Q. With reference to the comparisons between the provisions for National Emergency and Financial Emergency in the Indian constitution, consider the following statements:
1. Declaration of both types of Emergencies must be approved by Parliament within 1 month.
2. Both need to be approved by a two-third majority of members in both the Houses of Parliament.
3. Both types of Emergencies can continue to operate for an indefinite period of time.
4. The President’s revocation of both types of Emergencies requires Parliamentary approval by a simple Majority.
How many of the above given statements is/ are correct?
Exp) Option a is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is incorrect: Declaration of National Emergency under Article 352 of the constitution requires Parliamentary approval within 1 month of declaration. While in the case of the declaration of Financial Emergency, this period is 2 months.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Originally declaration of both National and Financial Emergency approval by the Parliament required only a Simple Majority in both the Houses. 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 made the Parliamentary approval for National Emergency’s declaration possible only when passed through a Special Majority (more than ⅔ members present & voting) in both the Houses. The provisions for Parliamentary approval in case of Financial Emergency remained untouched.
Statement 3 is correct: There is no limit on the total duration of time for which both, the National as well as Financial Emergencies can remain in operation. While the Financial Emergency can continue to remain in operation without any periodic confirmation from the Parliament, in case of National Emergency, a Parliamentary approval is required every 6 months for it to continue.
Statement 4 is incorrect: The President can revoke both, the National Emergency, as well as Financial Emergency through a proclamation, at any time. In both cases, no Parliamentary approval is required for the revocation proclamation of the president
| Important Tips In case of National Emergency only, Lok Sabha can pass a resolution, demanding discontinuation of the National Emergency, at any time, with just a Simple Majority. This was another of the safeguards added by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1978 to prevent misuse of Emergency provisions. |
