The Union Territories

Delhi has its own elected government. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that government controlled its own administrative staff. Parliament overturned that within months.

MCQ Questions

The Union Territories

Eight Territories, One Constitutional Leash

1956

Union Territory category created

The States Reorganisation Act replaces the earlier Part C and Part D states.

1991

Article 239AA adds Delhi’s special status

The 69th Amendment gives Delhi an elected Legislative Assembly and Council of Ministers.

2019

Jammu & Kashmir splits in two

J&K keeps a legislature; Ladakh becomes a Union Territory without one.

2023

Delhi services dispute settled, then reversed

SC rules for Delhi’s elected government; Parliament passes a law handing “services” back to the LG within months.

The pattern: Only Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu & Kashmir get an elected legislature among India’s 8 Union Territories — and even Delhi’s, the most powerful one, answers to Parliament first.

1956 – 2023 mcqquestion.com

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Timeline

• 1956: The States Reorganisation Act creates the modern Union Territory category, replacing the earlier Part C and Part D states.
• 1991: The 69th Amendment adds Article 239AA, giving Delhi an elected Legislative Assembly and Council of Ministers.
• 2019: The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act splits the former state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, with a legislature, and Ladakh, without one.
• 2023: The Supreme Court rules that Delhi’s elected government controls administrative “services.” Parliament responds within months. It passes a law returning that control to the Lieutenant Governor.

Must Know

• India’s territory is divided into states and Union Territories, under Article 1 of the Constitution.
• Union Territories are administered directly by the President, through an Administrator.
• Part VIII of the Constitution, Articles 239 to 241, governs how Union Territories are run.
• India currently has 8 Union Territories. These are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.
• Three of these, Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir, have their own elected Legislative Assembly.
• The rest are run directly through an Administrator or Lieutenant Governor, with no legislature of their own.

Good to Know

• Article 239 lets the President appoint an Administrator for each Union Territory. In several, this Administrator is titled Lieutenant Governor.
• Article 239A lets Parliament create a legislature or council of ministers for Puducherry, by ordinary law.
• Article 239AA, added in 1991, gives Delhi its own special constitutional status as the National Capital Territory.
• Delhi’s Legislative Assembly cannot make laws on police, public order, or land. Those stay with the Union government.
• Article 240 lets the President make regulations for peace and good government in Union Territories without a legislature.
• In 2019, Ladakh was statutorily brought under this same Article 240-style power, through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, rather than by amending Article 240 itself. On 3 June 2025, the Centre used it to notify an 85% Scheduled Tribe job reservation and a 15-year domicile rule for Ladakh. See Polity0259 — Article 240: President’s Power to Regulate Certain Union Territories.
• Article 241 lets Parliament set up a High Court for any Union Territory.
• For a full profile of each Union Territory, see GK0024 — States and Union Territories of India.

Test Yourself

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1. Which Part of the Constitution deals with Union Territories?

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

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Great to Know

• The 2023 Delhi services dispute shows the real limits of a Union Territory’s elected government, even a “special” one like Delhi’s.
• In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Delhi’s elected government controlled administrative services.
• Parliament responded within months. It passed a law returning that control to the Lieutenant Governor instead.
• A court ruling followed by a legislative override shows Delhi’s government still works under Parliament’s authority, not full state-like autonomy.
• The same pattern appears across every Union Territory, just in smaller ways. Some get an elected voice, but none control their own affairs as fully as a state does.