RAS question
Residuary powers of legislation under the Indian Constitution belong to:
Correct answer: (D) Parliament.
Under Article 248 of the Indian Constitution, residuary legislative powers belong exclusively to Parliament.
Explanation
Article 248 is the key provision for residuary legislative power in India. The official constitutional text says that, subject to Article 246A, Parliament has exclusive power to make laws on any matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or the State List. It also states that this power includes making a law imposing a tax not mentioned in either of those Lists. So the logic is simple: once a subject is outside the State List and Concurrent List, the remaining legislative field is not shared with States; it is assigned to Parliament. This is why option D is correct. The contrast with the United States, where residuary powers lie with the states, helps explain why this point is repeatedly tested.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Both Parliament and State Legislature is wrong because Article 248 gives Parliament exclusive power over matters not in the Concurrent List or State List, so residuary power is not shared.
- (B) Concurrent jurisdiction is wrong because Article 248 applies precisely to matters not enumerated in the Concurrent List or the State List.
- (C) State Legislature is wrong because, unlike the United States model noted in the explanation, the Indian Constitution assigns residuary legislative power to Parliament.
Concept
This tests the distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the States, especially the residuary field under Article 248. It recurs in RAS because federalism questions often turn on which list, level of government, or constitutional article controls a subject.