The Sarkaria Commission is a concept, specifically a high-level commission established by the Government of India in June 1983 to examine and review the working of the existing arrangements between the Union and the States in all spheres. It was created in response to growing tensions and a clamour for greater State autonomy, with the primary objective of recommending reforms to strengthen cooperative federalism. The three-member commission was chaired by Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, a retired Supreme Court judge, and submitted its final report, containing 247 specific recommendations, in 1988.
The Commission's mechanism focused on improving legislative, administrative, and financial relations. Key provisions included the recommendation that Article 356 (President's Rule) should be used "very sparingly and as a matter of last resort" only in cases of genuine constitutional breakdown. It also proposed that the Governor should be an eminent person from outside the state, appointed after consultation with the Chief Minister, to ensure impartiality. The most significant recommendation was the establishment of a permanent Inter-State Council under Article 263 of the Constitution to institutionalize dialogue and coordination between the Centre and the States.
The Sarkaria Commission connects directly to the broader concept of Centre-State relations in India and its recommendations served as a foundational reference for subsequent bodies. Following its report, the Inter-State Council was formally established in 1990. While not all recommendations were implemented, the core principles remain relevant, and the Commission's work was later reviewed by the Punchhi Commission, which was constituted in 2007 to look into the same subject.