Federal System with Unitary Bias

India follows a unique federal system. It is a union made up of numerous states that are all a part of it. The Indian union is a non-legal body that can be destroyed. In this circumstance, the states are unable to leave the union. A true federal system means that the constituent units, or States, have the ability and freedom to leave the union. The Indian Constitution incorporates elements of both a federal and a unitary constitution. 

Characteristics of the Indian Federal System

The following are the primary characteristics of the Indian Federal system:

Division of Powers

A key component of federalism is the separation of powers between two levels of government. Federalism refers to the division of governmental authorities between the federal and state governments. 

The rationale for such power allocation is that authority is committed to the Centre on subjects of national significance, where a consistent policy is necessary for the interests of the units, while topics of local concern stay with the states. 

There should be a clear separation of powers in a Federation. This makes the Centre and the unit compelled to activate the legislature inside their own spheres of activity. No one violates its limitations and seeks to infringe on the activities of others. 

The Seventh Schedule consists of 3 legislative lists: 

• Union List: 100 subjects including defence, railway, post and telegraph, money and so on
• State List: 61 subjects, including public order, police, justice administration, education, public health, and so on
• Concurrent List: 52 subjects, including criminal law, marriage, trade unions, electricity and so on

Constitutional Supremacy

The Constitution should be the greatest source of strength for both the Centre and the federating units. As a result, the Indian Constitution is paramount and not the handmaid of either the Centre or the States. 

If any organ of the state violates any article of the Constitution for whatever reason, the court of law is there to preserve the integrity of the Constitution, which is maintained at all costs.

A Written Constitution

A federal Constitution must be virtually entirely written. Unless the words of the Constitution are reduced to paper, it will be nearly difficult to sustain the supremacy of the Constitution. The distribution of powers between the Centre and the States would be a challenging task.

As a result, the Indian Constitution is a written document with 395 Articles and 10 Schedules that meet a federal government’s essential conditions. In reality, the Indian Constitution is the most complex in the world.

Rigid Constitution

The rigidity of a written constitution is a necessary conclusion. The method for amending a strict constitution is hard. However, this does not imply that the Constitution should be legally inviolable. 

As we all know, a rigid constitution is one that cannot be readily modified. The Indian Constitution is essentially one of rigidity. All articles of the Constitution relating to federal-state relations can only be modified by a joint decision of state legislatures and the union parliament. 

Such clauses can only be altered if approved by a two-thirds majority of the members and confirmed by at least half of the states.

Independent Court

It is equally critical for a federation that the judiciary be impartial and independent. A federation cannot function without a federal court. It serves as the Constitution’s defender. This idea, in particular, has played an essential and critical role in the functioning of the federal government. 

The Constitution established an Ultimate Court, and every effort has been taken to ensure that India’s judiciary is independent and supreme. The Supreme Court of India has the authority to declare a statute unconstitutional if it violates any provision of the Constitution. To maintain the neutrality of the judiciary, our judges are not removable by the government. Also, their salaries cannot be reduced by the legislature.

Bicameral Legislature 

A bicameral system is deemed important in a federation since the units can only be granted equal representation in the Upper House. The Indian Constitution also establishes a bicameral legislature at the Centre, consisting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. 

• The Lok Sabha is made up of elected members from the people
• The Rajya Sabha is made up mostly of legislators chosen by State Legislative Assemblies

Conclusion

The Indian Constitution calls for a federation with a strong central government. It is worth noting that the Constitution never uses the word “federation” and instead refers to India as a “Union of States.” This implies that the Indian federation is not the product of any agreement among the units and that the units cannot withdraw from it. 

During times of emergency, the Indian federal system takes on a unitary character. The typical division of powers between the Centre and the States undergoes significant modifications. Students must know what a federal system is to understand Indian polity.