Centre Must Treat States as Constitutional Equals, Says Justice BV Nagarathna

Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna on Saturday said Centre-State relations must be guided by constitutional governance and not by political considerations, asserting that the Union should treat States as “coordinates and not subordinates.” She also said citizens of any State cannot be discriminated against in matters of development and governance.

Justice Nagarathna was speaking at the first Dr Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture on “Constitutionalism beyond Rights: Why Structure Matters” at Chanakya National Law University in Patna.

She said State governments are not subordinate to the Union except as provided under the Constitution and must receive due treatment regardless of which political party is in power at the Centre or in the States. According to her, inter-party differences and ideological divisions must be kept aside in Centre-State relations because the issue falls within the domain of constitutional governance.

She emphasised that people must benefit from both Union and State governments through welfare schemes and public measures. Stressing India’s federal structure, she said there cannot be a “pick and choose” approach toward States in development programmes and that equity must guide governance.

Justice Nagarathna said the Constitution creates a vertical division of authority between the Union and the States so that no single centre can monopolise political power. This federal design, she noted, promotes balance, accountability and responsiveness in governance.

She cautioned that increasing conflict either among States or between the Centre and States does not augur well for the nation. A mature federation, she said, should prefer dialogue, negotiation and mediation over adversarial litigation. Border disputes and water-sharing issues, she observed, are too sensitive and complex to be resolved through court battles alone.

The judge also underlined that the Constitution does not place ultimate trust in any one institution, whether legislature, executive or judiciary. Instead, it creates a system of checks and balances through separation of powers. Parliament’s law-making authority is limited by fundamental rights, federal distribution of powers and judicial review, while the executive remains accountable to the legislature and courts.

Justice Nagarathna further said judicial power too is limited by the constitutional text and depends on executive compliance. Referring to constitutional history, she traced the evolution of limits on Parliament’s amending power from Shankari Prasad and Sajjan Singh to Golak Nath and the landmark Kesavananda Bharati ruling.

She said the basic structure doctrine is fundamentally a doctrine of structure, ensuring that no authority, including Parliament, can alter the Constitution in a way that destroys the conditions limiting its own power.                                            

Key Points

1. Centre should view States as coordinates, not subordinates.  
2. Citizens of a State cannot face discrimination in development or governance.  
3. Rising conflict between Centre and States weakens cooperative federalism.  
4. Constitutional structure limits all institutions, including Parliament and courts

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