Article 12 for CLAT: Who Counts as the State?

📑 On this page

⚡ The short answer

Article 12 defines “the State” for Fundamental Rights: the Union and state governments, Parliament and state legislatures, local bodies like municipalities and panchayats, and other authorities. A company or society is an other authority if the government dominates it financially, functionally and administratively. Mere regulation isn't enough.

🎬 The 30-second story

Two rejections, one answer

“Metro Rail and Kabir Tech. Two shots!”

📨

Zoya

Zoya applies to a metro rail company and a private software firm.

“Night shifts aren't for women. Rejected.”

🚇

Kabir

Both reject her. The state government owns all the metro company's shares and picks its board.

“That's sex discrimination. Writs against both!”

⚖️

Zoya

She claims her right to equality against each.

Tara's ruling: The metro company is the State: the government owns and runs it, so equality binds it. Kabir Tech is private, so Zoya needs ordinary employment law there.

What does Article 12 actually say?

Most Fundamental Rights begin “The State shall not…”, so the Constitution must say who the State is. Article 12 does it in one sentence, and the key word is “includes”: the list is open, not closed.

🧩 At a glance

The four parts of “the State”

🏛️Union government and Parliament

Ministries, departments, officials and Parliament.

🗺️State governments and legislatures

The same at state level.

🏘️Local authorities

Municipalities, panchayats, development authorities.

🏢Other authorities

Corporations, companies and societies the government controls.

Almost every real fight, and every good CLAT fact pattern, is about the fourth limb: is this company or society an “other authority”?

📌 What CLAT actually expects

The passage will state the test, usually “deep and pervasive government control”. You check the facts: who owns it, funds it, runs it, and what it does. No article numbers needed.

Why does it matter whether a body is the State?

🧮 The formula

The Article 12 gateway

🏢

Body is the State

Article 12 test met

⚠️

A Fundamental Right is breached

e.g. equality, speech

📜

Writ straight to the Supreme Court or High Court

✓Fundamental Rights bind it. Its hiring, admissions and contracts can be struck down as arbitrary or discriminatory.
✓It must act fairly, with natural justice, like a ministry.
✓Writs lie against it, straight to the Supreme Court for a Fundamental Right.

When is a company or society “the State”?

🕒 Timeline

How “other authorities” grew

⚡
1967

Rajasthan Electricity Board v Mohan Lal

A statutory board is an authority even though it sells electricity.
🏦
1975

Sukhdev Singh v Bhagatram

LIC, ONGC and IFC are the State.
🔬
1975

Sabhajit Tewary

CSIR, a society, is not the State.
🎓
1980

Ajay Hasia v Khalid Mujib

A society running a college is the State. Six clues.
🧪
2002

Pradeep Kumar Biswas

Seven judges overrule Sabhajit: CSIR is the State.
🏏
2005

Zee Telefilms v Union of India

BCCI is not the State, 3:2.

The six Ajay Hasia clues

Ajay Hasia asked why a body exists, not how it was born. Statute, company or society: form doesn't matter. The Court listed clues.

🧩 At a glance

Clues that a body is an instrumentality of the government

💰Government shares

It holds all the share capital.

🧾Government money

It meets almost all the costs.

👑State-given monopoly

Conferred or protected by the State.

🎛️Pervasive control

It directs policy and work.

🏥Public functions

Close to what governments do.

🔁Transferred department

Took over a department's work.

How Pradeep Kumar Biswas tightened the test

Lawyers then treated the clues as a checklist. The seven judges in Pradeep Kumar Biswas said no: on the cumulative facts, is the body financially, functionally and administratively dominated by the government, with control particular to it and pervasive? Merely regulatory control doesn't count.

⚔️ Side by side

Controlled body vs regulated body

🎛️Other authority

the government runs it

•Government funds most of it
•Government picks its board

📋Regulated private body

the government supervises it

•Its own money
•Its members elect the board

Test	Other authority	Regulated private body
Example	CSIR, LIC	BCCI, a private school
Part III binds it?	Yes	Only the few rights that bind everyone

Is the government in charge, or just watching?

Is it the State? Work it out in four questions

🧭 Decision flow

Is this body “the State”?

❓ Is it a government, official or legislature?

Yes →

State, without argument

The first two limbs.

No ↓

❓ Is it a local self-government body, like a municipality?

Defined area, elected element, civic functions

Yes →

State, as a local authority

No ↓

❓ Does the government dominate it financially, functionally and administratively?

Shares, funding, board, directions

Yes →

State, as an “other authority”

Statute, company or society: form doesn't matter.

No ↓

❓ Does it still perform a public duty, like picking a national team?

Yes →

Not the State, but a High Court writ may lie

High Courts can issue writs for public duties.

No →

Private body: use ordinary law

Except the few rights that bind everyone.

What grey areas can CLAT build a question around?

Does it matter that it's a company doing business?

No. An electricity board selling power is still the State if the government stands behind it; governments may trade too. For a government company, courts look through the corporate veil.

What if the government owns only part of it?

Add up the facts. Mysore Paper Mills, over 97% public money with a government-approved board, was the State. A refinery 53% government-owned, with a foreign partner naming directors, was held not to be.

Body	State?	Why
LIC, ONGC, nationalised banks	Yes	Government-owned, public functions
CSIR (a registered society)	Yes	Government funds and directs it
A municipality	Yes	Local authority
BCCI	No	Own money and board; monopoly not State-given
A recognised private school	No	Recognition is only regulation

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Is a court “the State”?

Article 12 doesn't name the judiciary. A judicial order deciding a dispute can't be attacked as breaching Fundamental Rights; you appeal. When a court acts as an administrator, say hiring staff, it is generally treated like any government employer.

When is a body a “local authority”?

A local authority is a separate body for a defined area, partly elected by residents, running civic services and able to levy taxes. The Delhi Development Authority qualified; a state bus corporation, really a trader, didn't.

Can you take a private body to court by writ at all?

Sometimes. A High Court can issue writs to “any person or authority” performing a public duty. So BCCI, though not the State, can face one, as can a private university over how it runs education.

⭕ How the sets nest

Who can you hold to account by writ?

Public duty — Anyone performing a public duty: open to a High Court writ.
The State — Article 12 bodies: bound by Fundamental Rights.
Government — Ministries, departments, legislatures.

Do any Fundamental Rights bind private people?

A few bind everyone: no caste, religion or sex bars on access to shops, hotels or wells; no untouchability; no trafficking or forced labour; no child labour in factories. In Kaushal Kishor (2023) the majority added that speech and life rights can be enforced even against non-State persons.

⚠️ Don't overstate Kaushal Kishor

It doesn't make every company “the State”, and one judge disagreed. If a passage says rights bind only the State, apply that.

Which cases should you know for Article 12?

🎓

Landmark case · 1980 · Supreme Court (5 judges)

Ajay Hasia v Khalid Mujib Sehravardi

📋

What happened

A society ran an engineering college in Srinagar. Governments funded and directed it. Two-minute interviews carried a third of the admission marks.

❓

The question

Is a society not created by statute “the State”?

🔨

What the court held

Yes, an instrumentality of the government. A third of the marks for such interviews was arbitrary; over 15% would be.

What CLAT takes from it: Control matters, not form.

🧪

Landmark case · 2002 · Supreme Court (7 judges)

Pradeep Kumar Biswas v Indian Institute of Chemical Biology

📋

What happened

CSIR lab staff were dismissed. The High Court refused their writ, following a 1975 ruling that CSIR wasn't the State.

❓

The question

Is CSIR an “other authority”?

🔨

What the court held

Yes, 5:2. The Prime Minister presided, the government gave about 70% of its funds, could direct it and controlled its assets on winding up.

What CLAT takes from it: Pervasive control counts; regulation doesn't.

🏏

Landmark case · 2005 · Supreme Court (5 judges)

Zee Telefilms Ltd v Union of India

📋

What happened

BCCI cancelled a TV-rights tender and ended Zee's deal. Zee went straight to the Supreme Court.

❓

The question

Is BCCI the State?

🔨

What the court held

No, 3:2. No statute, no government money, and its monopoly isn't State-given. Oversight was only regulatory.

What CLAT takes from it: Public importance isn't enough, but a High Court writ may lie.

How would CLAT ask about Article 12?

No CLAT paper from 2018 to 2025 has an Article 12 passage. The closest is a 2022 writ question on the public–private line; then two CLAT-style questions by us.

📝 Asked in CLAT 2022 · Q68 Writs don't reach private contracts

Writ is a public law remedy… Writ of mandamus is issued by a court commanding a public authority to perform a public duty belonging to its office. It can be issued only when a legal duty is imposed on the authority and the petitioner has right to compel the performance of such duty… Such a legal duty emanates by operation of law…

Mr. A and Mr. B are parties to a contract of sale of goods. Upon breach of contractual obligation by Mr. A, Mr. B filed a writ petition seeking a mandamus to compel Mr. A to perform his obligations under the contract. In the given situation, which of the following statements is true?

AWrit of mandamus can be granted as it is a discretionary remedy.

BWrit of mandamus cannot be granted as there is no violation of fundamental right.

CWrit of mandamus cannot be granted as Mr. B's right under the contract is a private right.

DWrit of mandamus can be granted as there is no statutory duty imposed on Mr. A to fulfil his contractual obligations.

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: C

Mandamus is a public law remedy against a public authority for a duty imposed by law. Mr. A is a private person bound only by a private contract. Mr. B must sue for breach in a civil court.

Why the others fail

A — Discretion lets a court refuse a writ, not create one.
B — The real bar is the private right, not the absence of a Fundamental Right.
D — No legal duty means no mandamus.

🧪 CLAT-style practice (not a past question) Applying the control test

Fundamental Rights are enforceable against “the State”, which includes other authorities. A body is an other authority if, on the cumulative facts, the government dominates it financially, functionally and administratively, with control particular to it and pervasive. Merely regulatory control does not make a body the State.

A national kabaddi federation, a registered society, raises 92% of its money from sponsors; the rest is a ministry grant. Members elect 14 of 15 board members. Like all sports bodies, it follows the government's anti-doping code. It bans Aarav without a hearing. Is it the State?

AYes, it selects the national team.

BYes, it gets a grant and a government nominee.

CNo, its money and management are independent, and the doping code is regulatory.

DNo, a society can never be the State.

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: C

Money: 92% private. Board: elected by members. The doping code binds every sports body, so it's regulatory. No domination, no State. A High Court writ on public duty is still possible.

Why the others fail

A — A public-looking function alone doesn't meet this test.
B — An 8% grant and one nominee isn't domination.
D — Too absolute; a society can be the State.

🧪 CLAT-style practice (not a past question) Changing the rule

Suppose a court holds that only a body created directly by a statute can be an “other authority”. Governments, legislatures and local authorities remain the State.

Under this rule, which of the following would escape being the State?

AA city municipal corporation

BAn insurance corporation set up by an Act of Parliament

CA company wholly owned and run by the state government, registered under the Companies Act

DA state legislative assembly

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: C

Under the new rule, birth by statute is everything. A wholly owned government company is registered under a general law, so it escapes, however tight the control. That's the loophole the real control test closes.

Why the others fail

A — A local authority stays the State.
B — Created by an Act, so it qualifies.
D — Legislatures stay the State.

Can you dodge these Article 12 traps?

💥 Myth vs fact

Traps students fall for

🙅 Myth

Only a body created by a statute can be the State.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Companies and societies can be too. Control matters.

🙅 Myth

Heavy government regulation makes a body the State.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Rules for everyone aren't enough; control must be pervasive.

🙅 Myth

If it isn't the State, no writ can touch it.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

High Courts can issue writs for public duties, as with BCCI.

🙅 Myth

Fundamental Rights never bind private persons.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Untouchability, forced labour, child labour and access to public places bind everyone.

🎯 Quick quiz

Five bodies, one question: is it the State?

0 / 5

A municipal corporation demolishes Rohan's shop without notice and says it is only a civic body.

Q1. Is it the State?

A private trust's school, recognised by the state board, takes no government money. It expels Meher without a hearing.

Q2. Is the school the State?

The state government owns all the shares of a bus company and appoints its board. It sacks a conductor arbitrarily, arguing it is a separate company.

Q3. Is it the State?

The passage says: no citizen shall, on grounds of caste, be denied access to shops, restaurants or hotels, and this binds every person. Kabir's private hotel refuses Rohan a room because of his caste.

Q4. Can Rohan rely on this right?

A housing co-operative is funded by its members, who elect its committee. The Registrar audits it, as for every co-operative. It refuses Zoya membership.

Q5. Is it the State?

🎯 Article 12 in a nutshell

The State = governments, legislatures, local authorities and other authorities.
Other authority = government dominates it financially, functionally and administratively.
Form and commercial work don't matter; regulatory control isn't enough.
Not the State? A High Court writ may still lie for a public duty.
Always apply the passage's rule.

📎 Good to know, not to memorise

Article 12 opens Part III; Article 36 uses the same meaning for Part IV.
Rights binding private persons: Articles 15(2), 17, 23, 24. Writs: Article 32 (Fundamental Rights) and Article 226 (“any person or authority”).
Ajay Hasia (1981) 1 SCC 722; Pradeep Kumar Biswas (2002) 5 SCC 111, overruling Sabhajit Tewary (1975); Zee Telefilms (2005) 4 SCC 649; Kaushal Kishor (2023).

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Frequently asked questions

What is Article 12 in simple words?

It defines “the State” for Fundamental Rights: the Union and state governments, Parliament and state legislatures, local bodies like municipalities, and “other authorities” the government controls. Any body in this list must respect your Fundamental Rights, and you can take it to court by writ.

Is a private company ever the State under Article 12?

A truly private company, with its own money and management, is not. A company the government owns, funds and runs is the State, though registered like any other. Courts look through the corporate form and ask whether the government dominates it.

Why is BCCI not the State?

In Zee Telefilms (2005), a 3:2 majority found BCCI was not created by statute, took no government money and its monopoly wasn't State-given. But because it performs public duties, like picking the national team, a High Court writ can still lie against it.

What is the difference between the Ajay Hasia test and the Pradeep Kumar Biswas test?

Ajay Hasia (1980) listed clues: government shares, funding, monopoly, deep control and public functions. Pradeep Kumar Biswas (2002) said they aren't a checklist where one tick wins. Look at all the facts: is control pervasive and particular to the body, not merely regulatory?

Is the judiciary included in the State under Article 12?

Article 12 doesn't name it. A judicial order deciding a case can't be attacked as violating Fundamental Rights; you appeal. When courts act administratively, like recruiting staff, they're generally treated as bound by Part III. Follow whatever view the passage gives.