The Constitution of India
Article 252
Power of Parliament to legislate for two or more States by consent and adoption of such legislation by
(1) If it appears to the Legislatures of two or more States to be desirable that any of the matters with respect to which Parliament has no power to make laws for the States except as provided in articles 249 and 250 should be regulated in such States by Parliament by law, and if resolutions to that effect are passed by all the Houses of the Legislatures of those States, it shall be lawful for Parliament to pass an Act for regulating that matter accordingly, and any Act so passed shall apply to such States and to any other State by which it is adopted afterwards by resolution passed in that behalf by the House or, where there are two Houses, by each of the Houses of the Legislature of that State.
(2) Any Act so passed by Parliament may be amended or repealed by an Act of Parliament passed or adopted in like manner but shall not, as respects any State to which it applies, be amended or repealed by an Act of the Legislature of that State.
Why this exists
India's Constitution divides law-making power between Parliament and the States through the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists. Sometimes a subject is best handled uniformly across states—like moneylending regulation, prize competitions, or organ transplantation—but Parliament has no direct authority over it because it sits in the State List. Article 252 provides a voluntary bridge: instead of amending the Constitution, willing states can invite Parliament to legislate for them, achieving uniformity without permanently transferring the subject out of the State List everywhere.
How courts read it
In State of Kerala v. Mar Appraem Kuri Co. Ltd. (2012), the Supreme Court examined a law adopted by Kerala under Article 252 and confirmed that once a state adopts a Parliament-made law under this Article, the state legislature permanently loses the power to amend or repeal it for as long as the adoption stands; only Parliament, acting through the same consent mechanism, can alter it. This reinforced that Article 252 creates a special, self-contained lawmaking arrangement distinct from ordinary Union-State legislative competence.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Article 252 permanently shifts a subject from the State List to the Union List.
Fact: It does not change the Constitution's lists; it only lets Parliament legislate for the consenting states on that specific matter, while the subject formally remains a state subject overall. - Myth: A state that adopts a Parliament law under Article 252 can later amend it to suit local needs.
Fact: Once adopted, only Parliament can amend or repeal that law for the state, as clarified by the Supreme Court in State of Kerala v. Mar Appraem Kuri Co. Ltd.