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Emergency Provisions in India

Part XVIII of the Indian Constitution deals with Emergency Provisions. These provisions were borrowed from the Government of India Act, 1935. There are three types of emergencies:

• Article 352: National Emergency (Jాతీయ అత్యవసర పరిస్థితి)
• Article 356: President's Rule (రాష్ట్రపతి పరిపాలన) / State Emergency / Constitutional Emergency
• Article 360: Financial Emergency (జాతీయ ఆర్థిక అత్యవసర పరిస్థితి)

The procedures to be followed *during* a National Emergency were inspired by the Weimar Constitution of Germany. Note that the *concept* of emergency provisions themselves comes from the 1935 Act, not Germany. Local authors sometimes confuse this.

These emergencies are declared when there are extraordinary situations that are different from normal conditions. The aim is to restore normal conditions.

National Emergency (Article 352)

The following points describe how to study and understand a National Emergency (and similarly, the other types of emergencies):

• Who declares it?
• Where can it be imposed?
• Why is it imposed (reasons)?
• Parliament's approval (timeframe and majority required)?
• When does it come into effect?
• Which house of Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) must approve it first?
• Minimum and maximum duration?
• Can a joint sitting of both houses be called?
• What happens if the Lok Sabha is dissolved?
• Who revokes it?
• Is it subject to judicial review?
• What are the effects of the emergency?
• How many times has it been imposed?

Declaration: The President declares a National Emergency. However, the President cannot do this unilaterally.

44th Amendment (1978): This amendment to Article 352 introduced the requirement that the President can only declare a National Emergency based on the *written* advice of the Cabinet. The word "Cabinet" was not originally in the Constitution; it was first added by this amendment. Before 1978, there was no mention of "Cabinet" in this context. The President *must* have the written advice of the Cabinet to declare a National Emergency.

Reasons for Imposition: There are two broad categories of reasons:

1. External Reasons ( బహిర్గత కారణం):
   • War with foreign countries (External War).
   • External aggression by foreign countries.
2. Internal Reasons (అంతర్గత కారణం):
   • Originally: "Internal Disturbance" (అల్లకల్లోల పరిస్థితులు). This was introduced by the 38th Amendment in 1975, amending Article 352.
   • 44th Amendment (1978): The term "Internal Disturbance" was replaced with "Armed Rebellion" (సాయుధ తిరుగుబాటు). This is because "Internal Disturbance" was considered too vague. "Armed Rebellion" refers to situations where citizens (government employees, private employees, armed forces, labor unions, etc.) show opposition to the government. For example, protests and actions like the Khalistan movement in Punjab or large-scale protests by government employees, such as the recent PRC protests in Andhra Pradesh, could be considered "Armed Rebellion."