Article 295

Succession to Property and Liabilities of Former Princely States (Part B)

Official heading: “Succession to property, assets, rights, liabilities and obligations in other cases”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XII, Article 295, printed pages 172–173
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

Open official PDF at this article Report a text or source error

AI-assisted source comparisons are noted with the citations below; the check date remains pending until a human confirms the link. The report link opens your email app; you choose whether to send it.

1. In One Sentence

Provides for the succession and division of property, assets, and liabilities of former princely states between the Union and Part B States.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

While Article 294 governed succession for former British Provinces, Article 295 governed succession for the princely states and unions (Part B States like Hyderabad, Mysore, and Rajasthan).

Under clause (1), any princely state property, assets, rights, or liabilities that related to Union List matters (such as princely state railways, posts, coinage, or armed forces) vested in the Union of India.

Under clause (2), all other princely property, assets, and liabilities related to state subjects vested in the corresponding Part B State Government.

This bifurcated succession ensured that the new national government took over federal assets while preserving local state assets for the respective regional governments.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

The Nizam’s State Railway or the Scindia State Railway owned locomotives, stations, and land before 1950.

Core takeaway: Under Article 295(1)(a), because railways are a Union subject, ownership of those railway assets passed directly to the Union Government (Indian Railways).

Illustrative Notice: Princely hospitals, schools, and local civic lands vested in the corresponding State Governments under clause (2).

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 295 integrated princely state assets into the constitutional division of powers.

Functional division: Assets transferred to Union or State based on Seventh Schedule subject matter.
Union List integration: Princely armed forces, railways, and customs assets transferred to the Union.
State List retention: Local infrastructure and administrative assets vested in the States.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) As from the commencement of this Constitution— (a) all property and assets which immediately before such commencement were vested in any Indian State corresponding to a State specified in Part B of the First Schedule shall vest in the Union, if the purposes for which such property and assets were held immediately before such commencement will thereafter be purposes of the Union relating to any of the matters enumerated in the Union List, and (b) all rights, liabilities and obligations of the Government of any Indian State corresponding to a State specified in Part B of the First Schedule, whether arising out of any contract or otherwise, shall be the rights, liabilities and obligations of the Government of India, if the purposes for which such rights were acquired or liabilities or obligations were incurred before such commencement will thereafter be purposes of the Government of India relating to any of the matters enumerated in the Union List, subject to any agreement entered into in that behalf by the Government of India with the Government of that State. (2) Subject as aforesaid, the Government of each State specified in Part B of the First Schedule shall, as from the commencement of this Constitution, be the successor of the Government of the corresponding Indian State as regards all property and assets and all rights, liabilities and obligations, whether arising out of any contract or otherwise, other than those referred to in clause (1).

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 XII, Article 295, printed pages 172–173 • 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