Which Article of the Indian Constitution deals with the proclamation of Emergency ?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Article 352. Article 352 is headed 'Proclamation of Emergency' — the marginal heading is itself the answer — and it empowers the President to declare a National Emergency if satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India or of any part of it is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion. Three of its features are examined constantly. First, the ground: 'internal disturbance' was the original third ground, and the Forty-fourth Amendment of 1978 replaced it with 'armed rebellion' precisely because the 1975 Emergency had been proclaimed on internal disturbance. Second, the safeguard: since the same amendment the President may act only on the WRITTEN recommendation of the Union Cabinet, not on the Prime Minister's advice alone. Third, the parliamentary check: the proclamation must be approved by both Houses within one month by a special majority — a majority of the total membership of each House and two-thirds of those present and voting — after which it runs for six months and may be extended six months at a time indefinitely, and it must be revoked if the Lok Sabha passes a resolution disapproving it. While it operates, Article 353 lets the Union direct any State on any matter and Parliament legislate on State subjects, Article 358 automatically suspends the six freedoms of Article 19 when the emergency is on the ground of war or external aggression, and Article 359 lets the President suspend the enforcement of other fundamental rights — though the Forty-fourth Amendment put Articles 20 and 21 permanently beyond that reach. India has proclaimed a National Emergency three times: 1962 during the Chinese aggression, 1971 during the war with Pakistan, and 1975 on the ground of internal disturbance. The other three Articles offered are all real and all deal with something else.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) The commonest wrong answer, because it is popularly called State Emergency. Its own heading is 'Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in States' — President's Rule — under which the State executive is taken over by the Union and the State Assembly is suspended or dissolved. It is a different proclamation, on different grounds, with a different approval requirement, and the Constitution nowhere calls it an Emergency.  (c) The enabling clause rather than the proclamation. Article 365 says that where a State fails to comply with a direction given by the Union, the President MAY hold that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution — which is a doorway into Article 356. It proclaims nothing itself, and it is the subtlest of the four options.  (d) Financial Emergency, proclaimed where the financial stability or credit of India or any part of it is threatened. It has never been used. Under it the President may direct the reduction of salaries of persons serving the Union or the States, including judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, and may require State money and financial bills to be reserved for his consideration.

Concept: Part XVIII of the Constitution provides three distinct emergencies and confusing them is the single most common error in this chapter. NATIONAL EMERGENCY under Article 352 is proclaimed on war, external aggression or armed rebellion; it converts the federal structure into a practically unitary one and can suspend fundamental rights. PRESIDENT'S RULE under Article 356 is proclaimed on the failure of constitutional machinery in a State; the State executive passes to the Union and the Assembly is suspended or dissolved, but fundamental rights are untouched. FINANCIAL EMERGENCY under Article 360 is proclaimed on a threat to financial stability or credit and has never been invoked. The whole chapter was borrowed in structure from the Government of India Act 1935 and from the Weimar Constitution's emergency provisions, and it was the experience of 1975 to 1977 that produced the Forty-fourth Amendment's safeguards — written Cabinet recommendation, 'armed rebellion' instead of 'internal disturbance', special majority for approval, six-month renewals instead of indefinite operation, and the permanent protection of Articles 20 and 21.

State PCS 2025 Q28 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2025 Q28 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer