State emergency is defined under article 356 of the Indian constitution and article 356 is based on the section 93 of the government of India act 1935. state emergency is also known as constitutional emergency or presidential emergency. State emergency can only be declared by the honourable president of the country. State emergency can be declared in certain drastic situation like if any state does not comply with the constitutional provision then, on the recommendation of the governor of that state the president can declare presidential rule in that state .

According to article 356, presidential rule can be imposed on any state of India on the grounds of the failure of the constitutional machinery. This is of two types:

• If the president receives a report from the state’s governor or otherwise is convinced or satisfied that the state’s situation is such that the state government according to the provisions of the constitution.
• As per this article, president’s rule can be imposed if any state fails to comply with all directions given by the union on matters it is empowered to.
• In simple words, president’s rule is when the state government is suspended and the central government directly administers the state through the office of the governor.

When president declare state emergency in any state then it must be approved by parliament within 2 months with 50% of the members present and voting i.e; simple majority.  The president rule is initially for the period of 6 months. Later,it can be extended for a period of 3 years with parliamentary approval, every 6 months.

The 44^th amendment to the constitution (1978) brought in some constraints on the imposition of the president’s rule beyond a period of one year. It says that president’s rule cannot be extended beyond one year unless:

• There is a national emergency in India.
• The election commission of India certifies that it is necessary to continue the president’s rule in the state because of difficulties in conducting assembly elections to the state.

If, at the time of emergency, lok sabha is dissolved due to any reason then, it would be approved by rajya sabha within 1 month.

Consequences of presidential rule

When state emergency is declared, then the powers of state government is transferred to central government and can form laws for the state which in normal situations it can’t  and also the power of governor is transferred to the president. And state government can be dissolved or suspended depending on the situation of that time. In case the state government is dissolved, then after abolishing the emergency new elections were held to form state government again and in case it was suspended, then the same government will take again its chair as a state government.

• According to the 38^th constitution amendment act, the satisfaction of president to impose emergency in any state is final and conclusive and cannot be questioned in any court.
• But according to 44^th amendment act, judicial review is a basic structure and basic structure will remain same for every law, hence the presidential rule can also be reviewed in the court of law.

 So these are some basic features and requirements of state emergency.

References

https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-1175-state-emergency-article-356-indian-constitution.html

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/german-law-journal/article/state-of-emergency-in-india-bockenfordes-model-in-a-subnational-context/EA28C669DB9E9B12D4254B9606AAE95D

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