Question

Under the scheme of the Constitution of India, once a Proclamation under Article 352 is in operation, Parliament may legislate on matters in the State List by virtue of:

• A. Article 356
• B. Article 250
• C. Article 360
• D. Article 249

Hint:

Emergency Legislation: Article 352 declares the emergency, but Article 250 is the "switch" that gives Parliament the power to pass laws on State List subjects!

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Each of these four articles belongs to a different part of the constitutional scheme, and sorting them into their natural categories makes the answer clear.

Articles 352, 356 and 360 are the three kinds of Emergency the Constitution recognises, National Emergency, President's Rule in a state, and Financial Emergency respectively. None of these three articles, standing alone, tells Parliament how far it can reach into the State List. They only describe when an emergency situation arises and, in the case of 356, transfer state functions to the Union in a specific state.

Article 249 stands apart from the emergency scheme altogether. It works through a Rajya Sabha resolution passed with a special majority, in the national interest, and has nothing to do with a Proclamation under Article 352 being in force.

That leaves Article 250, which is the specific companion clause to Article 352. It is drafted to operate precisely while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, and in that window it lets Parliament make laws on any State List matter for the whole or any part of India. This is the only article among the four that ties the extra legislative reach directly to an Article 352 Emergency.

So the power described in the question, Parliament legislating on State subjects once Article 352 is invoked, comes from Article 250.
\[ \boxed{\text{Article 250}} \]

Answer 2

A useful way to approach this question is to ask what specific question each constitutional provision is designed to answer, and then match that to the fact pattern given, namely a Proclamation under Article 352 already being in force.

1. Article 356: answers the question of what happens when a state's government cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution. It lets the President assume the functions of the state government and lets Parliament exercise the state legislature's powers, but only after a breakdown of constitutional machinery in that state is reported, not merely because a national Emergency exists elsewhere.
2. Article 250: answers the question of what extra powers Parliament gets once a national Emergency has been proclaimed, and its text directly supplies the answer, the power to legislate on State List matters for the whole or any part of India, for as long as the Proclamation lasts.
3. Article 360: answers the question of what happens if India's financial stability is threatened. It deals with directions to reduce salaries and reserve money bills for the President's consideration, a completely different subject matter from ordinary legislative competence over the State List.
4. Article 249: answers the question of whether Parliament can legislate on a State subject even without any Emergency at all, and the answer is yes, provided the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a two-thirds majority declaring it necessary in the national interest. This mechanism is triggered by a Rajya Sabha resolution, not by an Article 352 Proclamation.

Since the fact pattern specifically involves a Proclamation under Article 352 already in operation, the provision that matches is the one drafted to operate in exactly that window.

Therefore, the correct answer is Article 250.