Indian Polity Quiz: Emergency Provisions

The correct answer is 3. Part XVIII of the Constitution provides for three kinds of emergency. A National Emergency under Article 352 can be declared on the ground of war, external aggression or armed rebellion. President's Rule, also called State Emergency or constitutional emergency, under Article 356, applies when the constitutional machinery in a State fails. A Financial Emergency under Article 360 applies when the financial stability or credit of India is threatened.

The word "emergency" itself is used in the Constitution only for the first one: Article 352 speaks of a "Proclamation of Emergency", while Article 356 speaks of the failure of constitutional machinery. That is why some questions ask how many times "emergency" has been declared and mean only the National Emergency. The options 2, 4 and 5 have no basis in the text. Learn the three together with their Articles, 352, 356 and 360, since the next question is almost always about one of those numbers.

The correct answer is Article 352. It allows the President, if satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India or any part of it is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion, to make a Proclamation of Emergency. Since the 44th Amendment (1978), the President can do so only when the Union Cabinet's decision is communicated in writing, and both Houses must approve the proclamation within one month by a special majority.

The other options are real Articles on quite different subjects. Article 350 gives every person the right to submit a representation for the redress of a grievance in any language used in the Union or a State. Article 362 dealt with the rights and privileges of the rulers of the former princely states and was removed by the 26th Amendment in 1971, which ended the privy purses. Article 364 contains special provisions for major ports and aerodromes. Remember the emergency trio: 352 National Emergency, 356 President's Rule, 360 Financial Emergency.

The correct answer is 44th Amendment act, 1978. The Emergency of June 1975 was declared on the ground of "internal disturbance", a phrase so vague that almost any political unrest could be brought under it. The Janata government's 44th Amendment replaced it with "armed rebellion", a much narrower ground. The same amendment required the Cabinet's written advice for a proclamation, cut the approval period from two months to one, demanded a special majority for approval and let the Lok Sabha end an emergency by a simple majority.

The other options are the amendments around it. The 42nd Amendment (1976), passed during the Emergency, strengthened the Centre and allowed an emergency to be declared for part of the country, but it did not change the grounds. The 43rd Amendment (1977) restored some powers of the courts that the 42nd had taken away. The 41st Amendment (1976) raised the retirement age of members of State Public Service Commissions. When a question mentions "armed rebellion", the answer is always the 44th Amendment.

The correct answer is 1. A Proclamation of National Emergency must be laid before both Houses of Parliament and approved by each of them within one month of its issue; otherwise it ceases to operate. Each House must approve it by a special majority: a majority of its total membership and two-thirds of the members present and voting. The original Constitution allowed two months; the 44th Amendment (1978) cut this to one month and introduced the special majority. Once approved, the emergency lasts six months and can be renewed every six months.

The other options mix up different time limits in the same chapter. Two months, which is not an option here, is the approval period for President's Rule and a Financial Emergency. Six months is how long an approved National Emergency or President's Rule lasts before it must be renewed. Three and nine months have no role at all. A simple way to keep them apart: the most serious emergency, a threat to the nation, gets the shortest leash and the strictest majority.

The correct answer is Article 353, titled "Effect of Proclamation of Emergency". While a National Emergency is in force, it extends the executive power of the Union to giving directions to any State on the manner in which its executive power is to be exercised, and it allows Parliament to make laws on any matter, even one in the State List. Article 250 spells out that legislative power in detail, and laws made under it cease to have effect six months after the emergency ends.

The other options are unrelated. Article 350 guarantees the right to submit a representation for the redress of grievances in any language used in the Union or a State. Article 256 lays down a normal-time duty: every State must exercise its executive power so as to comply with laws made by Parliament. Article 252 lets Parliament legislate for two or more States on a State subject when their legislatures pass resolutions asking it to do so. The difference with 353 is that during an emergency no State's consent is needed at all.

The correct answer is upto one year. While a Proclamation of National Emergency is in operation, Parliament can by law extend the normal five-year term of a State Legislative Assembly (Article 172) and of the Lok Sabha (Article 83) by up to one year at a time. There is also an outer limit: the extension cannot continue beyond six months after the proclamation has ceased to operate. During the Emergency of 1975–77 the term of the Fifth Lok Sabha was extended in this way.

The other durations come from elsewhere in the chapter and are meant to confuse. Six months is the period for which an approved emergency lasts, and also the outer limit after an emergency ends. One month is the time within which Parliament must approve a National Emergency. Nine months has no basis. The logic of the rule is that elections may be impossible during a war or rebellion, so the Constitution lets the existing legislatures continue, but only one year at a time and never for long after the crisis has passed.

The correct answer is 1962-68. India's first National Emergency was proclaimed on 26 October 1962, during the war with China, on the ground of external aggression. It stayed in force long after the fighting ended and was revoked only on 10 January 1968, which is why the question gives the span 1962–68. President Dr S. Radhakrishnan made the proclamation, on the advice of Jawaharlal Nehru's government.

The other spans are invented, built around the right decade to catch candidates who remember only "the 1960s". For the full picture, learn all three proclamations together: 1962 (external aggression, the war with China), 1971 (external aggression, the war with Pakistan) and 1975 (internal disturbance, declared while the 1971 emergency was still in force). Both the 1971 and 1975 emergencies ended in March 1977. The long 1962–68 emergency, continuing years after the war, was itself one of the reasons later governments added limits on how long an emergency can last without fresh approval.

The correct answer is Three times. A National Emergency under Article 352 has been proclaimed three times: in October 1962, when China attacked India; in December 1971, during the war with Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh; and in June 1975, on the ground of "internal disturbance", during Indira Gandhi's government. The first two were external emergencies; the third was the only internal emergency India has had.

The 1975 proclamation came while the 1971 emergency was still in force, so for about two years two emergencies ran side by side; both were revoked in March 1977. That overlap is why "two times" sometimes tempts candidates who think of periods rather than proclamations. "Four times" and "only once" have no basis. Note that the count refers only to National Emergencies: President's Rule under Article 356 has been imposed on States many times, and a Financial Emergency under Article 360 has never been declared.

The correct answer is 1975. On the night of 25 June 1975, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed proclaimed a National Emergency on the ground of "internal disturbance", on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It came days after the Allahabad High Court set aside her election to the Lok Sabha. During the 21 months that followed, civil liberties were suspended, opposition leaders were detained and the press was censored, until the Emergency was lifted in March 1977 and the Janata Party won the general election.

The other years are linked to different events: 1984 saw Operation Blue Star and Indira Gandhi's assassination; 1973 is the year of the Kesavananda Bharati judgment; and 1978 is the year of the 44th Amendment, which replaced "internal disturbance" with "armed rebellion" so that an emergency like 1975's could not be declared on such a vague ground again. The Government of India now marks 25 June as "Samvidhan Hatya Diwas" to remember the Emergency.

The correct answer is Dismiss State government; needs approval within two months. Under Article 356, if the President is satisfied, on the Governor's report or otherwise, that the government of a State cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution, he or she can take over the functions of the State government, which in practice means dismissing the State's Council of Ministers and suspending or dissolving its Assembly. The proclamation must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within two months, by a simple majority, and then lasts six months at a time, up to three years.

The other options mix in other provisions. The President can dissolve the Lok Sabha under Article 85, but never Parliament as a whole, and not under Article 356. A Financial Emergency is Article 360, and it needs the approval of both Houses, not only the Rajya Sabha. Suspending Fundamental Rights is dealt with by Articles 358 and 359, and needs no Supreme Court approval. Since the S.R. Bommai case (1994), a proclamation under Article 356 can be reviewed by the courts.

The correct answer is Up to three years. Once approved by Parliament, President's Rule lasts six months and can be extended by fresh approval for six months at a time, but never beyond three years in all. There is an additional hurdle after the first year: under the 44th Amendment (1978), it can be continued beyond one year only if a National Emergency is in force in the whole of India or in that State, and the Election Commission certifies that elections to the State Assembly cannot be held because of difficulties.

The other options are common confusions. One year is the point after which those extra conditions apply, not the maximum. Two years and four years have no basis in the text. Contrast this with the other two emergencies: a National Emergency can be extended indefinitely, six months at a time, and a Financial Emergency, once approved, continues until it is revoked, with no maximum at all. So President's Rule is the only emergency with a fixed ceiling, three years.

The correct answer is 1983. The Government of India set up the Sarkaria Commission in June 1983, under Justice R.S. Sarkaria, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, to review the working of Centre-State relations. It submitted its report in 1988 with 247 recommendations. On emergencies, it said that Article 356 should be used very sparingly, only as a last resort, after warning the State and exploring every alternative, and that a State Assembly should not be dissolved before Parliament has considered the proclamation.

The other years are near misses meant to test exact recall. Its best-known recommendations were later reinforced by the Supreme Court in the S.R. Bommai case (1994). Other bodies on the same subject are also asked: the Rajamannar Committee (1969), set up by the Tamil Nadu government, and the Punchhi Commission (2007), a later national commission on Centre-State relations. For this topic, pair the Sarkaria Commission with 1983 and with the idea that President's Rule should be the last resort, not the first.

The correct answer is Article 360. It allows the President to proclaim a Financial Emergency if satisfied that the financial stability or credit of India, or of any part of its territory, is threatened. The proclamation must be approved by both Houses within two months by a simple majority, and once approved it continues until revoked, with no maximum period and no need for repeated approval.

The other options are related Articles, which is why they confuse. Article 356 provides for President's Rule when the constitutional machinery in a State fails. Article 365 lets the President treat a State's failure to follow the Union's directions as such a failure. Article 330 reserves seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and has nothing to do with emergencies. During a Financial Emergency the Centre can direct the States to observe financial propriety and the President can order salary cuts, even for judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

The correct answer is Never. Article 360 has never been used. Even in 1991, when India faced a severe balance of payments crisis, had foreign exchange reserves for only a few weeks of imports and had to pledge gold to raise loans, the government chose economic reforms rather than a Financial Emergency. So none of the counts offered, "4 times", "5 times" or "once", can be right.

Keep the three emergencies apart when counting. A National Emergency under Article 352 has been declared three times: 1962, 1971 and 1975. President's Rule under Article 356 has been imposed on States many times, beginning with Punjab in 1951. A Financial Emergency under Article 360 has never been declared. This contrast is itself a favourite question, often phrased as "which emergency has never been proclaimed in India?" The answer is always the Financial Emergency.

The correct answer is President. Under Article 360(4), while a Financial Emergency is in operation, the President can issue directions for reducing the salaries and allowances of all or any class of persons serving the Union, including the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. This is a striking exception, because in normal times a judge's salary cannot be varied to his or her disadvantage after appointment, a protection meant to keep the judiciary independent.

The Prime Minister leads the government that would advise such a step, but the power is given to the President. The Chief Justice has no power to cut judges' salaries; he or she heads the judiciary but does not control its pay. The Finance Commission, set up under Article 280, recommends how tax revenue is shared between the Centre and the States and has no role in an emergency. During a Financial Emergency the Centre can also require State money bills to be reserved for the President's consideration.