Q. Comment upon “Article 356 of the Constitution should be read with article 355 to appreciate its spirit.” [BPSC- 1999]
Under Article 356, the constitution authorises the centre to take over the administration of a state in case of failure of constitutional machinery. This is popularly known as ‘President’s Rule’. It is also known as ‘State Emergency’ or ‘Constitutional Emergency’.Article 355 imposes a duty on the Centre to ensure that the government of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. It is this duty in the performance of which the Centre can over the government of a state under Article 356.
The President’s Rule can be proclaimed under Article 356 on two grounds —one mentioned in Article 356 itself and another in Article 365:
- Article 356 empowers the President to issue a proclamation, if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of a state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
- Notably, the president can act either on a report of the governor of the state or otherwise too (ie, even without the governor’s report).
- Article 365 says that whenever a state fails to comply with or to give effect to any direction from the Centre, it will be lawful for the president to hold that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
The President acquires the following extraordinary powers when the President’s Rule is imposed in a state:
- He can take up the functions of the state government and powers vested in the governor or any other executive authority in the state.
- He can declare that the powers of the state legislature are to be exercised by the Parliament.
- He can take all other necessary steps including the suspension of the constitutional provisions relating to any body or authority in the state.
Therefore, when the President’s Rule is imposed in a state, the President dismisses the state council of ministers headed by the chief minister. The state governor, on behalf of the President, carries on the state administration with the help of the chief secretary of the state or the advisors appointed by the President. Further, the President either suspends or dissolves the state legislative assembly. The Parliament passes the state legislative bills and the state budget.
However, the use of Article 356 has been controversial and criticised because it has been imposed several times (more than 100 times since independence) in an arbitrary manner for political or personal reasons. Since independence, almost all the states have been brought under the President’s Rule, once or twice or more. When Janta party government came into power in 1977, it imposed President’s Rule in nine states (including Bihar) (where the Congress Party was in power) on the ground that the assemblies in those states no longer represented the wishes of the electorate. When the Congress Party returned to power in 1980, it did the same in nine states ( including Bihar) on the same ground.
Dr B R Ambedkar, while replying to the critics of this provision in the Constituent Assembly, hoped that the drastic power conferred by Article 356 would remain a ‘dead-letter’ and would be used only as a measure of last resort. However, the subsequent events show that what was hoped to be a ‘deadletter’ of the Constitution has turned to be a ‘deadly-weapon’ against a number of state governments and legislative assemblies.
In Bommai case (1994), the Supreme Court laid down propositions on imposition of President’s Rule in a state under Article 356. He Court held that the power under Article 356 is an exceptional power and should be used only occasionally to meet the requirements of special situations and that the satisfaction of president for proclaimation of Art 356 should not be malafide.
The Constitution commission (NCRWC) had also recommended that Art 356 should be used sparingly as a remedy of the last resort and for truly performing the duty enshrined under the Art 355.. The Sarkaria and Punchi commission have also shared the same view.
Thus, if the principle of federalism is to be truly followed, Article 356 of the Constitution should be read with article 355 i.e. to protect the constitutional machinery in the states.
