Emergency is something which should not have happened,” the Supreme Court on Monday said as it agreed to hear a plea of a 94-year-old woman seeking to declare as “wholly unconstitutional” the proclamation made in 1975 during the tenure of the then Indira Gandhi-led Congress Government.
The SC, which issued notice to the Centre, said it would also examine whether it is “feasible or desirable” to make a simpliciter declaration of the proclamation after a lapse of 45 years. “We are having difficulty. Emergency is something which should not have happened,” said a bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul.
The bench also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy said that the court would be disinclined to open all such aspects as there may be some wrongs done to persons, but with the passage of almost 45 years, it would not be appropriate to reopen all such issues.
It asked the petitioner to amend her petition by December 18 with respect to the prayer of declaration of emergency as unconstitutional.