Which of the following decisions was/were taken at the recently-held two day Inter-State Council Meeting?

The Inter-State Council (ISC) meeting, particularly the 2003-2004 sessions, focused on the controversial Article 356. The Council reached a consensus to retain the provision for President's Rule in the Constitution while introducing specific safeguards to prevent its political misuse [t3]. This alignment followed the Sarkaria Commission's long-standing recommendation that Article 356 should be used sparingly and only as a measure of last resort [c5][t5]. Historically, the provision has been used over 125 times to dismiss state governments, often arbitrarily [c3][c4]. While the Council acknowledged this history of misuse, the consensus was to maintain the article with the S.R. Bommai judgment's guidelines as a framework for safeguards [t3][t4]. Therefore, the decisions reflect a balance between maintaining national integrity and protecting state autonomy, making all the provided statements regarding the Council's deliberations and the nature of Article 356 correct in the context of federal reforms.

Sources

1. [1] Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu (26th ed.). > Chapter 28: EMERGENCY PROVISIONS > p. 418
2. [2] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 17: Emergency Provisions > Use of Article 356 > p. 181
3. [3] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: FEDERALISM > Role of Governors and President's Rule > p. 167