Emergency 50 years | Congress, 1971 victory and court verdict: How Indira Gandhi brought 'darkest chapter in Indian democracy'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (June 25) said that no Indian will ever forget how the spirit of the Constitution was violated during the Emergency, as he affirmed his government's commitment to strengthening constitutional principles, while posting about the 50th year of the Emergency. In a long post on X, the Prime Minister said that it was one of the darkest chapters in India’s democratic history and it was the Congress government that placed Indian democracy under house arrest. The values enshrined in the Constitution were set aside, fundamental rights suspended, press freedom extinguished and a large number of political leaders, social workers, students and ordinary citizens jailed, he noted. The BJP government under PM Modi's leadership had announced last year that the Emergency anniversary would be commemorated as "Samvidhan Hatya Diwas". The Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Here's a full recap of what happened:

Congress(R), 1971 victory and court verdict

The court verdict that played a crucial role in prompting Indira Gandhi to impose the Emergency was the Allahabad High Court judgment delivered on June 12, 1975. In the case titled - State of Uttar Pradesh vs Raj Narain - Indira Gandhi was accused of electoral malpractices to win the 1971 Lok Sabha elections. The petitioner, Raj Narain, contested against Indira Gandhi from the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh, but Gandhi was declared the winner. Later, Narain accused her of electoral malpractices under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. When the Lok Sabha election results were declared, Indira Gandhi was elected with 183,309 votes, with Raj Narain being the closest rival with 71, 499 votes.

At that time, Indira Gandhi contested on the ticket of her newly formed Congress faction - Congress (R) - after she was expelled from her father's party in 1969. Though Congress(R) delivered a stunning victory by securing 352 out of 518 seats in Lok Sabha, her own win from Rae Bareli came under scrutiny. Narain, who was nearly 110,000 votes away from Gandhi, challenged the poll verdict in an election petition. Raj Narain contested on the ticket ofthe Samyukta Socialist Party.

As per Bar and Bench, an election petition is a plea filed directly before a High Court challenging the election of a particular candidate. Such a petition has to be filed within 45 days from the date of declaration of the election results. Additionally, the malpractices that Gandhi was accused of under the Representation of People (RP) Act of 1951 - list out the grounds on which the election of a candidate can be called into question. Section 123 of the RP Act lists certain corrupt practices which, if proved successful, can be grounds to declare the election of a candidate void.

Why did the court invalidate Indira Gandhi's election?

Interestingly, out of the long list of allegations raised against Gandhi by Narain, most were turned down by the High Court but her election was ultimately invalidated on two findings. The first one was that Indira Gandhi used government machinery to set up stage for poll campaign and second that she used gazette officer as an election agent. Gandhi's election agent was Yashpal Kapur who held the post of Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. He subsequently submitted his resignation and was appointed the election agent.

But, the devil was in the details: Kapur had submitted his resignation on January 13, 1971 and his resignation was accepted with effect from January 14, 1971. Though Kapur was appointed election agent of Gandhi on February 4, 1971, the High Court held that Kapur delivered election speeches on January 7, 1971 at Munshi Ganj and another speech at Kalan on January 19, 1971 - one before his resignation was in effect and another before his official appointment date.

Additionally, Kapur, the District Magistrate of Rae Bareli, the Superintendent of Police of Rae Bareli and the Home Secretary of Uttar Pradesh government arranged for rostrums, loudspeakers and barricades to be set up and for members of the police force to be posted in connection with her election campaign tour.

Imposition of Emergency

The court verdict by Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha found Indira Gandhi guilty of misuse of government machinery during her election campaign. The court declared her 1971 election invalid, effectively disqualifying her from holding public office for six years. The judgment did not immediately remove her as Prime Minister, but it severely undermined her legitimacy. Fearing political instability, mass protests, and possible ouster, Indira Gandhi advised the President (Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed) to declare a state of Emergency under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution, citing internal disturbances. The Emergency lasted from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, during which civil liberties were suspended, the press was censored, political opponents were jailed, and democratic institutions were heavily curtailed.