The Supreme Court has held that even during a National Emergency under Article 352, constitutional continuity must be preserved, meaning core constitutional features like basic structure continue to apply, ensuring Constitution's identity preserved even during crisis.

Constitutional continuity during Emergency: (a) Basic structure doctrine: Core constitutional features (basic structure) continue to apply even during Emergency; cannot be destroyed even by constitutional amendment, (b) Application to Emergency: (i) Even during Emergency, constitutional continuity preserved: Core features (democracy, secularism, federalism, judicial review, rule of law, dignity) continue to apply, (ii) Emergency powers subject to constitutional continuity: Actions cannot alter core constitutional features, even during crisis, (iii) Judicial review: Courts can examine whether Emergency actions preserve constitutional continuity, not just procedural compliance, (c) Applications: (i) Post-1978: Courts more willing to strike down Emergency actions violating constitutional continuity, (ii) Rights protection: Ensures core constitutional features continue to apply even during crisis, (d) Rationale: (i) Constitutional supremacy: Constitutional continuity preserves constitutional order against arbitrary power, even during crisis, (ii) Rights protection: Core features essential for rights protection, democratic governance, even during Emergency, (iii) Democratic legitimacy: Ensures Emergency powers used for genuine crisis response, not constitutional alteration, (e) Illustrates constitutional resilience: Basic structure doctrine ensures Constitution's core identity preserved even during crisis; balance between crisis response capacity and preservation of constitutional democracy.