A Proclamation of National Emergency must be approved by each House within how many months?

Question

A Proclamation of National Emergency must be approved by each House within how many months?

1. A. 1 (Correct answer)
2. B. 3
3. C. 6
4. D. 9

Correct Answer

Option A — 1

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is 1.

Key Points

• A Proclamation of National Emergency under Article 352 must be approved by each House of Parliament within one month of its issue.
• The original Constitution allowed two months; the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978, passed after the 1975-77 Emergency, cut it to one month and tightened the safeguards.
• Approval requires a special majority — a majority of the total membership of the House and not less than two-thirds of members present and voting.
• Once approved it runs for six months and may be extended six months at a time indefinitely, with parliamentary approval at each renewal.
• The 44th Amendment also replaced "internal disturbance" with "armed rebellion" and required the Cabinet's written advice for a proclamation.

Additional Information

• The Constitution provides for three emergencies: National (Article 352), President's Rule in a State (Article 356) and Financial (Article 360) — the last has never been proclaimed.
• A National Emergency has been declared three times: 1962 (China), 1971 (Pakistan) and 1975 (internal disturbance).
• During a National Emergency, Article 19 freedoms are suspended automatically when the ground is war or external aggression, but Articles 20 and 21 can never be suspended — a safeguard added by the 44th Amendment.

प्रश्न (हिन्दी में)

राष्ट्रीय आपातकाल की घोषणा को प्रत्येक सदन द्वारा कितने महीनों के भीतर अनुमोदित किया जाना चाहिए?

1. A. 1
2. B. 3
3. C. 6
4. D. 9