Which of the following statement(s) regarding passing a law under the State List is/are correct? 1. Even in the sphere (State List) exclusively reserved for the States, Parliament can legislate under certain circumstances 2. Parliament cannot legislate a subject under the State List under any circumstances 3. A resolution supported by two-thirds of the members present and voting is required to be passed by Rajya Sabha to pass a law under the State List Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)1, 2 and 3
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)1 only
Correct — C, 1 and 3 only. Statements 1 and 2 contradict each other outright — one says Parliament can legislate on a State List subject in certain circumstances and the other says it cannot under any circumstances — so exactly one of them can be in the answer, which removes option (a) before any knowledge is applied. The true one is statement 1. Parliament reaches the State List through five doors: a Rajya Sabha resolution in the national interest under Article 249, a proclamation of Emergency under Article 250, a request from two or more States under Article 252, the implementation of an international agreement under Article 253, and President's rule under Article 356. Statement 3 states the Article 249 threshold accurately — a resolution of the Council of States supported by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
- (a)1, 2 and 3 — Impossible on its face, because statements 1 and 2 are direct opposites. No code can contain both.
- (b)2 and 3 only — Keeps the statement that denies Parliament any route into the State List, which five articles of the Constitution contradict.
- (d)1 only — Correct on the principle but drops the mechanism. The two-thirds resolution of the Council of States is exactly what Article 249 requires, so statement 3 belongs in the answer.
The division of legislative power is not watertight. Five provisions let Parliament legislate on State List subjects, and each has its own trigger and its own duration. Article 249 needs a Rajya Sabha resolution and the resulting law lasts one year, renewable, with a six-month tail after it lapses. Article 250 operates while a Proclamation of Emergency is in force, with the same six-month tail. Article 252 needs two or more State Legislatures to pass resolutions asking Parliament to legislate, and the law then applies to those States and to any other that adopts it later. Article 253 covers legislation to implement a treaty or an international agreement and has no time limit. Article 356 lets Parliament legislate for a State under President's rule.
Two details in the Article 249 threshold are worth fixing, because both are used as distractors. It is a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, not of the total membership, and it is the Council of States alone that may pass it, not the Lok Sabha. That second point is one of the special powers of the Rajya Sabha, alongside its power under Article 312 to authorise the creation of a new All India Service. A law made under Article 249 remains in force for one year and may be renewed by fresh resolutions for a year at a time, and it ceases six months after the resolution ceases to operate.
- Parliament may legislate on a State List subject under Articles 249, 250, 252, 253 and 356.
- Article 249 requires a Rajya Sabha resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
- A law made under Article 249 lasts one year, is renewable, and ceases six months after the resolution ends.
- Under Article 252 two or more States may ask Parliament to legislate for them, and other States may adopt the law later.
- Article 253, on implementing international agreements, carries no time limit and no State consent requirement.
Statement 2 denies all five, which is why it cannot stand beside statement 1 in any code.
- Missing that two statements are direct contradictions, which alone eliminates one option.
- Reading the Article 249 majority as two-thirds of total membership rather than of members present and voting.
- Attributing the resolution power to the Lok Sabha; it belongs to the Council of States.
When two statements in a code item contradict each other, use that structure first — it removes options for free before any recall is needed.
The Parliament of India acquires the power to legislate on any item in the State List in the national interest if a resolution to that effect is passed by the
- (a) Lok Sabha by a simple majority of its total membership
- (b) Lok Sabha by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its total membership
- (c) Rajya Sabha by a simple majority of its total membership
- (d) Rajya Sabha by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its members present and voting
Answer(d) Rajya Sabha by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its members present and voting
Statement 3 of this question, written out as four competing versions. Its option list separates both traps at once — which House passes the resolution, and whether the two-thirds is of total membership or of those present and voting.
Consider the following statements: 1. The Rajya Sabha alone has the power to declare that it would be in the national interest for Parliament to legislate with respect to a matter in the State List. 2. Resolutions approving the Proclamation of Emergency are passed only by the Lok Sabha. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(a) 1 only
The same Article 249 power stated as an exclusive competence of the Council of States, with an emergency-approval claim beside it to test whether the two are being confused. Both belong to the machinery this question is built on.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A law made by Parliament under Article 249 on a State List subject remains in force for
- (a)six months
- (b)one year
- (c)two years
- (d)the life of the Lok Sabha
Answer(b) one year — renewable by a fresh resolution, and it ceases six months after the resolution ends.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under which Article may Parliament legislate on a State List subject to implement an international treaty?
- (a)Article 249
- (b)Article 250
- (c)Article 252
- (d)Article 253
Answer(d) Article 253 — and unlike the others it carries no time limit and needs no State consent.