Contemporary Constitutional Debates
Key terms and cases behind today's live debates on federalism, judicial appointments, privacy, and constitutional morality.
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Questions Covered in This Set
11 cards to master
Why does Article 1 call India a 'Union of States'?
Ambedkar chose the phrase deliberately to signal that states cannot secede — India is not a compact of consenting states.
What are the three lists of the Seventh Schedule?
Union List (defence, foreign affairs, currency), State List (police, public health, land), Concurrent List (education, criminal law, forests).
Which articles tilt legislative power toward the Centre?
Article 249 (Parliament may legislate on a State subject after a Rajya Sabha national-interest resolution), Article 248 (residuary powers to Centre), Article 254 (Union law prevails in Concurrent List clashes).
What is a Governor's 'pocket veto' and what did the Court say?
Sitting indefinitely on a Bill instead of granting or refusing assent (Article 200). In 2023–25 the Supreme Court held a Governor cannot do this and must act within a reasonable time.
What did S.R. Bommai (1994) decide about Article 356?
President's Rule proclamations are judicially reviewable, and a government's majority must be tested by a floor test in the Assembly, not judged in Raj Bhavan.
Why do states complain about fiscal federalism?
GST (101st Amendment, 2016) pooled indirect-tax power in a GST Council where the Centre holds one-third of votes; cesses are not shared with states, and devolution formulas are contested.
What are the three Judges Cases about?
First (1981) upheld executive primacy; Second (1993) read 'consultation' in Article 124 as 'concurrence' and created the Collegium; Third (1998) fixed the Collegium's composition.
Why was the NJAC (99th Amendment) struck down in 2015?
In SC Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India the Court held 4:1 that judicial primacy in appointments is part of the basic structure; judicial independence cannot be diluted.
What is the 'soft veto' in judicial appointments today?
The government sitting on or segregating names the Collegium has reiterated, using the Memorandum of Procedure — friction no judgment has fully cured.
What did Puttaswamy (2017) hold?
A nine-judge bench unanimously held that privacy is a fundamental right, protected as part of life and personal liberty.
Why is the 2026 delimitation question contentious?
Seats frozen on 1971 population may be redrawn; southern states that curbed population growth fear losing relative weight in Parliament.
