Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament under articles 249 and 250 and laws made by the Legislatures of States
Quick Summary (TL;DR)
Article 251 (Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament under articles 249 and 250 and laws made by the Legislatures of States): Governs federal legislative and administrative division of powers between the Union and States under Part XI.
In Simple Citizen Words
Article 251 ('Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament under articles 249 and 250 and laws made by the Legislatures of States') in Part XI (Relations between the Union and the States) structures Indian federalism. It governs territorial and subject-matter jurisdiction under the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists of the Seventh Schedule, GST concurrent powers (Art 246A), residuary powers (Art 248), inconsistency/repugnancy rules (Art 254), inter-state river water disputes (Art 262), or the Inter-State Council (Art 263). Specifically: Nothing in articles 249 and 250 shall restrict the power of the Legislature of a State to make any law which under this Constitution it has power to make, but if any provision of a law made by the Legislature of a State is repugnant to any...
Key Constitutional Provisions
Constitutional Mandate (Art. 251): Directly codifies the legal rule for 'Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament under articles 249 and 250 and laws made by the Legislatures of States' under Part XI
Sets a direct, self-contained constitutional command binding on public authorities across India
Requires transparent Parliamentary law-making and democratic accountability rather than arbitrary executive action
Exceptions & Reasonable Restrictions
Federalism is part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution (S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, 1994); neither the Union nor the States can usurp the exclusive legislative domain assigned to the other.
Why This Matters in Daily Life
Clarifies which government (Central or State) is responsible and accountable for every law, tax, and public service affecting your life.
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