State List

Also called: List II · Topic: Federalism and Centre-State Relations · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 6 "The State, the Government, and You"; Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 10, Ch 2 "Federalism"; Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"

Meaning

The State List (List II) is one of the three lists in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. It names the subjects on which only the state legislature can normally make laws for its own state (Article 246(3)) [2]. It shows how much law-making power the states really have. It is also at the centre of every fight between the Centre and the states over who controls what.

Explanation

How it works

• Federalism means power is shared between two levels of government, the Union and the states. The Constitution draws the line between them in Part XI, Chapter I (Arts. 245–255).
• Article 246 splits subjects into three lists [2]:
• 246(1): Parliament has exclusive power over List I (Union List) [2].
• 246(2): Parliament and the states both have power over List III (Concurrent List) [2].

• 246(3): a state legislature has exclusive power over List II (State List) for that state [2].

• Article 245: a state law applies only inside that state or a part of it.

• The idea behind it: these subjects matter locally. The government closest to the people handles them best.

Main subjects (with entry numbers)

Entry	Subject
1	Public order
2	Police
5	Local government
6	Public health
8	Intoxicating liquor
14	Agriculture
15	Livestock
18	Land
24	Industries (subject to limits, see below)
26	Trade and commerce within the state
41	State public services
50	Taxes on mineral rights

Size of the list

• 66 entries in 1950. About 59 today (check the current count).
• Why it shrank:
• The 42nd Amendment (1976) moved 4 entries out.

• The 101st Amendment (2016) removed tax entries 52 and 55.

• Entries keep their old numbers after an amendment. So the last entry number is not the number of entries.

Limits on the State List

• The Union List wins in an overlap:
• Art. 246(1) begins "notwithstanding anything in clauses (2) and (3)".

• So if a State List entry and a Union List entry overlap, the Union List prevails.

• "Subject to" entries: some State List entries are limited by Union or Concurrent entries.

• Entry 24 (industries) is subject to Union entries 7 and 52. Entry 52 covers industries that Parliament declares are under Union control in the public interest.

• Entry 26 (trade within the state) is subject to Concurrent entry 33. Entry 33 covers trade in the products of industries the Union controls.

• Residuary power is not with the states: the power to make laws on a subject that is in none of the lists belongs to Parliament (Art. 248 + Union List entry 97). This includes taxes not named in any list.

• GST exception (Art. 246A, 101st Amendment, 2016): Parliament and the states can both tax the supply of goods and services. This sets aside the normal rule that taxes are kept in separate lists.
• When Parliament can make laws on State List subjects (settled constitutional text):
• Art. 249: the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting saying it is in the national interest. The resolution lasts one year and can be renewed.
• Art. 250: while a National Emergency is in force.
• Art. 252: two or more states ask for it by resolutions of their legislatures.
• Art. 253: to carry out an international treaty or agreement.
• Art. 356: during President's rule (when the Union takes over the running of a state for a time), Parliament can make laws for that state.

In the Constitution and practice

• Roots: the Government of India Act 1935 had a Provincial List. The Constitution kept the same three-list design and renamed it the State List.
• 42nd Amendment (1976), passed during the Emergency, moved five subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List:

Subject	Old State List entry	New Concurrent List entry
Education	11 (deleted)	Merged into 25
Administration of justice (courts below the Supreme Court and High Courts)	Part of 3	11A
Forests	19 (deleted)	17A
Protection of wild animals and birds	20 (deleted)	17B
Weights and measures (except setting standards)	29 (deleted)	33A

• One-way traffic: subjects have only ever moved away from the State List, never back to it. This is the basis of the states' complaint that the system leans towards the Centre.
• How courts protect State List laws:
• Pith and substance (the court looks at the true, main purpose of a law): State of Bombay v. F.N. Balsara (1951). The Bombay Prohibition Act 1949 was mainly about intoxicating liquor (a State List subject). So it was valid, even though it also touched the import of liquor (a Union subject).
• Colourable legislation (a legislature cannot do indirectly what it cannot do directly): State of Bihar v. Kameshwar Singh (1952). The Bihar land reform law let the state take half of the arrears of rent without paying for them. The Court struck down that part.

• Territorial nexus (a state law can reach things outside the state only if there is a real link to the state): State of Bombay v. R.M.D. Chamarbaugwala (1957). Bombay could tax a prize competition run from a Bangalore newspaper because many Bombay readers took part.

• 2024 rulings that widened the State List:

• Mineral Area Development Authority v. SAIL (25 July 2024, 9 judges, 8:1, Justice B.V. Nagarathna dissenting) [3]:
  • Royalty is not a tax. It is a payment under a contract for the right to take out minerals [3].
  • So states can tax mineral rights under State List entry 50. Parliament's power over mines (Union entry 54) does not take this away [3].
  • It overruled India Cement v. State of Tamil Nadu (1989) [3].
  • A later order (14 August 2024) let states recover past dues only for the period from 1 April 2005, and only in instalments [4].
• State of U.P. v. Lalta Prasad Vaish and Sons (23 October 2024, 9 judges, 8:1, Justice Nagarathna dissenting) [5][6]:
  • "Intoxicating liquors" in State List entry 8 covers all alcohol that could be misused in a way that harms public health. This includes industrial alcohol that is not fit to drink [6].
  • States can regulate liquor at every stage, from raw material to consumption. Parliament cannot use Union entry 52 to take over this industry [6].
  • It overruled Synthetics and Chemicals v. State of U.P. (1990) [5][6].

Don't confuse with

• Union List (List I): Parliament alone makes laws on it (defence, foreign affairs, railways, banking, atomic energy). It prevails over the State List in an overlap. The State List belongs to the states.
• Concurrent List (List III): both levels can make laws on it (education, forests, criminal law, electricity). If the two laws clash, the Union law usually wins (Art. 254). The State List is the states' exclusive area.
• Residuary powers: subjects found in no list. They go to Parliament (Art. 248), not to the states. In the USA and Australia, the states hold residuary power.
• Subjects moved in 1976 vs subjects still on the State List: education and forests were moved to the Concurrent List. Agriculture, police and public health were not moved. They are still State List subjects.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 246(3): state legislatures have exclusive power over List II [2]. Art. 246(1) "notwithstanding" clause makes the Union List prevail in an overlap.
• State List size: 66 entries in 1950, about 59 today. Entries were lost through the 42nd Amendment (1976) and the 101st Amendment (2016) (tax entries 52 and 55).
• 42nd Amendment trap: it moved education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice out of the State List. Police, agriculture and public health stayed on it.
• Art. 249: Parliament can make laws on a State List subject if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by two-thirds of members present and voting, in the national interest.
• MADA v. SAIL (2024, 8:1): royalty is not a tax. States can tax mineral rights under List II entry 50. It overruled India Cement (1989) [3].
• Lalta Prasad Vaish (2024, 8:1): industrial alcohol falls under List II entry 8. It overruled Synthetics and Chemicals (1990) [6].

Mains Points

• A shrinking list in a "federation with a strong centre":
• The Union List wins in overlaps, residuary power lies with the Union, and subjects have only moved away from the State List (42nd Amendment, 1976).
• The framers wanted national unity after Partition. But states argue this weakens their autonomy (their freedom to decide for themselves).

• Reform debates ask whether subjects such as education should go back to the states.

• The judiciary as a guard of the State List:

• Pith and substance keeps valid state laws alive even when they touch Union subjects (F.N. Balsara, 1951).

• The 2024 rulings (MADA, Lalta Prasad Vaish) read State List entries widely. This strengthens fiscal federalism (the states' power to raise their own money) [3][6].

• Unclear entries cause long legal fights:

• Mineral taxation and industrial alcohol stayed unsettled for decades. They needed 7- and 9-judge benches.
• Clearer wording of entries, or a regular review of the Seventh Schedule, would cut down Centre–state litigation.

Related concepts

• Seventh Schedule
• Union List
• Concurrent List
• Residuary powers
• Transfer of subjects to the Concurrent List
• Doctrine of pith and substance
• Doctrine of colourable legislation
• Doctrine of territorial nexus

Read more

• Distribution of legislative powers: the Seventh Schedule and its interpretation