S.R. Bommai: Federalism’s Guardrails

Few Supreme Court rulings have shaped India’s centre-state balance as decisively as S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994)—a nine-judge decision that arose from the political churn of the late 1980s, but ultimately became constitutional doctrine for every coalition era thereafter.

- TDG NETWORK

S.R. Bommai, Former Minister of Education of India (6 June 1924 - 10 October 2007).

At its core, Bommai is about a recurring constitutional anxiety: when can the Union dismiss an elected state government under Article 356 on the claim that “constitutional machinery” has failed?The immediate backdrop was Karnataka. The Janata government faced defections; the Governor's report and the Centre’s response led to President's Rule, and the dispute travelled from the High Court to the Supreme Court. The case was not merely about one state’s instability; it raised systemic questions: what counts as a genuine breakdown of governance, how far courts can review a proclamation, and what limits apply before the Centre takes irreversible steps like dissolving an Assembly.