Inter-State Council Rules Amended: UT Lieutenant Governors to Attend Meetings Under President's Rule
The President amended the Inter-State Council Order to allow the lieutenant governors of Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi to attend Council meetings when President's rule (or its territorial equivalent) is imposed in these Union Territories
The Ministry of Home Affairs notified the amendment on September 9, 2026, with publication following on September 14, 2026
The amendment replaces the earlier 1990 proviso — which covered only state Governors during an Article 356 proclamation — with a four-part provision separately addressing states, Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi
The change follows the 2019 reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into Union Territories, which had left the original Council rules outdated for the new UT structure
The Inter-State Council (Article 263)
The Inter-State Council is a non-permanent constitutional body that the President may establish under Article 263 of the Constitution whenever it appears that the public interest would be served by its establishment. It was actually constituted in 1990 through a Presidential Order, implementing a long-pending recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relations (1983-88), which had wanted it made a permanent body.
The current amendment concerns who is invited to Council meetings when a Union Territory's elected government is not functioning — extending representation to LGs of Puducherry, Delhi, and J&K in place of an absent elected Chief Minister.
President's Rule: Different Legal Basis for States vs Union Territories
"President's rule" is a colloquial term covering several distinct constitutional/statutory mechanisms for central takeover when the ordinary constitutional machinery of a territory fails. The specific provision invoked depends on whether the unit is a full state, a UT with a legislature, or Delhi, which has a unique constitutional status.
Because each of these territories is governed by a different legal instrument (constitutional Article vs statutory Section), the Inter-State Council's 1990 Order needed a distinct clause for each rather than one uniform "President's Rule" clause — which is exactly what the September 2026 amendment supplies.
Jammu and Kashmir's Transition to Union Territory Status (2019)
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 abrogated the special status previously linked to Article 370 and split the former state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without one). The former state Governor's post was redesignated as Lieutenant Governor.
J&K's shift from statehood (Article 356) to UT status (Section 73) is precisely why its inclusion required a fresh clause in the Inter-State Council Order rather than simply being covered under the pre-existing "states under Article 356" language.
- Amendment notified by Ministry of Home Affairs: September 9, 2026; published September 14, 2026
- Territories covered by the new proviso: Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi
- Original Inter-State Council Order: 1990, following the Sarkaria Commission (1983-88) recommendation
- Legal basis by territory: States — Article 356; Puducherry — Section 51, GUT Act 1963; J&K — Section 73, J&K Reorganisation Act 2019; Delhi — Article 239AB (inserted by the 69th Amendment, 1991)
- Council composition includes six Cabinet-rank Union Ministers nominated by the Prime Minister