DELEGATED LEGISLATION IN INDIA: EVOLUTION, CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND JUDICIAL CONTROL A PRE- AND POST-CONSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Author

M.Ramana


Abstract

 Delegated legislation, under which the legislature entrusts law-making power to the executive or other subordinate authorities, is now an indispensable part of the modern administrative state. In India its origins lie in the colonial period, when successive Government of India Acts steadily widened executive rule-making power and courts, most notably in Queen v. Burah (1878), laid the early doctrinal foundations through the idea of conditional legislation. With the Constitution of 1950, delegated legislation took on a new constitutional character within a framework of parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and an implicit separation of powers. In re Delhi Laws Act (1951) settled the doctrine that the legislature may delegate “non-essential” functions but cannot abdicate its “essential legislative functions”, fixing the parameters of later judicial review. This paper traces the evolution of delegated legislation in India across the pre- and post-constitutional periods, examines the constitutional provisions, parliamentary controls and judicial doctrines of excessive delegation and ultra vires, and, after assessing contemporary challenges such as skeleton legislation and Henry VIII clauses, offers recommendations for reform.



Keywords

Delegated legislation; Essential legislative function; Excessive delegation; Judicial review; Parliamentary control; Conditional legislation; Constitution of India.



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References


Books and Articles

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  • Government of India Act 1935.
  • General Clauses Act 1897.
  • Minimum Wages Act 1948.
  • Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.
  • Disaster Management Act 2005.
  • Statutory Instruments Act 1946 (UK).

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