Constitution of India/Emergency provisions

Part XVIII is a compilation of laws pertaining to the Constitution of India as a country and the union of states that it is made of. This part of the constitution consists of Articles on Emergency Provisions.

Laws

Part XVIII of the Indian constitution envisages the following three emergencies:

• General Emergency
• Break-down of constitutional machinery in the states
• Financial Emergency

Articles 352

This article as enacted by the Constituent Assembly of India provides the president with powers to declare a state of emergency in the nation if he/she is satisfied that the stability and integrity of India is threatened by either external aggression or armed rebellion. This power can only be exercised on the advice of the prime minister and his council of ministers.

Article 353

This article allows the central government to override the seventh schedule of the constitution (dealing with the differenciation of subjects between the central and state government). It also allows the president to prolong the life of the Lok Sabha one year at time.

Article 354-355

Article 354 empowers the central government to make funding allocations within the centre-state financial arrangements besides those stated in Article 268-279.

Article 355 outlines the duties of the government concerning individual states ensuring that the governance of all states is according to the constitution during an emergency.

Article 359A

Repealed - Replaced by the Constitution (Sixty-third Amendment) Act, 1989, s. 3 (w.e.f. 6 January 1990).

Article 360

This section includes provisions on financial emergencies.

Further reading

• "The Constitution of India" (PDF). Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice. 1 December 2007 [1950]. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-09. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• Part XVIII text from wikisource