Supreme Court Strikes Down Repeated Re-Promulgation of Ordinances Without Legislative Approval

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court in Krishna Kumar Singh & Anr. v. State of Bihar & Ors. ruled that repeated re-promulgation of ordinances by State Governments, without placing them before the legislature, is unconstitutional and amounts to a fraud on the Constitution.

The case dealt with multiple successive ordinances issued on the same subject by a State Government — none of which were laid before the legislative assembly as required under Article 213(2) of the Constitution of India.

📌 Key Questions Before the Court

• Can the executive re-issue ordinances repeatedly without legislative scrutiny?

• Do ordinances create permanent rights once they lapse?

• What safeguards exist to prevent abuse of ordinance-making powers?

🧾 Supreme Court’s Key Observations

• Re-Promulgation Without Legislative Oversight Is Unconstitutional
  The Court held that issuing the same ordinance again and again without placing it before the legislature violates the spirit of Article 213 and subverts democratic accountability.

• Ordinances Do Not Create Permanent Rights
  The Court clarified that no enduring or irreversible rights can be claimed under an ordinance unless it is followed by a valid legislative enactment.

• Previous Judgments Overruled
  Earlier decisions — Bhupendra Kumar Bose (1962) and T. Venkata Reddy (1985) — that allowed for enduring legal effects from ordinances were overruled by the Court.

• Legislative Supremacy Reinforced
  The Constitution permits ordinances only as temporary measures in extraordinary circumstances. The ruling affirms that ordinance-making is not an alternative to the legislative process.

⚖️ Practical Implications

• Governments must exercise ordinance power with caution, ensuring legislative processes are followed at the earliest opportunity.

• Citizens, employees, or institutions cannot rely on rights granted under expired ordinances unless later validated by law.

• All actions taken under lapsed ordinances lose legal effect, unless saved by an Act passed by the legislature.

📚 Final Word

This ruling reinforces a fundamental principle of constitutional governance — that law must flow through proper legislative channels. The executive cannot bypass elected legislatures to enact or continue legal provisions through backdoor ordinances. The decision protects democratic institutions and ensures that no law can be enforced beyond its temporary life unless the legislature decides so.