Imposing Article 356 in Manipur: A Case Study

• The state of Manipur, India, is a classic example of constitutional failure, necessitating the invocation of Article 356 by the President of India.

• The President can act if a situation arises where the government cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution.

• The violence in Manipur, which erupted in May 2023, continues unabated.

• The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, has shown sensitivity and power in her constitutional functions.

• The President has the power and duty to act as soon as possible, but the situation in Manipur is different.

• The debates on Article 356 in the Constituent Assembly proceedings of August 3-4, 1949, were lively and varied.

• The Supreme Court of India passed an order in a Public Interest Litigation on May 8, 2023, stating that no violence has been reported in the State and the situation is gradually returning to normalcy.

• The Court was disturbed by the media portrayal of the incident of May 4 where women were paraded naked by a mob.

• Between May 3 and November 11, 2024, over 250 people were killed and over a lakh people displaced from their homes in the ethnic violence.

• The Supreme Court’s intervention was slow and ineffective despite 27 hearings.

• The situation demands the immediate intervention of the President, and the Prime Minister should have acted decisively to bring back peace, harmony, justice, relief, and rehabilitation.