SC Judge Warns Centre-State Clashes Erode Federalism
SC Judge Warns Centre-State Clashes Erode Federalism
Justice BV Nagarathna warns rising Centre-State disputes threaten cooperative federalism and urges dialogue over litigation.
A sharp rise in legal confrontations between states and the Union government risks undermining India’s constitutional design, Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna warned while delivering the First Dr Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture at Chanakya National Law University in Patna.
She cautioned that such disputes erode the spirit of cooperative federalism and weaken institutional balance.
"A mature federation ought not rush to courts as adversaries; instead it should turn to dialogue, negotiation, and mediation," she stated, highlighting that when states file suits against one another or the Centre, it signals weakness, not strength.
She emphasised that the Centre must view states as coordinates, not subordinates, noting that the Constitution is federal in structure and unitary in spirit, and that the vertical separation of powers is a constitutional arrangement of co-equals.
Her remarks come at a time when the Supreme Court is increasingly being drawn into politically charged Centre-State and inter-governmental disputes.
