Article 246 is a fundamental provision in the Indian Constitution, housed under Part XI, which defines the legislative competence of the Union and State governments. Its origin traces back to the debates on Draft Article 217, which was adopted on June 13, 1949, to establish the federal structure by clearly demarcating law-making powers, drawing a similar classification to the Government of India Act 1935.
The provision works by referencing the Seventh Schedule, which contains three lists. Article 246(1) grants Parliament exclusive power to legislate on subjects in the Union List (List I), such as Defence and Foreign Affairs. Conversely, Article 246(3) gives State Legislatures exclusive power over matters in the State List (List II), like Public Order and Police. The federal balance is maintained by Article 246(2), which allows both Parliament and State Legislatures to make laws on subjects in the Concurrent List (List III), but mandates that a Union law will prevail over a State law in case of conflict. This principle of Union predominance was reinforced in the Supreme Court judgment State of West Bengal v. Union of India (1963).
The concept connects directly to Article 248, which vests residuary legislative power in Parliament. A significant recent change was the insertion of Article 246A by the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016. This new article, which begins with a non obstante clause, carves out a special concurrent domain for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), granting both Parliament and State Legislatures power to make laws on GST, thereby overriding the general scheme of Article 246 for this specific tax. Earlier, the 42nd Amendment Act (1976) had shifted five subjects, including Education, from the State List to the Concurrent List.