Editing President's rule (section)

{{Short description|Indian law of suspension of state government}}
{{redirect|Direct rule in India|direct rule over India in the colonial period|British Raj}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

In [[India]], '''President's rule''' is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct [[Union government]] rule in a [[States of India|state]]. Under Article 356 of the [[Constitution of India]], if a [[State governments of India|state government]] is unable to function according to Constitutional provisions, the Union government can take direct control of the state machinery. Subsequently, executive authority is exercised through the centrally appointed [[Governors of states of India|governor]], who has the authority to appoint other administrators to assist them. The administrators are usually nonpartisan retired [[civil services of India|civil servants]] not native to the state.

When a state government is functioning correctly, it is run by an elected Council of Ministers responsible to the state's legislative assembly ([[Vidhan Sabha]]). The council is led by the [[Chief Minister (India)|chief minister]], who is the chief executive of the state; the Governor is only a constitutional head. However, during President's rule, the Council of Ministers is dissolved, later on  vacating the office of Chief Minister. Furthermore, the Vidhan Sabha is either [[Prorogation|prorogued]] or [[Dissolution of parliament|dissolved]], necessitating a new election.

Prior to 2019, the [[Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir|constitution]] of the state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] had a similar system of ''Governor's rule'', under its Section 92. The state's governor issued a proclamation, after obtaining the consent of the [[President of India]] allowing Governor's rule for a period of up to six months after which President's rule under Article 356 of the Constitution of India can be imposed. After the [[Indian revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status|revocation]] of [[Article 370 of the Constitution of India|Article 370]], President's rule applies to Jammu and Kashmir under section 73 (since Article 356 of Constitution of India does not apply to union territories) of [[Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019]].

Following the 1994 landmark judgment in ''[[S. R. Bommai v. Union of India]]'', the [[Supreme Court of India]] restricted arbitrary impositions of President's rule.

[[Chhattisgarh]] and [[Telangana]] are the only states where the President's rule has never been imposed so far.<ref name=":6">Das, Anjishnu (29 August 2023). [https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/13-years-in-jk-10-times-in-manipur-up-history-of-presidents-rule-8912688/ "13 years in J&K, 10 times in Manipur, UP: History of President's Rule"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502122614/https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/13-years-in-jk-10-times-in-manipur-up-history-of-presidents-rule-8912688/ |date=2 May 2024 }}. ''[[Indian Express]]''. Retrieved 2 May 2024.</ref> [[Manipur]] is the state where it has been invoked the most number of times, currently under the rule since February 2025 for the eleventh time.<ref name=":7" />