President's rule

In the Republic of India, the phrase "President's rule" refers to the imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution of India on a State whose constitutional machinery has failed. In the event that a State government is not able to function as per the Constitution, the State comes under the direct control of the central government; in other words, it is "under President's rule". Subsequently, executive authority is exercised through the centrally appointed Governor, who has the authority to appoint retired civil servants or other administrators, to assist him.

On the other hand, when the State government is functioning normally, it is run by an elected Council of Ministers, who are collectively responsible to State's legislative assembly (Vidhan Sabha). The Council is headed by the Chief Minister who is the de facto chief executive of the State; the Governor is only a de jure constitutional head. However, during President's rule, the Council of Ministers stands dissolved, the office of Chief Minister becomes vacant and the Vidhan Sabha is either put in suspended animation or dissolved (necessitating a fresh election).

In the state of Jammu and Kashmir, failure of constitutional machinery results in Governor's rule, imposed by invoking Section 92 of Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. The proclamation is issued by the state's Governor after obtaining the consent of the President of India. If it is not possible to revoke Governor's rule before within six months of imposition, President's Rule under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution is imposed. There is little practical difference between the two provisions.

Following its landmark judgement in the 1994 Bommai case, the Supreme Court of India has clamped down on arbitrary impositions of President's rule by central governments. Since March 2015, no State has been under President's rule.

Imposition

In practice president's rule has been imposed under different circumstances such as these:

• State Legislature is unable to elect a leader as Chief Minister
• Breakdown of a coalition
• Elections postponed for unavoidable reasons
• Most often, until the mid-1990s, it was imposed in states through abuse of the authority of Governors in collusion with the federal government. However, following a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court of India in March 1994, such abuse has been reduced drastically.

Criticism

Article 356 gave wide powers to the central government to assert its authority over a state if civil unrest occurred and the state government did not have the means to end the unrest. This is one of the articles that gave the Indian constitution some amount of unitary character. Though the purpose of this article is to give more powers to central government to preserve the unity and integrity of the nation, it has often been misused by the ruling parties at the center. It has been used as a pretext to dissolve state governments ruled by political opponents. Thus, it is seen by many as a threat to the federal state system. Since the adoption of Indian constitution in 1950, the central government has used this article several times to dissolve elected state governments and impose President's rule.

The article was used for the first time in up 1954. It has also been used in the state of Patiala and East Punjab States union (PEPSU) and then during Vimochana samaram to dismiss the democratically elected Communist state government of Kerala on 31 July 1959. In the 1970s and 1980s it almost became common practice for the central government to dismiss state governments led by opposition parties. The Indira Gandhi regime and post-emergency Janata Party were noted for this practice. Indira Gandhi's government between 1966 and 1977 is known to have imposed President' rule in 39 times in different states. Similarly Janta Party which came to power after the emergency had issued President's rule in 9 states which were ruled by Congress.

It is only after the landmark judgement in 1994 in the S. R. Bommai v. Union of India case that the misuse of Article 356 was curtailed. In this case, the Supreme Court established strict guidelines for imposing President's rule. Subsequent pronouncements by the Supreme Court in Jharkhand and other states have further whetted down the scope for misuse of Article 356. Hence since the early 2000, the number of cases of imposition of President's rule has come down drastically.

Article 356 has always been the focal point of a wider debate of the federal structure of government in Indian polity. The Sarkaria Commission Report on Centre–State Relations 1988 has recommended that Article 356 must be used "very sparingly, in extreme cases, as a measure of last resort, when all the other alternatives fail to prevent or rectify a breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state".

List of instances

State	Date of imposition	Date of revocation	Duration	Notes
Andhra State [1]	15 November 1954	29 March 1955		Loss of Majority.
Andhra Pradesh [1]	18 January 1973	10 December 1973		Break down of Law & Order due to Jai Andhra Agitation, in P. V. Narasimha Rao's tenure.
Andhra Pradesh [2]	28 February 2014	8 June 2014		Political impasse following the resignation of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and several other congress party legislators from the Government as well as the Party, in protest against Indian Parliament passing Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill to bifurcate united Andhra Pradesh and create a separate Telangana State. President's rule revoked from Telangana areas on 2 June 2014 and bifurcated Andhra Pradesh areas on 8 June 2014.
Arunachal Pradesh [1]	3 November 1979	18 January 1980		Loss of Majority following defections in a fluid political environment during Janata party rule at the Centre.
Assam [1]	12 December 1979	5 December 1980		'Assam Agitation' against illegal foreign national staying in Assam started to take roots under the leadership of the All Assam Students’Union (AASU). The violence fuelled by United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) resulted in break down of law and order.
Assam [2]	30 June 1981	13 January 1982		Congress (I) government led by Anwara Taimur representing immigrant minorities collapsed following intensification of 'Assam Agitation' against illegal foreign national staying in Assam.
Assam [3]	19 March 1982	27 February 1983		Congress (I) government led by Kesab Gogoi representing ethnic Asom people collapsed following continued violence in Assam.
Assam [4]	28 November 1990	30 June 1991		Govt. dismissed in spite of AGP CM Mr. Prafulla Mahanta enjoying majority support in Assembly. The dismissal was triggered apparently by the threat to internal security due to banned organisation ULFA's activities. During President's rule, Operation Bajrang was launched to flush out ULFA militants.
Bihar [1]	29 June 1968	26 February 1969		Loss of Majority following defections in a fluid political environment.
Bihar [2]	4 July 1969	16 February 1970		Loss of Majority following defections in a fluid political environment due to split in ruling Congress party
Bihar [3]	9 January 1972	19 March 1972		Loss of Majority following defections in a fluid political environment.
Bihar [4]	30 April 1977	24 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of Dr. Jagannath Mishra enjoying majority support in Assembly
Bihar [5]	17 February 1980	8 June 1980		Government dismissed in spite of Mr. Ram Sundar Das enjoying majority support in Assembly
Bihar [6]	28 March 1995	5 April 1995		President’s rule imposed for a brief period of one week to facilitate passage of vote on account (to permit day-to-day government expenses in Bihar) by Parliament while awaiting the results of Assembly elections held during the Chief Ministership of Mr Laloo Prasad.
Bihar [7]	12 February 1999	9 March 1999		Breakdown of law and order, killings of 11 Dalits at Narayanpur. The Vajpayee Government, revoked President’s rule within 26 days since the coalition did not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
Bihar [8]	7 March 2005	24 November 2005		Indecisive outcome of elections.
Delhi [1]	14 February 2014	11 February 2015		Arvind Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister after failing to table the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Delhi Assembly.
Goa [1]	2 December 1966	5 April 1967		The Union Territory of Goa's Assembly was dissolved to conduct an opinion poll to determine whether Goa should be merged with Maharashtra.
Goa [2]	27 April 1979	16 January 1980		Loss of majority following split in the ruling MGP Party
Goa [3]	14 December 1990	25 January 1991		C.M. resigned consequent upon his disqualification by High Court - No other Government found viable
Goa [4]	9 February 1999	9 June 1999		Loss of majority and no alternate claimant to form next government
Goa [5]	4 March 2005	7 June 2005		Government dismissed after controversial confidence vote secured in the Assembly by CM Pratap Sinh Rane
Gujarat [1]	12 May 1971	17 March 1972		Loss of Majority following vertical split in Congress during 1969 presidential election
Gujarat [2]	9 February 1974	18 June 1975		Chimanbhai Patel led Congress government resigned due to Navnirman Movement Anti-Corruption protests. The protesters forced MLA's resignations, forcing dissolution of assembly.
Gujarat [3]	12 March 1976	24 December 1976		"Non-Passage" of budget leading to collapse of government
Gujarat [4]	17 February 1980	8 June 1980		Government dismissed in spite of Babubhai J Patel enjoying majority support in the Assembly
Gujarat [5]	19 September 1996	23 October 1996		Government dismissed following a controversial confidence vote. The Assembly was placed in suspended animation, which led to subsequent installation of Vaghela government, supported by Congress
Haryana [1]	2 November 1967	22 May 1968		Government dismissed in spite of having a tenuous majority.
Haryana [2]	30 April 1977	21 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of B D Gupta enjoying majority support in Assembly
Haryana [3]	6 April 1991	23 July 1991		Rebellion in the ruling party
Himachal Pradesh [1]	30 April 1977	22 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of Thakur Ram Lal enjoying majority support in Assembly
Himachal Pradesh [2]	15 December 1992	3 December 1993		Government dismissed in the aftermath of the destruction of Babri Masjid-Ram Janmasthan in Uttar Pradesh.
Jammu and Kashmir [1]	26 March 1977	9 July 1977		Sheikh Abdullah led National Conference government bowed out after being reduced to a minority following withdrawal of support by the Congress Party
Jammu and Kashmir [2]	6 March 1986	7 November 1986		Loss of majority
Jammu and Kashmir [3]	19 January 1990	9 October 1996		Insurgency and break down of law and order.
Jammu and Kashmir [4]	18 October 2002	2 November 2002		Indecisive outcome of elections.
Jammu and Kashmir [5]	11 July 2008	5 January 2009		Loss of majority following collapse of coalition. CM Gulam Nabi Azad's decision to transfer land for Amarnath pilgrimage led to PDP pulling out of coalation Govt.
Jammu and Kashmir [6]	9 January 2015	1 March 2015		Failure of Government formation after fractured verdict in Assembly elections. BJP & PDP reached an understanding to form an alliance to form Government in J&K.
Jharkhand [1]	19 January 2009	29 December 2009		Loss of Majority
Jharkhand [2]	1 June 2010	11 September 2010		Loss of Majority
Jharkhand [3]	18 January 2013	12 July 2013		Loss of Majority. BJP's ruling coalition partner JMM withdrew its support to the government pushing it into a minority. Chief Minister Arjun Munda resigned and sought dissolution of the state Assembly.
Mysore [1]	19 March 1971	20 March 1972		Loss of Majority
Karnataka [2]	31 December 1977	28 February 1978		Government dismissed in spite of Congress CM Devraj Urs enjoying majority support in Assembly
Karnataka [3]	21 April 1989	30 November 1989		Loss of majority of CM S. R. Bommai, followed by dissolution of Assembly. On an appeal by Mr. S. R. Bommai, in a landmark judgement delivered in 1994, the Indian Supreme Court laid out the procedure to be followed before dissolving an elected assembly. The historic ruling in this case reduced the scope for misuse of Article 356 by future central governments and governors.
Karnataka [4]	10 October 1990	17 October 1990		Government of Veerendra Patil dismissed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and state was placed under President's rule with the assembly placed in suspended animation until next chief Minister was elected
Karnataka [5]	9 October 2007	11 November 2007		Loss of majority
Karnataka [6]	20 November 2007	27 May 2008		Loss of majority
Kerala [1]	31 July 1959	22 February 1960		Government dismissed in spite of Communist CM EMS Namboodiripad enjoying majority support in Assembly
Kerala [2]	10 September 1964	6 March 1967		Loss of majority followed by indecisive outcome of elections
Kerala [3]	1 August 1970	4 October 1970		Loss of majority
Kerala [4]	1 December 1979	25 January 1980		Loss of majority
Madhya Pradesh [1]	29 April 1977	25 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of Shyama Charan Shukla enjoying majority support in Assembly
Madhya Pradesh [2]	18 February 1980	8 June 1980		Govt. dismissed in spite of Mr. Sundar Lal Patwa enjoying majority support in Assembly
Madhya Pradesh [3]	15 December 1992	7 December 1993		Govt. dismissed in the aftermath of Babri Masjid-Ram Janmasthan destruction in Uttar Pradesh.
Maharashtra [1]	17 February 1980	8 June 1980		Govt. dismissed in spite of Mr. Sharad Pawar enjoying majority support in the Assembly
Maharashtra [2]	28 September 2014	31 October 2014		Govt. dismissed since Congress Separated from its allies NCP and Others.
Manipur [1]	12 January 1967	19 March 1967		First Elections to Manipur Union Territory Assembly held.
Manipur [2]	25 October 1967	18 February 1968		Short lived ministry collapsed following resignation of speaker, resulting in neither ruling nor opposition congress having a clear majority in the assembly. Assembly kept in suspended animation.
Manipur [3]	17 October 1969	22 March 1972		Violent secessionist insurgency and statehood demands resulted in breakdown of law and order
Manipur [4]	28 March 1973	3 March 1974		President's rule was imposed even though the opposition had a "tenuous" majority and could have formed a government
Manipur [5]	16 May 1977	28 June 1977		Collapse of Government following defections
Manipur [6]	14 November 1979	13 January 1980		Discontent within Janata Party Government and corruption charges led to dismissal of government and dissolution of Assembly.
Manipur [7]	28 February 1981	18 June 1981		Incumbent Government fell following defections. Governor did not permit an alternate government to be formed by People's Democratic Front on the basis of his assessment regarding stability of the proposed ministry.
Manipur [8]	7 January 1992	7 April 1992		Incumbent coalition Government fell following defections. President's rule imposed keeping assembly in suspension.
Manipur [9]	31 December 1993	13 December 1994		1000 persons died in Naga-Kuki clashes and continued violence
Manipur [10]	2 June 2001	6 March 2002		Loss of majority
Meghalaya [1]	11 October 1991	5 February 1992		The Centre imposed President's rule in Meghalaya in the wake of a political crisis after the then Speaker PR Kyndiah suspended five MLAs, mostly independents, on grounds of defection.
Meghalaya [2]	18 March 2009	12 May 2009		Government dismissed after controversial confidence vote secured in the Assembly by CM Donkupar Roy
Mizoram [1]	11 May 1977	1 June 1978		Mizo Union Ministry led by Chief Minister Chhunga resigned in May 1977, ostensibly to facilitate the progress of peace talks. see Lost Opportunities: 50 Years of Insurgency in the North-east and India's Response, By S. P. Sinha, Page 95
Mizoram [2]	10 November 1978	8 May 1979		Chief Minister Sailo's refusal to grant undue favours caused dissension in his party which led to the fall of his government and imposition of President's rule. see Lost Opportunities: 50 Years of Insurgency in the North-east and India's Response, By S. P. Sinha, Page 96-97
Mizoram [3]	7 September 1988	24 January 1989		Defections reduced the Government to minority
Nagaland [1]	20 March 1975	25 November 1977		Defections and counter defections led to imposition of President's rule
Nagaland [2]	7 August 1988	25 January 1989		The state was under a brief spell of central rule again after the Hokishe Sema-led Congress government was reduced to a minority. The decision was challenged in the Supreme Court in held to be invalid in 1994.
Nagaland [3]	2 April 1992	22 February 1993		Fluid party position and deteriorating law and order situation
Nagaland [4]	3 January 2008	12 March 2008		Government dismissed after controversial confidence vote secured in the Assembly by CM Neiphiu Rio
Orissa [1]	25 February 1961	23 June 1961		Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab led Congress-Gantantra Parishad Minority Government resigned on 21 February 1961 due to differences in the Congress Party. President’s Rule was imposed on 25 February 1961.
Orissa [2]	11 January 1971	3 April 1971		Break-up of coalition
Orissa [3]	3 March 1973	6 March 1974		Facing imminent collapse of government, incumbent chief minister recommended dissolution of assembly and fresh elections.
Orissa [4]	16 December 1976	29 December 1976		Chief Minister Nandini Sathpathy was forced out and assembly placed under suspended animation. A new Congress government was sworn in after revocation of President's rule.
Orissa [5]	30 April 1977	26 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of Binayak Acharya enjoying majority support in Assembly
Orissa [6]	17 February 1980	9 June 1980		Government dismissed in spite of Nilamani Routray enjoying majority support in Assembly
Patiala and East Punjab States Union [1]	5 March 1953	8 March 1954		President's rule was invoked in the erstwhile PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab States Union ) State when the Akali Dal government, led by Gian Singh Rarewala, was dismissed
Pondicherry [1]	18 September 1968	17 March 1969		Assembly was dissolved and President's rule imposed as opposition parties had a chance to form a government after the fall of the Congress government.
Pondicherry [2]	3 January 1974	6 March 1974		Assembly dissolved after fall of DMK government following decision of two ministers to join newly formed ADMK.
Pondicherry [3]	28 March 1974	2 July 1977		Fall of coalition government of ADMK, Congress(O)following division of votes by Congress(R) and DMK. The Assembly was dissolved.
Pondicherry [4]	12 November 1978	16 January 1980		Fall of government due to political instability
Pondicherry [5]	24 June 1983	16 March 1985		Government dismissed following withdrawal of Congress(I) from coalition government. In spite of incumbent chief minister asking for an opportunity to prove his majority on the floor of the house, the assembly was dissolved.
Pondicherry [6]	4 March 1991	3 July 1991		DMK Government dismissed in spite of having a majority in the Assembly
Punjab [1]	20 June 1951	17 April 1952		Pandit Nehru kept the Punjab Assembly in suspension for nine months and 28 days to help the state Congress government get its act together.
Punjab [2]	5 July 1966	1 November 1966		State administration was taken over, ostensibly to facilitate bifurcation of Punjab state into two, Punjab and Haryana
Punjab [3]	23 August 1968	17 February 1969		Break-up of coalition
Punjab [4]	14 June 1971	17 March 1972		Following poor performance in March, 1971 Lok Sabha Elections, incumbent Chief Minister advised dissolving state assembly and holding fresh elections to state legislature.
Punjab [5]	30 April 1977	20 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of Giani Zail Singh enjoying majority support in Assembly
Punjab [6]	17 February 1980	6 June 1980		Government dismissed in spite of Parkash Singh Badal enjoying majority support in Assembly
Punjab [7]	10 October 1983	29 September 1985		Insurgency and breakdown of law and order
Punjab [8]	11 June 1987	25 February 1992		Insurgency and breakdown of law and order
Rajasthan [1]	13 March 1967	26 April 1967		Indecisive outcome of elections
Rajasthan [2]	29 April 1977	22 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of Hari Dev Joshi enjoying majority support in Assembly
Rajasthan [3]	16 February 1980	6 June 1980		Government dismissed in spite of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat enjoying majority support in Assembly
Rajasthan [4]	15 December 1992	4 December 1993		Government dismissed in spite of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat enjoying majority support in Assembly
Sikkim [1]	18 August 1978	18 October 1979		Loss of majority following split in Mr. Kazi Lhendup Dorji led Janata Party government. The central government imposed president's rule and followed up with electoral reforms before ordering fresh elections.
Sikkim [2]	25 May 1984	8 March 1985		Congress Government formed following induced collapse of Mr. Nar Bahadur Bandari Sikkim Janata Parishad Government was dismissed as it did not enjoy a majority in the Assembly.
Tamil Nadu [1]	31 January 1976	30 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of Karunanidhi enjoying majority support in Assembly
Tamil Nadu [2]	17 February 1980	6 June 1980		Government dismissed in spite of M G Ramachandran enjoying majority support in Assembly
Tamil Nadu [3]	30 January 1988	27 January 1989		Government dismissed after controversial confidence vote secured in the Assembly by CM Janaki Ramachandran
Tamil Nadu [4]	30 January 1991	24 June 1991		Government headed by Mr. M. Karunanidhi dismissed by Prime Minister Chandrashekhar on charges of supporting anti-national activities, in spite of the then Governor Barnala's report and enjoying majority support in the Assembly.
Travancore-Cochin [1]	23 March 1956	5 April 1957		Loss of majority following split in Congress Party
Tripura [1]	1 November 1971	20 March 1972		In the backdrop of refugee influx due to Bangladesh Liberation War, split in the Congress and Communist agitation for Tripura to become a full-fledged state, President's rule was imposed. On 1 January 1972 Tripura became a State and assembly elections held subsequently.
Tripura [2]	5 November 1977	5 January 1978		Collapse of short lived government in a fluid political environment
Tripura [3]	11 March 1993	10 April 1993		Elections postponed from 15 February 1993 to 3 April 1993 on account of deteriorating law and order situation. Caretaker CM resigns.
Uttar Pradesh [1]	25 February 1968	26 February 1969		Loss of majority following withdrawal of support by Corgress (R) led by Ms. Indira Gandhi.
Uttar Pradesh [2]	1 October 1970	18 October 1970		Charan Singh Ministry supported by Congress collapsed following split in Congress party.
Uttar Pradesh [3]	13 June 1973	8 November 1973		Chief Minister resigned as a result of the 1973 Provincial Armed Constabulary revolt.
Uttar Pradesh [4]	30 November 1975	21 January 1976		Congress Government of H N Bahuguna tendered resignation due to infighting within the party.
Uttar Pradesh [5]	30 April 1977	23 June 1977		Government dismissed in spite of N D Tiwari enjoying majority support in Assembly
Uttar Pradesh [6]	17 February 1980	9 June 1980		Government dismissed in spite of Banarasi Das enjoying majority support in Assembly
Uttar Pradesh [7]	6 December 1992	4 December 1993		Government dismissed in the aftermath of the destruction of Babri Masjid-Ram Janmasthan
Uttar Pradesh [8]	18 October 1995	21 March 1997		Loss of Majority following collapse of coalition followed by indecisive outcome of fresh elections
Uttar Pradesh [9]	8 March 2002	3 May 2002		Indecisive outcome of elections.
Vindhya Pradesh [1]	8 April 1949	13 March 1952		President's rule was imposed in the erstwhile Vindya Pradesh State when Chief Minister resigned. President's rule was revoked following independent India's first general elections.
West Bengal [1]	1 July 1962	8 July 1962		Interim Period between death of incumbent Chief Minister and election of new leader.
West Bengal [2]	20 February 1968	25 February 1969		State placed under President's rule following collapse of two successive short lived coalition governments.
West Bengal [3]	19 March 1970	2 April 1971		Collapse of United Front Coalition between Bangla Congress and CPI(M)
West Bengal [4]	28 June 1971	19 March 1972		Collapse of United Front Coalition between Bangla Congress and CPI(M)

See also

• Federalism in India
• Part Eighteen of the Constitution of India
• Article 370
• Sarkaria Commission

External links

• Article 355 and 356 text from wikisource
• Discusses the instances where presidents rule has been invoked
• [1]