Article 356 of the Indian Constitution has not only been one of the most controversial articles, when it was first formulated, but has remained one of the most abused provisions of the Indian Constitution. India’s constitution writers were fully aware of the inherent dangers of giving so much arbitrary power to the Union government and make State governments so vulnerable to Delhi’s diktats. Yet, it is understandable that at the time of Independence, when the unity and integrity of India was not yet assured, when the loyalty of provincial politicians to the Republic was itself in doubt, when the overwhelming political tendency was in favour of a strong Centre, the architects of the constitution felt compelled to incorporate the said article. Article 356 says that in case of a “failure of constitutional machinery” in a State, and “if the President, on receipt of report from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, the President may be Proclamation (a) assume to himself all or any of the functions of the Government of the State and all or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor or any body or authority in the State other than the Legislature of the State; (b) declare that the powers of the Legislature of the State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament; (c) make such incidental and consequential provisions as appear to the president to be necessary or desirable for giving effect to the objects of the Proclamation…”
Given the sweeping nature of the powers bestowed on the Union government, many distinguished members of the Constituent Assembly objected to the provisions of this article. Defending the provision, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, BR Ambedkar hoped that the provisions of the article will “never be called in to operation and that they would remain a dead letter.” If at all, they are brought into operation, Dr Ambedkar added, “I hope that the President, who is endowed with these powers, will take proper precautions before actually suspending the administration of the provinces. I think the first thing he will do would be to issue a mere warning to a province that has erred, that things were not happening in the way in which they were intended to happen in the Constitution. If the warning fails, the second thing for him to do will be to order an election allowing the people of the province to settle matters by themselves. It is only when these two remedies fail that he would resort to this Article. It is only in those circumstances he would resort to this Article.”
Mercifully, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil have read their Ambedkar well. Their rejection of Karnataka governor HR Bharadwaj’s mischievous recommendation to invoke article 356 in the State, howsoever well meaning his intent given the confusion worse confounded in Bengaluru and the role of money power in the State’s politics, has prevented an avoidable constitutional crisis. Bharadwaj exceeded his brief and in doing so may well have over stayed his invitation.
