Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Samvidhan Hatya Diwas
"Samvidhan Hatya Diwas (Constitution Murder Day) is observed every June 25, notified by the Government of India in 2024, to commemorate the proclamation of the 1975 Emergency."
Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, literally Constitution Murder Day, is a commemorative day observed annually on June 25, formally notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs through a gazette notification in 2024. It marks the day in 1975 when a National Emergency was proclaimed under Article 352 of the Constitution, beginning a period of suspended civil liberties, press censorship and preventive detentions that lasted until March 21, 1977. The day is intended as a tribute to all those who suffered and resisted the abuse of power during that 21 month period. It frames the Emergency, declared on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and proclaimed by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, as an assault on constitutional democracy. The observance gained added prominence in 2025 and 2026, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.
GS2 polity. Prelims: exact date of the Emergency (June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977), Article 352, the President and PM involved, the 42nd and 44th Amendments, and the notifying ministry (MHA, 2024). Mains: how the 44th Amendment, the Shah Commission and the overruling of ADM Jabalpur strengthened safeguards against executive overreach, and debates on memorialising constitutional crises.
- 1 Notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs through a gazette notification in 2024; observed every June 25 as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas (Constitution Murder Day).
- 2 Commemorates the National Emergency proclaimed on June 25, 1975 under Article 352 on grounds of internal disturbance, which lasted until March 21, 1977 (21 months).
- 3 The proclamation was issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- 4 The 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976, enacted during the Emergency, vastly expanded central and executive power and is called the Mini Constitution.
- 5 The 44th Constitutional Amendment, 1978, reversed many Emergency excesses, replacing internal disturbance with armed rebellion as a ground for a National Emergency.
- 6 The 44th Amendment made Articles 20 and 21 non-suspendable even during a National Emergency, a key safeguard for life and personal liberty.
- 7 ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976), the Habeas Corpus case, held that the right to move courts for personal liberty could be suspended during the Emergency.
- 8 ADM Jabalpur was expressly overruled by the nine judge bench in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), the Right to Privacy verdict.
- 9 The Shah Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice J.C. Shah, was set up in 1977 to investigate the excesses committed during the Emergency.
In the lead up to the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Emergency, Union ministers marked Samvidhan Hatya Diwas on June 25 by paying tribute to those who resisted the suspension of civil liberties.
