During a National Emergency under Article 352, the distribution of legislative powers between Union and States is temporarily modified. Which of the following best describes this modification?
- State List subjects become exclusively Union subjects permanently
- Parliament can legislate on State List subjects, but such laws cease 6 months post-Emergency
- State Legislatures lose all legislative powers permanently
- Concurrent List subjects become Union-exclusive permanently
Answer: Parliament can legislate on State List subjects, but such laws cease 6 months post-Emergency
Legislative powers during Emergency: (a) Article 250: During Emergency, Parliament can legislate on any matter in State List, (b) Temporal limitation: Laws made under Article 250 cease to operate 6 months after Emergency ceases, except for things done/omitted before expiry, (c) Rationale: Enable unified national response to existential threats while preserving State legislative domain post-crisis, (d) Applications: (i) 1962, 1971 Emergencies: Parliament legislated on defence, security matters affecting States, (ii) Post-Emergency: Laws ceased after 6 months unless re-enacted by Parliament/State Legislatures, (e) Federal balance: Temporary enhancement of Union legislative power for crisis management, reversible post-Emergency to restore federal normalcy, (f) Illustrates adaptive federalism: Enabling coordinated national response to existential threats while preserving State autonomy through time limits, sunset provisions.