The President's Ordinance-making power is provided under:
Article 123
It enables the President to promulgate an:
Ordinance
when Parliament is not in session and immediate legislative action is considered necessary.
An Ordinance has the:
Same Force and Effect as an Act of Parliament
but it is:
Temporary in Nature
and subject to parliamentary approval within the constitutionally prescribed period.
The President's Ordinance-making power is provided under:
Article 123
It forms part of the:
Legislative Powers of the President
An Ordinance is a:
Temporary Law Promulgated by the President
when Parliament is not in session.
It is issued on the:
Aid and Advice of the Council of Ministers
Parliament may not always be in session when an urgent legislative situation arises.
The Ordinance mechanism allows the government to:
Take Immediate Legislative Action
without waiting for Parliament to reconvene.
The President can promulgate an Ordinance only when:
Both Houses of Parliament are not in session
The constitutional requirement is that circumstances exist when:
Both Houses of Parliament are not simultaneously in session.
Therefore, if one House is in session and the other is not, the President can still promulgate an Ordinance.
The President must be satisfied that:
Circumstances Exist Which Render It Necessary for Him to Take Immediate Action
Do not remember the condition as simply:
"Parliament must not be in session."
The precise rule is:
Both Houses must not be in session simultaneously.
Article 123 states that the President must be satisfied that circumstances exist requiring:
Immediate Action
However, in India's parliamentary system, this satisfaction operates on:
Aid and Advice of the Council of Ministers
Generally:
No.
The President does not independently decide government policy through Ordinances.
The Ordinance power operates through:
Council of Ministers
and the President acts as the constitutional authority for promulgation.
The Ordinance-making power demonstrates the parliamentary relationship between:
President
and:
Council of Ministers
The President formally promulgates the Ordinance, while the elected government determines the policy behind it.
An Ordinance has:
The Same Force and Effect as an Act of Parliament
while it remains constitutionally valid.
Therefore, an Ordinance is not merely:
An Executive Order
It has:
Legislative Force
An Ordinance cannot be used to:
Amend the Constitution
under Article 368.
Constitutional amendments require the:
Article 368 Procedure
An Ordinance is subject to:
Fundamental Rights
and:
Judicial Review
It cannot validly violate constitutional limitations merely because it is promulgated as an Ordinance.
The Ordinance-making power is not beyond judicial scrutiny.
Courts can examine:
An Ordinance must be placed before:
Both Houses of Parliament
when they reassemble.
An Ordinance ceases to operate:
Six Weeks After the Reassembly of Parliament
unless it is earlier:
Disapproved by Parliament
or otherwise ceases according to the Constitution.
The six-week period is counted from:
Reassembly of Parliament
after the Ordinance was promulgated.
The constitutional calculation is linked to the reassembly of Parliament as provided in Article 123.
The six-week period is calculated from:
The Later Date
when the two Houses reassemble.
This is an important UPSC Prelims point.
An Ordinance must be converted into parliamentary legislation if the government wants its provisions to continue permanently.
Therefore, the government should introduce a:
Bill
to replace the Ordinance.
If Parliament passes the Bill and it receives Presidential assent:
The temporary Ordinance-based law is replaced by:
An Act of Parliament
If Parliament does not pass the necessary legislation within the constitutional period:
The Ordinance Ceases to Operate
Either House can disapprove the Ordinance.
If Parliament disapproves the Ordinance according to the constitutional procedure:
It Ceases to Operate
An Ordinance may cease before six weeks if:
Under:
Article 123
the President may withdraw an Ordinance.
In practice, this power operates within the:
Parliamentary Executive
and generally follows ministerial advice.
The Ordinance mechanism is:
Temporary Substitute for Parliamentary Legislation
during periods when Parliament is not in session.
It is not intended to permanently replace:
Parliamentary Law-Making
India follows:
Constitutional Supremacy
Therefore, Ordinance-making power is subject to:
| Ordinance | Act of Parliament |
|---|---|
| Promulgated by President | Passed by Parliament |
| Article 123 | Parliamentary legislative procedure |
| Temporary | Generally permanent |
| Issued when Parliament is not simultaneously in session | Passed through parliamentary procedure |
| Requires parliamentary consideration | Already approved by Parliament |
| Same force as an Act while valid | Law enacted by Parliament |
An Ordinance:
Has Legislative Force
An ordinary executive order:
Exercises Administrative / Executive Authority
Therefore:
Ordinance ≠ Ordinary Executive Order
Promulgated by:
President
under:
Article 123
Made by:
Executive Authority
under powers delegated by:
Legislation
The Governor also possesses an Ordinance-making power under:
Article 213
The President's power is under:
Article 123
| President | Governor |
|---|---|
| Article 123 | Article 213 |
| Union level | State level |
| When Parliament is not simultaneously in session | When State Legislature is not in session |
| Same general temporary legislative character | Same general temporary legislative character |
If:
Rajya Sabha is not in session
but:
Lok Sabha is in session
the President can promulgate an Ordinance because both Houses are not simultaneously in session.
This is a major UPSC Prelims trap.
If:
Lok Sabha is not in session
but:
Rajya Sabha is in session
the President can similarly promulgate an Ordinance because both Houses are not simultaneously in session.
If:
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are in session
the President cannot promulgate an Ordinance under Article 123.
An Ordinance can deal with matters that Parliament can legislate upon, subject to constitutional limitations.
Therefore, the President's Ordinance power is not confined to:
Ordinary Policy Matters
An Ordinance can be used in matters involving:
Taxation
provided the constitutional requirements governing the subject are satisfied.
However, the Ordinance remains temporary unless converted into legislation.
An Ordinance may deal with financial matters within the legislative competence of Parliament.
However, constitutional requirements relating to:
must still be respected.
The President cannot use an Ordinance to achieve something that:
Parliament itself lacks constitutional power to do.
Therefore:
Legislative Competence
is a fundamental limitation.
The Union cannot use an Ordinance to legislate on a subject beyond its:
Constitutional Legislative Competence
subject to the Constitution's provisions concerning Union and State legislative powers.
An Ordinance cannot validly:
Override Fundamental Rights
in a manner prohibited by the Constitution.
It is subject to:
Part III
and constitutional judicial review.
An Ordinance must comply with:
An Ordinance is not the same as:
Emergency Power
An Ordinance can be issued under Article 123 even when:
No Emergency Exists
provided the constitutional conditions are satisfied.
Do not confuse:
Ordinance-Making Power
with:
Veto Power
Creates temporary law when Parliament is not simultaneously in session.
Concerns assent to Bills passed by Parliament.
Do not confuse Article 123 with:
Article 72
Article 123:
Ordinances
Article 72:
Pardoning Power
Parliament remains the:
Primary Legislative Institution
The Ordinance power is an exceptional mechanism for urgent circumstances.
The power exists to prevent:
Legislative Vacuum
during periods when Parliament is unavailable to enact legislation immediately.
The six-week rule ensures that the executive cannot use Ordinances indefinitely without:
Parliamentary Consideration
Because an Ordinance bypasses the normal parliamentary process temporarily, parliamentary scrutiny is essential.
The government must ultimately face:
Parliamentary Accountability
One of the most important constitutional issues is:
Repeated Re-Promulgation
of Ordinances.
Re-promulgation means repeatedly issuing the same or substantially similar Ordinance without obtaining parliamentary approval.
Repeated re-promulgation can:
In:
D.C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar (1987)
the Supreme Court strongly criticised the practice of repeatedly re-promulgating Ordinances without placing the matter before the legislature.
Although the case concerned the Governor's Ordinance power under Article 213, its principle is highly relevant to the Ordinance mechanism generally.
In:
Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar (2017)
the Supreme Court delivered an important judgment concerning:
Re-Promulgation of Ordinances
The Court emphasised that repeated re-promulgation cannot become a substitute for legislative law-making.
The executive cannot use Ordinance power to:
Permanently Bypass the Legislature
The Supreme Court has recognised that Ordinance-making is subject to:
Judicial Review
The executive's satisfaction is not treated as completely immune from constitutional scrutiny.
Article 123 requires circumstances making it:
Necessary to Take Immediate Action
Therefore, the Ordinance mechanism is constitutionally linked to:
Urgency
rather than routine legislation.
Using Ordinances merely because:
Parliamentary Debate Is Inconvenient
is inconsistent with the constitutional purpose of the power.
The power is intended for:
Urgent Legislative Situations
Parliamentary recess alone does not automatically justify every Ordinance.
There must be:
Circumstances Requiring Immediate Action
The government remains politically accountable for an Ordinance.
Opposition parties can:
Yes.
An Ordinance can amend or modify an existing parliamentary law, provided:
Yes, an Ordinance may repeal or modify existing legislation where Parliament itself would have competence to do so.
However, the change remains subject to:
Temporary Ordinance Validity
unless converted into legislation.
No.
The Ordinance power cannot be used to make a:
Constitutional Amendment under Article 368
An Ordinance cannot simply:
Nullify a Judicial Judgment
by declaring a judicial decision invalid.
The legislature may, within constitutional limits, change the legal basis underlying a judgment, but it cannot directly exercise judicial power.
The Ordinance mechanism represents a limited overlap between:
Executive
and:
Legislative Functions
But this overlap is constitutionally authorised.
The Constitution contains safeguards:
Although Article 123 uses the expression:
President's Power
the practical political decision is taken by:
Council of Ministers
because India follows a parliamentary system.
The phrase:
President is satisfied
does not mean that the President independently formulates legislative policy.
The President acts within:
Article 74
and the parliamentary executive structure.
The Cabinet generally determines:
The President formally promulgates it.
URGENT SITUATION
↓
PARLIAMENT NOT SIMULTANEOUSLY IN SESSION
↓
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ADVISES
↓
PRESIDENT PROMULGATES ORDINANCE
↓
ORDINANCE HAS FORCE OF LAW
↓
PARLIAMENT REASSEMBLES
↓
ORDINANCE PLACED BEFORE BOTH HOUSES
↓
WITHIN SIX WEEKS
↓
PARLIAMENTARY ACTION
↓
ACT / DISAPPROVAL / CESSATION
67. Six-Week Calculation
Suppose:
Lok Sabha reassembles on 1 July
and:
Rajya Sabha reassembles on 5 July
The six-week period is counted from:
5 July
the later reassembly date.
68. Ordinance and Dissolution of Lok Sabha
An Ordinance may operate during a period when:
Lok Sabha is dissolved
provided the constitutional conditions concerning Parliament being not simultaneously in session are satisfied.
However, the constitutional procedure for parliamentary consideration must be followed when Parliament is reconstituted and reassembles.
69. Ordinance and Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha has an important role because the Ordinance must ultimately face:
Both Houses of Parliament
for continued legislative validity.
70. UPSC PRELIMS FACTS
Fact 1
Ordinance power of President:
Article 123
Fact 2
Ordinance is promulgated when:
Both Houses are not simultaneously in session
Fact 3
President's satisfaction:
Immediate Action Necessary
Fact 4
Ordinance has:
Same Force and Effect as Act of Parliament
Fact 5
Ordinance must be laid before:
Both Houses
Fact 6
Ordinance ceases:
Six Weeks After Reassembly
unless earlier ceased.
Fact 7
If Houses reassemble on different dates:
Later Date is Relevant
Fact 8
President can:
Withdraw Ordinance
Fact 9
Ordinance is subject to:
Judicial Review
Fact 10
Ordinance cannot:
Amend Constitution under Article 368
Fact 11
Re-promulgation to bypass legislature:
Constitutionally Problematic
Fact 12
Governor's equivalent power:
Article 213
UPSC PRELIMS TRAPS
Trap 1
President can promulgate an Ordinance only when both Houses are completely dissolved.
False.
Parliament merely needs to be:
Not Simultaneously in Session
Trap 2
If Lok Sabha is in session and Rajya Sabha is not, Ordinance cannot be issued.
False.
It can be issued because both Houses are not simultaneously in session.
Trap 3
Ordinance automatically becomes a permanent law.
False.
It is temporary unless replaced by legislation.
Trap 4
Ordinance must be approved within six weeks of its promulgation.
False.
The six-week period is calculated from:
Reassembly of Parliament
Trap 5
Six weeks is counted from the date of reassembly of the first House.
False.
Where the Houses reassemble on different dates, the relevant date is:
Later Reassembly
Trap 6
Ordinance has less legal force than an Act.
False.
While valid, it has:
Same Force and Effect as an Act of Parliament
Trap 7
President can promulgate Ordinance independently.
False in the normal parliamentary framework.
The President acts on:
Aid and Advice of Council of Ministers
Trap 8
Ordinance can amend the Constitution.
False.
Trap 9
Ordinance is immune from judicial review.
False.
Trap 10
Ordinances can be repeatedly re-promulgated indefinitely.
False.
Repeated re-promulgation to bypass Parliament has been strongly disapproved by the Supreme Court.
IMPORTANT SUPREME COURT JUDGMENTS
D.C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar (1987)
Principle
Repeated re-promulgation of Ordinances to avoid legislative scrutiny is:
Constitutionally Improper
UPSC Relevance
Ordinance + Parliamentary Democracy + Legislative Bypass
Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar (2017)
Principle
Re-promulgation cannot become a:
Parallel Source of Law-Making
The Ordinance power is temporary and subject to legislative control.
UPSC Relevance
Ordinance + Judicial Review + Legislative Supremacy
ORDINANCE — PRESIDENT vs GOVERNOR
President Governor
Article 123 Article 213
Union State
Parliament not simultaneously in session State Legislature not in session
President formally promulgates Governor formally promulgates
Council of Ministers advises State Council of Ministers advises
ORDINANCE vs VETO
Ordinance Veto
Article 123 Article 111
Temporary law Assent to Bill
Used when Parliament not simultaneously in session Used after Bill is passed
Creates temporary legal effect Determines whether Bill receives assent
Executive legislative power Legislative assent power
ORDINANCE vs EMERGENCY
Ordinance Emergency
Article 123 Articles 352, 356, 360
Temporary legislation Exceptional constitutional regime
Parliament not simultaneously in session Constitutional emergency conditions
Does not require Emergency May operate during normal times
MAINS RELEVANCE
71. Need for Ordinance Power
It provides:
Speed + Continuity + Urgent Legislative Response
72. Risk of Executive Overreach
Excessive Ordinance use can:
Bypass Parliament
Reduce legislative scrutiny
Weaken deliberative democracy
Increase executive dominance
73. Constitutional Balance
The power must balance:
Urgent Governance
with:
Parliamentary Accountability
74. Re-Promulgation Problem
Repeated Ordinances can transform an:
Exceptional Power
into:
Routine Executive Law-Making
This undermines parliamentary democracy.
75. Judicial Role
Judicial review ensures that:
Ordinance Power Is Not Unlimited
MAINS ANSWER FRAMEWORK
For:
"Discuss the constitutional significance and limitations of the President's Ordinance-making power."
Introduction
Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate Ordinances when Parliament is not simultaneously in session and circumstances require immediate legislative action. The power ensures continuity of governance but is subject to parliamentary and judicial safeguards.
Body
Need
Urgent legislation
Legislative vacuum
Administrative continuity
Safeguards
Temporary nature
Six-week rule
Parliamentary scrutiny
Judicial review
Constitutional limitations
Concerns
Executive bypass of Parliament
Re-promulgation
Reduced deliberation
Political misuse
Judgments
D.C. Wadhwa
Krishna Kumar Singh
Conclusion
The Ordinance mechanism is constitutionally necessary for exceptional situations, but its legitimacy depends on treating it as an emergency legislative device rather than a substitute for Parliament.
READY-MADE MAINS INTRODUCTION
"Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate Ordinances when Parliament is not simultaneously in session and immediate legislative action is necessary. Although this power ensures responsiveness during legislative recesses, its temporary nature and requirement of parliamentary scrutiny are essential to preserving India's parliamentary democracy."
READY-MADE MAINS CONCLUSION
"The Ordinance power is therefore a constitutional safety valve, not a parallel law-making system. Its restrained use, timely legislative replacement and avoidance of repeated re-promulgation are essential to maintaining the balance between executive efficiency and parliamentary accountability."
ONE-MINUTE REVISION
ARTICLE 123
↓
PARLIAMENT NOT
SIMULTANEOUSLY IN SESSION
↓
IMMEDIATE ACTION NECESSARY
↓
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ADVISES
↓
PRESIDENT PROMULGATES
↓
ORDINANCE
↓
FORCE OF LAW
↓
PARLIAMENT REASSEMBLES
↓
BOTH HOUSES CONSIDER
↓
SIX WEEKS
↓
CONTINUES ONLY THROUGH
PROPER LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
FINAL MASTER FORMULA
Ordinance Power
=
Article 123
Parliament Not Simultaneously in Session
Immediate Action Necessary
Council of Ministers' Advice
↓
President Promulgates
↓
Same Force as Act
↓
Temporary
↓
Parliamentary Scrutiny
↓
Six-Week Limit
↓
Judicial Review
↓
No Constitutional Amendment
↓
No Permanent Bypass of Parliament