♏After two years of unrest and violence in Manipur, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh stepped down on Sunday, leading to the imposition of president's rule in the state on Thursday evening.
♋Following the Chief Minister's resignation, there were speculations that the state might come under the President's rule if the party failed to choose a new leader.
ܫCiting BJP's top sources, The Indian Express said that BJP had hoped to avoid the situation, as "the party is fundamentally opposed to President's Rule."
♉Support for Biren Singh has waned amid the turbulent times in the state. There were reports that many in his party had also criticised the leader after clashes broke out in May 2023.
President's Rule In Manipur: A Timeline
🦩Manipur has faced President's Rule a total of 10 times, with the first imposition occurring in 1967. The state has witnessed a significant number of President's Rule impositions, making it one of the states with the highest instances of central rule.
Here's a breakdown of the years when President's Rule was imposed in Manipur:
🐽• 1967 (twice): The first instance was from January 1967 to March 1967, and the second instance was from October 1967 to February 1968.
ꩵ• 1969: President's Rule was imposed from October 1969 to March 1972.
🐷• 1973: It was imposed from March 1973 to March 1974.
ꦉ• 1977: President's Rule was in effect from April 1977 to June 1977.
ꩵ• 1979: It was imposed from February 1979 to June 1979.
ꦍ• 1981: President's Rule was in effect from February 1981 to June 1981.
🌟• 1992: It was imposed from January 1992 to April 1992.
♒• 1993: President's Rule was in effect from December 1993 to December 1994.
ꦉ• 2001: It was imposed from June 2001 to March 2002.
President's Rule Or Article 356: How It Works and When It's Imposed
▨With the imposition of the President's rule under Article 356, all the functions of the state government are handed over to the Centre and the functions of the state legislature to the Parliament. The only exception to this is the functioning of the High Courts, which remains unchanged.
ꦏThe process starts when the President receives a report from the Governor and believes that the state government can no longer function as required by the Constitution.
Read More | President's Rule Imposed In Manipur
In such a scenario, the President issues a 'proclamation,' which remains effective for two months. To extend its validity, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha ಞmust approve it through a resolution within this timeframe.
If approved, the President's Rule can be prolonged for six months, with Parliament 🅠having the option to grant six-month extensions for up to three years.
💖When President's Rule is imposed, the President assumes the functions of the state government, and the powers of the state legislature are exercised by Parliament.
𝓰The state legislative assembly may be suspended or dissolved, and the Governor administers the state on behalf of the President.
President's Rule In India: A Timeline Of Key Events
⛄India has witnessed 134 instances of President's Rule since 1950, with Manipur and Uttar Pradesh being imposed with it the most at 10 times each. President's Rule was first imposed in India in 1951, in the state of Punjab.
ꦺJammu and Kashmir holds the distinction of being under President's Rule for the longest period, followed closely by Punjab and Puducherry.
🌺Since India's Constitution came into effect in 1950, Jammu and Kashmir has spent over 12 years under central control, while Punjab has been under President's Rule for more than 10 years.
𝄹In the most recent period, President's rule was imposed in Puducherry when the Congress government lost power after failing a trust vote in 2021.
🍷In its history, Puducherry has spent more than 7 years under President's rule, a major reason for governments often losing support in the Assembly due to internal strife or defections.
Supreme Court's Stand On Article 356
🧸The Supreme Court has played a crucial role in shaping the contours of President's Rule in India. A landmark judgement in this regard is the S.R. Bommai v. Union of India case (1994), which laid down significant guidelines for the imposition of President's Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution.
ꦬA nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court decided that the president's power to impose President's Rule under Article 356 can be reviewed by courts. Courts can check if the decision was made wrongly, with bad intentions, or for the wrong reasons.
🍨The court cannot question the President's decision itself but can check if the information given to the President was relevant to the decision made.
🦩The court also laid down guidelines to protect the independence of state governments.
ﷺEven if the President's proclamation is valid, the court ruled that only the state legislature would be suspended, while the other branches of the state government would continue to function. However, this is contingent upon approval from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha within two months. If this approval is not obtained, the court held that the dismissed government would be reinstated.
𒉰Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, who was part of the majority, expressed his opinion as follows: The fact that under the scheme of our Constitution, greater power is conferred upon the Centre vis-à-vis the states does not mean that states are mere appendages of the Centre. The courts should not adopt an approach, an interpretation, that has the effect of or tends to have the effect of whittling down the powers reserved to the states.
💦Since the Supreme Court's decision in Bommai, the imposition of President's Rule has decreased significantly.
