Centre-State Distribution of Security Powers

The Seventh Schedule distributes security-related lawmaking subjects among the Union List, State List and Concurrent List. Read with Article 246, it gives Parliament control over national defence and Union forces, while State legislatures ordinarily control public order and police; some supporting criminal-law subjects are shared.

Constitutional scheme

Under Article 246, Parliament has exclusive competence over List I, States ordinarily have exclusive competence over List II, and both may legislate on List III. In case of repugnancy between valid Concurrent List laws, Article 254 generally gives parliamentary law precedence, subject to its provisions.

Security fields allocated by the three lists

• The Union List covers defence of India, the armed forces of the Union and arms, ammunition and explosives through Entries 1, 2 and 5.
• Deployment of Union armed forces or other Union-controlled forces in aid of civil power, including their powers and liabilities during deployment, falls under Union List Entry 2A.
• The Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation and preventive detention connected with defence, foreign affairs or the security of India fall under Union List Entries 8 and 9.
• Public order and police, including railway and village police, are State subjects under State List Entries 1 and 2, subject to the Union field concerning deployment of Union forces.
• Prisons and related institutions fall under State List Entry 4.
• Criminal law, criminal procedure and preventive detention connected with State security or public order are shared fields under Concurrent List Entries 1, 2 and 3.

Federal balance and exceptional Union legislation

The division makes ordinary policing and maintenance of public order primarily State legislative fields, while national defence and Union forces remain under Parliament. It allocates legislative subjects, not every operational decision; coordination is therefore necessary when a security problem crosses these fields.

• Parliament may legislate on State List matters through constitutional routes such as a Rajya Sabha resolution in the national interest under Article 249, a national emergency under Article 250, or consent of States under Article 252.
• Under Article 355, the Union has a duty to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance, but this duty operates within the broader constitutional framework.

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