5. Criticisms of Emergency Provisions

♤ Violates the fundamental rights of citizens- During the national emergency imposed between 1975-1977, various violations of fundamental rights of citizens were reported by the Shah Commission which was setup to inquire into all the excesses committed in that period. It was noted that various police excesses, torture and family planning atrocities were committed by the state authorities.

♤ Imposed on political grounds- The president’s rule have been imposed on political grounds to prevent a party from forming or running a government.

♤ Not exhausting all options- Under the president’s rule, the state assemblies have been dissolved without giving a chance to other political parties to form governments.

♤ Compromises the federal spirit of the Constitution- The emergency provisions were provided in the Constitution as an exceptional tool in the hands of the Union government. According to the Sarkaria Commission’s Report, which analysed 75 cases of President’s Rule

from June 1951 to May 1987, and found that Article 356 was not meant for use in 52 out of these 75 cases. No other provision has been used, misused and abused like Article 356 of the Constitution.