Justice Kurian Joseph Committee report: Federalism needs reset like 1991 reforms, English as official language and other recommendations – India Legal

India Authorized Bureau

The Tamil Nadu authorities’s tabling of the Justice Kurian Joseph Committee report on Centre-state relations within the state meeting on February 19 has loved headline area for its suggestions to chop down the powers loved by the Governor and a higher states’ say in constitutional amendments, the report, nonetheless, goes additional into the federal construction and the language problem.

Chaired by Justice Kurian Joseph, the previous Supreme Courtroom decide, the committee’s different members embody former Indian Maritime College vice-chancellor and retired IAS officer Ok Ashok Vardhan Shetty, and former Tamil Nadu Planning Fee vice-chairman Dr M Naganathan.

Arrange in April 2025, the committee is the fourth main effort to evaluate Union-state relations on the national-level and the second by the TN authorities after the Rajamannar Committee (1969-71).

The Sarkaria Fee (1983-88) and the Punchhi Fee (2007-10) had examined the evolving relations between the Union and the states. However on condition that vital constitutional, fiscal and institutional modifications have taken place since then, the committee and its suggestions assumes higher significance. It should be famous that Centre-state ties have been strained below a number of heads together with the GST share and the delimitation train. 

Among the many highlights of the report are decentralisation and federal restructuring, arguments towards extreme centralisation that has weakened governance, distorted accountability, and undermined cooperative federalism. The doc proposes main amendments to the Structure throughout 10 thematic areas.

Framing its proposals as a mandatory “federal reset,” the report argues that cooperative federalism should be institutionalised slightly than depending on political goodwill. It envisions the Union and states functioning as equal constitutional companions, with authority matched by duty.

Summing up their suggestions, the report’s authors state within the preface of Half 1: “The Committee is firmly of the view that Indian federalism now requires a structural reset comparable in ambition to the financial reforms of 1991. A federation that trusts its States, respects subsidiarity, empowers native governments, and accommodates heterogeneity doesn’t weaken sovereignty; it deepens democracy. Unity in such a system is sustained not by command however by consent, not by enforced uniformity however by negotiated lodging, and never by the focus of energy however by its principled distribution.”

“The target is to not diminish the Union, however to right-size it. As Ok. Santhanam warned within the Constituent Meeting, the Union’s energy lies not within the accumulation of features, however within the disciplined refusal of duties that don’t belong on the nationwide degree,” the committee states.

Listed here are the salient heads below which the suggestions have been made:

Stronger Federal Framework

At its core, the report makes the constitutional case for decentralisation, advancing 11 rules together with the “Liberty Argument” (divided energy safeguards freedom), the “Resilience Argument” (centralised programs fail below stress), and the “Innovation Argument” (States as laboratories of reform). It additionally critiques what it phrases the “Uniformity Fallacy” and “Management Fallacy” which have justified over-centralisation.

A central proposal is to overtake Article 368 to make constitutional amendments considerably extra rigorous. Most amendments would require a two-thirds majority of the full membership of each Homes of Parliament and ratification by two-thirds of States representing two-thirds of India’s inhabitants. The report additionally requires codifying the Structure’s Primary Options inside the textual content itself and mandating public session earlier than any modification is launched.

Territorial Integrity and State Consent

The suggestions search to curb unilateral territorial reorganisation below Articles 2 and three. Any creation or alteration of States would require the consent of affected State Legislatures, with referendums mandated in sure circumstances. The creation of latest Union Territories can be barred below a proposed Article 3A, whereas current Union Territories (besides Delhi) would face periodic referendums on statehood or merger.

English as Official Language

The report challenges the dominance of Hindi in official coverage. It proposes amending Article 343 to completely entrench English as an official language of the Union and to declare all Eighth Schedule languages as Union official languages, drawing comparisons to the multilingual framework of the European Union.

The doc requires correcting Census classifications that group a number of languages as “dialects of Hindi” and recommends together with all languages with over a million native audio system within the Eighth Schedule. It additionally advocates changing the Particular Officer for Linguistic Minorities with a Nationwide Language Fee and abandoning the “Three-Language System” in favour of high-proficiency bilingualism — English and the regional language.

Reforming the Workplace of Governor

Vital modifications are proposed to Articles 155 and 156 to insulate Governors from political affect. The President can be required to nominate a Governor from a panel accredited by the State Meeting, with a hard and fast, non-renewable five-year time period. Removing would require a majority decision of the State Legislature.

A brand new “Instrument of Directions” would codify limits on gubernatorial discretion, significantly in authorities formation and assent to State Payments. Obligatory timelines for assent are proposed, drawing on the Supreme Courtroom’s 2025 ruling in State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Pausing Delimitation Till Fertility Charges Converge

The report recommends extending the freeze on inter-State seat allocation within the Lok Sabha till 2126 or till fertility charges converge nationally. It additionally proposes equal illustration of States within the Rajya Sabha — six seats every — changing the present population-based disparities and abolishing nominated members. Separate Union and State Delimitation Commissions are proposed to stop extreme central management.

Electoral Reforms

The doc requires separating Union and state election administration, limiting the Election Fee of India to nationwide polls. It strongly opposes the proposed simultaneous elections reform, arguing it violates federal steadiness and the Structure’s fundamental construction.

Anti-defection legal guidelines can be tightened to impose a six-year ban from contesting elections for defectors, with adjudication shifted from Audio system to Excessive Courts. The proper to vote can be made a Elementary Proper, alongside a proposed Elementary Responsibility to vote.

Training and Well being Decentralisation

Training and medical training can be moved again to the State Checklist, reversing the 1976 shift to the Concurrent Checklist. The Union’s regulatory function can be confined to setting minimal requirements.

The report recommends dismantling the Nationwide Testing Company and abolishing nationwide entrance exams equivalent to NEET, restoring admissions management to States and universities. It additionally proposes main amendments to the Nationwide Medical Fee Act to repeal NEET and the proposed Nationwide Exit Check (NExT).

GST Reforms to Restore Fiscal Federalism

Intensive modifications are proposed to Article 279A governing the GST Council. Choices embody decreasing the Union authorities’s voting weight, elevating quorum thresholds, or adopting a “one member, one vote” system.

The suggestions search to codify the advisory (non-binding) nature of GST Council choices according to the Supreme Courtroom’s ruling in Union of India v. Mohit Minerals Pvt Ltd. States can be allowed to differ SGST charges inside a restricted band, and an impartial GST Dispute Settlement Authority can be created.

The report additionally requires institutional reforms to GST rate-setting, together with a single annual charge calendar and the precept of “One Product, One Charge.”