Article 205

Supplementary, Additional, or Excess Grants

Official heading: “Supplementary, additional or excess grants.”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part VI, Article 205, printed pages 93–94
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 205 empowers the Governor to lay supplementary, additional, or excess expenditure estimates before the State Legislature when authorized budget funds prove insufficient.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 205 provides the constitutional mechanism for handling unforeseen expenditure that exceeds the annual budget authorized under Article 204.

Three Contingency Categories: The Governor causes a supplementary financial statement to be laid: (a) if the amount authorized for a current service is found to be insufficient; (b) if a need arises during the financial year for supplementary or additional expenditure upon some new service not contemplated in the budget; or (c) if any money has been spent on any service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted for that service.

The same legislative procedure that applies to the regular Annual Financial Statement and Appropriation Bills under Articles 202–204 applies to supplementary grants.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A severe cyclone strikes a coastal State mid-year, requiring ₹2,000 crore in immediate disaster relief exceeding the annual disaster management budget.

Core takeaway: Under Article 205, the State Government introduces Supplementary Demands for Grants in the next legislative session, followed by a Supplementary Appropriation Bill.

Illustrative Notice: Excess spending already incurred must be reviewed by the Public Accounts Committee before regularized by the Legislature.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 205 allows fiscal flexibility while maintaining legislative supremacy over public funds.

Authorizes mid-year supplementary funding for existing or new services.
Requires regular legislative procedure, voting, and appropriation enactment.
Regularizes post-audit excess spending flagged by the CAG.
Prevents executive unconstitutional overspending.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) The Governor shall— (a) if the amount authorised by any law made in accordance with the provisions of article 204 to be expended for a particular service for the current financial year is found to be insufficient for the purposes of that year or when a need has arisen during the current financial year for supplementary or additional expenditure upon some new service not contemplated in the annual financial statement for that year; or (b) if any money has been spent on any service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted for that service and for that year, cause to be laid before the House or the Houses of the Legislature of the State another statement showing the estimated amount of that expenditure or cause to be presented to the Legislative Assembly of the State a demand for such excess, as the case may be. (2) The provisions of articles 202, 203 and 204 shall have effect in relation to any such statement and expenditure or demand and also to any law to be made authorising the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of the State to meet such expenditure or the grant in respect of such demand as they have effect in relation to the annual financial statement and the expenditure mentioned therein or to a demand for a grant and the law to be made for the authorisation of appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of the State to meet such expenditure or grant.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part VI, Article 205, printed pages 93–94 • 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.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource