KSLU Solved Question Papers
Constitutional Law II
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 4
2023 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 4 Constitutional Law II 2023 Mar Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.
Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.
munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.
The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2023 Mar examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2023 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 2023 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
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type question and short note/problems is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.
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
Unit I
(a)Examine the administrative and legislative relations between Centre and the State.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: Part XI and the idea of a federation with a strong Centre; LEGISLATIVE relations: territory (article 245, territorial nexus, R.M.D. Chamarbaugwala), subjects (article 246 and the three Lists, residuary power in article 248), interpretation (pith and substance and its limit, Gujarat University), conflict (article 254, Hoechst), Union entry into the State List (articles 249 to 253, Valluri Basavaiah Chaudhary); ADMINISTRATIVE relations: executive power following legislative power (articles 73 and 162), directions and their sanction (articles 256, 257, 365), delegation (articles 258 and 258A), co-ordination (articles 261 to 263), Union inquiries in State fields (State of Karnataka v. Union of India); an assessment (S.R. Bommai); a conclusion.
A federation with a strong Centre
India divides power between the Union and the States, but not equally. Part XI of the Constitution governs their relations. Chapter I (articles 245 to 255) deals with law-making, and Chapter II (articles 256 to 263) with administration. In both, the Union has the upper hand in a conflict, while the States keep a protected field of their own.
Legislative relations
1. Territory: article 245
Parliament may legislate for the whole or any part of India. Its laws are not invalid because they operate outside India (article 245(2)). A State may legislate only for its own territory. But a State law may reach persons or things outside if there is a real territorial connection.
In State of Bombay v. R.M.D. Chamarbaugwala, AIR 1957 SC 699, a prize competition was run through a newspaper printed in Bangalore but widely sold in Bombay, with entry forms and fees collected there. Bombay taxed the competition. The Court upheld the tax. The connection with Bombay "must be real and not illusory", and here it was.
2. Subjects: article 246 and the Seventh Schedule
- Union List. Parliament alone legislates, on subjects such as defence, foreign affairs, currency and railways.
- State List. The States alone legislate, on subjects such as police, public health, agriculture and land.
- Concurrent List. Both may legislate, on subjects such as criminal law, marriage, contracts, forests and education.
In an overlap the Union List prevails, and the Concurrent List prevails over the State List. Residuary power, including taxes not listed anywhere, belongs to Parliament (article 248).
3. Interpretation: pith and substance
Since the entries overlap, the courts look at a law's true nature. A law whose substance lies in its maker's List is valid, even if it touches another List incidentally. The doctrine has a limit. In The Gujarat University v. Krishna Ranganath Mudholkar, AIR 1963 SC 703, a State university made Gujarati or Hindi the only medium of higher education. Under Entry 66 of List I, standards of higher education belong to the Union. The Court held that the rules, so far as they affected those standards, fell in that entry and were invalid.
4. Conflict: article 254
A State law on a Concurrent subject may be repugnant to a law of Parliament. The Union law then prevails, and the State law is void to that extent. A State law reserved for and assented to by the President prevails in that State, but Parliament may later override it. In Hoechst Pharmaceuticals Ltd v. State of Bihar, (1983) 4 SCC 45, the Court held that article 254 applies only to Concurrent subjects. A clash between a State List law and a Union List law is a question of competence under article 246.
5. Union entry into the State List
Parliament may legislate on a State subject in four cases:
- a Rajya Sabha resolution in the national interest (article 249);
- a national emergency (article 250);
- a request by two or more States (article 252); and
- a treaty (article 253). In Union of India v. Valluri Basavaiah Chaudhary, AIR 1979 SC 1415, eleven States had passed resolutions for an urban land ceiling law, and Parliament enacted one. The Court upheld it. Once a State passes such a resolution, it ceases to have power to legislate on that matter.
Administrative relations
1. Executive power follows legislative power
The Union's executive power extends to matters on which Parliament can legislate (article 73). The State's extends to matters on which the State Legislature can legislate (article 162). On Concurrent subjects the States usually administer.
2. Directions and their sanction
Every State must exercise its executive power so as to ensure compliance with Union laws (article 256). It must not impede the Union's executive power (article 257). The Union may give directions for these purposes, including the protection of railways. If a State disobeys, the President may treat it as a failure of constitutional machinery (article 365), which opens the way to President's rule.
3. Delegation both ways
With consent, the President may entrust Union functions to a State, and the Governor may entrust State functions to the Union (articles 258(1) and 258A). A law of Parliament may also impose duties on State officers (article 258(2)).
4. Co-ordination
Public acts and judicial proceedings of every State receive full faith and credit throughout India (article 261). Parliament may provide for the adjudication of inter-State river disputes (article 262), and the President may set up an Inter-State Council (article 263). The all-India services (article 312) link both levels of administration.
5. Union inquiries in State fields
In State of Karnataka v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 68, the Union appointed a commission to inquire into charges against the Chief Minister of Karnataka. The State sued under article 131. By four to three, the Court held the suit maintainable, since the State's governmental powers were in issue. But the suit was dismissed, and the Union's commission stood.
Assessment
The scheme leans towards the Centre, as the residuary power, article 254 and the power of direction show. But the States are not mere agents. In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, (1994) 3 SCC 1, nine judges held federalism a basic feature, and the States supreme within their own sphere. So the Union's power of direction and President's rule are now open to judicial review.
Conclusion. Legislative relations rest on three Lists, the rule of pith and substance and the supremacy of Union law in the Concurrent field. Parliament may enter the State field only in defined cases. Administrative relations make the States carry out Union laws, backed by article 365, while allowing functions to be shared both ways. The result is a federation with a strong Centre, held in balance by Bommai.
The rest of the answers
The first answer is free. The rest come with the KSLU B.A. LL.B. Semester 4 solved papers.
You have read the question paper and its first answer in full. Buy the solved papers once and you can read every answer of every solved paper in this semester.
Solved papers: ₹499 Already bought it? Sign in
The question paper itself stays free.
Found an error in this volume? Report it and we will check it against the paper.