Why did the Courts become more active in protecting civil liberties after the Emergency?
1) Because they were given more power
2) Because they were threatened during the Emergency
3) Because they failed to protect civil liberties effectively during the Emergency
4) Because they were influenced by the government

Choose the correct answer from the given options:

3

The correct answer is Option 3 - 3

3) Because they failed to protect civil liberties effectively during the Emergency

Courts took an active role in protecting civil liberties after the Emergency in response to their inability to protect civil liberties effectively during the Emergency.

Lessons learnt from the 1975 National Emergency:

One lesson of Emergency is that it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.

Secondly, it brought out some ambiguities regarding the Emergency provision in the Constitution that have been rectified since. Now, ‘internal’ Emergency can be proclaimed only on the grounds of ‘armed rebellion’ and it is necessary that the advice to the President to proclaim Emergency must be given in writing by the Council of Ministers.

Thirdly, the Emergency made everyone more aware of the value of civil liberties. The Courts too, have taken an active role after the Emergency in protecting the civil liberties of the individuals. This is a response to the inability of the judiciary to protect civil liberties effectively during the emergency. Many civil liberties organisations came up after this experience.