EmergencyProvisionsintheConstitutionofIndia

EmergencyprovisionsweremadeinConstitutiontosafeguardandprotectthesecurity,integrityan
dstabilityofthecountryandeffectivefunctioningofStateGovernments.Emergencyisauniquefeat
ureofIndianConstitutionthatallowsthecentertoassumewidepowerssoastohandlespecialsituati
ons.EmergencyProvisionsarecontainedinPartEighteenoftheConstitutionofIndia.ThePresiden
1
tofIndiahasthepowertoimposeemergencyruleinanyoralltheIndianstatesifthesecurityofpartor
allofIndiaisthreatenedby"warorexternalaggressionorarmedrebellion".WhentheConstitution
ofIndiawasbeingdrafted,Indiawaspassingthroughaperiodofstressandstrain.Partitionofthecou
ntry,communalriotsandtheproblemconcerningthemergerofprincelystatesincludingKashmir.
Thus,theConstitution-
makersthoughttoequiptheCentralGovernmentwiththenecessaryauthority,sothat,inthehourof
emergency,whenthesecurityandstabilityofthecountryisthreatenedbyinternaland

externalthreat 2
s.

th

TheConstitutionofIndiacontainsArticles352-
360whichdealswith'EmergencyProvisions'.Theemergencyprovisions(especiallyArts.352and3
56)havebeenexclusivelyamendedbythe

Constitution(4 th
1
Amendment)Act,withaviewtointroduceanumberofsafeguardsagainst
4

abuseofpowerbytheexecutiveinthenameofemergency.Amendmentshavethusbeenmadebythe
44AmendmenttotheemergencyprovisionoftheConstitutiontomakerepetitionofthe

1975situationextremelydifficult,ifnotpossible. 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_provisions_of_the_Constitution_of_India:^"PartXVIIIoftheConstitu
tionofIndia".MinistryofLawandJustice,GovernmentofIndia.Retrieved20March2013.

2
AspectsofConstitutionofIndia-EmergencyProvision-Lawnotes-p90.

IndianConstitutionalLaw-Prof.M.P.Jain,LexisNexis-SixthEd.,p738,para4
3
Page|4
 Page|5

NATIONAL
EMERGENCY
4
_________________________________________________________

Article352dealswiththeNationalEmergency.Anemergencyarisingfromthethreattothesecurity
ofthecountryiscalledNationalEmergency.AnationalemergencycanbeproclaimedbythePreside
ntofIndiaeither(i)bywarorexternalaggressionor(ii)byarmedrebellionwithinthecountry.Under
Article352(1),ifthePresidentissatisfiedthatagraveemergencyexistswherebythesecurityofIndia
oranypartthereofisthreatened,whetherbywar,orexternalaggression,orarmedrebellion,hemay
,byproclamation,makeadeclarationtothateffect.Suchaproclamationmaybemadeinrespectofth
ewholeofIndia,orsuchpartoftheIndianTerritoryasmaybespecifiedintheproclamation.

Article352(1)thusmeansthattheproclamationneednotextendtothewholeofIndia.Itmayberestri
ctedtoapartoftheIndianTerritory.AproclamationofemergencyunderArticle352(1)maybemad
ebeforetheactualoccurrenceofwar,externalaggressionorarmedrebellion.AsSupremeCourtex
plainedinthecaseofNaga People’s Movement of Human Rights v. Union
ofIndia
,thattheexpression“internaldisturbance”hasawiderconnotationthan‘armedrebellion’inthesen
sethat“armedrebellion”islikelytoposeathreattothesecurityofthecountry,orapartthereof,while
“internaldisturbance”,thoughseriousinnature,wouldnotposeathreattothe

securityofthecountry,orapartthereof. 5

4 http://lawnotes.in/Emergency_Provisions#National_Emergency#ixzz3UTZSabd
ZAIR1998SC431:(1998)2SCC109.
5
 Page|6

6
Anexplanationtoart352saysthatitisnotnecessarythatexternalaggressionorarmedrebellionhas
actuallyhappenedtoproclaimemergency.Itcanbeproclaimedevenifthereisapossibilityofsuchth
inghappening.InthecaseofMinerva Mills vs Union of
Indiaheldthatthereisnobartojudicialreviewofthevalidityoftheproclamationofemergencyissue
dbythepresidentunder352(1).

AproclamationissuedunderArticle352(1)maybevariedorrevokedbyasubsequentproclamation
(Article352(2)).

2.1.44th Amendment

Therehadbeenvariouschangesafterthe44 th amendmentinArticle352oftheIndian

Constitution.

Article 352(3)-

7
Accordingtothe44thAmendmentoftheConstitution,thePresidentcandeclaresuchan

emergencyonlyiftheCabinetrecommendsinwritingtodoso.The44 th
Amendmenthas

introducedaclausei.e.Article352(3),totheeffectthatthePresidentshallnotissueaproclamationof
emergency(underArticle352(1)),oraproclamationvaryingthesame,unlessthedecisionoftheUni
onCabineti.e.theCouncilconsistingofthePrimeMinisterandotherMinistersofCabinetrankappo
intedunderArticle75thatsuchaproclamationmaybeissued

6 AIR1980,SC

OtherprovisionsastoMinisters
6

(1) ThePrimeMinistershallbeappointedbythePresidentandtheotherMinistersshallbeappointedbythePresidento
ntheadviceofthePrimeMinister

(2) TheMinistershallholdofficeduringthepleasureofthePresident

(3) TheCouncilofMinistersshallbecollectivelyresponsibletotheHouseofthePeople
 Page|7

8
hasbeencommunicatedtohiminwriting.Thismeansthatthedecisiontoissuesuchaproclamationh
astobearrivedatcollectivelybytheCabinetandnotbythePrimeMinisteralonewithoutconsultingt
heCabinet.Itsohappenedin1975thatthePresidentproclaimedemergencyontheadviceofPrimeM
inisteraloneandtheCouncilofMinisterswaslaterpresentedwithafaitaccompli.Itistoavoidanysuc
hsituationinfuturethatArticle352(3)hasbeenintroducedintheConstitution.

Article 352(4)-

TherewasareductionofapprovalofproclamationbytheParliamentbythe44 th amendment.A

proclamationwillautomaticallyceaseafteronemonthifnotapprovedbyParliament.Earlierthep
eriodallowedforparliamentaryapprovaloftheproclamationwastwomonths.

Proviso to Article 352(4)-

Ifatthetimeofissuingproclamation,LokSabhaisdissolvedwithoutapprovingtheproclamation,a
ndRajyaSabhaapprovesit,thentheproclamationceasestooperate30daysafterLokSabhasitsaga
inafterfreshelections,unlessinthemeantimethenewLokSabhapassesaresolutionapprovingthep
roclamation.

Article 352(6)-

Aresolutionapprovingtheproclamationofemergencyhastobepassedbyeachhousebya
majorityofthetotalmembershipofeachhouseandnotlessthan2/3memb rd
ofitsmajorityofthe
erspresentandvotingineachhouse.

8 "accomplishedfact";somethingthathasalreadyhappenedandisthusunlikelytobereversed,adonedeal.
 Page|8

th
Article 352(8)-

Therewasanotheramendmenti.e.whereanoticeinwriting,signedbynotlessthan1/10ofthetotalm
embersoftheLokSabhahasbeengiven,oftheirintentiontomovearesolutiondisapprovingtheproc
lamationofemergency,totheSpeakerifthehouseisinsession,ortothepresident,andifthehouseisno
tinsessionthenaspecialsittingofthehouseistobeheldwithin14daysfromthedateonwhichsuchnoti
ceisreceivedbyaspeakerorpresident.

2.2.Invocation of Article 352

NationalEmergencyhasbeendeclaredinourcountrythreetimessofar.

1 . Forthefirsttime,emergencywasdeclaredon26October1962afterChinaattackedourbord
9
ersintheNorthEast.ThisNationalEmergencylastedtill10January1968,longafterthehost
ilitiesceased.

2 . Forthesecondtime,itwasdeclaredon3December1971inthewakeofthesecondIndiaPakista
nWarandwasliftedon21March1977.

3 . Whilethesecondemergency,onthebasisofexternalaggression,wasinoperation,thirdNatio
nalEmergency(calledinternalemergency)wasimposedon25June1975.Thisemergencyw
asdeclaredonthegroundof‘internaldisturbances’.Internaldisturbancesjustifiedimposit
ionoftheemergencydespitethefactthatthegovernmentwasalreadyarmedwiththepowers
providedduringthesecondNationalEmergencyof1971whichwasstillinoperation..
9
http://download.nos.org/srsec317newE/317EL9.pdfhttp://download.nos.org/srsec317newE/317EL9.p
df-PoliticalScience-ConstitutionalNotes-EmergencyProvision
 Page|9

STATE
EMERGENCY
_________________________________________________________

Article356andArticle357provideformeetingasituationarisingfromthefailureofthe

ConstitutionalmachineryinaState 10
.
11

ItisthedutyoftheUnionGovernmenttoensurethatgovernanceofaStateiscarriedoninaccordance
withtheprovisionsoftheConstitution.UnderArticle356,thePresidentmayissueaproclamationtoi
mposeemergencyinastateifheissatisfiedonreceiptofareportfromtheGovernoroftheState,oroth
erwise,thatasituationhasarisenunderwhichtheGovernmentoftheStatecannotbecarriedonsmoo
thly.Insuchasituation,proclamationofemergencybythePresidentiscalled‘proclamationonacco
untofthefailure(orbreakdown)ofconstitutionalmachinery.’InpopularlanguageitiscalledthePre
sident’sRule.LikeNationalEmergency,suchaproclamationmustalsobeplacedbeforeboththeHo
usesofParliamentforapproval.Inthiscaseapprovalmustbegivenwithintwomonths;otherwiseth
eproclamationceasestooperate.IfapprovedbytheParliament,theproclamationremainsvalidfor
sixmonthsatatime.Itcanbeextendedforanothersixmonthsbutnotbeyondoneyear.
(ProvisotoArticle356(4)).

However,emergencyinaStatecanbeextendedbeyondoneyearif(a)aNationalEmergencyisalrea
dyinoperation;orif(b)theElectionCommissioncertifiesthattheelectiontotheStateAssemblycan
notbeheld.

ThedeclarationofemergencyduetothebreakdownofConstitutionalmachineryin
aStatehasthefollowingeffects:

(i)ThePresidentcanassumetohimselfalloranyofthefunctionsoftheState

10 ReportofSarkariacommission-1975

11 IndianConstitutionalLaw-Prof.M.P.Jain,LexisNexis-SixthEd.,p762,para7
 Page|10

GovernmentorhemayvestalloranyofthosefunctionswiththeGovernororany

otherexecutiveauthority.

(ii)ThePresidentmaydissolvetheStateLegislativeAssemblyorputitundersuspension.He

mayauthorisetheParliamenttomakelawsonbehalfoftheStateLegislature.

(iii)ThePresidentcanmakeanyotherincidentalorconsequentialprovisionnecessaryto

giveeffecttotheobjectofproclamation.

3.1.Case laws:

StateofRajasthanv.India 12

AconstitutionalcontroversyofgreatsignificanceinArticle356wasraisedinthiscase.Whenthegen
eralelectionforLokSabhawereheldinthecountryin1977,aftertheliftingoftheemergencyof1975,t
heCongressPartywasbadlyroutedinseveralsatatesbytheJanataPartywhichwonalargenumber
ofseatsintheLokSabhaandthus,formedthegovernmentattheCentre.Inthesestates,congressmini
strieswerefunctioningatthetimeandtheystillhadsomemoretimetorunoutforcompletionoftheful
lterm.Therehavebeenmanycasesofmisuseof‘constitutionalbreakdown’.Forexample,in1977wh
enJanataPartycameintopowerattheCentre,theCongressPartywasalmostwipedoutinNorthInd
ianStates.Onthisexcuse,DesaiGovernmentattheCentredismissednineStategovernmentswhere
Congresswasstillinpower.ThisactionofMorarjiDesai’sJanataGovernmentwasstronglycriticiz
edbytheCongressandothers.ThesuitwasdesignedtoforetelltheinvocationofArticle356intheseve
ralStates.TheSupremeCourthowever,dismissedthesuitunanimously.Theboardpositionadopte
dbytheCourtwasthatitcouldnotinterferewiththeCentre’sexerciseofpowerunderArticle356mer
elyonthegroundthatitembraced‘politicalandexecutivepolicyandexpediencyunlesssomeconstit
utionalprovisionwasbeinginfringed.”

12 AIR1977SC1361:(1997)2SCC592.
 13

Page|11

S.R.Bommaiv.India

TheSupremeCourtgavealandmarkdecisioninthiscase.Thefactsofthecaseare-
in1989,theJanataDalMinistryheadedbyShriSRBommaiwasinofficeinKarnataka.Anumberof
membersdefectedfromthepartyandthereaquestionmarkonthemajoritysupportinthehousefor
Bommai’sministry.TheChiefMinisterproposedtothegovernorthattheAssemblySessionbecalle
dtotestthestrengthoftheministryonthefloorofthehouse.Butthegovernorignoredthissuggestion.
HealsodidnotexplorethepossibilityofanalternativegovernmentbutreportedtoPresidentthatasS
hriBommaihadlostthemajoritysupportinthehouseandasnootherpartywasinthepositiontoform
thegovernment,actionbetakenArticle356(1).Accordingly,thepresidentissuedtheproclamationi
nApril1989.

BommaichallengedthevalidityoftheproclamationbeforetheKarnatakahighcourtthroughwrit
petitiononvariousgrounds.Thehighcourtruledthattheproclamationissuedunderarticle356(1)is
notwhollyoutsidethepoleofjudicialscrutiny.TheSatisfactionofthepresidentarticle356(1)whichi
saconditionpresentforissueoftheproclamationoughttoberealandgenuinesatisfactionbasedonre
levantfactsandcircumstances.

BommaiappealedtotheSupremecourtagainstthehighcourtdecision.TheSupremeCourtwasalso
calledupontodecidethevalidityofsimilarproclamationunder356(1)inthestatesofMeghalayaand
Nagalandandthusdeclareditunconstitutional.

TheSupremeCourtheldintheBommaicasethattheAssemblymaynotbedissolvedtilltheProclam
ationisapprovedbytheParliament.OnafewoccasionssuchaswhenGujralGovernmentrecomme
ndeduseofArticle356inUttarPradesh,thePresidentreturnedtherecommendationforreconsider
ation.TheUnionGovernmenttookthehintanddroppedtheproposal.

13 AIR1994SC1918:(1994)3SCC1
 Page|12

FINANCIAL
EMERGENCY

TheFinancialEmergencyprovidedunderArticle360.ItprovidesthatifthePresidentissatisfiedtha
tthefinancialstabilityorcreditofIndiaoranyofitspartisindanger,hemaydeclareastateofFinancia
lEmergency.Liketheothertwotypesofemergencies,ithasalsotobeapprovedbytheParliament.It
mustbeapprovedbybothHousesofParliamentwithintwomonths.FinancialEmergencycanoper
ateaslongasthesituationdemandsandmayberevokedbyasubsequentproclamation.Sofar,fortun
ately,financialemergencyhasneverbeenproclaimed

TheproclamationofFinancialEmergencymayhavethefollowingconsequences:

(a)TheUnionGovernmentmaygivedirectiontoanyoftheStatesregardingfinancialm
atters.

(a) ThePresidentmayasktheStatestoreducethesalariesandallowancesofalloranyclas
sofpersonsingovernmentservice.

(b) ThePresidentmayasktheStatestoreserveallthemoneybillsfortheconsiderationoft
heParliamentaftertheyhavebeenpassedbytheStateLegislature.

ThePresidentmayalsogivedirectionsforthereductionofsalariesandallowancesoftheC
entralGovernmentemployeesincludingtheJudgesoftheSupremeCourt

andtheHighCourts.

14
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India/Part_V Constitution
ofIndia/Part18-Wikisource,thefreeonlinelibrary-Financialemergency.