Constitutional Law
Administrative Relations between Union and States
Learn how executive power, Union directions, delegated functions, All India Services and coordination shape administrative federalism in India.
The short answer
Administrative federalism combines separate executive spheres with constitutional duties of coordination, Union directions and shared institutions.
How executive power is divided
The starting point is that executive authority generally follows the corresponding legislative field.
Union and State executive power
Article 73 states the broad reach of Union executive power and Article 162 performs the corresponding function for States. Both remain subject to the Constitution and valid legislation.
State duty under Article 256
A State must ensure compliance with parliamentary laws and existing laws applicable in that State. The Union may issue directions necessary for that constitutional purpose.
Protection of Union functions
Article 257 prevents State executive action from impeding Union executive power and permits specified directions, including in relation to communications and railway protection.
Entrustment of functions
Articles 258 and 258A permit functions to be entrusted across levels with the required consent, allowing administration to be shared without rewriting legislative competence.
Coordination without erasing federalism
The Constitution supplies both collaborative institutions and stronger compliance mechanisms.
Inter-State Council
Article 263 allows a council to inquire into inter-State disputes, discuss common interests and recommend better coordination. Its role is consultative rather than legislative.
Inter-State water disputes
Article 262 allows Parliament to create a special mechanism for disputes concerning inter-State rivers and to restrict ordinary court jurisdiction as the parliamentary law provides.
All India Services
Article 312 permits creation of shared services after the required Rajya Sabha resolution. Their structure supports administrative continuity across Union and State governments.
Article 365 is not automatic
Failure to comply with a valid Union direction may permit the President to consider whether constitutional government can continue, but it does not mechanically or conclusively establish an Article 356 case.
Executive spheres and Union directions
Administrative relations broadly follow legislative competence, but Part XI adds coordination and direction powers needed for an integrated federation.
Articles 73 and 162
Union and State executive power generally track their legislative fields, subject to constitutional and parliamentary qualifications. Concurrent competence does not automatically transfer every administrative function to the Union.
Article 256
States must exercise executive power to secure compliance with parliamentary law and existing applicable law. The Union may issue directions for that constitutional purpose.
Article 257
State executive action must not impede Union executive power. Directions may address communications of national or military importance and protection of railways, with constitutional cost consequences.
Consequence of non-compliance
Article 365 permits constitutional consequences where a State fails to comply with valid Union directions, but it does not make every disagreement an automatic ground for President's Rule. Article 356 conditions and judicial review still apply.
Entrustment, public acts and intergovernmental coordination
The Constitution permits governments to share implementation without erasing the distribution of political responsibility.
Articles 258 and 258A
Union functions may be entrusted to a State with consent, and a State may entrust functions to the Union. Terms, costs and legislative support should be identified in a practical problem.
Article 261
Full faith and credit supports recognition of public acts, records and judicial proceedings across India, with parliamentary law regulating proof and effect.
Article 263
The President may establish an Inter-State Council to inquire into disputes, discuss common-interest subjects and recommend better policy coordination.
Inter-State river disputes
Article 262 authorises Parliament to provide adjudication of river-water disputes and to exclude court jurisdiction within the constitutional and statutory scheme.
All India Services and integrated administration
Indian federalism combines separate governments with institutions that serve both Union and State administration.
Article 312 allows Parliament to create an All India Service after Rajya Sabha passes the prescribed national-interest resolution. Officers serve in State cadres while recruitment and service structures retain national features, creating continuity and shared administrative capacity.
Article 355 places a duty on the Union to protect States against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure constitutional government. It is a constitutional responsibility, not a free-standing licence for unlimited central control.
Cooperative bodies, centrally sponsored programmes and administrative agreements may shape implementation, but executive convenience cannot replace the legal source of power, financial authorisation or constitutionally assigned accountability.
How to analyse a Union direction to a State
The validity of a direction depends on source, subject, purpose and constitutional consequence.
Locate the power
Identify Article 256, 257 or another specific provision and the parliamentary law, Union function or infrastructure interest said to justify the direction.
Check the connection
The direction must serve the purpose of the constitutional power. A general political demand cannot be converted into a binding direction by citation alone.
Respect federal responsibility
Ask whether the direction coordinates implementation or effectively takes over a State function without constitutional authority.
Assess remedy and review
Consider dialogue, intergovernmental mechanisms, Article 131 where its requirements fit, and judicial review of any coercive constitutional action.
Worked problem: refusal to implement a Union law
Assume a State executive announces that its officers will not implement a valid parliamentary welfare law operating in the State.
Implementation duty
Article 256 requires State executive power to secure compliance with applicable parliamentary law. The Union should identify the statutory duties and issue a direction connected to implementation rather than a broad political command.
Operational responsibility
The statute may assign functions to Union bodies, State officers or both. Funding, delegated rules and any consensual entrustment under Article 258 affect what each government must actually do.
Escalation
Non-compliance may trigger constitutional dialogue, litigation or Article 365 consideration. It does not mechanically prove that the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution.
Judicial review
A court can test the law, direction and coercive response. Federalism requires effective national law and constitutional respect for elected State government at the same time.
Leading cases and what they establish
Read each authority for the proposition it proves, the legal question it answers and the reasoning that supports the result.
State of Rajasthan v. Union of India
(1977) 3 SCC 592
Facts: After a national electoral change, Union communications called upon several State governments to seek fresh mandates, and the States challenged the threatened constitutional action.
Legal question: Could a political dispute between Union and State governments place the exercise of constitutional power entirely outside judicial review?
Held: Federal disputes remain governed by constitutional text, and high constitutional powers are not converted into unlimited political discretion merely because they involve Union-State relations.
Reasoning: The Court treated the controversy within the constitutional distribution of power and recognised limited review where a high constitutional power rests on mala fide or wholly extraneous grounds.
Why it matters: Use it to frame judicial review and constitutional limits in a Union-State confrontation.
Government of NCT of Delhi v. Union of India
(2018) 8 SCC 501
Facts: Disputes arose over the working relationship between Delhi’s elected government and the Lieutenant Governor under the special constitutional arrangement for the capital.
Legal question: How should representative government and the constitutional role of the Lieutenant Governor be reconciled?
Held: Collaborative federalism, constitutional morality and respect for representative government guide the working relationship between institutions.
Reasoning: Constitutional morality and collaborative federalism require each institution to respect its assigned role. Difference of opinion is not a licence for routine obstruction of elected government.
Why it matters: Use it to explain that federal administration requires coordination, not routine obstruction.
Read the judgmentUsing this topic in a legal answer
A clear answer sequence
- Begin with Articles 73 and 162 and the link between legislative and executive power.
- Explain State compliance under Article 256.
- Discuss Union protection and directions under Article 257.
- Add entrustment, councils, water disputes and All India Services.
- Conclude with cooperative federalism and the constitutional limits on coercive power.
Points that are often confused
- Assuming the Union may issue any direction on any subject.
- Describing the Inter-State Council as a law-making body.
- Treating Article 365 as automatic President's Rule.
Open the revision and self-check sheet
Rules to retain
- Executive power generally follows legislative power.
- Articles 256 and 257 support specified Union directions.
- Functions may be entrusted across governments.
- Article 263 supports coordination.
- Article 312 provides for All India Services.
Questions to test understanding
- What duty does Article 256 place on States?
- How is entrustment different from transfer of legislative power?
- Does every failure to follow a direction trigger Article 356?
Questions students ask
Is the Inter-State Council a court?
No. It is a constitutional coordination forum that may inquire, discuss and recommend. Article 262 separately supports statutory adjudication of inter-State water disputes.
Can Union functions be administered by a State?
Yes. Article 258 permits Union functions to be entrusted to a State Government with its consent and on agreed conditions.
Does Union executive power cover every Concurrent List subject?
Not automatically. The Constitution or parliamentary law may assign executive responsibility, while State executive power can continue in Concurrent fields subject to valid Union law.
Does failure to follow a Union direction automatically impose President's Rule?
No. Article 365 is relevant, but a proclamation must still satisfy Article 356 and remains judicially reviewable under the principles associated with S.R. Bommai.
Why are All India Services constitutionally significant?
They provide shared national standards and administrative continuity while officers work within State cadres. Article 312 therefore combines federal participation through Rajya Sabha with integrated administration.
Primary sources and further reading
This article is written for legal education. Verify the governing provision, applicable amendments and complete judgment before relying on a proposition in practice.