Emergency Provisions

 

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Emergency Provisions 

The Indian Constitution contains elaborate emergency provisions to enable the President to meet any extraordinary situation effectively. The rationality behind the incorporation of these provisions is to safeguard the sovereignty, unity, integrity, and security of the country, the democratic political system, and the Constitution. 

The Constitution envisages three types of emergencies, namely:

1. National emergency on the ground of war or external aggression or armed rebellion (Article 352)

2. State emergency (President's Rule) on the gound of failure of Constitutional machinery in the states (Article 356) or failure to comply with the directions of the Centre (Article 365).

3. Financial emergency on the ground of threat to the financial stability or credit of India (Article 360).

During an emergency, the Central Government becomes all-powerful and the states go into the total control of the centre. It converts the federalstructure into a unitary one without a formal amendment of the Constitution. This kind of transformation of the political system from federal (during normal times) to unitary (during emergency) is a unique feature of the Indian Constitution. 

Three-Tier Government 

Originally, the Indian Constitution, like any other federal constitution, provided for a dual polity and contained provisions with regard to the organisation and powers of the Centre and the states. Later, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts (1992) have added a third-tier of government (i.e., local) Which is not found in any other Constitution of the world. 

The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the panchayats (rural local governments) by adding a new Part IX and a new Schedule 11 to the Constitution. Similarly, the 74th Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the municipalities (Urban local governments) by adding a new Part IX-A, and a new Schedule 12 to the Constitution.