President Rule

President's Rule refers to Article 356 of the Constitution of India deals with the failure of the Constitutional machinery of an Indian state. In the event that government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution, the state comes under the direct control of the central government, with executive authority exercised through the Governor instead of a Council of Ministers headed by an elected Chief Minister accountable to the state legislature.

Article 356 is invoked if there has been failure of the constitutional machinery in any state of India. During President's Rule, the Governor has the authority to appoint retired civil servants or other administrators, to assist him. These advisors assume the functions of State's Council of Ministers.

In practice president's rule has been imposed under different circumstances such as these:

• State Legislature is unable to elect a leader as Chief Minister
• Breakdown of a coalition
• Elections postponed for unavoidable reasons
• Most often, until the mid-1990s, it was imposed in states through abuse of the authority of Governors in collusion with the federal government. However, following a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court of India in March 1994, such abuse has been reduced drastically.