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Constitutional Law II
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 4
2022 Oct (100 marks) Examination
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Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 4 Constitutional Law II 2022 Oct (100 marks) 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 Oct (100 marks) examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2022 Oct (100 marks) 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 Oct (100 marks) 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 100 · 13 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.
Q1Explain the power of Parliament to legislate with respect to matters in the state list.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the exclusive State field (article 246(3)) and why the Constitution allows exceptions; each route in detail: the Rajya Sabha resolution (article 249), a national emergency (articles 250 and 353(b)), the request of States (article 252, Valluri Basavaiah Chaudhary), treaties (article 253, Gramophone Company), President's rule (articles 356 and 357, S.R. Bommai, In re Article 370), Union territories (article 246(4)), and moving entries by constitutional amendment; the rule on conflicts (article 251); the GST words added in 2016; a table; an assessment (the Sarkaria view); a conclusion.
The exclusive State field
Article 246(3) gives the Legislature of every State "exclusive power" over the matters in List II, the State List. These include public order, police, public health, agriculture, land, local government and many taxes. In ordinary times Parliament cannot legislate on them. This is the heart of the States' autonomy.
Yet the framers knew that some problems would outgrow a single State. A national crisis, a common problem of several States, or an international duty may need one national law. So the Constitution lists the occasions on which Parliament may enter the State field. Each comes with its own safeguard.
1. A Rajya Sabha resolution: article 249
The Council of States may declare, by a resolution "supported by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting", that it is "necessary or expedient in the national interest" that Parliament should legislate on a matter in the State List. Parliament may then make laws on that matter for the whole or any part of India while the resolution is in force.
- Who decides. The Rajya Sabha, because it is the House that represents the States. The States' own chamber must agree before their field is entered.
- Majority. Two-thirds of members present and voting.
- Duration. The resolution lasts up to one year and may be renewed one year at a time (article 249(2)).
- Lapse. The law ceases to have effect, to the extent of Parliament's incompetence, six months after the resolution ends, except for things already done (article 249(3)).
Since the 101st Amendment (2016), article 249 also covers goods and services tax under article 246A.
2. A national emergency: articles 250 and 353(b)
While a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, Parliament may make laws on any matter in the State List (article 250(1)). No resolution of either House is needed. The law lapses, to the extent of incompetence, six months after the Proclamation ceases to operate (article 250(2)).
Article 353(b) adds a further power. During an emergency Parliament may confer powers and impose duties on the Union and its officers even on matters outside the Union List. So the Union can administer, not just legislate, in the State field. The emergency may be confined to part of India. These powers can then reach other States only where activities in the emergency area threaten the security of India.
3. The request of two or more States: article 252
Two or more State Legislatures may want a State subject regulated by Parliament. Each House of those Legislatures then passes a resolution. Parliament may then pass an Act on that matter for those States. Any other State may adopt it later by its own resolution.
Two features make this route unusual.
- The Act can be amended or repealed only by Parliament, in the same manner, and not by the States that asked for it (article 252(2)).
- A State that passes the resolution gives up its own power over that matter.
In Union of India v. Valluri Basavaiah Chaudhary, AIR 1979 SC 1415, eleven States had resolved that Parliament should regulate ceilings on urban immovable property. Parliament passed the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, and other States adopted it later. The Andhra Pradesh High Court struck the Act down for that State, because the Governor had taken no part in the resolution. The Supreme Court reversed. "Legislature" in article 252(1) means the House or Houses, not the Governor. Once a State passes such a resolution, "the State legislature ceases to have a power to make a law relating to that matter".
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, which deals with water, a State subject, was also passed under article 252.
4. Treaties and international decisions: article 253
"Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter", Parliament may make any law for implementing a treaty, agreement or convention with other countries, or any decision of an international conference or body. This power reaches State subjects without any State's consent or any time limit. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 rest on it. Both carry out decisions of the Stockholm Conference of 1972.
The power is needed because India's international obligations do not change Indian law by themselves. In Gramophone Company of India Ltd v. Birendra Bahadur Pandey, decided in 1984, the Court held that customary international law binds Indian courts only where it does not conflict with Indian law. Where an Act of Parliament conflicts with international law, the Act prevails. Article 253 lets Parliament make the law that turns an international commitment into binding domestic law.
5. President's rule: articles 356 and 357
When a Proclamation under article 356 is in force in a State, the President may declare that the powers of its Legislature shall be exercisable "by or under the authority of Parliament". Parliament may then legislate on State subjects for that State, or confer that power on the President, who may delegate it (article 357(1)). Such laws continue after the Proclamation ends until the State Legislature changes them (article 357(2)).
In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, (1994) 3 SCC 1, nine judges held that a Proclamation under article 356 is open to judicial review, on the material behind it. So Parliament's power over a State under President's rule depends on a Proclamation the courts can test.
In In re Article 370 of the Constitution, decided on 11 December 2023, the Court considered steps taken for Jammu and Kashmir while it was under President's rule. It held that Parliament's power under article 356(1)(b) covers the State Legislature's non-legislative powers as well as its legislative ones. But the President's actions in this period are open to judicial review. A prima facie case of mala fides shifts the burden to the Union.
6. Union territories: article 246(4)
Parliament may legislate on "any matter" for any part of India not included in a State, even a State List matter. This is how Parliament makes laws on police or land for Union territories.
7. Moving entries by constitutional amendment
Parliament may also change the Lists themselves, by amending the Seventh Schedule under article 368. Such an amendment needs a special majority and ratification by half the States. The 42nd Amendment (1976) moved education and forests from the State List to the Concurrent List in this way.
Conflicts: article 251
Articles 249 and 250 do not take away a State's own power. But if a State law is repugnant to a Union law made under either article, the Union law prevails. The State law is inoperative only so long as the Union law has effect.
| Route | Article | Safeguard | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rajya Sabha resolution | 249 | Two-thirds of members present and voting in the States' House | One year, renewable; law lapses six months later |
| National emergency | 250, 353(b) | Proclamation approved by Parliament | Law lapses six months after the emergency |
| Request of States | 252 | Resolutions of the State Legislatures | Permanent; only Parliament can amend |
| Treaty | 253 | None beyond the treaty itself | Permanent |
| President's rule | 356, 357 | Judicial review of the Proclamation | Laws continue until altered |
| Union territories | 246(4) | Not a State | Permanent |
| Amending the Lists | 368 | Special majority and State ratification | Permanent |
Assessment
These routes give the Union great reach into the State field. But they are guarded. Article 249 needs the States' own House and lapses unless renewed. Article 250 lasts only through an emergency, and article 252 only follows the States' own request. The Sarkaria Commission urged the Union to consult the States before legislating in fields that affect them. The widest route is article 253, which needs no consent and has no limit. It has been used mostly where national action follows an international commitment, as on the environment.
Conclusion. The State List is exclusive to the States, but Parliament may legislate on it in defined situations. These are a Rajya Sabha resolution, a national emergency, the request of States and a treaty. President's rule, a Union territory and an amendment of the Lists complete the list. Each route has its own safeguard, and the first two are temporary. Valluri Basavaiah Chaudhary shows the consent route at work. Bommai and In re Article 370 keep President's rule under judicial review. The scheme lets the Union act for the nation when needed, while leaving the States secure in ordinary times.
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