This article has been written by Ms. Bhawna, a student studying B.A.LLB.(H.) from Teerthanker Mahaveer college of law and legal studies, Moradabad. The author is a 3^rd year law student.

Introduction

The constitution of any country may be either unitary or federal in it’s nature. In a unitary constitution, the powers of the government are centralized in one government i.e. the central government, the states or provinces are subordinate to the centre. On the other hand, in a federal constitution, there is a division of powers between centre and state government and both are independent in their own spheres. 

There is a huge difference opinion about the nature of the Indian constitution amongst the constitutional jurists. Some jurists said that India is Quasi-federal i.e. Similar to the federal system, because it has some feature of federal and some of the unitary constitution. The view of the framers of the constitution is that the Indian constitution is a federal constitution. Even, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar defined it as a federal constitution, although the centre has certain powers to override it’s state or Provinces.

Federal Principle

The basic principle of federalism is the “Division of power”. The centre and state are not coordinate with each other. They work independently in their own sphere. In other words, it seeks to bring unity in diversity and the achievement of common Nation goals. Prevention as well as the settlement of conflict of the interests of the centre and the State, is an important part of federalism. Indian constitution has adopted federal features, although it is not a complete federal nation. The American constitution is universally regarded as an example of federal constitution. Prof. K.C. Wheare accepts that exceptions are permissible provided federal Principle is predominantly retained in the constitutional. No one constitution is truly federal constitution in it’s nature. 

Essential features of federal constitution

Some constitutional jurists hesitate to characterize the Indian constitution as federal. So, it is necessary to examine, firstly, what federal constitution is and what are it’s  essential features, and secondly, to examine whether our Indian constitution possesses those features or not. A federal constitution usually has the following essential features are as follow : 

• Distribution of powers between centre and state : In federalism, distribution of powers form an important and integral part. The seventh schedule under article 246 of the Constitution of India deals with the division of powers between the union and the states. It contains 3 lists i.e. Union list, State list and Concurrent list. Only central government can deal with the subject matter provisions in the Union list, only State government can legislates with the subject matter provided in the state list while the Central and state government both can deal with the subject matter provided by Concurrent list. This concept is borrowed from the Canadian constitution. This feature of federalism i.e. Distribution of powers between the centre and state & other coordinate bodies is present in the Indian constitution.
• Supremacy of law : The Indian constitution is supreme law. The term ‘law’ involves rules, regulations, bye-laws, notification, orders, ordinance and even the customs having a force of law. A federal State derives it’s existence from the constitution. The legislature, executive and judiciary, whether it belongs to the nation or the individual state is subordinate to the constitution & controlled by the constitution. This feature of federalism i.e. Supremacy of law is present in our Indian constitution. The basic structure of the constitution is indestructible as laid out by the judiciary in famous Keshvananda Bharti case. 
• Constitution must be written : The constitution must be written. Since the federal nature of the constitution involves a lot of contracts hence it would be impartial not to have these written. Moreover to maintain the supremacy of the constitution, it is necessary to have a written constitution. So, India has one of the largest constitution in the world which consists of 395 articles, 22 parts and 12 schedule. The written constitution provides provision of structure, organization and function of centre and state government. It also prescribes the limits of both central & state government in they operate their functions. The Indian constitution contains this feature of federalism i.e. written constitution but the United Kingdom does not have written constitution and therefore, it is not regarded as a federal constitution. 
• Rigidity : A natural result of a written constitution is, it’s rigidity. A constitution which is the supreme law of the land must also be rigid. The rigidity of constitution means the procedure to amend the constitution is very complicated and difficult. The constitution is alterable but the procedure to amend the constitution is rigid. A constitution of a country is considered to be a permanent document which is a supreme law of land. This Supremacy of the constitution can only be maintained if the method of amendment is rigid.
• Authority of courts : The supreme court of India is regarded as the superior court of the country. Decisions of supreme court is binding upon all courts and it has the power to interpret the article of the constitution. The rationale for this provision is that only an independent tribunal which is authorized to resolve disputes between the centre and state could impartially resolve all the disputes between the centre and State government. As regard to India, the supreme court is the federal tribunal which has such powers and competency. The supreme court is authorized to exercise such powers, by way of article 131 of the Indian constitution.

All the essential features of the federal principle which has been discussed above possessed by the Indian constitution. The Indian constitution lays down a double polity system, a system of double government with the central government at one side and the State government at another side. Each side of government is supreme in it’s sphere. The constitution of India is written and is supreme law. There is a supreme court to decide the disputes between the centre and state government or the states inter se interpret finally the provisions of the constitution. However, there are some Strong centralizing tendencies present in the constitution which confer maximum power on the central government. That means in certain circumstance, the constitution empowers the centre to interfere in the state matter and thus places the state in a subordinate position which violates the federal principle. The supreme court by the majority held that it is not truly federal in case West Bengal v. Union of India. 

Provisions of the constitution which does not support the federal principle 

The constitution of India does not describe India as a federalism and the term federation is not used anywhere in Indian constitution. However, article 1 of constitution describe that India shall be a union of States. This means India is a union comprising of various states which is an integral part of it. The Indian constitution contains the modifications of the federal principle in the following matters : 

• Appointment of governors : The governor of all states are appointed by the president under article 155 of the constitution and the governor is answerable to the president. The state don’t  have any say in the appointment or the removal of the governor. The governor act as an agent of the centre rather than the representative of the state. The central government under article 355 has to ensure that there is no failure of constitutional machinery in the state and States are protected from internal and External disturbance. The president has authority to impose the president’s rule in the state, in which state the constitutional machinery has been fail. These clearly gives the power to centre to control the administration of the states which is contrary to the federal principle.
• Parliament’s power to legislate in the National interest : Under article 249 of the constitution, the Rajya Sabha can, by passing a resolution with special majority i.e. where 2/3^rd members are present and voting, authorize the parliament to make laws even on the subjects mentioned in the state list, when it is in the National interest to do so. The existence of the provisions in the constitution implies that the centre can legislates on the state list as well, which is not a federal principle.
• Single citizenship : The constitution of India has proposed a single citizenship for the whole country. In a federal country like the USA, there is a dual citizenship where a citizen, firstly, owes loyalty to the respective states and then to the centre but, in case of India although it is a federal State there is still a provision of single citizenship. It implies that all Indian citizens to have allegiance to the Indian union.
• Parliament’s power to form New State and alter boundaries of existing State : Article 2 & 3 of the constitution give the Power to the parliament to redraw the political map of India, to create and abolish the name of the states, alteration of the boundaries of the state or even change their names all this can be achieved by way of a simple majority in the parliament. 
• Emergency provisions : When the proclamation of emergency takes place, the division of power between the centre and state takes a vital change. Under article 356 of the constitution, if the president deems right that the condition of governance of the state cannot take place according to the principle of the constitution, the president can dissolve the legislature and he can himself assume all the functions of state. 

Conclusion 

The Indian constitution empowers the centre to interfere in the state matter and thus places the state in a subordinate position which violates the federal principle, therefore, Indian constitution is neither purely federal nor purely unitary but it is a combination of both. In short, it is a Quasi-federal constitution i.e. Unitary with federal features or Federal with unitary features. According to Jennings – The Indian constitution is mainly federal with unique safeguards for enforcing national unity and growth.

References

• https://blog.ipleaders.in/nature-of-indian-constitution/
• https://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/154/Nature-of-Indian-Constitution.html
• https://youtu.be/7mUBMkLm6GQ

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