Emergency provisions are a special arrangement in the constitution which enables the central government to meet an extraordinary situation effectively.
The rationality behind the incorporation of these provisions in the Constitution is to safeguard the sovereignty, unity, integrity and security of the country, the democratic political system, and the Constitution.
There can be 3 types of emergency – national emergency, state emergency and financial emergency.
National emergency:
- Under the Indian Constitution (Article 352), the President can declare a state of national emergency in the whole or some parts of India in case of war, external aggression or armed rebellion.
- During National Emergency, the Central government becomes all powerful and the states go into the total control of the Centre. It converts the federal structure into a unitary one.
President’s rule/ State emergency:
- Indian constitution (Article 356) provides for the transfer of a particular state’s governance from the elected state government’s control to the union government for a temporary period .
- It occurs when the President is satisfied that the governance of that state can not be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
- During this period, the state’s executive is dismissed while the legislature is either suspended or dismissed.
Financial emergency:
- Indian constitution under Article 360 provides for declaration of financial emergency if a threat exists to financial stability of India.
- It empowers the union government to undertake many measures including taking over the state government on every financial matter.
