This article has been written by Ishika Sharma, a 1st-year student of Gujarat National Law University.

Introduction

Another name for India is the Union of States. According to Article 1(1) of the Indian Constitution, India, or Bharat, shall be a Union of States. The Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly used terminology from the Preamble of the British North America Act, 1867 to refer to India as a Union of States. According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the chairman of the drafting committee, the word “Union” was chosen to signify two things:

 (1) that the Indian federation was not the result of an agreement between the units it was composed of; and

 (2) that the component units had no freedom to secede from the Union thus created.

The same was done in order to establish and uphold India’s federal system. The states, districts, and mandals within India were not thought to be static, unchanging, or permanent by the framers of the Indian Constitution, in contrast to the present generation of Indians. They established provisions for the formation of new States in the Indian Union because they had the maturity to realise that states will develop and change. India established a “loose federal structure,” which is an indestructible Union of destructible Units, according to a ruling by the Supreme Court in a case.

As a result, the States are a crucial component of India’s Union. They serve as a representation of their distinct identities and, in the end, are crucial to safeguarding and maintaining India’s Federal Structure, which is also outlined in the Constitution.

This article talks about the constitutional provisions governing the formation of new states in India.

History

India was split into 565 princely states before to becoming independent. The largest barrier to creating a powerful India was the separate governing philosophy of these native princely republics. During this period, India was divided into three different sorts of states: “Territories of British India,” “Princely States,” and French and Portuguese colonial territories. After India’s independence, 562 princely kingdoms consented to join the Indian Confederation, with the exception of Hyderabad, Junagadh, Bhopal, and Kashmir. The state boundaries of India have altered continuously since its independence.

In short, the history of the creation of new Indian states: from 565 princely states and 17 provinces (before partition) to 14 states and 6 Union Territories (after the 1956 Reorganisation), then to 29 states and 7 Union Territories (in 2014), and finally to 28 states and 9 Union Territories (as of today) (after the bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir).

Constitutional Provisions

According to the provisions of Articles 2, 3, and 4 of the Indian Constitution, new states can be created in India.

Article 2 is titled as: “Admission and establishment of new states.”

Article 3 is titles as: “Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states.”

Article 4 is titled as: “Laws made under articles 2 and 3 to provide for the amendment of the First and the Fourth Schedules and supplemental, incidents and consequential matters.”

Constitutional Procedure

As stated above, the provisions of Articles 2, 3, and 4 of the Indian Constitution govern the creation of new States in India.

According to Article 2 of the Indian Constitution, the Indian Parliament has the exclusive authority to admit or construct new states into the Indian Union under whatever terms and circumstances it sees fit. The State legislatures lack the jurisdiction to create legislation on this topic because this power belongs only to the Indian Parliament.

Article 2 reads as:
“Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new states on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.”

Article 3

In-depth definitions are provided in Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, which also grants the Indian Parliament the power to enact laws that would create new states or change the size, borders, or names of existing ones. According to this Article, the parliament has the authority to combine states or portions of states, or to join any area to a portion of any state, in order to create a new state. Moreover, it has the authority to change a state’s boundaries and name, as well as its area. It should be noted that the term “State” encompasses a Union Territory in sections from (a) to (e) of Article 3.

Article 3 of the Constitution of India reads as: 

“Parliament may by law

1. Form a new state by separation of territory from any state or by uniting two or more states or parts of states or by uniting any territory to a part of any state;
2. Increase the area of any state;
3. Diminish the area of any State;
4. Alter the boundaries of any state;
5. Alter the name if any State”

Article 3 has a proviso clause attached to it. The section states that no legislation based on Article 3’s provisions may be submitted in either House of the Indian Parliament unless the President of India has previously endorsed it for the same purpose.

This clause also states that any legislation affecting the area, boundary, or name of an existing State may not be introduced in either House of Parliament until the President has consulted the affected State legislature and obtained its views on the legislation’s potential impact on the state’s area, boundary, or name.

It should be emphasised that the State legislature’s opinions must be conveyed to the Parliament within the timeframe that the Indian President may set in the reference or within the timeframe that the President may permit. A bill may be filed in either House of Parliament on the proposal of the President, which is really the recommendation of the Union government, if the Centre approves the State’s recommendation.

It is up to the Center to select a Commission prior to the Bill’s writing to establish boundaries, share waterways, provide other assurances, and determine where the capitals, Supreme Courts, and other necessities of the States to be founded would be located. The President may only suggest a Law on the recommendation of the Union Council of Ministers after receiving a report from the Commission.

Even if the State legislature’s opinions are received in a timely manner, the Parliament is not required to accept or act upon them. This indicates that the President may proceed with the establishment of a new State even if there is disagreement to the referred Bill, or such reference is not responded to within the allotted period, or when such a Bill is passed. The President must provide the time frame in which the State Assembly must express its opinions; however, the President may extend the previously defined time frame.

While the State Legislature’s opinions have not been voiced, the Second Condition outlined in the proviso is satisfied if the time period given or extended has passed and no views have been received. The goal appears to be to provide the State Legislature a window of opportunity to voice its opinions within the allotted period. If the State Legislature chooses not to take advantage of this window, the presentation of the bill remains legitimate.

It should be noticed that the term “State” does not include a Union Territory in the proviso clause appended to Article 3.

The proviso clause states that no bill for the purpose may be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal in the Bill affects the area, boundaries, or names of any of the States, the President has referred the Bill to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon within such further period as the President may allow and the period so specified or all.

While drafting legislation under Articles 2 and 3, the Indian Constitution’s Article 4 represents a required directive to the Parliament. In order to give effect to such legislation, it instructs the Parliament to draught a law that includes provisions for amending the First Schedule and the Fourth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Such a legislation may also include any additional, incidental, or consequential measures that the Parliament may judge essential, including those pertaining to the allocation of representation in the Parliament and in the legislatures of the States. Moreover, this Article expressly forbids the Parliament from drafting legislation with the intention of amending the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.

The names of the States and Union Territories that are included in the term “Union of States” are listed in the First Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The distribution of seats in the Council of States is outlined in the Fourth Schedule.

Article 4 of the Constitution of India reads as:

1. “Any law referred to in Article 2 or Article 3 shall contain such provisions for the amendment of the First Schedule and the Fourth Schedule as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the law and may also contain such supplemental, incidental, and consequential provisions (including provisions as to representation in Parliament and in the Legislature or Legislatures of the State or States affected by such law) as Parliament may deem necessary.
    
2. No such law as aforesaid shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.”

As a result, the process described above is how Indian states are founded.

Conclusion

Being a Union of States, India has a federal structure, which qualifies as one of the fundamental elements of the Indian Constitution. With the diversity, cultures, and languages that make up India, it is vitally important to conserve these features. This was also considered by the drafters of the Constitution, and as a result, provisions like Articles 2, 3, and 4 were included as crucial components of Indian Federalism.

To enhance and protect each state’s distinctive cultures, languages, or scripts, new States are formed in India based on these criteria. This is one method for preserving not only India’s distinctiveness but also its cultures, customs, and dialects.

Aishwarya Says:

The copyright of this Article belongs exclusively to Ms. Aishwarya Sandeep. Reproduction of the same, without permission will amount to Copyright Infringement. Appropriate Legal Action under the Indian Laws will be taken.

If you would also like to contribute to my website, then do share your articles or poems to secondinnings.hr@gmail.com

Join our  Whatsapp Group for latest Job Opening