UPSC Mains 2023 GS2 Q13: model answer

Article 356 allows President's Rule when a State's government cannot be carried on as per the Constitution. It was imposed over 100 times, often to dismiss opposition governments. Since the mid-1990s its use has fallen sharply.

Legal factors

• S.R. Bommai (1994): a nine-judge bench made the Proclamation open to judicial review; majority must be tested on the floor of the House, not in the Governor's chamber; the Assembly cannot be dissolved until Parliament approves; secularism is part of the basic structure.
• Rameshwar Prasad (2006): dissolution of the Bihar Assembly held unconstitutional.
• 2016 reversals: the Uttarakhand High Court and the Supreme Court in Nabam Rebia (Arunachal) restored dismissed governments.
• 44th Amendment (1978): limited extension beyond one year to emergencies and Election Commission certification.
• Commissions: Sarkaria (1988) and Punchhi (2010) urged its use only as a last resort.

Political factors

• Coalition era: from 1989 to 2014 Union governments depended on regional parties, who opposed its misuse.
• Rajya Sabha approval: needed within two months; the government often lacked a majority there.
• Political cost: courts reversing Proclamations embarrassed governments.
• Federal assertion: stronger regional parties and Chief Ministers.
• Media and civil society scrutiny.
• Cooperative federalism: forums such as the Inter-State Council and NITI Aayog.

Still a concern: instances like Uttarakhand and Arunachal (2016) and the role of Governors show the risk remains.

Bommai turned Article 356 into what Ambedkar hoped it would be: a rarely used last resort.