Under which constitutional provision can the President of India assume legislative powers for a state?

Correct — A. Article 356 is the President's Rule provision. It applies when the President, on the Governor's report or otherwise, is satisfied that the government of a state cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution.

Under Article 356(1)(b) the proclamation can declare that the state Legislature's powers shall be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament. Article 357 then lets Parliament confer that law-making power on the President → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  When the Lok Sabha is dissolved — Dissolving the Lok Sabha ends the term of the Union's lower House. It does nothing to a state's legislature and hands none of its powers to the President.
• (c)
  On recommendation of the Prime Minister — A Prime Minister's recommendation is not the trigger. The President acts on the Council of Ministers' advice (Article 74), but this power exists only once the Article 356 condition, constitutional breakdown in the state, is met.
• (d)
  When directed by the Supreme Court — The Supreme Court does not order President's Rule. It reviews a proclamation afterwards: S. R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) held that an Article 356 proclamation is subject to judicial review.

President's Rule is the Union's power to take over a state whose constitutional machinery has failed. Under Article 356(1)(a) the President can assume the functions of the state government and the powers of the Governor.

The state Legislature is handled separately. Its powers pass to Parliament, which may confer them on the President under Article 357. That is the sense in which the President 'assumes legislative powers for a state'.

Key facts

• Article 356: President's Rule when the government of a state cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution.
• Article 356(1)(b): the state Legislature's powers become exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament.
• Article 357: Parliament may confer the state Legislature's law-making power on the President.
• A proclamation must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within two months, and can run for at most three years.

Common traps

• Picking the Prime Minister because the President acts on ministerial advice. The constitutional condition is the breakdown in the state, not the advice.
• Reading 'legislative powers' as passing straight to the President. Article 356 routes them to Parliament first.

No directly related past PYQ was found.