An emergency is a situation which arises due to the failure of the government machinery which causes or demands immediate action from the authority.
Emergency provision is given under PART XVIII that is from Article 352 to 360.
There are three types of emergencies which is given under our Indian Constitution.
- National Emergency – 352
- President Rule – 356
- Financial Emergency -360
There are certain grounds for the proclamation of Emergency in our country. They are as follows:
- War
When a war is declared by any country officially against India and there is a violent struggle through armed forces, the President of India can impose a national emergency.
- External anger
When a country invades another country without an official declaration of war. It is a joint offensive against any country facing India. In such cases, the President of India may file a national emergency.
- Armed Rebellion
Emergency emergencies caused by an armed insurgency may be imposed by the President of India when a group of people revolt against the current government which will lead to the destruction of life and property.
- State Situation
Reasons for declaring a state of emergency is the failure of the state’s constitutional machinery. In this Emergency, when the Governor of the country is satisfied that the State is not acting in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution then he may write a report to the President of India. And the President, if satisfied with the report, may introduce a Presidential rule. After that, the President will be the head of state in charge.
- Financial Situation
The reasons for declaring a financial emergency is that when a state emerges in a country leading to a financial crisis in India, the President of India may introduce an emergency to deal with this situation. In this case, the Central Authority may reduce the budget or cut a budget allocated to the State, and the salaries of government officials may be deducted.
There are some emergency provisions which is given under our Indian constitution.
- Article 352: Proclamation of Emergency
- Article 353: Effect of Proclamation of Emergency
- Article 354: Application of Provisions relating to the distribution of revenues while a proclamation of Emergency is in operation
- Article 355: Duty of the Union to protect states against external aggression and internal disturbance.
- Article 356: Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in state.
- Article 357: exercise of legislative powers under proclamation issued under Article 356
- Article 358: Suspension of Provisions of article 19 during emergencies
- Article 359: Suspension of the enforcement of the rights conferred by Part III during emergencies.
- Article 360: Provisions as to financial emergency
Concluding, Emergencies in India are set by the President after both Houses of Parliament passes the resolution of the Declaration of Emergency. When State Emergency or Rule’s President was frequently used by the President, National Emergency was a part of history.
The 1975 national emergency signals a weak and dark justice system. Cases like Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain and A.D.M Jabalpur v Shiv Kant Shukla Both cases do not respect the fundamental rights of citizens in emergencies. There was a need to change the approach and it was done in the case of Kesavananda Bharati v Union of India.
