<CONTINUATION - Emergency Powers>

Emergency powers have been called as the safety valve of the constitution for their ability to handle grave incidents.

Main Condition for proclamation of emergency:

ii) Times of war and threat to National Sovereignty (Eg Indo-Pak Wars)

iii) Must be on the recommendation of the cabinet.

iv) Liable for judicial review

Consequences of emergency:

i) State legislatures work under control of the Union

ii) Fundamental rights are suspended, movement restricted

iii) Judiciary - no impact

iv) State legislatures can be extended beyond the 5 year tenure

v) Military - gets powers to control borders and any opposition

Last imposed on:

i) Only 3 emergencies till now

Way forward - emergency must be last resort and should be avoided for authoritarian purposes [Justice Shall]

Pre-legislative consultation refers to gathering of public opinion before moving the parliament for enacting any law.

Lack of Binding Framework for this:

i) No mandate to consult general public

ii) No recall, initiative, referendum used either.

Measures to strengthen public consultation:

ii) Indirect consultation (Eg NGOS, civil society)

Challenges:

i) Numerical/geographically narrow task

ii) Representatives already chosen to voice people's view

iii) Will create conflicts (Eg religious laws)

Way forward:

i) Voluntary disclosure on Parliament's website

ii) Leverage parliamentary committees [Art 105]