Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in Federal Disputes
Official heading: “Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part V, Article 131, printed page 61
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Article 131 confers exclusive original jurisdiction on the Supreme Court to adjudicate legal disputes between the Government of India and one or more States, or between two or more States.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 131 is the prime federal dispute-resolution mechanism in the Constitution of India. It establishes the Supreme Court as the sole and exclusive forum for settling intergovernmental disputes within the Indian Union.
The jurisdiction is 'exclusive', meaning no other court (including State High Courts) can entertain such disputes, and 'original', meaning suits commence directly before the Supreme Court without prior proceedings.
The dispute must involve: (a) the Government of India and one or more States; (b) the Government of India and any State(s) on one side and one or more other States on the other; or (c) two or more States against each other.
Crucial Limitation: The dispute must involve a 'question (whether of law or fact) on which the existence or extent of a legal right depends'. Purely political disagreements cannot be adjudicated under Article 131.
The Proviso expressly excludes disputes arising out of pre-Constitution treaties, agreements, or covenants that exclude judicial jurisdiction.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A State Government challenges the constitutional validity of a central statutory scheme alleging that it encroaches upon the State List under the Seventh Schedule.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 131 cements the Supreme Court as the supreme federal arbiter of the Republic.
- Exclusive and original: High Courts are barred from hearing intergovernmental federal suits.
- Restricted to Union-State and State-State disputes.
- Requires determination of a substantive legal right, excluding political disputes.
- Excludes pre-constitutional treaties and covenants barred by the Proviso.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part V, Article 131, printed page 61 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.