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Constitution of India

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Article 172

Duration of State Legislatures

Part VI: The States

(1) Every Legislative Assembly of every State, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for ¹[five years] from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer and the expiration of the said period of ¹[five years] shall operate as a dissolution of the Assembly:

Provided that the said period may, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case beyond a period of six months after the Proclamation has ceased to operate.

(2) The Legislative Council of a State shall not be subject to dissolution, but as nearly as possible one-third of the members thereof shall retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year in accordance with the provisions made in that behalf by Parliament by law.

Amendment notes

  1. ¹Subs. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, s. 30, for "five years" (w.e.f. 3-1-1977) and further subs. by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 24, for "six years" (w.e.f. 6-9-1979).

The Constitution of India (As on 1 May 2026). Includes every amendment up to the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023. The small raised numbers in the text point to the amendment notes below.

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