Why in the News?

The Government of India has decided to observe 25th June every year as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas.’ 

What was the Emergency?

• PM Indira Gandhi’s government used constitutional provisions to impose sweeping executive and legislative control.
• Opposition leaders were jailed, and fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and expression, were curtailed, leading to press censorship.
• The federal structure was effectively converted into a unitary one, with the Union controlling state governments.
• Parliament extended its term, made laws on state subjects, and extended the Union’s executive powers to the states.

Legal and Constitutional Sanction

• Article 352 allowed the President to proclaim an emergency if India’s security was threatened by war, external aggression, or armed rebellion.
• In 1975, “internal disturbance” was used as grounds for the Emergency, citing incitements against the police and armed forces.
• This was the only instance of emergency due to “internal disturbance,” later removed by the 44th Amendment in 1978.
  • Article 358 suspended limitations on Article 19 (“Right to freedom”).
  • Article 359 allowed the President to suspend the right to court enforcement of rights during an emergency.

Political and Social Circumstances: A Timeline 

• In 1974, the Navnirman movement against corruption in Gujarat led to President’s Rule.
• Inspired by Navnirman, a student movement in Bihar, led by Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), aimed to cleanse the country of corruption and misgovernance.
• In May 1974, George Fernandes led a massive railway workers’ strike.
• On June 5, 1974, JP called for “Sampoorna Kranti” (total revolution).
• On June 12, 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court convicted Indira Gandhi of electoral malpractice.
• On June 25, 1975, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed the Proclamation of Emergency, cutting power to major newspapers and informing the Cabinet the next morning.

Impact on Opposition Leaders, Media, and Political Dissenters

• Almost all opposition leaders, including JP, were detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).
• Newspapers faced pre-censorship, with UNI and PTI merged into a state-controlled agency, Samachar.
• More than 250 journalists were jailed, and The Indian Express resisted by printing blank spaces when stories were censored.
• Sanjay Gandhi’s “five-point programme” included forced family planning and slum clearance, leading to forced sterilizations and violent clashes.

Legal Changes during the Emergency

• With opposition leaders in jail, Parliament passed amendments barring judicial review of the Emergency and securing the Prime Minister’s election.
• The 42nd Amendment expanded Union authority over states and gave Parliament unbridled power to amend the Constitution.
• In ADM Jabalpur vs. Shivkant Shukla (1976), the Supreme Court ruled that detention without trial was legal during an emergency, with Justice H.R. Khanna dissenting.

Lifting the Emergency and Aftermath

• Indira Gandhi lifted the Emergency in early 1977, leading to her defeat in the elections.
• The Janata Party emerged victorious, with Morarji Desai becoming India’s first non-Congress Prime Minister.
• The Janata government reversed many constitutional changes from the 42nd Amendment, made judicial review of emergency proclamations possible, and removed “internal disturbance” as grounds for emergency imposition.

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