RAS question
The residuary power of legislation under the Indian Constitution vests in:
Correct answer: (D) Parliament (Article 248).
Under Article 248 of the Indian Constitution, the residuary power of legislation vests exclusively in Parliament.
Explanation
Article 248 is the key provision: it gives Parliament exclusive power to make laws on any matter not listed in the Concurrent List or the State List. The same residuary idea is reinforced by Entry 97 of the Union List, which covers any other matter not enumerated in List II or List III, including taxes not mentioned in those lists. So, when a subject falls outside the State and Concurrent Lists, the Constitution does not leave it to the States or divide it equally; it places that law-making field with Parliament. This is also why the Indian arrangement differs from the United States model, where residuary powers lie with the States.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) State Legislatures are wrong because Article 248 assigns matters outside the State List and Concurrent List to Parliament, not to the States.
- (B) Both Parliament and State Legislatures equally is wrong because Article 248 uses an exclusive allocation to Parliament rather than a shared residuary field.
- (C) The President by ordinance is wrong because the question is about residuary legislative competence under Article 248, which belongs to Parliament.
Concept
This tests the constitutional distribution of legislative powers, especially residuary subjects under Article 248 and Union List Entry 97. It recurs in RAS because Union-State legislative competence is a standard way to test Indian federalism.