Ordinance-Making Power
Article 123
Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session and immediate action is necessary. An ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament but must be laid before both Houses and ceases to operate six weeks from reassembly unless replaced by an Act.
- Ordinances lapse automatically six weeks after Parliament reassembles unless a resolution disapproving it is passed earlier or a replacing Act is enacted
- The Supreme Court in D.C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar (1987) held that repeated re-promulgation of ordinances without placing them before the legislature is a fraud on the Constitution
- The May 2026 ordinance increasing judge strength is a stopgap; the Bill introduced now is the constitutionally required follow-up to give the change permanent statutory backing
● Tracked since July 20, 2026 · last seen August 06, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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