||Black and White Digital News ||

||Parvinder Singh Sept 19,2026 ||

NEW DELHI : The Centre has amended the rules governing the Inter-State Council to allow the Lieutenant Governors of Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Puducherry to attend its meetings when provisions relating to President’s Rule are in force in the respective Union Territories.

The amendment was notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs on September 9 following approval by President Droupadi Murmu.

Under the amended provisions, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi can be invited to attend an Inter-State Council meeting when an order under Article 239AB of the Constitution is in force in the National Capital Territory.

Similarly, the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry can attend when an order under Section 51 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 is in force, while the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir can be invited when an order under Section 73 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is in force.

The amendment also retains the existing provision for the Governor of a state to attend a Council meeting when a proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution is in operation in that state.

The Inter-State Council was established under Article 263 of the Constitution through the Inter-State Council Order, 1990, as a mechanism for consultation and coordination between the Centre and the states.

The latest change specifically incorporates the constitutional and statutory arrangements applicable to the three Union Territories with legislative assemblies. It provides for their Lieutenant Governors to be invited to Council meetings during the specified periods rather than making them permanent members of the body.

The amendment comes against the backdrop of the current constitutional framework governing Delhi, Puducherry and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.