Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Article 356 (President's Rule)
"Constitutional provision allowing the President to assume direct governance of a state when constitutional machinery fails, subject to parliamentary approval and judicial review."
Article 356 of the Constitution empowers the President to issue a proclamation assuming the functions of the state government if the President is satisfied, on receipt of a report from the Governor or otherwise, that the government of a State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Once proclaimed, the President can assume all or any of the functions of the state government, dissolve or suspend the state legislature, and Parliament legislates for the state. The proclamation must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within two months; if approved, it remains in force for six months and can be extended with parliamentary approval every six months, up to a maximum of three years. The 44th Amendment Act (1978) added important safeguards: extension beyond one year requires a national emergency to be in force and the Election Commission to certify that general elections to the state assembly cannot be held. The provision has been invoked over 125 times in Indian constitutional history, frequently alleged to be used for political purposes against opposition-ruled states.
Critical for UPSC GS2 on federal relations, constitutional emergency provisions, and Centre-State relations. The SR Bommai v. Union of India (1994) nine-judge bench judgment is the most important judicial pronouncement: it held that the floor of the House is the only place to test majority; the Governor cannot rely on informal opinion and report that the government has lost majority without a floor test. It further held that Article 356 is subject to judicial review, secularism is a basic structure of the Constitution, and dissolution of the state assembly before parliamentary approval is unconstitutional. This judgment effectively put strong curbs on the arbitrary use of Article 356.
- 1 Article 356: President's Rule in a state when constitutional machinery fails
- 2 Must be approved by Parliament within 2 months; extendable every 6 months up to 3 years
- 3 44th Amendment (1978): extension beyond 1 year requires national emergency + EC certification
- 4 SR Bommai case (1994): floor test is the test of majority; Article 356 subject to judicial review
- 5 Secularism declared part of Basic Structure in SR Bommai
- 6 Sarkaria Commission (1988) and Punchhi Commission (2010) both recommended strict guidelines for use of Article 356
- 7 Used 125+ times since 1950; misuse allegations particularly common against politically motivated impositions
Article 356 was controversially imposed in Arunachal Pradesh in 2016 but struck down by the Supreme Court in Nabam Rebia v. Deputy Speaker (2016), which held that the Governor had acted unconstitutionally and ordered restoration of the elected government.