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The provision for a National Emergency is mentioned in which Article of the Constitution?
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Answer: Option B — Article 352
Detailed Solution
The emergency provisions of the Indian Constitution are in Part XVIII, from Article 352 to Article 360. They allow the Centre to deal with abnormal situations, and they were borrowed mainly from the Weimar Constitution of Germany. There are three types of emergency:
National Emergency (Article 352): declared on the grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion. The 44th Amendment (1978) replaced the words "internal disturbance" with "armed rebellion". The President can declare it only on the written recommendation of the Union Cabinet. The proclamation must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within one month by a special majority. Once approved, it continues for six months and can be extended indefinitely with Parliament's approval every six months.
President's Rule (Article 356): imposed in a state when its constitutional machinery fails.
Financial Emergency (Article 360): declared when the financial stability or credit of India is threatened. It has never been declared.
During a National Emergency, the Centre can give directions to states on any matter, Parliament can make laws on State List subjects, and the six freedoms under Article 19 are suspended automatically when the emergency is due to war or external aggression (Article 358). Under Article 359, the President can suspend the enforcement of other Fundamental Rights, except Articles 20 and 21.
National Emergency has been declared three times: in 1962 (Chinese aggression), in 1971 (war with Pakistan) and in 1975 (on the ground of "internal disturbance", by the government of Indira Gandhi). The 1975-77 Emergency led to the 44th Amendment, which added safeguards against misuse.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Article 356 deals with President's Rule in a state.
- ✗Article 360 deals with Financial Emergency.
- ✗Article 368 deals with the amendment of the Constitution.
Quick tip
Remember: Emergency = Part XVIII; Article 352 = National, 356 = President's Rule, 360 = Financial (never declared). National Emergency declared in 1962, 1971 and 1975.
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Centre-State Relations & Emergency Provisions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Centre-State Relations & Emergency Provisions, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the distribution of legislative, administrative and financial powers between the Centre and the states, the Union, State and Concurrent Lists, inter-state councils and zonal councils, and the three types of emergency: national emergency (Article 352), President's rule (Article 356) and financial emergency (Article 360). Exams ask which list a subject falls in, which commission examined Centre-state relations (the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions), and how often each type of emergency has been declared. Remember that a financial emergency has never been declared in India, and that 'armed rebellion' replaced 'internal disturbance' as a ground for national emergency through the 44th Amendment. Practise the Centre-state relations and emergency provisions questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.