Constitutional Law II Notes: Union and State Executive

Constitutional Law II covers the Union and State executive, legislature, judiciary, and federal structure — building on Constitutional Law I’s fundamental rights framework. These notes cover the core topics.

Union Executive

Article 53 vests executive power in the President, exercised directly or through officers subordinate to the President; Article 74 makes the President bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister (made explicitly binding by the 42nd and 44th Amendments). Article 75 governs appointment and collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the Lok Sabha.

State Executive

Article 154 vests executive power of the state in the Governor; Article 163 creates a parallel Council of Ministers structure headed by the Chief Minister. The Governor’s discretionary powers (Article 163(2)) — particularly around government formation and assent to bills — remain a frequently litigated and examined area.

Centre-State Relations

The Seventh Schedule divides legislative power across the Union List, State List and Concurrent List (Article 246); Article 254 resolves conflicts between central and state law on Concurrent List subjects in favour of central law, subject to Presidential assent for state law under Article 254(2). Articles 352-360 govern emergency provisions (national, state/President’s Rule under Article 356, and financial emergency).

President’s Rule (Article 356)

S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) remains the leading authority restricting arbitrary imposition of President’s Rule, holding that the exercise of power under Article 356 is subject to judicial review and that a floor test, not the Governor’s subjective assessment, should ordinarily determine whether a government has lost majority support.

Parliamentary Privileges and Legislative Procedure

Articles 105 and 194 grant privileges and immunities to members of Parliament and state legislatures respectively, including freedom of speech within the House; the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law, added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985) governs disqualification for defection.

Key exam questions to prepare

• Explain the Governor’s discretionary powers under Article 163(2).
• Significance of S.R. Bommai on the exercise of power under Article 356.
• How does Article 254 resolve Centre-State legislative conflicts?

More: all LL.B. subject notes