Umamageswari Maruthappan
The Book titled “The Law of Emergency Powers: Comparative Common Law Perspectives” is primed for its release on 23rd January 2021 by four Supreme Court Judges, namely Justice N.V. Ramanna, Justice Surya Kant, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice D. Y. Chandrachud.
The esteemed book is penned by Senior Advocate (Dr.) Abhishek Singhvi and Prof. Khagesh Gautam while Springer took over its publication rights.
It gives a meticulous study on the Emergency Powers given under the Indian Constitution. The provisions relating to Emergency Powers are put forth in Part XVIII of the Constitution from Article 352 to 360.
A comparative analysis of the emergency laws in the US, the UK and India is also made. “The deep and rigorous analysis of emergency power in India and the comparison with the US and UK systems will provide insight and is an essential reading for all who want to understand the complexity of emergency powers and their application in the leading democracies of the world,” said Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University.
Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Senior Advocate and author of this book said, “When examined in a comparative perspective, we can learn much about the manner in which a constitutional power ought to be exercised and the manner in which it is actually exercised.”
The volume also comments on the judicial interpretation over Emergency matters with special reference to S. R. Bommai v. Union of India. Prof. Khagesh Gautam highlighted the same saying that “the effectiveness of the Supreme Court’s landmark 9-judge bench decision in Bommai has been demonstrated.”
“The ‘post-Bommai’ discussion that shows just how effective the Supreme Court’s historic 9-judge bench decision in the famous S. R. Bommai case, and other such interesting sub-parts of this book offer deep insight into the law and history of emergency powers in India,” added Prof. Gautam who co-authored the book.
Additionally, it touches upon some military and martial laws as well. Drawing attention to the same, Prof. Gautam said, “The discussion of US law on martial law, and UK law on military acting-in-aid of civilian authority has particular significance for us in India.”
The book is acclaimed to be one of the few books to give a thorough understanding of the laws on Emergency which the readers, including the members of the Bar and Bench may find insightful.
“The wealth of citations and references in this work, and the discussion and treatment of specific issues, I hope, would be found useful by all the members of the Bench and the Bar,” expressed Dr. Singhvi.