Even if we are compelled to act beyond the four corners of our basic law, let us not lose focus on the equally critical mandate of the Disaster Management Act – namely, relief and rehabilitation of the disaster affected, i.e. the poor and marginalised. It’s always safer to begin with a caveat. I have two. First, this is a sequel. Last week, I wrote about the constitutional scheme to address an epidemic like the one at hand. Second, there is no reason for alarm. Even if you were to conclude that all that is being done to protect you may not be legitimate, the chance of a constitutional court being vexed with these questions is as remote as you deciding upon Wuhan as your first vacation destination post lockdown. In fact, our constitutional courts, even the video-conference versions of them, have almost folded up in the wake of this unimaginable national crisis. Mila Versteeg, professor of law at the University of Virginia, writes in The Atlantic that while the constitutional validity of the lockdown in the United States is doubtful, it has bipartisan support and people, scared out of their wits, are also willing to voluntarily sacrifice their rights. This is not a new phenomenon. Many would remember how, in the wake of the felling of the World Trade Centre, America, the land of liberty, voluntarily accepted the draconian Patriot Act for the sake of homeland security. Therefore, even presuming that none of the parties in India – the Centre, the states or the people – have any objection to the virtual house arrest of the entire nation, should that hinder us from examining whether such a course is constitutionally kosher? Original emergency provisions and Indira’s misuse Before it was amended in 1978, Article 352 of the Indian constitution permitted the declaration of an emergency on three grounds – war, external aggression and internal disturbance. For mysterious reasons, the emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi during the Bangladesh War in 1971 had not been rescinded even as on that summer day in June 1975 when the Supreme Court vacation single judge V.R. Krishna Iyer, heard Nani Palkhivala for a whole day in a packed courtroom. It was a challenge by Indira Gandhi to the Allahabad high court verdict setting aside her election and unseating her as prime minister. Justice Iyer did not grant a blanket stay that day. He merely allowed Mrs Gandhi to participate in the house but not vote. The emergency that followed at midnight was invoked on the grounds of “internal disturbance” – one of the three permissible grounds. The constitution is silent on whether, while an emergency declaration is already in force (with the exception of a separate kind of emergency, namely Financial Emergency under Article 360), another can or is at all required to be promulgated.