Previous Year Question

Under the Government of India Act, 1935, the residuary legislative powers were vested in the Governor-General. Therefore, option (b) is correct.

The Act distributed legislative subjects among three lists:

• The Federal List primarily contained subjects concerning the Centre.

• The Provincial List contained subjects concerning the Provincial Governments.

• Both the Federal and Provincial Legislatures could legislate on subjects in the Concurrent List.

However, the power to legislate on matters not enumerated in any of these three lists was not directly assigned to either the Federal or Provincial Legislature.

Under Section 104 of the Government of India Act, 1935, when a matter was not enumerated in the Federal, Provincial or Concurrent List, the Governor-General could, in his discretion and through a public notification, empower either the Federal Legislature or a Provincial Legislature to make a law concerning that matter.

This meant that the Governor-General did not ordinarily legislate on the residuary matter as a legislature himself. He possessed the residuary authority to determine whether legislative competence over an unenumerated matter should be conferred upon the Federal Legislature or a Provincial Legislature.

This arrangement differed from the present Constitution of India. Under Article 248 and Entry 97 of the Union List, residuary legislative powers are vested in Parliament. They also include the power to impose a tax not mentioned in the State List or Concurrent List.

Option (a) is incorrect because the Federal Legislature did not automatically possess legislative power over an unenumerated matter. It could exercise such power only when authorised by the Governor-General.

Option (c) is incorrect because a Provincial Legislature also possessed no automatic legislative competence over residuary matters.

Option (d) is incorrect because this authority was vested in the Governor-General, not in the Provincial Governors.