| What is Article 356? |
- It empowers the President to withdraw to the Union the executive and legislative powers of any state “if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution”.
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| Who determines the breakdown of constitutional machinery? |
- It may be done by the President at any time, either upon receipt of a report from the Governor, or suo motu.
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| How many times President’s Rule has been imposed on states? |
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| Is it used in an arbitrary way? |
- The 1988 Sarkaria Commission report on Centre-state relations commented on the arbitrariness with which Art. 356 was used: only 26 out of 75 cases until then were “just”, it said — in the rest, the Centre had intervened either to prevent a party from forming the government, or dismissed a state government even when it had a majority.
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| What is S R Bommai vs Union of India judgement? |
- Imposition of president’s rule has declined considerably after a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court passed its judgment in S R Bommai vs Union of India in March 1994, defining the framework of application of Art. 356.
- In his 2012 paper, Bridling Central Tyranny in India, social scientist Anoop Sadanandan noted that Art. 356 was invoked on 40 occasions in the 15 years before Bommai, and only on 11 in the 15 years after 1994.
- A combination of factors, including the emergence of coalition governments with representation from regional parties, and an assertive President’s office and judiciary, checked the trend.
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