Emergency — Set 4

Correct Answer: A. Article 352

• **Article 352** = the specific constitutional article that defines and governs the Proclamation of National Emergency; it allows the President to proclaim emergency on three grounds — war, external aggression, or armed rebellion. • **Part XVIII** — Article 352 is the first article in Part XVIII (Emergency Provisions) of the Constitution, which spans Articles 352–360 covering National Emergency, State Emergency, and Financial Emergency. • 💡 Option B (Article 356) is wrong — Article 356 deals with President's Rule (State/Constitutional Emergency) when state constitutional machinery fails, not the National Emergency proclamation. Option C (Article 365) is wrong — Article 365 is about state non-compliance with Central directions being deemed a failure of constitutional machinery (a trigger for Article 356, not National Emergency). Option D (Article 360) is wrong — Article 360 deals with Financial Emergency, the third and never-declared type of emergency in India's history.

Correct Answer: A. Article 365

• **Article 365** = the constitutional provision that declares: if a state fails to comply with or give effect to directions given by the Centre, it is lawful for the President to hold that constitutional machinery in that state has failed — thus triggering Article 356 (President's Rule). • **Trigger mechanism** — Article 365 does not by itself impose President's Rule; it creates the legal basis (deemed failure of constitutional machinery) that justifies invoking Article 356; it acts as a gateway. • 💡 Option B (Article 358) is wrong — Article 358 deals with automatic suspension of Article 19 freedoms during war/external aggression emergency; it has nothing to do with state non-compliance or President's Rule. Option C (Article 352) is wrong — Article 352 is the National Emergency (external/armed rebellion) provision; Centre-state compliance issues are governed by Article 365 → Article 356, not Article 352. Option D (Article 360) is wrong — Article 360 is the Financial Emergency provision; it relates to financial stability of India, not failure to follow Central directions.

Correct Answer: D. Financial Emergency

• **Financial Emergency (Article 360)** = the only type of emergency that allows the President to direct reduction of salaries of all government servants including Supreme Court and High Court judges during the period of financial emergency. • **Unique Article 360 power** — ordinarily, judges' salaries are charged to the Consolidated Fund of India and cannot be reduced; Article 360 creates an exception during a Financial Emergency to enable austerity measures. • 💡 Option A (National Emergency) is wrong — National Emergency under Article 352 empowers Parliament to legislate on State List subjects; it does not authorize reducing judicial salaries. Option B (State Emergency) is wrong — President's Rule under Article 356 gives the Centre control over a state's administration; reducing judges' salaries is not a feature of Article 356. Option C (None) is wrong — this power does exist under Article 360 Financial Emergency; it is not a hypothetical provision.

Correct Answer: B. Verbal to Written

• **Verbal to Written** = the change made by the 44th Amendment Act (1978) regarding Cabinet recommendation for National Emergency; the PM could earlier advise the President verbally or impliedly, but now the full Cabinet must give a formal written recommendation. • **Collective Cabinet responsibility** — the 'written' requirement ensures that the entire Cabinet (not just the PM) has collectively approved the emergency, preventing unilateral PM-driven emergency proclamations like the controversial 1975 emergency. • 💡 Option A (No change) is wrong — there was a definite change; the 44th Amendment specifically introduced the 'written' requirement that did not exist before. Option C (Verbal to Optional) is wrong — the recommendation was made mandatory (written), not optional; making it optional would have weakened safeguards further. Option D (Written to Verbal) is wrong — this reverses the actual change; the 44th Amendment went from verbal to written, not the other way around.

Correct Answer: B. China

• **China** = the country whose aggression in October 1962 (Sino-Indian War, NEFA/Arunachal Pradesh front) led to India's first National Emergency declaration; this emergency continued in force until 1968 — a span of 6 years. • **Continuation through 1965** — the 1962 emergency was still in force when the India-Pakistan war broke out in 1965; a separate emergency for the 1965 war was declared on top of the existing one. • 💡 Option A (Pakistan) is wrong — Pakistan was the cause of the second National Emergency (1971 war); the first emergency in 1962 was due to Chinese aggression. Option C (Bangladesh) is wrong — Bangladesh was not an independent country in 1962; it was East Pakistan; the 1971 war's outcome was the creation of Bangladesh. Option D (USA) is wrong — the USA was not an adversary in any National Emergency declaration; it had no military conflict with India that triggered any emergency.

Correct Answer: A. Pakistan

• **Pakistan** = the country India was at war with in December 1971, leading to the second National Emergency declaration; this war resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan). • **Concurrent emergencies** — the 1971 emergency was still in force in 1975 when Indira Gandhi declared the third emergency on 'Internal Disturbance' grounds; India technically had two overlapping emergencies at that point. • 💡 Option B (China) is wrong — China was the cause of the first National Emergency (1962); the second emergency in 1971 was triggered by the war with Pakistan. Option C (Sri Lanka) is wrong — India has never declared a National Emergency due to war with Sri Lanka; IPKF deployment in Sri Lanka (1987–90) did not trigger Article 352. Option D (Portugal) is wrong — Portugal was involved in the liberation of Goa (1961), but that was a police action (Operation Vijay), not a war that triggered a National Emergency.

Correct Answer: D. Article 358

• **Article 358** = the constitutional provision that automatically suspends the six freedoms under Article 19 during a National Emergency declared on grounds of war or external aggression — no separate Presidential order is required. • **Not applicable for armed rebellion** — Article 358 suspension is limited to war/external aggression emergencies; if the emergency is declared on grounds of armed rebellion (internal), Article 19 is NOT automatically suspended. • 💡 Option A (Article 352) is wrong — Article 352 is the provision for proclaiming National Emergency; it does not contain the automatic Article 19 suspension mechanism (that is Article 358). Option B (Article 359) is wrong — Article 359 allows the President to suspend the enforcement of other Fundamental Rights by order; it is not automatic and is not limited to Article 19 only. Option C (Article 356) is wrong — Article 356 deals with President's Rule in states; it has no provision for automatic suspension of Article 19 freedoms.

Correct Answer: D. Article 20

• **Article 20** = the Fundamental Right that provides three-fold protection in respect of conviction for offences: (1) no ex post facto laws, (2) no double jeopardy, (3) no self-incrimination; it cannot be suspended during any type of emergency. • **44th Amendment (1978)** — expressly made Article 20 (along with Article 21) immune from Presidential suspension under Article 359, creating an absolute protection floor even in the most severe national crisis. • 💡 Option A (Article 21) is wrong — Article 21 is also non-suspendable, but Article 21 protects life and personal liberty, not conviction-related protections (no double jeopardy etc.) which is Article 20's domain. Option B (Article 22) is wrong — Article 22 provides protection against arbitrary arrest and detention; unlike Articles 20 and 21, Article 22 can be modified by Parliament under Preventive Detention laws and is not absolutely non-suspendable. Option C (Article 19) is wrong — Article 19 (six freedoms) is automatically suspended under Article 358 during war/external aggression emergency; it is not immune from suspension.

Correct Answer: B. Article 21

• **Article 21** = the Fundamental Right that guarantees the Right to Life and Personal Liberty; it cannot be suspended during any type of National Emergency — making it one of only two absolutely non-suspendable rights (along with Article 20). • **44th Amendment (1978)** — expressly protected Article 21 from Presidential suspension under Article 359; before 1978, even Article 21 could theoretically be suspended (as happened with the ADM Jabalpur case in 1976 during the Emergency). • 💡 Option A (Article 14) is wrong — Article 14 (equality before law) is not among the absolutely protected rights during emergency; it can potentially be suspended by Presidential order under Article 359. Option C (Article 32) is wrong — Article 32 (right to constitutional remedies) can be suspended by Presidential order under Article 359 during emergency; it is not an absolutely non-suspendable right. Option D (Article 19) is wrong — Article 19 (six freedoms) is automatically suspended under Article 358 during war/external aggression emergency; it is the opposite of non-suspendable.

Correct Answer: A. Punjab

• **Punjab (PEPSU)** = the state where President's Rule was imposed for the first time in independent India in 1951; PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab States Union) was later merged with Punjab in 1956. • **Over 100 times** — since 1951, Article 356 has been imposed more than 100 times across various states; the SR Bommai case (1994) laid down safeguards against its arbitrary use by requiring a floor test first. • 💡 Option B (Uttar Pradesh) is wrong — UP was not the first state to have President's Rule; the first imposition was in Punjab (PEPSU) in 1951. Option C (Bihar) is wrong — Bihar has had President's Rule imposed several times but was not the first state; Punjab holds that historical distinction. Option D (Kerala) is wrong — Kerala's first President's Rule in 1959 (dismissal of EMS Namboodiripad's government) is famous, but it was not the first in India; Punjab (1951) preceded it.