Constitution Section 251 — Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament under articles 249 and 250 and laws made by the Legislatures of States

Part XI — RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNION AND THE STATES — Distribution of Legislative Powers

Constitutional

Summary

Article 251 says that even when Parliament makes laws under special powers for national interest or emergencies, state legislatures can still make their own laws on those subjects. However, if a state law contradicts a Parliament law made under those special powers, the Parliament law will win. The state law will stop working only as long as the Parliament law remains in force.

Official Text

Nothing in articles 249 and 250 shall restrict the power of the Legislature of a State to make any law which under this Constitution it has power to make, but if any provision of a law made by the Legislature of a State is repugnant to any provision of a law made by Parliament which Parliament has under either of the said articles power to make, the law made by Parliament, whether passed before or after the law made by the Legislature of the State, shall prevail, and the law made by the Legislature of the State shall to the extent of the repugnancy, but so long only as the law made by Parliament continues to have effect, be inoperative.