Residuary Power

noun (countable; constitutional law term)

/rɪˈzɪdjʊəri ˈpaʊə/

The legislative authority over subjects not specifically enumerated in any of the three lists of the Seventh Schedule. Under Article 248 of the Indian Constitution, residuary power is vested exclusively in Parliament, as reflected in Entry 97 of the Union List. This contrasts with the US and Australian models where residuary power rests with the states. The residuary power applies to matters such as cyber-crime, outer space, and digital data governance, which were not anticipated when the Constitution was drafted.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Parliament's residuary power under Article 248 has been invoked to legislate on cyber-crime, information technology, and outer space activities, subjects unforeseen by the Constitution's framers and therefore absent from all three lists of the Seventh Schedule.

Synonyms

reserve powerleftover powerunenumerated powerparliamentary residue

Antonyms

enumerated powerlisted subjectexpressed jurisdictionassigned power

🌱 Word Family

residue (noun), residual (adjective), reside (verb), residence (noun), residually (adverb)

🔡 Root

Latin residuarius (of what remains) ← residuum (remainder) ← residere (to remain behind) ← re- (back) + sedere (to sit)

📜 Etymology

From Latin residuarius, from residuum (what sits back, what remains), formed from residere (to settle, to remain). Residue entered English in the 15th century from Old French residu; the constitutional usage of residuary to describe leftover legislative powers developed in federal constitutional law from the 18th century.

🧠 Memory Hook

RESIDUARY = RESIDUE: what's LEFT OVER. After the Union List, State List, and Concurrent List are all spoken for, whatever REMAINS (the residue) belongs to Parliament. RESIDUE → RESIDUARY POWER.

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Preamble of the Indian Constitution

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