Emergency Provisions – UPSC Prelims

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What are Emergency Provisions?
  • These provisions enable the Central government to meet any abnormal situation effectively.
  • Emergency Provisions in Indian Constitution are taken from Government of India Act 1935.
  • However, suspension of Fundamental Rights during emergency is taken from Weimer (German) Constitution.
  • The rationality behind the incorporation is to safeguard the sovereignty, unity, integrity and security of the country, the democratic political system and the Constitution.
  • The Constitution stipulates three types of emergencies:
    • National Emergency
    • Constitutional Emergency
    • Financial Emergency
What is a National Emergency?
  • National emergency can be declared on the basis of war, external aggression or armed rebellion. The Constitution employs the expression ‘proclamation of emergency’ to denote an emergency of this type.
  • Grounds of declaration:
    • Under Article 352, the president can declare a national emergency when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion.
    • The President can declare a national emergency even before the actual occurrence of war or armed rebellion or external aggression
    • When a national emergency is declared on the grounds of ‘war’ or ‘external aggression’, it is known as ‘External Emergency’.
    • On the other hand, when it is declared on the grounds of ‘armed rebellion’, it is known as ‘Internal Emergency’.
    • This term ‘armed rebellion’ is inserted from the 44th amendment. Before this term it was known as internal disturbance.
What is a Financial Emergency?
  • Grounds of declaration: Article 360 empowers the president to proclaim a Financial Emergency if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen due to which the financial stability or credit of India or any part of its territory is threatened.
What is the impact of Emergencies on Fundamental Rights?
  • Articles 358 and 359 describe the effect of a National Emergency on the Fundamental Rights. These two provisions are explained below:
  • Suspension of Fundamental rights under Article 19: According to Article 358, when a proclamation of National Emergency is made, the six fundamental rights under Article 19 are automatically suspended.
  • Suspension of other Fundamental Rights: Under Article 359, the President is authorised to suspend, by order, the right to move any court for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights during a National Emergency.
  • However it should be noted that Fundamental Rights are not affected during President’s Rule and Financial Emergency.
Previous Year Questions:
Q 1.) Which of the following are not necessarily the consequences of the proclamation of the President’s rule in a State? (2017)
  1. Dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly
  2. Removal of the Council of Ministers in the State
  3. Dissolution of the local bodies
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans: (b)
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