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Kerala has became the first state to challenge the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) before the Supreme Court (SC).
The Kerala government has moved the apex court under Article 131 of the constitution, the provision under which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to deal with any dispute between the Centre and a State; the Centre and a state on the one side and another side; and two or more states.
Further, the Chattisgarh government also filed a suit in the SC under Ariticle 131, challenging the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act on the ground that it encroaches upon the state's powers to maintain law and order.
The Provisions of Article 131
For a dispute to qualify as a dispute under Article 131, it has to necessarily be between states and the Centre and must involve a question of law or fact on which the existence of a legal right of the state or the Centre depends.
In State of Karnataka v. Union of India 1978, SC held that to accept a suit under Article 131, the state need not show that its legal right is violated, but only that the dispute involves a legal question. Thus, Article 131 cannot be used to settle political differences between state and central governments headed by different parties.
Although earlier judgements had held that the constitutionality of a law can be examined under Article 131, a 2011 judgement in the case of State of Maharashtra vs. Union of India ruled otherwise . The matter has now been referred to a larger bench in case of states of bihar vs. jharkhand. The decision could have bearing on the CAA issue.
Final Analysis
The farmers of the constitution expected such difference and added the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for thier resolution.
Moreover, under a powerful Centre with a clear majority in Parliament, faultlines in India's federal structure are frequently exposed. E.g. the linguistic divide on the National education policy, land acquisition, proposed all india judicial services etc.