Article 356 in Constitution of India

 

Article 356 in Constitution of India

356. Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in State

(1)If the President, on receipt of report from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, the President may by Proclamation-

(a)assume to himself all or any of the functions of the Government of the State and all or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor or any body or authority in the State other than the Legislature of the State;

(b)declare that the powers of the Legislature of the State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament;

(c)make such incidental and consequential provisions as appear to the President to be necessary or desirable for giving effect to the objects of the Proclamation, including provisions for suspending in whole or in part the operation of any provisions of this Constitution relating to any body or authority in the State:

Provided that nothing in this clause shall authorise the President to assume to himself any of the powers vested in or exercisable by a High Court, or to suspend in whole or in part the operation of any provision of this Constitution relating to High Courts.

(2)Any such Proclamation may be revoked or varied by a subsequent Proclamation.

(3)Every Proclamation under this article shall be laid before each house of Parliament and shall, except where it is a Proclamation revoking a previous Proclamation, cease to operate at the expiration of two months unless before the expiration of that period it has been approved by resolutions of both Houses of Parliament:Provided that if any such Proclamation (not being a Proclamation revoking a previous Proclamation) is issued at a time when the House of the People is dissolved or the dissolution of the House of the People takes place during the period of two months referred to in this clause, and if a resolution approving the Proclamation has been passed by the Council of States, but no resolution with respect to such Proclamation has been passed by the House of the People before the expiration of that period, the Proclamation shall cease to operate at the expiration of thirty days from the date on which the House of the People first sits after its reconstitution unless before the expiration of the said period of thirty days a resolution approving the Proclamation has been also passed by the House of the People.

(4)A Proclamation so approved shall, unless revoked, cease to operate on the expiration of a period of six months from the date of issue of the Proclamation:Provided that if and so often as a resolution approving the continuance in force of such a Proclamation is passed by both Houses of Parliament, the Proclamation shall, unless revoked, continue in force for a further period of six months from the date on which under this clause it would otherwise have ceased to operate, but no such Proclamation shall in any case remain in force for more than three years:Provided further that if the dissolution of the House of the People takes place during any such period of six months and a resolution approving the continuance in force of such Proclamation has been passed by the Council of States, but no resolution with respect to the continuance in force of such Proclamation has been passed by the House of the People during the said period, the Proclamation shall cease to operate at the expiration of thirty days from the date on which the House of the People first sits after its reconstitution unless before the expiration of the said period of thirty days a resolution approving the continuance in force of the Proclamation has been also passed by the House of the People:Provided also that in the case of the Proclamation issued under clause (1) on the 11th day of May, 1987 with respect to the State of Punjab, the reference in the first proviso to this clause to "three years" shall be construed as a reference to five years.

(5)Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (4), a resolution with respect to the continuance in force of a Proclamation approved under clause (3) for any period beyond the expiration of one year from the date of issue of such proclamation shall not be passed by either House of Parliament unless--

(a)a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, in the whole of India or, as the case may be, in the whole or any part of the State, at the time of the passing of such resolution, and

(b)the Election Commission certifies that the continuance in force of the Proclamation approved under clause (3) during the period specified in such resolution is necessary on account of difficulties in holding general elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned:

Provided that nothing in the clause shall apply to the Proclamation issued under clause (1) on the 11th day of May, 1987 with respect to the State of Punjab.[Editorial comment-The Constitution (Thirty-Eighth Amendment) Act, 1975, Amendment of Article 356 of the constitution has been amended by inserting a new clause. By this insertion, the satisfaction of the president mentioned in clause (1) shall be final and conclusive and shall not be questioned in any court on any ground."Also Refer][Editorial comment-The Constitution (Forty-Fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, repealed Article 19 (1) (f) and also took out Article 31(1) has been taken out of Part III and made a separate Article 300A in Chapter IV of Part XII. This amendment may have taken away the scope of speedy remedy under Article 32 for the violation of Right to Property because it is no more a Fundamental Right. Making it a legal right under the Constitution serves two purposes: Firstly, it gives emphasis to the value of socialism included in the preamble and secondly, in doing so, it conformed to the doctrine of basic structure of the Constitution. Also Refer][Editorial comment-The Constitution (Forty-Eighth Amendment) Act, 1984, inserted a new proviso in clause (5) of article 356 of the Constitution in order to provide that in the case of the Proclamation issued by the President on 6 October 1983 with respect to the State of Punjab, Parliament may pass any resolution with respect to the continuance in force of the Proclamation for a period up to two years.Also Refer ][Editorial comment-The Constitution (Sixty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1990, aimed to address the pressing issues in the State of Punjab and proposed to amend Article 356 to facilitate the extension of Proclamations related to the region. The amendment of the Indian Constitution added a proviso to Article 356(4) to allow for the extension of the President’s Rule for a total period of three years and six months in the state of Punjab.Also Refer][Editorial comment-The Constitution (Sixty-Seventh Amendment) Act of 1990 , amended clause (5) of Article 356 and lengthened the three-year time frame in the particular instance of the Declaration made available on May 11, 1987, with regard to the State of Punjab to 3 years and 6 months. In the hope that the State’s Legislative Assembly polls were indeed able to go ahead. Unfortunately, the then-current state of affairs in the State still didn’t offer much hope for fair and peaceful election polls to the State Legislative Assembly. Therefore it was recommended to change clause (4) of Article 356 of the Indian Constitution to make it easier to extend the Proclamation mentioned above in reference to the State of Punjab for a maximum of four years.Also Refer][Editorial comment-The Constitution (Sixty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1991, altered Clause (4) of Article 356 of the Constitution for the third time. It enabled the aforementioned Proclamation regarding the State of Punjab to be prolonged for a total of five years. However, under clause (5) of the said article, a resolution approving the continuance in force of a Proclamation issued under clause (1) of that article beyond a period of one year cannot be passed by either House of Parliament unless the two conditions relating to a Proclamation of Emergency being in operation in the whole or any part of the State and the certificate by the Election Commission that the continuation of the Proclamation issued under clause (1) is necessary on account of difficulties in holding general elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State as specified in that clause are met. Therefore, the prevailing circumstances still do not hold out prospects for fair, free and peaceful elections to the Legislative Assembly of Punjab.Also Refer]