Can India Face a Situation Like South Korea Martial Law? – Last week, South Korea’s Parliament reversed President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law decision, focusing on legislative control over emergency powers. Even though India does not have rules about martial law in its Constitution, it provides for an emergency.
But measures to ensure such powers are not abused are implemented to ensure such fails. India’s Constitution outlines three types of emergencies: National Emergency (Article 352), State Emergency (Article 356), and Financial Emergency (Article 360). A national emergency invoked during an external threat or armed rebellion is the most appropriate.
Critically, Indira Gandhi replaced the term “internal disturbance” with that of “armed rebellion through the 44th amendment in 1978,” making criteria stricter. The authoritarian character of the 1975 Emergency, which suspended moments of civil liberties and centralized authorities in the executive, made some loopholes in the Indian system.
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Can India Face a Situation Like South Korea Martial Law?- The neighboring Morarji Desai government brought the 44th Amendment to check the abuse. A national emergency needs to be approved in writing by the Cabinet and approved by Parliament within 30 days. Indeed, the Constitution provides that approval from either of the houses, if not obtained, automatically renews it.
Extensions, limited to six months, are also made under parliamentary agreement by passage of a special majority. However, some rights remain justiciable even in periods of emergency, such as the right to life as enshrined under Article 21 and equality under any law under Article 14.
Initially eliminated by the 42nd Amendment, the checks and balances given by the 44th Amendment allow for judicial review, which enforces the Constitution’s principles. While South Korea’s martial law was a situation where the military directly ruled the country, India’s emergency provisions are operated within a democratic setting.
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Parliamentary and judicial scrutiny is thus maintained to check the executive branch when the latter gains temporary powers. This particular domain has been reinforced by India’s previous experiences that only strengthen protections, ruling out a situation like South Korea’s martial law. Parliamentary concord is still vital when practicing democracy when disaster strikes.
