In Brief
The Supreme Court invalidated the Assam Parliamentary Secretaries Act, 2004, which created the office of Parliamentary Secretary as a position of ministerial rank. The Court held that the Assam Legislature lacked competence to enact the statute. Though Entry 39 of the State List permits legislating on powers, privileges and immunities of legislators, and Article 194(3) allows such legislation, these provisions do not authorize creating new political offices. Since the Constitution's Chapter III (Part VI) explicitly provides for specific legislative offices and Article 187 addresses secretarial staff, a legislative attempt to create equivalent ministerial positions lies outside the scope of Article 194(3) and Entry 39. The creation would circumvent the 91st Amendment's 15% cap on Council size. The Writ Petition was allowed and the Act declared unconstitutional.
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