<P> Until the mid-1990s, President's rule was often imposed in states through abusing the authority of Governors who were in collusion with the central government . The Supreme Court of India in March 1994 instituted a rule by which such abuse has been drastically reduced . </P> <P> Article 356 gave wide powers to the central government to assert its authority over a state if civil unrest occurs, and the state government does not have the means to end it . Though the purpose of this article is to give more powers to central government to preserve the unity and integrity of the nation, it has often been misused by the ruling parties at the center, who used it as a pretext to dissolve state governments ruled by political opponents . Thus, it is seen by many as a threat to the federal state system . Since the adoption of Indian constitution in 1950, the central government has used this article several times to dissolve elected state governments by imposing President's rule . </P> <P> The article was used for the first time in Uttar Pradesh 1954 . It was also used in the state of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) and during the Vimochana Samaram to dismiss the democratically elected Communist state government of Kerala on 31 July 1959 . In the 1970s and 1980s, it was common for the central government to dismiss state governments led by opposition parties . The Indira Gandhi regime and post-emergency Janata Party were noted for this practice . Indira Gandhi's government between 1966 and 1977 is known to have imposed President's rule 39 times in different states . Similarly, the Janata Party which came to power after the emergency issued President's rule in 9 states which were ruled by Congress . </P> <P> The practice was limited only after the Supreme Court established strict guidelines for imposing the President's Rule in its ruling on the S.R. Bommai v. Union of India case in 1994 . This landmark judgement has helped curtail the widespread misuse of Article 356 . The judgement established strict guidelines for imposing President's rule . Subsequent pronouncements by the Supreme Court in Jharkhand and other states have further limited the scope for misuse of Article 356 . Only since the early 2000s has the number of cases of imposition of President's rule has been drastically reduced . </P>

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