Structure under Constitution of India :
Constitution of India is basically federal but with certain unitary features.
The majority of the Supreme Court judges in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461, were of the view that the federal features form the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. However, there is some controversy as to whether the Indian Constitution establishes a federal system or it stipulates a unitary form of Government with some basic federal features. Thus, to decide whether our Constitution is federal, unitary or quasi federal, it would be better to have a look at the contents of the Constitution.
The essential features of a Federal Polity or System are—dual Government, distribution of powers, supremacy of the Constitution, independence of Judiciary, written Constitution, and a rigid procedure for the amendment of the Constitution. The political system introduced by our Constitution possesses all the aforesaid essentials of a federal polity as follows:
(a) In India, there are Governments at different levels, like Union and States.
(b) Powers to make laws have been suitably distributed among them by way of various lists as per the Seventh Schedule.
(c) Both Union and States have to follow the Constitutional provisions when they make laws.
(d) The Judiciary is independent with regard to judicial matters and judiciary can test the validity of law independently. The Supreme Court decides the disputes between the Union and the States, or the States inter se.
(e) The Constitution is supreme and if it is to be amended, it is possible only by following the procedure explained in Article 368 of the Constitution itself.
From the above, it is clear that the Indian Constitution basically has federal features. But the Indian Constitution does not establish two co-ordinate independent Governments. Both the Governments co-ordinate, co-operate and collaborate in each other’s efforts to achieve the ideals laid down in the preamble.