Part XVIII of the Constitution of India allows for a constitutional setup that can be proclaimed by the president of India as a state of emergency, when the consultant group perceives and warns against grave threats to the nation from internal and external sources or from financial situations of crisis.
Under Article 352 of the Indian constitution, upon the advice of the cabinet of ministers, the President can overrule many provisions of the constitution, which can suspend fundamental rights to the citizens of India and acts governing devolution of powers to the states which form the federation.
In 1978, the Forty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of India, substituted the words "armed rebellion" for "internal disturbance" in Article 352, making the term more specific and less subject to interpretations.
Originally at the beginning, a National emergency could be declared on the basis of "external aggression or war" and "internal disturbance" in the whole of India or a part of its territory under Article 352.
The President can declare such an emergency only on the basis of a written request by the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.
In January 1977, during the emergency declared controversially by Indira Gandhi, the government decided to suspend even the Right to Life and Personal Liberty by dispensing with Habeas corpus.
[7] A national emergency modifies the quasi-federal system of government to a unitary one by granting Parliament the power to make laws on the 66 subjects of the State List (which contains subjects on which the state governments can make laws).
The 42nd amendment act of 1976 extended the initial time duration of President Rule from 6 months to 1 year.