Article 356 of Indian Constitution

Article 356 of the Constitution of India empowers the President to remove from the Union the executive and legislative powers of any statTo be precise, Article 356 only comes to the effect when e. Article 356 is also known as the imposition of the President’s rule in states. Article 356 is also imposed during the failure of the constitutional machinery in the state.

The President of India comes to the conclusion that governance of the state machinery cannot be carried in accordance with the norms mentioned in the Indian constitution. The analysis of the breakdown of the constitutional machinery may be executed by the President at any given time.

The Governor of the state also issues a receipt to the President stating the reasons behind the failure of the constitutional machinery of the state. So what is article 356? Let’s find out and know some relevant facts about Article 356 of the Indian constitution.

As per Article 256, President’s Rule can be imposed on any state of India when the constitutional machinery of any respective state fails. There are various contexts under which Article 356 can be imposed. They are as follows:

• Article 356 would be imposed when the President receives a detailed report from the Governor of the state elaborating the reasons behind the failure of the state machinery. President’s rule or Article 356 would also be imposed when the state government fails to carry out governance based on the norms mentioned in the constitution.

• Article 356 is also associated with Article 365. As per Article 365, the rule of the President will be imposed if any state government fails to follow the directions provided by the Center on matters it is authorized to.

•  The Chief Minister of the State lost the coalition, thereby having a minority support in the house. The President’s Rule would also be imposed when the CM fails to prove the majority.

• President’s Rule would be imposed when there is a loss of majority in the State Assembly House due to the no-confidence motion.

• Article 356 comes into effect when elections get postponed because of natural disasters or epidemics. 

In other words, President’s Rule would be imposed when the state government is suspended. During the President’s Rule, the Central Government carries out the governance of the state via the Governor’s office.

Let’s hope that by now you have a clear idea about what is article 356. The imposition of Article 356 is also referred to as “Constitutional Emergency” or “State Emergency.” 

Article 356 of the Indian Constitution and the Imposition of the President’s Rule

Note that parliamentary approval is important for imposing President’s Rule in any state of India. Moreover, when the President initiates Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, it should be approved in both the Parliamentary houses within two months from the date of the issue of the order.

The approval of the President’s rule is usually implemented through a simple majority. Usually, the President’s Rule is for a period of six months. In later stages, the rule can be extended for three years with the approval of both the houses of the Parliament.

The 44th Amendment of the Constitution initiated during 1978 introduced various constraints to the deployment of Article 356 of Indian Constitution. As per this amendment, the rule of the President of India on any given state cannot be protracted afar a year unless:   

• India is going through a phase of national emergency.  

• The Election Commission of India communicates to the President of India that it is difficult to conduct elections in the state because of various discrepancies.

Interesting Facts about Article 356, Which you Should be Aware of

The president rule article is an integral part of the Indian Constitution. As a citizen of India, one must be well-aware of its various facets. Here are some interesting facts about Article 356, which would allow you to know more about the president rule meaning.

In the last two decades, Article 356 of the Indian Constitution has been imposed twenty-one times.

Until the mid-1990s, Article 356 was enforced through abuse of the Governor’s authority. In 1994, the Supreme Court of India intervened to reduce these types of abuses.

In the last two decades, the Rule of the President has been imposed on twelve provinces of the country. Telangana and Chhattisgarh are the only two Indian states where the rule of the President has never been imposed.

Do you know that from 1997 to 2017, the rule of Governor was imposed four times in Jammu & Kashmir? It is the most number of times that Governor rule has been imposed in a single Indian state.

Quite interestingly, the communist government of Kerala was defeated by the Centre in 1959 with the enforcement of the President’s Rule. That was the first time the President’s Rule was imposed on a state.

Are you aware that the collapse of the Harish Rawat government in 2016 led Uttarakhand to come under Article 356? The Supreme Court lifted and reinstated Article 356 a number of times.

Do you know that Jharkhand holds the record for being under President’s Rule for the most number of days? It came under the emergency power of the President of India for the maximum number of days because of the regular occurrence of the loss of majority in Parliamentary houses.

The answer to maximum time president rule in which state is Jammu and Kashmir.

Who is the first Prime Minister of India to enforce Article 356 the number of times? Well, it is Indira Gandhi who imposed the President’s Rule 50 times in her tenure.

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Revocation of the Article 356

Note that Article 356 can be revoked anytime by the President. It is not necessary to seek parliamentary approval for the proclamation of the revocation of Article 356. This situation also happens when the leader of a political party garners support for them in the parliamentary houses to form the government of the state.

What Exactly Happens After the Enforcement of the President’s Rule?

It is important to know what happens after the President’s rule has been imposed in a particular state. Let’s take a glance at what happens after the enforcement of Article 356.

The Governor will be responsible for executing the administration of the state on behalf of the President. Note that the Governor can seek assistance from the Chief Secretary of the State along with other advisors. The Governor can also appoint advisors and administrators to control the administration of the state.

The Legislative Assembly of the State can either be suspended or dissolved by the President.

When the Parliament is not functioning during the session, the President can direct ordinances based on the administration of the state.

The President of India reserves the power to announce that the legislative powers of the state would be enforced by the Parliament.

Options of Elective Representatives of the State during the Enforcement of the Article 356

Note that it is not the end for a political party of the state if President’s Rule has been implemented because of coalition breakdown. With the State Assembly suspended, the stakeholders of the state government can approach the Governor any time with the support of their majority. In this scenario, the Election Commission’s notification would be treated as the new Assembly.

Let’s hope that by now, you are able to understand Article 356 in detail. To be precise, there are three types of emergency in India. The points as mentioned above discuss the state emergency article 356 or the President’s Rule. The other two emergencies are the Financial Emergency and the National Emergency.