UPSC Mains 2015 GS2 Q5 — Ordinance making power
Resorting to ordinances has always raised concern on violation of the spirit of separation of powers doctrine. While noting the rationales justifying the power to promulgate ordinances, analyze whether the decisions of the Supreme Court on the issue have further facilitated resorting to this power. Should the power to promulgate ordinances be repealed? (Answer in 200 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- analyze
- Scope keywords
- Resorting to ordinancesviolation of the spirit of separation of powers doctrinerationales justifying the powerdecisions of the Supreme Courtrepealed
- Implicit sub-parts
- Explain how Article 123/213 creates a tension between executive necessity and legislative supremacy.
- Categorize SC judgments into those that restricted misuse vs. those that indirectly permitted executive 'satisfaction'.
- Evaluate the 'necessity' vs. 'abuse' argument to conclude on the repeal question.
- Common pitfalls
- Failing to name specific landmark cases like D.C. Wadhwa or Krishna Kumar Singh.
- Focusing only on the 'abuse' of ordinances without acknowledging the 'rationales justifying' them as requested by the prompt.
- Taking an emotional stand for repeal without considering the legal vacuum it might create during emergencies.
- Ignoring the 'separation of powers' angle and turning it into a generic essay on executive overreach.
- Dimensions required
- ConstitutionalJudicial/LegalDemocratic/ParliamentaryAdministrative
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate 30 words to the doctrine of separation of powers and rationales. Devote 100 words to the analysis of Supreme Court cases (Wadhwa, Cooper, and Krishna Kumar Singh) and their impact on executive behavior. Use the final 70 words to argue against repeal while proposing safeguards like mandatory 'laid before' compliance.
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