Master10 Proprietary Question Bank - Automated scraping, spidering, or harvesting is strictly prohibited.
Indian Polity & Constitution25 Essential Exam Concepts
How an Ordinance Becomes a Law in India: Article 123, Approval & Process Facts
The mechanism through which an executive Ordinance transitions into a permanent Act of Parliament embodies the constitutional principle of legislative supremacy in India's parliamentary democracy. Promulgated by the President of India under Article 123 of the Constitution during parliamentary recess, an Ordinance possesses the identical legal authority and binding power of an Act. However, because an Ordinance originates as an executive decree bypassing parliamentary debate, the Constitution deliberately structures a rigorous, time-bound legislative gateway that every Ordinance must traverse upon the reassembly of Parliament to achieve permanent status on the statute book.
The legislative journey commences immediately when Parliament reconvenes. Under Article 123(2)(a), the text of the Ordinance must be formally laid on the table of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. In accordance with Rule 71 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, the Government must also lay an explanatory Statement outlining the specific urgent circumstances that justified promulgating an Ordinance rather than awaiting a normal legislative session. To convert the Ordinance into a permanent statute, a Minister introduces a regular legislative Bill containing identical or amended provisions. This replacement Bill must then undergo the complete, standard three-reading legislative process in both Houses, encompassing introduction, committee scrutiny, clause-by-clause consideration, debates, and voting.
Constitutional law imposes a strict deadline: the replacement Bill must be passed by both Houses and receive Presidential assent within six weeks from the date Parliament reassembled. If the two Houses reassemble on different dates, the six-week period is calculated from the later date. If passed by a simple majority in both Houses, the Bill is presented to the President for assent under Article 111, upon which it becomes a permanent Act of Parliament and the temporary Ordinance is formally superseded. Conversely, if Parliament passes resolutions disapproving the Ordinance, or if the six-week window elapses without legislative approval, the Ordinance automatically lapses and becomes void. This constitutional checkpoint guarantees that extraordinary executive lawmaking remains democratically accountable to the elected representatives of the people.