Union And Its Territory: Constitutional Law (Download Notes)

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• Union and its Territory is an important topic that shows up in judiciary exams - in the Constitution/Polity paper, in General Knowledge sections, and often in the interview.  
• This part of the Indian Constitution helps you understand why India is called a "Union" and not a "Federation.  
• The set of rules under Articles 1 to 4 that governs how the Union of States is formed, and how state boundaries can be created, renamed, or altered.  

Scroll down for better understanding of this topic and ready to use notes!  

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Union and Its Territory Constitutional Law: Quick Overview  

Particulars	Details
Placement in Indian Constitution	Part I
Articles Covered	Article 1, Article 2, Article 2A (repealed), Article 3, Article 4
Core Idea	India is a "Union of States," not a "Federation of States"
Important Landmark Case	Berubari Union Case (1960)
Recent Highlights	Article 370 abrogation case (2023)
Amendment procedure for Articles 2 & 3 laws	Simple majority | Not a constitutional amendment under Article 368
Total Indian States & Union Territories	28 States, 8 Union Territories

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Why is India a "Union of States" Not a "Federation of States"?  

The Indian Constitution calls the country a Union of States rather than a Federation of States for a specific reason:  

• The Indian federation was not created by an agreement between the states, the way the American federation was.  
• Instead, the Union came first, and states were carved out of it for administrative convenience.  

Therefore, the states have no right to secede from the Union.  

The country is treated as a single, indestructible whole, even though its internal boundaries are flexible and can be reorganized by Parliament.  

Remember: The Union is indestructible, but the states within it are not. Their shape, name, and even existence can change.  

Union and Its Territory Constitutional Law: What's in Article 1 to 4?  

Here's what is given in Article 1 to 4, Part I of the Indian Constitution. You can use this when preparing Indian Constitution notes for yourself. 

Article 1: Name and Territory of the Union 

Article 1 defines the name of the country as India and Bharat, and the type of polity as a Union of States.  

• India shall be a Union of States rather than a Federation of States  
• The states and territories are specified in the First Schedule  
• The territory of India includes: Territories of the States and Union Territories 
• Any territory that may be acquired by the Government of India (for example, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Puducherry, and Sikkim were all acquired or integrated this way at different points).  

Article 2: Admission or Establishment of New States - External Readjustment  

Parliament has the power to admit or establish new states through external readjustment. This means it can bring in territory or a state that wasn't previously part of India or set up an entirely new state on terms it decides.  

Article 2A: Sikkim's Association with the Union  

This article was added by the 36th Amendment Act, 1975, and dealt with Sikkim's association with the Union of India. It has since been repealed once Sikkim became a full-fledged state.  

Article 3: Parliament's Power of Internal Readjustment  

Article 3 authorizes Parliament to:  

• Form a new state  
• Increase the area of a state  
• Diminish the area of a state  
• Alter the boundary of any state  
• Alter the name of any state  

How Can New States Be Created Under Article 3?   

• Separating territory from any state  
• Uniting states or parts of different states  
• Uniting territories with states or parts of states  

What Are the Conditions to Create a New State or Union Territory? 

• Prior recommendation of the President is required before the bill is introduced. 
• The concerned state legislature must be given the chance to give its views within a specified period, but Parliament is not bound by what the state legislature says. 
• The bill must pass in Parliament by a simple majority. 
• For union territories, the same procedure applies except that no reference to a UT legislature is required.  

Article 4: Amendments to the First and Fourth Schedule  

• Amendments made under Articles 2 and 3, along with the resulting changes to the First and Fourth Schedules, are not treated as constitutional amendments under Article 368. 
• They only require a simple majority through the ordinary legislative process, not the special procedure a constitutional amendment would need.  

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What is the Difference Between a State and Union Territory?  

We have simplified the difference between a state and union territory so you can easily memorize it.  

Basis	State	Union Territory
Administration	Has its own elected government with law-making authority	Administered directly by the Central Government
Head	Governor, who acts as the President's representative	Lieutenant Governor (or Administrator), appointed by the Centre
Legislature	Has its own Legislative Assembly and Chief Minister	Most do not have a full legislature; a few (Delhi, Puducherry) have partial ones
Rajya Sabha Representation	Represented in the Rajya Sabha	Only Delhi and Puducherry are represented; others are not
Boundary Changes	Can be altered by Parliament under Article 3	Same power applies, the state-legislature reference step does not apply

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Union and Its Territory Constitutional Law: Landmark Cases  

Here are the most important case laws you should include in your Union and Its Territory Constitutional Law notes.  

Berubari Union Case (1960) 

In the Berubari Union case, the Supreme Court examined the limits of Parliament's power to alter state boundaries.  

• The central government had decided to cede the Berubari Union territory in West Bengal to East Pakistan.  
• The Supreme Court held that Article 3 does not give Parliament the power to cede Indian territory to a foreign country.  
• That kind of change needs a full constitutional amendment under Article 368, not a simple majority law.  

After this case, internal reorganization is easy, but giving away Indian territory is deliberately made hard.  

Article 370 Abrogation Case (2023)  

In 2023, the Supreme Court examined the legality of the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganization of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories: J&K and Ladakh.  

• The Court upheld Parliament's power to reorganize a state and carve Union Territories out of it.  
• This reaffirmed that Parliament's authority under Part I extends to fairly drastic territorial restructuring, as long as the correct legislative process is followed.  

When preparing for judiciary exams, pay attention and compare this case with Berubari.  

One tells you what Parliament cannot do (cede territory abroad), the other confirms what it clearly can do (reorganize territory within India, even at significant scale).  

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States Reorganization Act, 1956 And Its Impact  

The States Reorganization Act of 1956 was a significant revision of India's state and territory boundaries, organizing them along linguistic lines. The Act implemented several recommendations of the States Reorganization Commission (SRC).  

New States and Union Territories Created After 1956  

At the time of India's independence in 1947, there were 562 princely states. Most of these acceded to India, and many were later merged to form new states.  

The States Reorganization Act of 1956 reorganized Indian states based on linguistic criteria, reducing the number of states from 27 to 14.  

• States formed as a result of the 1956 restructuring include Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Punjab, and Rajasthan.  
• Parliament has continued to pass further Reorganization Acts since then, leading to states like Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, and Telangana being formed over the following decades.  

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Union and Its Territory Constitutional Law: Recent Developments 

2026 has brought some of the biggest proposed changes in years. As of this update, these are pending bills, not finalized law, so treat them as developments to watch rather than settled provisions.  

• The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposes to substitute Article 81 and raise the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850 members, changing how seats are apportioned across states based on updated population data. 
• The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 makes corresponding changes to the laws governing Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu & Kashmir, aligning their Assembly composition and representation with the revised constitutional scheme, directly relevant to how Article 4 changes get carried into UT-specific laws. 
• These bills are part of a broader plan alongside the Delimitation Bill, 2026, which sets out how a fresh Delimitation Commission would redraw constituencies.  

If these bills are enacted, they will be one of the more significant developments in this area since the 1956 reorganization. Keep an eye on the official Parliament and PRS India trackers for the current status before quoting this as settled law in an exam or interview answer.  

Here are the key takeaways:  

• India is a Union of States, not a Federation, because the states have no right to secede. 
• Article 2 covers external readjustment (bringing in new territory); Article 3 covers internal readjustment (reorganizing existing states). 
• Laws under Articles 2 and 3 need only a simple majority, not constitutional amendments. 
• Berubari (1960) blocked ceding Indian territory abroad without a constitutional amendment; the Article 370 case (2023) confirmed Parliament's power to reorganize a state into Union Territories.