Article 246

Distribution of Legislative Powers across the Three Lists

Official heading: “Subject-matter of laws made by Parliament and by the Legislatures of States”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XI, Article 246, printed page 147
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Distributes subject-matter legislative jurisdiction among the Union List, State List, and Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 246 is the core distribution of legislative powers in the Indian federal framework, working in tandem with the Seventh Schedule.

Clause (1) grants Parliament exclusive power to make laws with respect to matters in List I (Union List, such as defence, foreign affairs, banking, and railways).

Clause (2) empowers both Parliament and State Legislatures to make laws on matters in List III (Concurrent List, such as criminal law, civil procedure, contracts, and forests).

Clause (3) grants State Legislatures exclusive power over List II (State List, such as public order, police, public health, and local government).

Clause (4) clarifies that Parliament has power to make laws on any matter whatsoever for any part of India not included in a State (such as Union Territories).

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A citizen wonders whether Parliament or a State Assembly has the power to legislate on local policing or national defence.

Core takeaway: Under Article 246, national defence is an exclusive Union subject (List I), whereas police and public order are exclusive State subjects (List II).

Illustrative Notice: When an enactment touches multiple subjects, courts apply the Doctrine of Pith and Substance to determine its true legal character and competence.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 246 establishes the threefold federal division of legislative powers.

Non obstante supremacy: Parliament’s exclusive power under clause (1) operates notwithstanding clauses (2) and (3).
Concurrent jurisdiction: Both Union and State can legislate on List III, subject to Article 254 repugnancy rules.
Union territory plenary power: Clause (4) confers plenary legislative power on Parliament over Union Territories without list restrictions.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) Notwithstanding anything in clauses (2) and (3), Parliament has exclusive power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List I in the Seventh Schedule (in this Constitution referred to as the “Union List”). (2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (3), Parliament, and, subject to clause (1), the Legislature of any State also, have power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List III in the Seventh Schedule (in this Constitution referred to as the “Concurrent List”). (3) Subject to clauses (1) and (2), the Legislature of any State has exclusive power to make laws for such State or any part thereof with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List II in the Seventh Schedule (in this Constitution referred to as the “State List”). (4) Parliament has power to make laws with respect to any matter for any part of the territory of India not included in a State notwithstanding that such matter is a matter enumerated in the State List.

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 XI, Article 246, printed page 147 • 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