In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld a challenge to Assam's Parliamentary Secretaries Act, 2004, which created new political offices bearing ministerial rank and salary. The Court held that while the Constitution grants states general legislative power over legislative procedure under Article 246 read with Entry 39 of List II, this does not permit creating new ministerial positions. The Constitution contains dedicated articles—particularly Article 187—that exhaustively regulate legislative staffing. When dedicated articles address a specific topic, general legislative entries cannot be used to create related but distinct powers. The Act's true effect was circumventing the 15% ceiling on Council of Ministers imposed by the 91st Amendment. The Court rejected the doctrine of 'widest construction' when applied to Seventh Schedule entries without rational connection to their subject-matter, emphasizing the scheme and context of constitutional provisions must guide interpretation.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.