Which of the following statements regarding the Proclamation of Emergency in 1975 is incorrect?

The forty-sixth Amendment was passed to ensure that the election of Prime Minister could not be challenged in court

The correct answer is option (2) - The forty-sixth Amendment was passed to ensure that the election of Prime Minister could not be challenged in court.

The 39th Amendment of the Constitution of India, not the 46th Amendment , enacted on 10 August 1975, placed the election of the President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha beyond the scrutiny of the Indian courts. It was passed during the Emergency of 1975–1977.

The Emergency declaration on June 25, 1975, brought the agitation to an abrupt stop; strikes were banned; many opposition leaders were imprisoned; the political situation became very quiet though tense.  Deciding to use its special powers under Emergency provisions, the government suspended the freedom of the Press (OPTION 1). Newspapers were asked to get prior approval for all material to be published. This is known as press censorship. Apprehending social and communal disharmony, the government banned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jamait-e-Islami. Protests strikes and public agitations were also disallowed (OPTION 4). Most importantly, under the provisions of the Emergency, the various Fundamental Rights of citizens stood suspended, including the right of citizens to move the Court to restore their Fundamental Rights.

The government made extensive use of preventive detention. Under this provision, people are arrested and detained not because they have committed any offence, but on the apprehension that they may commit an offence. Using preventive detention acts, the government made large scale arrests during the Emergency. Arrested political workers could not challenge their arrest through habeas corpus petitions (OPTION 3). Many cases were filed in the High Courts and the Supreme Court by and on behalf of arrested persons, but the government claimed that it was not even necessary to inform the arrested persons of the reasons and grounds of their arrest. Several High Courts gave judgments that even after the declaration of Emergency the courts could entertain a writ of habeas corpus filed by a person challenging his/her detention. In April 1976, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court over-ruled the High Courts and accepted the government’s plea. It meant that during Emergency the government could take away the citizen’s right to life and liberty. This judgment closed the doors of judiciary for the citizens and is regarded as one of the most controversial judgments of the Supreme Court.

The Parliament also brought in many new changes to the Constitution. In the background of the ruling of the Allahabad High Court in the Indira Gandhi case, an amendment was made declaring that elections of Prime Minister, President and Vice-President could not be challenged in the Court. The forty-second amendment was also passed during the Emergency. This amendment consisted of a series of changes in many parts of the Constitution. Among the various changes made by this amendment, one was that the duration of the legislatures in the country was extended from five to six years. This change was not only for the Emergency period, but was intended to be of a permanent nature.