Article 252

Parliamentary Legislation by Mutual Consent of Two or More States

Official heading: “Power of Parliament to legislate for two or more States by consent and adoption of such legislation by any other State”

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Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XI, Article 252, printed page 150
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Allows Parliament to enact uniform laws on State List matters upon the passing of authorizing resolutions by two or more State Legislatures, adoptable by other States.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 252 is an embodiment of cooperative federalism in India.

If the Legislatures of two or more States desire a common law on a subject in the State List and pass resolutions to that effect, Parliament is empowered to enact an Act regulating that matter for those consenting States.

Any other State can subsequently adopt the parliamentary Act simply by passing a resolution in its own Legislature.

Crucially, under clause (2), once a law is enacted under Article 252, it can only be amended or repealed by Parliament, not by the State Legislatures that requested it.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

Several States seek a common regulatory law for environmental water pollution control or urban land ceilings.

Core takeaway: Their assemblies pass resolutions under Article 252, enabling Parliament to pass a uniform central statute (such as the Water Act, 1974) applicable to consenting States.

Illustrative Notice: A consenting State cannot unilaterally amend the central Act afterwards; any amendment must be enacted by Parliament.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 252 enables voluntary surrender of state legislative competence to create uniform national standards.

Voluntary delegation: Requires prior authorizing resolutions passed by each House of the consenting State Legislatures.
Subsequent adoption: Open to any non-consenting State to adopt by simple legislative resolution.
Exclusive parliamentary amendment: Consenting states surrender the power to amend or repeal the resulting statute.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) If it appears to the Legislatures of two or more States to be desirable that any of the matters with respect to which Parliament has no power to make laws for the States except as provided in articles 249 and 250 should be regulated in such States by Parliament by law, and if resolutions to that effect are passed by all the Houses of the Legislatures of those States, it shall be lawful for Parliament to pass an Act for regulating that matter accordingly, and any Act so passed shall apply to such States and to any other State by which it is adopted afterwards by resolution passed in that behalf by the House or, where there are two Houses, by each House of the Legislature of that State. (2) Any Act so passed by Parliament may be amended or repealed by an Act of Parliament passed or adopted in like manner but shall not, as respects any State to which it applies, be amended or repealed by an Act of the Legislature of that State.

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 252, printed page 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