Social unrest, SC order, dictatorial tendencies led to Emergency in '75

The darkest chapter in the history of independent India was written on the midnight of 25 June, 1975 with the proclamation of Emergency but the foreword was penned when the Allahabad High Court declared then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's election from Rae Bareli null and void on 12 June, that year.

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The election petition against Gandhi was filed by Raj Narain, the Socialist Party candidate, who lost the election from Rae Bareli.

Narain had alleged that Gandhi’s election agent Yashpal Kapoor was a government servant and that she deployed government officials for her election-related work.

HC verdict that found Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractice had intensified public unrest against the government due to high inflation, shortage of essential commodities and the stagnant economy, which was reeling under the impact of the war of 1971 against Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

Voices of dissent rose from Gujarat in the west, where the Navnirman Andolan against Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel was gaining momentum and Bihar in the east, where the youth had mobilised under the leadership of Jayprakash Narayan.

• Amid this unrest came the verdict of the Allahabad High Court on 12 June, 1975 that found Gandhi guilty over discrepancies in the electoral campaign, which led to Emergency on the night of 25 June.

Gandhi had appealed against the high court verdict and had received conditional reprieve from the Supreme Court on 24 June, 1975 that allowed her to continue as the prime minister, but without voting rights in Parliament.