Article 254 of Indian Constitution

Article 254 of Indian Constitution: Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament and laws made by the Legislatures of States.

Article 254 – Constitution Of India

(1) 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 is competent to enact, or to any provision of an existing law with respect to one of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List, then, subject to the provisions of clause (2), the law made by Parliament, whether passed before or after the law made by the Legislature of such State, or, as the case may be, the existing law, shall prevail and the law made by the Legislature of the State shall, to the extent of the repugnancy, be void.

(2) Where a law made by the Legislature of a State 1 *** with respect to one of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List contains any provision repugnant to the provisions of an earlier law made by Parliament or an existing law with respect to that matter, then, the law so made by the Legislature of such State shall, if it has been reserved for the consideration of the President and has received his assent, prevail in that State:

Provided that nothing in this clause shall prevent Parliament from enacting at any time any law with respect to the same matter including a law adding to, amending, varying or repealing the law so made by the Legislature of the State.

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What is Article 254 of Indian Constitution

In essence, Article 254 addresses situations where there is a conflict or inconsistency between laws made by the state legislatures and laws made by the Parliament of India on subjects in the Concurrent List. The key points to understand are:

1. If a law made by a state legislature contradicts or is repugnant to a law made by Parliament on the same subject, the parliamentary law prevails, and the state law is void to the extent of the inconsistency.
2. However, if a state law on a Concurrent List subject contains provisions that are repugnant to an earlier parliamentary law, but the state law has been reserved for the consideration of the President of India and received his assent, then the state law will prevail in that state.
3. Parliament has the authority to enact or amend laws on Concurrent List subjects at any time, including laws that modify or repeal state laws on the same subject.

Constitution Of India Part 11 Relations Between The Union And The States – Articles 245 to 263