On 18 January 1977, Gandhi called fresh elections for March and released all political prisoners, though the Emergency officially ended on 23 March 1977. The Congress was handed a crushing defeat, its first ever since the country s Independence in 1947, by the combined opposition of Janata Party.
Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution due to the prevailing internal disturbance , the Emergency was in effect from June 25, 1975, until its withdrawal on March 21, 1977.