and states.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the basis of the scheme (Part XI, Chapter I); territorial extent (article 245); the three Lists and their order of priority (article 246); goods and services tax (article 246A, Mohit Minerals); residuary power (article 248, H.S. Dhillon); the rules courts use (pith and substance, incidental encroachment, colourable legislation, harmonious reading of entries); repugnancy (article 254, Deep Chand); Parliament's power over the State List (articles 249 to 253, 356 and 357); Union control over State Bills (articles 200, 201, 304(b)); an assessment; a conclusion.
The basis of the scheme
A federation needs a written division of law-making power. The Constitution sets it out in Part XI, Chapter I (articles 245 to 255), and in the Seventh Schedule. The scheme borrows from the Government of India Act, 1935, but gives the Union a stronger position than most federations do.
1. Territorial extent: article 245
Parliament may make laws for the whole or any part of India, and a State Legislature for the whole or any part of its State. Under article 245(2), no law of Parliament is invalid because it operates outside India. A State law, by contrast, can reach beyond the State only where there is a real territorial connection. The connection must be between the State and the person or thing taxed or regulated.
2. The three Lists: article 246
- List I, the Union List. Parliament has exclusive power. It holds the subjects needing one national rule, such as defence, foreign affairs, currency, banking, railways and inter-State trade.
- List II, the State List. The State Legislature has exclusive power over subjects of local concern, such as public order, police, public health, agriculture and land.
- List III, the Concurrent List. Both may legislate, on subjects such as criminal law and procedure, marriage, contracts, forests and education.
The order of priority is written into article 246 itself. Parliament's power over List I applies "notwithstanding anything" in the other clauses. The State's power over List II is "subject to" Parliament's powers over Lists I and III. So in a true overlap, List I prevails over both others, and List III over List II.
3. Goods and services tax: article 246A
The 101st Amendment (2016) created a special rule. Under article 246A, Parliament and every State Legislature both have power to make laws on goods and services tax, notwithstanding articles 246 and 254. Parliament alone legislates on inter-State supplies. In Union of India v. Mohit Minerals Pvt Ltd, (2022) 10 SCC 700, the Court held that the GST Council's recommendations do not bind Parliament or the State Legislatures. Both have simultaneous power, and article 246A contains no repugnancy rule.
4. Residuary power: article 248
Under article 248 and Entry 97 of List I, any matter not in the State or Concurrent List belongs to Parliament. This includes any tax not mentioned in those Lists. In Union of India v. H.S. Dhillon, AIR 1972 SC 1061, Parliament included agricultural land in the wealth tax. The High Court held that only a State could tax land. The Supreme Court upheld the tax. When a Central Act is challenged, the only question is whether it legislates on a matter in List II. If it does not, it is valid, whether under a List I entry or the residuary power.
5. Rules courts use
- Pith and substance. A law is judged by its true nature. If its substance falls in its maker's List, it is valid even if it incidentally touches another List.
- Incidental encroachment. A small, incidental effect on another List does not invalidate a law. The extent of the invasion is only evidence of the law's real subject.
- Colourable legislation. A legislature cannot do indirectly what it cannot do directly. The court looks at substance, not the label.
- Wide reading of entries. Entries are read broadly, as fields of legislation. Where two entries seem to overlap, the court tries to reconcile them before declaring a conflict.
6. Repugnancy: article 254
If a State law on a Concurrent subject conflicts with a law of Parliament, the Union law prevails, whether made before or after. The State law is void to the extent of the conflict (article 254(1)). A State law reserved for and assented to by the President prevails in that State, but Parliament may later override it (article 254(2)).
In Deep Chand v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1959 SC 648, a U.P. Act on State road transport was followed by a central amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act on the same subject. The Court held that the U.P. Act did not become wholly void. It continued to support a transport scheme already framed under it. Repugnancy cuts down a State law only to the extent and from the time of the conflict.
7. Parliament's power over the State List
Parliament may legislate on a State List subject:
- on a Rajya Sabha resolution in the national interest, for a year at a time (article 249);
- while a national emergency is in operation (article 250);
- at the request of two or more States (article 252);
- to implement a treaty or international decision (article 253); and
- while a State is under President's rule (articles 356 and 357).
8. Union control over State Bills
A Governor may reserve a State Bill for the President (article 200), who may withhold assent (article 201). Some State Bills need the President's previous sanction, such as one restricting trade under article 304(b). Some State laws need his assent to gain protection, such as those under article 254(2).
Assessment
The scheme gives the Union the residuary power, priority in every overlap, and power to enter the State List in defined cases. That is why the Indian federation is often called quasi-federal. Yet the States keep a substantial exclusive field. Since 2016 they also share a taxing power with the Union under article 246A, which Mohit Minerals has kept genuinely shared.
Conclusion. Legislative relations rest on article 245 for territory and article 246 for subjects, divided among three Lists with the Union List supreme. Parliament holds the residuary power, as H.S. Dhillon shows, and its law prevails in the Concurrent field, as Deep Chand explains. Courts settle overlaps by pith and substance. Parliament may enter the State field only in the cases the Constitution names.
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