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TheCrisisofDemocraticOrder 101 extraordinary condition in which normal democratic politics cannot function. Therefore, special powers are granted to the government. On the night of 25 June 1975, the Prime Minister recommended the imposition of Emergency to President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. He issued the proclamation immediately. After midnight, the electricity to all the major newspaper offices was disconnected. In the early morning, a large number of leaders and workers of the opposition parties were arrested. The Cabinet was informed about it at a special meeting at 6 a.m. on 26 June, after all this had taken place. Consequences Should This brought the agitation to an abrupt stop; strikes were banned; the President many opposition leaders were put in jail; the political situation became have declared very quiet though tense. Deciding to use its special powers under Emergency without any Emergency provisions, the government suspended the freedom of the recommendation from Press. Newspapers were asked to get prior approval for all material the Cabinet? to be published. This is known as press censorship. Apprehending social and communal disharmony, the government banned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jamait-e-Islami. Protests and strikes and public agitations were also disallowed. Most importantly, under the provisions of Emergency, the various Fundamental Rights of citizens stood suspended, including the right of citizens to move the Court for restoring their Fundamental Rights. Now, The government made extensive use of preventive detention. Under even the this provision, people are arrested and detained not because they have Supreme Court committed any offence, but on the apprehension that they may commit gave in! What an offence. Using preventive detention acts, the government made was happening to large scale arrests during the Emergency. Arrested political workers everyone in those days? could not challenge their arrest through habeas corpus petitions. Many cases were filed in the High Courts and the Supreme Court by and on behalf of arrested persons, but the government claimed that it was not even necessary to inform the arrested persons of the reasons and grounds of their arrest. Several High Courts gave judgments that even after the declaration of Emergency the courts could entertain a writ of habeas corpus filed by a person challenging his/her detention. In April 1976, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court over-ruled the High Courts and accepted the government’s plea. It meant that during Emergency the government could take away the citizen’s right to life and liberty. This judgment closed the doors of judiciary for the citizens and is regarded as one of the most controversial judgments of the Supreme Court. There were many acts of dissent and resistance to the Emergency. Many political workers who were not arrested in the first wave, went ‘underground’ and organised protests against the government. Newspapers like the Indian Express and the Statesman protested against censorship by leaving blank spaces where news items had been censored. Magazines like the Seminar and the Mainstream Reprint 2026-27