Context: Recently, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court to invoke Article 355 of the Constitution to protect the state of West Bengal from violence that erupted after the passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Article 355 of Indian Constitution.
Article 355
- Article 355 imposes a duty on the Centre to protect every state against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
- It is this duty in the performance of which the Centre takes over the government of the state under Article 356 in case of failure of constitutional machinery in state. This is popularly known as 'President's Rule'. It is also known as 'State Emergency' or 'Constitutional Emergency'.
Grounds for Proclamation of President’s Rule:
The President's Rule can be proclaimed under Article 356 on two grounds-one mentioned in Article 356 itself and another in Article 365:
- Article 356 empowers the President to issue a proclamation, if he/she is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of a state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Notably, the President can act either on a report of the governor of the state or otherwise too (i.e., even without the governor's report).
- Article 365 says that whenever a state fails to comply with or to give effect to any direction from the Centre, it will be lawful for the President to hold that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.