The Thirty-ninth Amendment of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

, enacted on 10 August 1975, placed the election of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, the

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

, the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and the

Speaker of the Lok Sabha The speaker of the Lok Sabha (IAST: ) is the presiding officer and the highest official of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general ...

beyond the scrutiny of the Indian courts. It was passed during the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

of 1975–1977. It was moved by the Congress government headed by

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

to preempt a hearing by

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

concerning the setting aside of Gandhi's election by the

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...

on the grounds of corrupt electoral practices.

Background

was accused by Raj Narain for misusing the state machinery during her election polls. After that, the Allahabad High court did find her guilty, by virtue of which dismissed her immediately from the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

. The high court also barred her from contesting in future elections for 6 years and demanded her resignation from PM post. Indira Gandhi appealed to the supreme court the same day and her case was accepted. The court granted her bail and allowed her to remain as Prime minister for 6 more months within which the said case would be completed, yet refused to reinstate her as a member of Parliament. Facing certain doom if the case went on in the supreme court as before,

successfully recommended to the President to declare a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

the next night and began her

rule by decree Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged promulgation of law by a single person or group. It allows the ruler to make or change laws without legislative approval. While intended to allow rapid responses to a crisis, rule ...

. During this time, Indira Gandhi pushed for the thirty ninth amendment act to secure her position and prevent her removal from Indian politics. She also went ahead bringing about the forty second amendment act that included clause four and five of article 368, removing all restriction regarding the amendment power of the parliament and providing that amendments were not contestable in any court of law in India. Later on in the '' Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain'' case, the 39th amendment was removed and the

Doctrine of Basic Structure The basic structure doctrine is a common law legal doctrine that the constitution of a sovereign state has certain characteristics that cannot be erased by its legislature. The doctrine is recognised in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, and ...

was reinforced from the ''

Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru & Ors. v. State of Kerala & Anr. (Writ Petition (Civil) 135 of 1970), also known as the Kesavananda Bharati judgement, was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that outlined the basic structure doc ...

'' case.

References

for full information on the case and its procedures. {{India-law-stub The Emergency (India) 1975 in India 39 1975 in law Indira Gandhi administration