President’s Rule under Article 356

President's Rule is the constitutional mechanism for dealing with a failure of constitutional government in a State. Under Article 356, it may be imposed when the President is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution. It cannot validly be used merely because the Union disapproves of the State government or its policies.

Constitutional condition

The decisive condition is a failure of constitutional machinery, not merely administrative weakness, political disagreement or a law-and-order problem. The President may reach the required satisfaction on the Governor's report or otherwise, so a Governor's report is not mandatory.

• Under Article 365, failure by a State to comply with lawful Union directions may permit the President to hold that such a constitutional situation has arisen.
• The supporting material must be relevant to determining whether constitutional government has genuinely become impossible.

Proclamation and parliamentary control

A proclamation under Article 356 may allow the President to assume State executive functions and provide for the State Legislature's powers to be exercised by or under Parliament's authority. The powers of a High Court cannot be assumed, nor can constitutional provisions relating to High Courts be suspended.

• The proclamation must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within two months.
• Once approved, it operates for six months at a time and may be extended, subject to constitutional conditions, up to three years.
• Continuation beyond one year requires an operating National Emergency covering the relevant area and Election Commission certification of difficulty in holding Assembly elections.

Judicial safeguards

In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994), the Supreme Court confirmed that a proclamation is subject to judicial review. Where a ministry's majority is disputed, it should ordinarily be determined through a floor test rather than through the Governor's subjective assessment.

• A court may invalidate a proclamation based on irrelevant, extraneous or mala fide grounds and restore the dismissed government and Legislative Assembly.