Constitutional Framework for Union Territories (Part VIII, Articles 239–241)

A Union Territory (UT) is an area of India that is governed directly by the Central Government, not by its own state government. The President runs each UT through an officer called the Administrator (in some UTs called the Lieutenant Governor). The rules for UTs are in Part VIII of the Constitution, Articles 239 to 241. As of 2026, India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories.

Why do Union Territories exist?

Some areas are too small, too far away, too sensitive or too special to run as full states. For example, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are small island groups far from the mainland and important for defence. Delhi is the national capital, where the Centre needs control over things like police and land.

Chandigarh is the shared capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana. Puducherry was a former French colony with its own culture. Making these UTs lets the Centre take care of them directly.

Where did the idea come from?

When the Constitution started in 1950, it had four kinds of states: Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D. The Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956, passed along with the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, removed this system. It created just two kinds of units: states and Union Territories. Many former Part C and Part D states became UTs.

The First Schedule of the Constitution lists all states and UTs by name. Article 1 says India is a "Union of States", and the "territory of India" includes the states, the UTs and any other territory India may acquire.

Article by article: what does Part VIII say?

• Article 239: Every UT is run by the President, acting through an Administrator whom the President appoints. Under Article 239(2), the President can also make the Governor of a nearby state the Administrator of a UT. (For example, the Governor of Punjab is also the Administrator of Chandigarh.)
• Article 239A: Parliament can make a law to create a Legislature (an elected Assembly) and a Council of Ministers for the UT of Puducherry. It was added by the 14th Amendment Act, 1962, the year Puducherry formally joined India. Under this power, Parliament passed the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963. Laws made under Article 239A are not treated as amendments of the Constitution.
• Article 239AA and 239AB: Special rules for Delhi, added by the 69th Amendment Act, 1991 (in force from 1 February 1992). Delhi became the "National Capital Territory" with its own Assembly and Council of Ministers. Article 239AB lets the President suspend these rules in Delhi if the constitutional machinery fails.
• Article 239B: The Administrator of a UT with a legislature can make an ordinance (a temporary law) when the Assembly is not in session. But he can do this only after getting instructions from the President. It was added by the 27th Amendment Act, 1971.
• Article 240: The President can make regulations (rules with the force of law) for the "peace, progress and good government" of certain UTs: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Puducherry. These regulations can even change or cancel an Act of Parliament as it applies to that UT. For Puducherry, this power stops once its Assembly is working, and returns only if the Assembly is dissolved or suspended.
• Article 241: Parliament can set up a High Court for a UT, or place a UT under the High Court of a nearby state. For example, Lakshadweep comes under the Kerala High Court.
• Article 242 (about Coorg) was removed by the Seventh Amendment in 1956.

The two kinds of UTs

You can think of it like two kinds of rented houses. In one, the owner (the Centre) runs everything. In the other, the tenants (the people) elect a committee that runs daily matters, but the owner keeps the keys to some rooms.

• UTs without a legislature (5): Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh and Lakshadweep. The Administrator runs them for the President. There is no elected state-level government.
• UTs with a legislature (3): Delhi (under Article 239AA), Puducherry (under Article 239A) and Jammu and Kashmir (under the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, which applies Article 239A to J&K). They have an elected Assembly, a Chief Minister and a Council of Ministers. But the Lieutenant Governor keeps important powers, and some subjects stay with the Centre.

How is power divided in a UT with a legislature?

In a full state, the Governor must almost always act on the advice of the elected ministers. In a UT, the Lieutenant Governor has a bigger role.

• In Delhi, Article 239AA(3)(a) keeps three subjects outside the Assembly's power: public order, police and land. If the Lieutenant Governor and the ministers disagree on any matter, the Lieutenant Governor can send it to the President, whose decision is final.
• In J&K, the Assembly can make laws on State List subjects except public order and police. In July 2024, the Centre amended the J&K business rules (under Section 55 of the Reorganisation Act) so that proposals on police, All India Services officers, the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the appointment of the Advocate General must go to the Lieutenant Governor.
• Parliament can make laws for any UT on any subject, including State List subjects, because Article 246(4) allows it.

What have the courts said?

• State (NCT of Delhi) v. Union of India (2018): A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court said that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is generally bound by the "aid and advice" of the elected Council of Ministers. He cannot block decisions on every small matter. He should send a disagreement to the President only in exceptional cases.
• Government of NCT of Delhi v. Union of India (11 May 2023): Another Constitution Bench held that the Delhi government controls "services" (civil servants), except those linked to public order, police and land. The Court explained a "triple chain of accountability": officers answer to ministers, ministers answer to the Assembly, and the Assembly answers to voters.
• After this, Parliament passed the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023. It created a National Capital Civil Services Authority and gave the Lieutenant Governor the final say on transfers and postings of officers in Delhi.
• In Re: Article 370 (11 December 2023): The Supreme Court upheld the removal of Article 370. It recorded the Centre's assurance that J&K's statehood would be restored "at the earliest and as soon as possible", and directed that Assembly elections be held by 30 September 2024. It left open the question of whether Parliament can turn a whole state into a UT.

How can a UT become a state?

Parliament can do it by an ordinary law under Article 3 or Article 2, passed by a simple majority (more than half of the members present and voting). No constitutional amendment under Article 368 is needed, because Article 4 says such laws are not amendments. This has happened many times:

• Himachal Pradesh: UT to state on 25 January 1971
• Manipur and Tripura: UT to state on 21 January 1972
• Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh: UT to state on 20 February 1987
• Goa: UT to state on 30 May 1987

J&K is the only case where a full state was turned into a UT (in 2019).

Commonly confused concepts

• Administrator vs Lieutenant Governor vs Governor: "Administrator" is the general name used in Article 239. In some UTs (Delhi, Puducherry, J&K, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar) the Administrator is called the Lieutenant Governor. A Governor heads a state and acts on ministers' advice in almost all matters.
• Article 239A vs Article 239AA: Article 239A is a general power for Parliament to create an Assembly by ordinary law (used for Puducherry, and applied to J&K). Article 239AA directly creates Delhi's Assembly inside the Constitution itself.
• Article 240 regulations vs ordinances: A regulation under Article 240 is made by the President for certain UTs, and can change an Act of Parliament for that UT. An ordinance under Article 123 (President) or Article 239B (UT Administrator) is a temporary law made when the legislature is not sitting.
• UT with legislature vs full state: A state's police and public order are fully under the state government. In Delhi and J&K, police and public order stay with the Centre, through the Lieutenant Governor.
• Chandigarh and Article 240: Chandigarh is not in the Article 240 list. A 2025 proposal to add it (the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2025) was not taken forward after the Home Ministry said it would not introduce the Bill in that session.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Two power centres: Elected governments in Delhi, Puducherry and J&K often say the Lieutenant Governor blocks or delays their decisions. This leads to court cases and slow governance.
• Accountability gap: Voters hold the elected government responsible, but key subjects like police are run by the Lieutenant Governor, who answers to the Centre, not to the Assembly.
• National interest: The Centre's view is that capitals, border areas and sensitive regions need central control for security and smooth administration.
• Demands for statehood: Delhi, Puducherry, J&K and Ladakh (which has sought Sixth Schedule protection) have all seen demands for statehood or more powers.
• Way forward suggested by experts: clearer written rules on who controls what; the Lieutenant Governor sending matters to the President only in exceptional cases, as the Supreme Court said in 2018; regular consultation between the Centre and the elected government; and, where security allows, a time-bound path to fuller self-government.

Concepts to Know

• Union Territory (UT): An area governed directly by the Centre through an Administrator appointed by the President.
• Aid and advice: The advice given by the Council of Ministers to the Governor or Lieutenant Governor. In a state, the Governor must almost always follow it.
• Ordinance: A temporary law made by the executive when the legislature is not in session. It must later be approved by the legislature or it lapses.
• Simple majority: More than half of the members present and voting. For example, if 400 members are present and voting, 201 votes are needed.
• State List: The list of subjects (like police, public order, agriculture) on which, normally, only states can make laws. It is in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
• Constitution Bench: A bench of at least five Supreme Court judges, set up to decide important questions about the meaning of the Constitution.