Emergency Provisions

The Emergency provisions are contained in Part XVIII of the Constitution, from Articles 352 to 360. These provisions enable the Central government to meet any abnormal situation
effectively.
The Constitution stipulates three types of emergencies:
 National Emergency (Article 352).
 President’s Rule (Article 356).
 Financial Emergency (Article 360).

Grounds of Declaration
Under Article 352, the President can declare a national emergency when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion. A proclamation of national emergency may be applicable to the entire country or only a part of it.
Note: Originally, the Constitution mentioned ‘internal disturbance’ as the third ground for the proclamation of a National Emergency, but the expression was too vague and had a wider connot at ion. Hence, the 44th Amendment Act of 1978 substituted the words ‘armed rebellion’ for ‘internal disturbance’.

Parliamentary approval and duration
The proclamation of Emergency must be approved by both the Houses of Parliament within one month from the date of its issue. If approved by both the Houses of Parliament, the emergency continues for six months, and can be extended to an indefinite period with an approval of the Parliament for every six months.

Revocation of proclamation
A proclamation of emergency may be revoked by the President at any time by a subsequent proclamation. Such a proclamation does not require the parliamentary approval. Further, the President must revoke a proclamation if the Lok Sabha passes a resolution disapproving its continuation.

Effects of national emergency


1. Centre-state relations
While a proclamation of emergency is in force, the normal fabric of the Centre-state relations undergoes a basic change. his can be studied under three heads, viz. executive, legislative and financial.
(i) Executive: During national emergency, the state governments are brought under the complete control of the Centre.
(ii) Legislative: During a national emergency, the Parliament becomes empowered to make laws on any subject mentioned in the State List.
(iii) Financial: While a proclamation of national emergency is in operation, the President can modify the constitutional distribution of revenues between the centre and the states. This means that the president can either reduce or cancel the transfer of finances from
Centre to the states.
2. Effect on the life of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies:
While a proclamation of National Emergency is in operation, the life of the Lok Sabha may be extended beyond its normal term (five years) by a law of Parliament
for one year at a time (for any length of time).

3. Effect on the Fundamental Rights: Article 358 deals with the suspension of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Article 19, while Article 359 deals with the suspension of other Fundamental Rights (except those guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21).
Note: The fundamental rights guaranteed under Art. 20 & 21 cannot be suspended even when a national emergency is in force.

 Proclamation of emergency under Art. 352 has been done three times till date.
  The first proclamation of emergency was due to China’s attack on 26th October 1962.
  The second proclamation of emergency was on 3rd December 1971 as Pakistan had declared war against India.
  The third proclamation of emergency was done on 26th June 1975 on the ground of “internal disturbance”.
  The emergency proclaimed in 1962 was revoked in 1968 and the latter two proclamations were together revoked in 1977.

Grounds of imposition
Article 355 imposes a duty on the Centre to ensure that the government of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. It is this duty, in the performance of which the Centre takes over the government of a state under Article 356 in case of failure of constitutional machinery in state. This is popularly known as ‘President’s Rule’.
The President’s Rule can be proclaimed under Article 356 on two grounds—one mentioned in Article 356 itself and another in Article 365:
  Article 356 empowers the President t o issue a proclamation, if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of a state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
  Article 365 says that whenever a state fails to comply with or to give effect to any direction from the Centre, it will be lawful for the President to hold that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Parliamentary approval and duration
A proclamation imposing President’s Rule must be approved by both the Houses of Parliament within two months from the date of its issue. If approved by both the Houses of Parliament,
the President’s Rule continues for six months. It can be extended for a maximum period of three years with the approval of the Parliament every six months.

Consequences of President’s Rule
The President acquires the following extraordinary powers when the President’s Rule is imposed in a state:
  He can take up the functions of the state government and powers vested in the governor or any other executive authority in the state.
  He can declare that the powers of the state legislature are to be exercised by the Parliament.
  It should be noted that President’s Rule doesn’t dilute the powers of the concerned High Court.

Grounds of declaration
Article 360 empowers the president to proclaim a Financial Emergency if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen due to which the financial stability or credit of India or any part of its
territory is threatened.
Parliamentary approval and duration
A proclamation declaring Financial Emergency must be approved by both the Houses of Parliament within two months from the date of its issue. Once approved by both the Houses of Parliament, the Financial Emergency continues indefinitely till it is revoked. This implies two things:
  There is no maximum period prescribed for its operation; and Repeated parliamentary approval is not required for its continuation.
 A proclamation of Financial Emergency may be revoked by t he Pr esi dent at anyti me by a subsequent proclamation. Such a proclamation does not require the parliamentry approval.
Major effects of Financial Emergency
 Any such direction may include a provision requiring (a) the reduction of salaries and allowances of all or any class of persons serving in the state; and (b) the reservation of all money bills or other financial bills for the consideration of the President after they are passed by the legislature of the state.