JP movement and the Emergency, 1975-1977
Apr 1974 – 21 Mar 1977, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Karnataka
In 1974 Jayaprakash Narayan called for a "total revolution" against the Indira Gandhi government. On 12 June 1975 the Allahabad High Court voided Indira Gandhi's election, and on 25 June 1975 JP addressed a rally at the Ramlila Grounds in Delhi, where, by the government's account, he appealed to the army and police not to obey orders they considered illegal. That night the President proclaimed an Emergency on the ground of internal disturbance. The Shah Commission later counted 34,988 detentions under MISA and 75,818 arrests under the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules. The press was censored, and the Emergency was revoked on 21 March 1977 after the Congress lost the general election. The Janata government then set up the Shah Commission to inquire into Emergency excesses.
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- In power
- INC: Centre, Delhi Police, Uttar Pradesh; Janata Party: Centre
What the government did
- Jun 1975
DetentionCentreShare
The Shah Commission tabulated, by state and union territory, 34,988 detentions under MISA and 75,818 arrests under the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules during the Emergency.
MoreLess · 1 source
Its state-level breakdowns include political party members and members of banned organisations as well as people held for other reasons, such as alleged smuggling. A Home Ministry message of 26 June 1975 advised states to detain the influential and active elements of the BJS and RSS under MISA. The Commission said that the misuse of detention powers under the amended MISA was the single item that had affected people most across the country.
Legal basis: Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971; Defence and Internal Security of India Rules, 1971
- 34,988 detentions under MISA during the Emergency, said Shah Commission [5]
- 75,818 arrests under the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules during the Emergency, said Shah Commission [5]
Sources [5]
- 25 Jun 1975
OtherCentreShare
Late on 25 June 1975, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed a proclamation declaring that a grave emergency existed whereby the security of India was threatened by internal disturbance.
MoreLess · 2 sources
Indira Gandhi recommended it in a letter to the President that night, in which she wrote that she had not consulted the Cabinet because of the urgency. The Shah Commission recorded that the Cabinet Secretary, the Home Secretary and the Law Minister learned of the proclamation only on the morning of 26 June, when a Cabinet meeting was held at 6 a.m. On 27 June a Presidential order under Article 359(1) suspended the right to move any court to enforce Articles 14, 21 and 22.
Legal basis: Article 352(1) of the Constitution
- 25 Jun 1975
Preventive arrestCentreShare
Opposition leaders were arrested from the night of 25-26 June 1975.
MoreLess · 3 sources
In Bangalore, A. B. Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, S. N. Mishra and Madhu Dandavate were detained under MISA on 26 June after the Delhi Chief Secretary asked for their arrest with, he said, the Prime Minister's concurrence. Morarji Desai was also held. Jayaprakash Narayan was arrested under MISA in Delhi, taken to Chandigarh on 1 July and held at the PGI campus, which was notified as a sub-jail. He was released on 12 November 1975 after his health deteriorated, and was then treated for kidney damage at Jaslok Hospital in Bombay. The Shah Commission found that the arrests of political leaders ordered that night did not comply with the law and amounted to wrongful arrest and detention.
Legal basis: Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971 (MISA)
- 25 Jun 1975
CensorshipCentreShare
On the night of 25-26 June 1975 the electricity connections of newspaper presses in Delhi were cut from about 2 a.m.; the head of the Delhi electricity undertaking told the Shah Commission that the Lieutenant Governor said these were orders from the Prime Minister's house.
MoreLess · 2 sources
The Commission held that the disconnection had no legal authority. A Censorship Order was issued on 26 June 1975. Censorship guidelines later barred editors from leaving editorial columns blank, which the Information and Broadcasting Minister told the Commission was treated as a sign of protest. The Express group's newspapers ran a blank editorial space on 28 June 1975.
Legal basis: Censorship Order of 26 June 1975 under the Defence of India Rules, 1971; Rule 48, Defence and Internal Security of India Rules
- 1976
Property demolitionCentreShare
Houses, shops and other structures in Delhi were demolished in slum clearance drives by the Delhi Development Authority and the Municipal Corporation.
MoreLess · 1 source
In a Delhi television interview on 31 December 1976, quoted by the Shah Commission, Jagmohan said seven lakh (700,000) people had been resettled in eight months. The Commission found that Jagmohan became a law unto himself and did the biddings of Sanjay Gandhi, and that Sanjay Gandhi was the prime mover in most of the illegal demolitions in Delhi.
- seven lakh (700,000) people resettled in Delhi in eight months, said Jagmohan, DDA (TV interview, 31 December 1976) [2]
Sources [2]
- 19 Apr 1976
FiringPolice, DelhiShare
On 19 April 1976 police fired on residents of the Turkman Gate area of Delhi who were protesting against demolitions.
MoreLess · 1 source
Delhi Police and the Delhi Administration reported six deaths. A police assistant sub-inspector told the Shah Commission that eight had died, then said this was a slip. The Commission found that the firing resulted in at least six deaths and that the authorities had made no elementary inquiry into it.
- 6 killed in the Turkman Gate firing, said Delhi Police and Delhi Administration [2]
- 8 (later withdrawn as a slip) killed in the Turkman Gate firing, said ASI Govind Ram Bhatia, Turkman Gate police post [2]
- at least 6 killed in the Turkman Gate firing, said Shah Commission [2]
Sources [2]
- 28 Apr 1976
OtherCourtShare
In ADM Jabalpur v.
MoreLess · 2 sources
Shivkant Shukla the Supreme Court held 4-1 that, in view of the Presidential order of 27 June 1975, no person had locus standi to move a High Court for habeas corpus to challenge a detention order as illegal or mala fide. Justice H. R. Khanna dissented.
Court: On 24 August 2017 a nine-judge bench in Puttaswamy expressly overruled the majority judgments in ADM Jabalpur. [6]
- 18 Oct 1976
FiringPolice, Uttar PradeshShare
On 18 and 19 October 1976 police fired in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to deal with resistance to the sterilisation drive.
MoreLess · 1 source
The Shah Commission listed it among at least eight police firings in the state between August and December 1976 linked to the family planning programme, and reported that the firings at Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar and Pratapgarh together resulted in 12 deaths. The state government ordered inquiries into all the firings.
- 12 killed in police firings at Gorakhpur, said Shah Commission (as reported to it) [5]
Sources [5]
- 28 May 1977
Commission of inquiryCentreShare
The Janata Party government appointed the Shah Commission, chaired by J.
MoreLess · 4 sources
C. Shah, retired Chief Justice of India, to inquire into excesses during the Emergency, including misuse of arrest and detention powers, force in the family planning programme and demolitions. It issued interim reports on 11 March and 26 April 1978 and a final report on 6 August 1978. It reported that official records showed nothing alarming on the economic front and that the law and order situation was under control before the proclamation. Indira Gandhi declined to give evidence on oath, and the Commission ordered her prosecution for refusing to take the oath and answer questions.
Legal basis: Section 3, Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 (notification S.O. 374(E))
Court: On 20 December 1979 the Delhi High Court quashed the prosecutions of Indira Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee for refusing to take the oath and answer questions before the Commission. [8]
Outcome
Elections were announced on 18 January 1977. The Janata Party won the general election, Indira Gandhi lost her Rae Bareli seat to Raj Narain, and the Proclamation of Emergency was revoked on 21 March 1977. After Indira Gandhi returned to power in January 1980, a special court set up in 1979 to try her dropped proceedings in two of the three cases against her.
Background
Who governed at the start of the protest. Each action above counts for the party in power where and when it happened.
- Centre government
- INC, Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister
- Places
- Ramlila Grounds Delhi, Turkman Gate Delhi, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Muzaffarnagar
- Cause
- Removal of the Indira Gandhi government; the JP movement's call for total revolution
- Organisers
- Jayaprakash Narayan, Opposition parties later merged into the Janata Party
- Scale
- A movement across several states led by Jayaprakash Narayan. The Shah Commission counted 34,988 detentions under MISA and 75,818 arrests under the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules during the Emergency
What they said
Words in quote marks were matched in the source. Everything else is a summary; open the source for the exact words. Each statement says whether the speaker's party was in power or in opposition at the time.
In opposition
At a meeting at the Ramlila Grounds in Delhi, appealed to the army, police and government employees not to obey orders they considered illegal and against their conscience, according to the Home Minister's account to the Rajya Sabha. The Shah Commission recorded that Indira Gandhi read out an advance report of the speech that day.
Summary, not a quote
In power
“He repeatedly made insinuations and provided incitement to the police and armed forces to disobey the orders of the constituted authority in statements made in various places at various meetings all over the country.”
At Rajya Sabha debates, 21 July 1975, col. 54
In opposition
“The proceedings before this Hon. Commission are proof enough that the present Government has gone out on a hunting spree, combing official records, trying to spin out some case or the other against me or my former colleagues and yet neither you, Sir, nor I know what is the charge I am expected to answer.”
At Delhi High Court judgment of 20 December 1979, quoting her statement of 11 January 1978
Sources
- 1Shah Commission of Inquiry, Interim Report IShah Commission of Inquiry, Government of India (copy on Internet Archive), 11 Mar 1978T2 Court
- 2Shah Commission of Inquiry, Interim Report IIShah Commission of Inquiry, Government of India (copy on Internet Archive), 26 Apr 1978T2 Court
- 3Additional District Magistrate, Jabalpur vs S. S. Shukla Etc. EtcSupreme Court of India (text on Indian Kanoon), 28 Apr 1976T2 CourtArchived 30 Jan 2009
- 4'Prisoner JP' in Chandigarh, 40 years agoThe Tribune, M. G. Devasahayam, 11 Oct 2015T5 Secondary
- 5Shah Commission of Inquiry, Third and Final ReportShah Commission of Inquiry, Government of India (copy on Internet Archive), 6 Aug 1978T2 Court
- 6Justice K.S.Puttaswamy (Retd) And Anr. vs Union Of India And Ors.Supreme Court of India (text on Indian Kanoon), 24 Aug 2017T2 CourtArchived 14 Jun 2018
- 7Rajya Sabha official debates, 21 July 1975: statutory resolution seeking approval of the Proclamation of EmergencyRajya Sabha Secretariat, 21 Jul 1975T1 Record
- 8Smt. Indira Gandhi and others v. Shri J.C. Shah, Commission of InquiryDelhi High Court (text on CaseMine), 20 Dec 1979T2 CourtArchived 2 Jun 2021
- 9This is how Express stood up to 'The Emergency' declared by Indira Gandhi in 1975The New Indian Express, 25 Jun 2018T5 SecondaryArchived 26 Jun 2019
- 10March 21, 1977, Forty Years Ago: Mrs Gandhi LosesThe Indian Express, 21 Mar 2017T5 SecondaryArchived 30 Mar 2017
- 11Two cases dropped against Mrs. GandhiThe Christian Science Monitor, 16 Jan 1980T5 SecondaryArchived 21 Sep 2019
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Entry last updated 15 Oct 2026. Something wrong or missing? Edit content/precedents/jp-movement-emergency-1975-1977.yaml