1. BPSC demand and study method
BPSC-style questions commonly ask an Article–situation match, approval deadline, maximum duration, effect on Fundamental Rights, or the safeguards introduced by the Forty-fourth Amendment. A statement becomes wrong when it transfers a rule of Article 352 to Article 356 or 360. Study in this order:
2. Three emergencies at one glance
| Emergency | Trigger | Parliamentary approval | Continuation after approval |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Emergency — Article 352 | Security of India or any part threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion; imminent danger is enough. | Within one month; each House uses a special majority. | Six months at a time; both Houses may renew for further six-month periods. No fixed maximum appears in Article 352. |
| President's Rule — Article 356 | Government of a State cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution. | Within two months; resolutions of both Houses. | Six months at a time, ordinarily not beyond three years; extensions beyond one year need both Article 356(5) conditions. |
| Financial Emergency — Article 360 | Financial stability or credit of India or any part is threatened. | Within two months; resolutions of both Houses. | After approval, the Article provides no six-month renewal cycle or maximum duration; it continues until revoked. |
3. National Emergency: Article 352
The President may proclaim an emergency for the whole of India or a specified part when satisfied that a grave emergency threatens security through war, external aggression or armed rebellion. A proclamation can be issued before the event actually occurs if its imminent danger exists. Different proclamations may operate on different grounds.
The President cannot issue or vary such a proclamation unless the decision of the Union Cabinet—the Prime Minister and Cabinet-rank Ministers appointed under Article 75—has been communicated in writing. Written Cabinet decision is a constitutional safeguard; advice from the Prime Minister acting alone is not the wording of Article 352(3).
| Stage | Rule | Exam cue |
|---|---|---|
| Initial life | Unless revoked, it ceases after one month if both Houses have not approved it. | One month, not two. |
| Approval majority | In each House: majority of total membership and at least two-thirds of members present and voting. | Special majority unique here among the three emergencies. |
| After approval | Six months from the later/second approving resolution; renewable by both Houses for six months at a time. | No three-year ceiling under Article 352. |
| Lok Sabha dissolved | Rajya Sabha approval can preserve it temporarily; Lok Sabha must approve within 30 days of its first sitting after reconstitution. | Rajya Sabha is constitutionally important during dissolution. |
| Disapproval | If Lok Sabha disapproves the proclamation or its continuation, the President must revoke it. | Disapproval power belongs to Lok Sabha. |
| Special sitting | Written notice by at least one-tenth of total Lok Sabha membership requires a special sitting within 14 days. | 1/10 members; 14 days. |
4. Effects of a National Emergency
| Area | Constitutional effect | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Union executive power | The Union may give directions to a State on the manner in which its executive power is exercised. | 353(a) |
| Legislative power | Parliament can legislate on State List matters during the emergency. A law resting on this emergency competence ceases, to the extent of that special incompetency, six months after the proclamation ends, while past acts remain protected. | 250 and 353(b) |
| Revenue distribution | The President may modify the operation of Articles 268–279 for the specified period, subject to Article 354. | 354 |
| Lok Sabha/Assembly term | Parliament may extend a Lok Sabha or State Assembly term by law for at most one year at a time, never beyond six months after the emergency ends. | 83(2), 172(1) |
| State government | A National Emergency does not automatically dismiss a State ministry or dissolve its Assembly. | Distinguish from 356 |
5. Fundamental Rights: Articles 358 and 359
| Point | Article 358 | Article 359 |
|---|---|---|
| What it concerns | Operation of Article 19 restrictions on State power. | Right to move a court to enforce specified Part III rights named in a Presidential order. |
| Emergency ground | Only war or external aggression, not armed rebellion. | Can operate during a National Emergency; only rights specified in the order are affected. |
| Presidential order | No separate Article 358 order is needed. | A Presidential order is necessary and must be laid before each House. |
| Articles 20 and 21 | Article 358 is about Article 19, not Articles 20 and 21. | Enforcement of Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended under Article 359. |
| Post-Forty-fourth safeguard | Protection applies only to emergency-related law containing the required recital and executive action under such law. | The corresponding protection likewise requires an emergency-related recital for the law and action under it. |
6. President's Rule: Articles 355–357 and 365
Article 355 places a duty on the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that State government is carried on according to the Constitution. Under Article 356, the President may act on the Governor's report or otherwise when satisfied that the State government cannot be constitutionally carried on. Therefore, a Governor's report is important but not an indispensable textual condition.
The proclamation may assume State executive functions and Governor's powers, and declare that the State Legislature's powers are exercisable by or under Parliament's authority. It cannot authorise the President to assume a High Court's powers or suspend constitutional provisions relating to High Courts. Under Article 357, Parliament may confer State legislative power on the President and permit delegation. A law made under that emergency competence may continue after the proclamation ends until a competent authority alters, repeals or amends it.
Article 365 is a related deeming provision: if a State fails to comply with constitutional Union directions, it is lawful for the President to hold that a situation exists in which its government cannot be carried on according to the Constitution. It is not a statement that every disagreement automatically produces President's Rule.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| When must Parliament approve? | Within two months, by resolutions of both Houses. |
| What if Lok Sabha is dissolved? | Rajya Sabha may approve; Lok Sabha must approve within 30 days from its first sitting after reconstitution. |
| How long after approval? | Six months at a time, renewable by both Houses. |
| Maximum? | Three years under the ordinary current text. |
| Extension beyond one year? | Both conditions are required: a National Emergency operates in whole India or the whole/part of the concerned State, and the Election Commission certifies difficulty in holding the State Assembly general election. |
7. Judicial control: the S. R. Bommai rule
The Supreme Court's S. R. Bommai framework makes an Article 356 proclamation judicially reviewable. Presidential satisfaction must rest on objective material; Article 74(2) does not prevent examination of the material forming the basis of advice. Dissolution of the Assembly is not an automatic consequence, and irreversible action such as dissolution cannot precede approval by both Houses. If a proclamation is invalid, a court may restore the earlier position, including the Assembly. These principles protect federalism from partisan use of Article 356.
8. Financial Emergency: Article 360
Article 360 applies when the financial stability or credit of India or any part is threatened. It must be laid before both Houses and approved within two months. The Lok Sabha-dissolution exception mirrors Article 356: Rajya Sabha approval can preserve it until 30 days after the first sitting of the reconstituted Lok Sabha, within which Lok Sabha approval is required. Unlike Articles 352 and 356, Article 360 contains no periodic six-month renewal after approval.
| Target | Direction/effect |
|---|---|
| States generally | The Union may direct observance of specified canons of financial propriety and give other necessary directions. |
| State employees | A direction may require reduction of salaries and allowances of all or a class of persons serving State affairs. |
| State financial Bills | Directions may require State Money Bills and other Bills covered by Article 207 to be reserved for Presidential consideration after passage. |
| Union employees and judges | The President may direct reduction of salaries and allowances of persons serving Union affairs, including Supreme Court and High Court judges. |
9. Safeguard timeline: why the Forty-fourth Amendment matters
11. Bihar relevance
The same constitutional safeguards apply if Article 356 is considered for Bihar: the President may act on a Governor's report or otherwise, Parliament controls continuation, the Patna High Court's constitutional powers cannot be assumed, and the proclamation remains judicially reviewable. Under a National Emergency, Parliament may temporarily legislate on State List matters affecting Bihar, but Bihar's elected government does not automatically fall. Under Article 360, Bihar may receive Union directions on financial propriety and reservation of specified financial Bills.