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Showing contexts for: basic structure constitution in Iron Works vs Union Of India And Ors. on 27 January, 1975Matching Fragments
(13) We were invited to read a number of provisions in the Constitution by the counsel in their attempt to show that the definitions contained in the General Clauses Act are inconsistent with the general framework and scheme of the Constitution. It was said that the "Central Government", "States" and "Un,ion territories" are distinct entities in the scheme of the Constitution and the Constitution does not give power to Parliament to convert one into another or assign the functions of one to another. It was further argued that these entities have been mixed up and disturbed by giving artificial definitions to these terms in the General Clauses Act which go against the grain of the Constitution. This argument, as we have said, is based on a fundamental misconception, The three expressions, undoubtedly, have a distinct meaning in the constitutional set up. It is also true that the Constitution has a framework and a basic structure of its own. It has its own scheme in which the Central Government, the States an,d the Union territories play their assigned roles and operate in their allotted spheres. India is a Union of States. The territory of India comprises (a) the territories of the States, (b) the Union territories (Article 1). Part V of the Constitution deals with the Union. Part Vi deals with the States and Part Vii deals witli the Union territories.