question- Discuss the essential conditions for exercise of the legislative powers by the governor. Discuss the legality of re-promulgation of ordinances by the governor without placing them before the Legislature.
answer - The essential conditions for exercise of the legislative powers by the governor are as follows:
The governor can exercise his legislative powers only on the aid and advice of the council of ministers headed by the chief minister, except in matters where he is required to act in his discretion by the Constitution or any other law.
The governor can exercise his legislative powers only when the state legislature is not in session. If the legislature is in session, he can only send messages to it under Article 175 of the Constitution.
The governor can exercise his legislative powers only when he is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action. This satisfaction is subjective and not justiciable.
The governor can exercise his legislative powers only for temporary purposes. An ordinance issued by him has the same force and effect as an act of the state legislature, but it ceases to operate after six weeks from the reassembly of the legislature, or before that if a resolution disapproving it is passed by the legislature.
The legality of re-promulgation of ordinances by the governor without placing them before the legislature is as follows:
Re-promulgation of ordinances by the governor without placing them before the legislature is illegal and unconstitutional. It violates the principle of separation of powers and undermines the authority of the legislature as the law-making body.
The Supreme Court has held in several cases, such as D.C. Wadhwa vs State of Bihar (1987), Krishna Kumar Singh vs State of Bihar (2017), etc., that re-promulgation of ordinances is a fraud on the Constitution and a subversion of democratic legislative processes. It amounts to creating a parallel source of legislation that bypasses the will of the people expressed through their elected representatives.
The Supreme Court has also laid down certain guidelines to prevent the abuse of ordinance-making power by the governor, such as placing every ordinance before the legislature at its first session after promulgation, giving reasons for promulgating an ordinance, explaining why it could not be introduced as a bill, etc.