Which of the following statements about National Emergency is/are correct? 1. A Proclamation of Emergency may be made by the President only when the security of India or any part thereof is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion. 2. The Government of India acquires power to give directions to a State on any matter. 3. The Proclamation of Emergency does not suspend the State legislature. 4. The Proclamation of Emergency can continue for a maximum period of six months at a time only if approved by resolutions of both the Houses of Parliament. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct — C, 1, 2 and 3 only. Statement 1 restates Article 352(1): the President may proclaim an Emergency only when satisfied that the security of India or of any part of its territory is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion, the third ground having replaced "internal disturbance" in 1978. Statement 2 is Article 353(a) — while the Proclamation is in force the executive power of the Union extends to giving directions to any State as to the manner in which its executive power is to be exercised, and Parliament may legislate on State subjects, so the Centre's writ reaches any matter. Statement 3 is also right: a National Emergency leaves the State legislature in place, unlike a proclamation under Article 356, where the Assembly may be suspended or dissolved. The key counts statement 4 out.

• (a)1 only — Drops two statements that are straight out of the text. Article 353 gives the Union its power of direction over the States, and nothing in Part XVIII suspends a State legislature during a National Emergency.
• (b)1 and 2 only — Stops one statement short. Parliament acquires a power to legislate on the State List that runs alongside the State legislature's own; the State House keeps sitting and keeps legislating.
• (d)2, 3 and 4 only — Leaves out statement 1, which is the defining clause of Article 352 itself, and adds statement 4, which the official key does not accept.

A National Emergency under Article 352 is declared on one of three grounds — war, external aggression or armed rebellion — and it changes the federal balance without dismantling the States. Article 353 lets the Union direct a State on the exercise of its executive power and lets Parliament make laws on any State subject; Article 358 suspends the six freedoms of Article 19 when the ground is war or external aggression, and Article 359 lets the President suspend enforcement of other rights except those in Articles 20 and 21.

Statement 4 is where a careful candidate stalls, and it is worth being straight about why. It reads close to the rule the 44th Amendment settled — a proclamation once approved runs for six months and may be renewed six months at a time. The official key nevertheless treats it as not correct, and the reasons available are all in what the sentence quietly leaves out. A proclamation runs for a month on its own before any vote; the six-month clock starts from the date of the approving resolution rather than from the proclamation; each resolution has to clear a special majority, not a bare one; and because renewals may go on indefinitely, six months is a limit on one unrenewed stretch rather than a maximum period for the Emergency. Author to the key and note the tension — the 1975 Emergency ran from June 1975 to March 1977, which is itself proof that six months is no ceiling.

• Article 352 grounds: war, external aggression or armed rebellion; the 44th Amendment, 1978, replaced "internal disturbance" with "armed rebellion".
• The proclamation must be approved by both Houses within one month, each by a majority of the total membership and by not less than two-thirds of those present and voting.
• Once approved it lasts six months and may be extended six months at a time, with fresh approval each time and no outer limit.
• Article 353 extends Union executive directions to the States and lets Parliament legislate on the State List; the State legislature is not suspended.
• The 44th Amendment also required the Cabinet's advice in writing before a proclamation, and allowed the Lok Sabha to revoke an Emergency by a simple majority on a notice signed by one-tenth of its members.

• Carrying the two-month approval window of a Financial Emergency across to Article 352, where it is one month.
• Assuming a National Emergency dissolves State Assemblies, which is a feature of Article 356.
• Forgetting that the approving resolutions need a special majority, not a simple one.

Asked as a four-statement code item, so the examiner is testing whether you can separate Article 352 from Article 356 statement by statement.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  During a Proclamation of Emergency under Article 352, the power of Parliament to make laws on subjects in the State List is

  • (a)exclusive, the State legislature being barred
  • (b)concurrent with the State legislature's own power
  • (c)available only with the consent of the State concerned
  • (d)unavailable, since the State List is untouched

  Answer(b) concurrent with the State legislature's own power — Parliament gains the power to legislate on State subjects while the State legislature keeps its own.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which amendment substituted 'armed rebellion' for 'internal disturbance' as a ground for proclaiming a National Emergency?

  • (a)The 42nd Amendment
  • (b)The 44th Amendment
  • (c)The 38th Amendment
  • (d)The 46th Amendment

  Answer(b) The 44th Amendment — enacted in 1978, it narrowed the third ground and added several procedural safeguards.