Part XXI - Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions • Article

Article 369 Simplified: Temporary power to Parliament to make laws with respect to certain matters in the State List as if they were matters in the Concurrent List

Article 369 gave temporary power to Parliament to legislate on certain State List subjects (like trade in essential goods) for the first five years of the Republic (these temporary powers were omitted and ceased to exist in 1955).

Official Text

Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament shall, during a period of five years from the commencement of this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the following matters as if they were enumerated in the Concurrent List, namely:— (a) trade and commerce within a State in, and the production, supply and distribution of, cotton and woollen textiles, raw cotton (including ginned cotton and unginned cotton or kapas), cotton seed, paper (including newsprint), food-stuffs (including edible oilseeds and oil), cattle fodder (including oil-cakes and other concentrates), coal (including coke and derivatives of coal), iron, steel and mica; (b) offences against laws with respect to any of the matters mentioned in clause (a), jurisdiction and powers of all courts except the Supreme Court with respect to any of those matters, and fees in respect of any of those matters but not including fees taken in any court, but any law made by Parliament, which Parliament would not but for the provisions of this article have been competent to make, shall, to the extent of the incompetency, cease to have effect on the expiration of the said period, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before the expiration thereof.

Simple Meaning

Explain Like Ten

Right after India became free, the country needed a single way to control important things like food, coal, and cotton. This rule let Parliament make laws about these things for 5 years, even though they were normally the states' jobs.

Student Mode

Article 369 is a transitional provision that vested temporary legislative power in Parliament for a period of five years from the commencement of the Constitution (ending in 1955). It allowed Parliament to legislate on crucial State List matters, including trade, commerce, production, supply, and distribution of textiles, raw cotton, paper, foodstuffs, coal, iron, steel, and mica. This temporary central control was critical for economic planning and commodity stabilization during the early reconstruction phase of independent India.

Example

Article 369 gave Parliament temporary power (for 5 years from 1950) to legislate on certain State List subjects — like trade and commerce in goods, industrial and commercial monopolies, production/supply of essential goods — as if they were Concurrent List matters. This transitional provision addressed India's pressing post-Independence economic management needs. It automatically expired in 1955 and was never extended, though Parliament retained some of these powers through other constitutional provisions.

Key Takeaway

Article 369 is historical, not an active rule; remember it as an amended provision on temporary power to parliament to make laws with respect to certain matters in the state list as if they were matters in the concurrent list.

FAQs

Why was Article 369 limited to only five years?

It was designed as a transitional mechanism. The framers anticipated that the economic disruptions of World War II and the partition of India would stabilize within five years, after which the state list matters should return exclusively to state control unless other emergency provisions applied.

What happened after the five-year period of Article 369 expired in 1955?

The temporary power expired. However, to maintain supply chains, the Parliament enacted the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and the Constitution (Third Amendment) Act, 1954, was passed to modify Entry 33 of the Concurrent List, permanently giving Parliament concurrent legislative powers over many of these same commodities.

Quiz

Under Article 369, for how many years from the commencement of the Constitution did Parliament hold these temporary powers?

Answer: 5 years

Which of the following commodities could Parliament regulate under the temporary power of Article 369?

Answer: Coal, iron, steel, and cotton textiles