BharatNotes What is Sarkaria Commission?
The Sarkaria Commission was a three-member body constituted by the Government of India in June 1983 to examine the working of relations between the Union and the States and to recommend changes within the framework of the Constitution. It was chaired by Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, with B. Sivaraman and Dr. S.R. Sen as members. The commission submitted its report on 27 October 1987 (full report published 1988), running to roughly 1,600 pages and containing 247 recommendations.
Why it was set up
By the early 1980s, tensions between the Union and several states had intensified over the perceived overuse of Article 356 (President's Rule), the partisan role of Governors, and the centralising drift of the federal system. The commission's mandate was deliberately narrow: to suggest reforms within the existing constitutional structure, not to rewrite the Constitution. Its guiding philosophy was that a strong Union is essential for national unity, but it must coexist with adequately empowered states.
Key recommendations
| Area | Recommendation (as reported, 1987-88) |
|---|---|
| Article 356 | Use very sparingly, as a last resort, only after all alternatives are exhausted; assembly should not be dissolved before Parliament approves the proclamation |
| Inter-State Council | Set up a permanent council under Article 263 to institutionalise Centre-State dialogue |
| Governor | Should be an eminent person from outside the state, detached from active local politics |
| Residuary powers | Taxation-related residuary powers to remain with Parliament; other residuary matters could be placed in the Concurrent List |
| All-India Services | Strengthen, not dilute, the All-India Services as instruments of national integration |
The commission largely opposed radical demands for greater state autonomy, instead favouring procedural restraint and better consultation mechanisms.
Significance and current status
The most concrete outcome was the establishment of the Inter-State Council under Article 263 through a Presidential Order in 1990, directly implementing a core recommendation. The commission's cautionary stand on Article 356 was strongly echoed in the landmark S.R. Bommai v. Union of India judgment (1994), where the Supreme Court made President's Rule subject to judicial review. Two decades later, the Punchhi Commission (constituted 2007, reported 2010) revisited many of the same themes, building on the Sarkaria framework.
UPSC angle
For Prelims, fix the basic facts: chairman (Justice R.S. Sarkaria), year of constitution (1983), and signature recommendations (Inter-State Council, restraint on Article 356). For Mains GS2, the commission is a springboard for evaluating cooperative federalism, the politics of Governorship, and the evolution of President's Rule jurisprudence. Avoid the common error of confusing it with the Punchhi Commission or the Rajamannar Committee (1969, Tamil Nadu). This is a foundational concept underpinning the broader federalism topic family rather than a single-PYQ item.
