Article 239 is a fundamental provision of the Indian Constitution, found in Part VIII which deals with the Union Territories (UTs). It establishes the constitutional framework for the governance and administration of all Union Territories. The original concept was substituted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, which reorganized the centrally administered Part C and Part D states into the new category of Union Territories. This amendment solved the problem of administering regions that were either too small, strategically sensitive, or otherwise unsuitable for full statehood, by placing them under the direct control of the Central Government.
The core mechanism of Article 239(1) is that every Union Territory is administered by the President of India. The President acts through an Administrator whom he appoints and whose designation he specifies, such as a Lieutenant Governor or Chief Commissioner. Furthermore, Article 239(2) allows the President to appoint the Governor of a State as the Administrator of an adjoining Union Territory, in which case the Governor acts independently of his State's Council of Ministers.
Article 239 is the foundation for the administration of all UTs, but it connects directly to subsequent articles that grant special status to certain territories. Article 239A, introduced in 1962, allows Parliament to create a local Legislature or Council of Ministers, or both, for the Union Territory of Puducherry. The most significant connection is to Article 239AA, inserted by the Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991, which granted a special quasi-federal status to Delhi, renaming it the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. Article 239AA established a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers for Delhi, though the Administrator appointed under Article 239 is designated as the Lieutenant Governor. The Supreme Court's landmark 2018 judgment in Government of NCT of Delhi v. Union of India clarified the relationship between the Lieutenant Governor and the elected government of Delhi, interpreting the balance of power under Article 239AA. While Article 239 itself has not changed recently, its application is constantly interpreted in light of the special provisions for Delhi and Puducherry.