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The Constitution, Made Understandable.

Article 251

Resolution of Inconsistency under Articles 249 and 250

Official heading: “Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament under articles 249 and 250 and laws made by the Legislatures of States”

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Source edition
The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
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Part XI, Article 251, printed pages 149–150
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1. In One Sentence

Establishes that parliamentary laws enacted under Articles 249 or 250 prevail over inconsistent State laws, suspending the State law to the extent of repugnancy.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 251 resolves conflicts when both Parliament (exercising temporary national interest or emergency powers under Articles 249 or 250) and a State Legislature enact laws on the same State List matter.

It explicitly preserves the power of the State Legislature to continue passing laws on that State List subject.

However, if any provision of a State law is inconsistent with the parliamentary law, the parliamentary law prevails, and the State law becomes inoperative to the extent of the repugnancy.

The State law is not permanently void; as soon as the parliamentary law ceases to operate (after the 6-month sunset), the State law revives.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

During an Emergency, Parliament fixes a uniform procurement price for grain under Article 250, conflicting with a prior state agricultural marketing law.

Core takeaway: Under Article 251, the parliamentary procurement law prevails during the emergency, and the state law remains dormant until six months after the emergency ends.
Illustrative Notice: The state law is suspended, not repealed; once the federal emergency statute expires, the state law automatically regains full operative force.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 251 provides rule of priority for temporary parliamentary interventions in the State List.

  • State competence preserved: State Legislatures remain constitutionally competent to legislate.
  • Doctrine of dormancy: Inconsistent state provisions are rendered dormant rather than permanently extinguished.
  • Automatic revival: The state law revives immediately upon the lapse of the parliamentary law.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

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 provision of a law made by Parliament which Parliament has under either of the said articles power to make, the law made by Parliament, whether passed before or after the law made by the Legislature of the State, shall prevail and the law made by the Legislature of the State shall to the extent of the repugnancy, but so long only as the law made by Parliament continues to have effect, be inoperative.
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
  • •
    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 251, printed pages 149–150 • 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

Related Constitutional Articles to Explore:

Go to ARTICLE 249 →Go to ARTICLE 250 →Go to ARTICLE 254 →