The power of the Supreme Court of India to decide disputes between the Centre and the States falls…

Answer: (c) original jurisdiction

Article 131 gives the Supreme Court exclusive original jurisdiction in legal disputes between the Government of India and one or more States. Such cases go directly to the Supreme Court, without passing through any lower court.

• ✓ (c) Under Article 131, legal disputes between the Centre and States, and between States, are heard by the Supreme Court as a court of first instance. This is original jurisdiction, and it excludes every other court.
• ✗ (b) Appellate jurisdiction (Articles 132–136) covers appeals against judgments of High Courts and other courts or tribunals. Centre–State disputes are not appeals.
• ✗ (a) Advisory jurisdiction (Article 143) lets the President seek the Court's opinion on questions of law or fact of public importance. It does not involve deciding a dispute between parties.
• ✗ (d) Writ jurisdiction (Article 32) is for enforcing Fundamental Rights, usually through petitions by individuals. Federal disputes between governments are not writ matters.

Remember · Article 131 gives the Supreme Court exclusive original jurisdiction over Centre–State and inter-State legal disputes. Article 32 (writs), Articles 132–136 (appeals) and Article 143 (advice) are separate jurisdictions.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 6 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2014, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error