(a) Examine the background of Sarkaria Commission. 8 (b) Examine the major recommendations of Sarkaria Commission. 12

📝Model Answer

Introduction

The Sarkaria Commission, officially the Commission on Centre-State Relations, was set up by the Government of India on 9 June 1983 under Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, a retired Supreme Court judge, to examine the working of existing arrangements between the Union and the States and recommend measures for a healthier, more cooperative federal relationship — its report, submitted in 1988, remains a landmark reference point for India’s federal governance architecture even today.

Body

Background of the Sarkaria Commission

1. Growing Centre-State tensions: By the late 1970s and early 1980s, India’s federal structure faced considerable strain, marked by frequent friction between the Centre and non-Congress state governments over legislative, administrative, and financial matters.
2. Earlier precedents of concern: Bodies like the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in the 1960s and Tamil Nadu’s Rajamannar Committee (1969-71) had earlier flagged over-centralisation and recommended greater devolution of powers to states, though such reports were largely ignored by the Centre.
3. Misuse of Article 356: Frequent and often politically motivated imposition of President’s Rule in opposition-ruled states had emerged as a major source of Centre-State discord, necessitating a comprehensive institutional review.
4. Demand for cooperative federalism: Regional parties and state governments increasingly demanded greater fiscal and administrative autonomy, arguing that excessive centralisation reduced states to mere administrative appendages of the Union.
5. Constitution of the Commission: Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Home Affairs, under the Indira Gandhi government, constituted the three-member Commission comprising Justice R.S. Sarkaria (Chairman), B. Sivaraman (former Cabinet Secretary), and Dr. S.R. Sen (economist).
6. Mandate: The Commission was tasked with reviewing the working of existing arrangements between the Union and States across legislative, administrative, and financial spheres, including the role of Governors, emergency provisions, Panchayati Raj, and inter-state resource sharing, while explicitly being instructed not to alter the basic structure of the Constitution.
7. Extended timeline: Though originally given one year, the Commission’s term was extended four times due to the scale of consultations required with state governments, political parties, and constitutional experts.
8. Submission of report: The Commission submitted its report to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on 27 October 1987, and it was published in 1988, running to about 1,600 pages with 247 recommendations across 19 chapters.

Major Recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission

1. Restraint in use of Article 356: The Commission recommended that President’s Rule be used sparingly, only as a last resort, after all other alternatives have been exhausted, and only after issuing a warning to the state government.
2. "Speaking document" requirement: The Governor’s report recommending President’s Rule should be a well-reasoned, "speaking document," and the state Assembly should not be dissolved until Parliament has approved the proclamation.
3. Role and appointment of Governors: Governors should be eminent persons, not active politicians, ideally not belonging to the ruling party at the Centre when a different party rules the state, with a fixed five-year tenure and removal only on compelling grounds.
4. Establishment of an Inter-State Council: The Commission recommended setting up a permanent Inter-State Council under Article 263 as a forum for dialogue, cooperation, and dispute resolution between the Centre and states — later implemented via a Presidential Order in 1990.
5. Financial relations reforms: It recommended a fairer division of revenues between the Centre and states, including sharing of corporation tax, and greater fiscal autonomy for states, while retaining residuary taxation powers with Parliament.
6. Deployment of armed/central forces: The Centre should consult the concerned state government before deploying central armed forces within a state, except in situations of extreme urgency.
7. Strengthening of All-India Services: The Commission strongly defended and recommended further strengthening of services like the IAS and IPS as instruments of national integration, rather than their dilution.
8. Legislative consultation on Concurrent List matters: The Centre should consult states before legislating on subjects in the Concurrent List to promote cooperative law-making.
9. Residuary powers: While taxation-related residuary powers should remain with Parliament, other residuary subjects should ideally be placed under the Concurrent List rather than the exclusive Union List.
10. President’s assent to state bills: The Commission recommended that states be duly informed and consulted when the President withholds assent to or vetoes a state bill.
11. Planning and economic relations: It suggested greater state participation in national economic and social planning processes, including reforms in bodies like the Planning Commission/National Development Council to reflect states’ concerns better.
12. Judicial endorsement: Many Sarkaria principles, particularly on Article 356 and the discretionary powers of the Governor, were later judicially affirmed in the landmark S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) case, which held that Presidential proclamations under Article 356 are subject to judicial review and that federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution.

Conclusion