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TOPIC: General Studies 2
- Indian Polity
- Judiciary
Recent suits under Article 131
Kerala: Kerala became the first state to challenge the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) before the Supreme Court. However, the legal route adopted by the state is different from the 60 petitions already pending before the court. The Kerala government has moved the apex court under Article 131 of the Constitution.
Chhattisgarh: The Chhattisgarh government filed a suit in the Supreme Court under Article 131, challenging the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act on the ground that it encroaches upon the state’s powers to maintain law and order.
Article 131 of the Constitution.
Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Supreme Court shall, to the exclusion of any other court, have original jurisdiction in any dispute
In simplest terms, this gives Supreme Court original jurisdiction—meaning the Supreme Court can hear the case first-hand rather than reviewing a lower court's judgment—to mediate disputes between states or between the Centre and states.
For a dispute to qualify as a dispute under Article 131, it has to necessarily be between states and the Centre, and must involve a question of law or fact on which the existence of a legal right of the state or the Centre depends.
Article 131 cannot be used to settle political differences between state and central governments headed by different parties.
In a 1978 judgment, State of Karnataka v Union of India, Justice P N Bhagwati had said that for the Supreme Court to accept a suit under Article 131, the state need not show that its legal right is violated, but only that the dispute involves a legal question.
How is a suit under Article 131 different from the other petitions challenging the CAA?
The other petitions challenging the CAA have been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, which gives the court the power to issue writs when fundamental rights are violated. A state government cannot move the court under this provision because only people and citizens can claim fundamental rights.
Under Article 131, the challenge is made when the rights and power of a state or the Centre are in question. However, the relief that the state (under Article 131) and petitioners under Article 32 have sought in the challenge to the CAA is the same — declaration of the law as being unconstitutional.
But can SC test validity of law under Article 131?
In 2011, in State of MP v Union of India, the Supreme Court held that validity of central laws can be challenged under Article 32 of the Constitution and not under Article 131. In the case, Madhya Pradesh had sought to challenge — under Article 131 — the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, asserting that they violated Article 14 of the Constitution.
Is it unusual for states to challenge laws made by Parliament?
Under the Constitution, laws made by Parliament are presumed to be constitutional until a court holds otherwise. However, in India’s quasi-federal constitutional structure, inter-governmental disputes are not uncommon. The framers of the Constitution expected such differences, and added the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for their resolution. The quasi-federal structure envisaged in 1950 has consolidated into defined powers of the states.
Kerala's arguments
"Thus, there exists a dispute, involving questions of law and fact, between the plaintiff state of Kerala and the defendant Union of India, regarding the enforcement of legal rights as a State and as well for the enforcement of the fundamental, statutory constitutional and other legal rights of the inhabitants of the State of Kerala. Hence, this Original Suit under Article 131 of the Constitution is being preferred," the plea said.