BharatNotes Ordinance
nounUsage in a UPSC answer
When the executive resorts to the ordinance route to bypass a stalled Parliament, it risks converting an emergency provision into a routine instrument of governance, thereby eroding the principle of legislative deliberation that underpins parliamentary democracy.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
ordain (v.), ordination (n.), ordinance (n.), ordinances (n. pl.), ordained (adj./v. past)
Root
Latin ordināre = to put in order, from ordō = row, rank; via Old French ordenance = decree
Etymology
From Middle English ordinaunce, via Old French ordenance ("decree, command"), from Medieval Latin ordinantia, ultimately from Latin ordināre ("to put in order"), from ordō ("row, series, rank").
Memory Hook
Think "ORDER + -ance": an ordinance is an authoritative ORDER put into force — both share the Latin root ordo, "order, rank". (Do not confuse with "ordnance", meaning military weaponry.)
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
A temporary law made by the executive when the legislature is not in session. The conditions are strict on paper: the House must not be sitting, the President must be satisfied that circumstances require immediate action, and the ordinance carries the force of an Act but must be laid before Parliament and ceases to operate six weeks after reassembly unless approved. The judicial development is the examinable core. In D.C. Wadhwa the Court confronted a State that had kept ordinances alive for years by successive re-promulgation, and in Krishna Kumar Singh v State of Bihar in January 2017 a seven-judge bench held that re-promulgation without placing the ordinance before the legislature is a fraud on the Constitution, that laying it before the House is mandatory rather than directory, and that an ordinance which lapses does not create enduring rights. The President's satisfaction is itself open to review where mala fides or an absence of relevant material is shown, so the power is not immune from scrutiny.
Don’t Confuse It With
An ordinance is made by the President under Article 123 and by a Governor under Article 213, in each case only when the legislature is not in session. It is temporary, lapsing six weeks after reassembly unless approved, whereas an Act endures until repealed. Re-promulgation is the practice of reissuing a lapsed ordinance to keep it alive, held to be a fraud on the Constitution. A bill requires legislative passage, so the ordinance route substitutes executive satisfaction for legislative deliberation, which is why routine recourse to it is criticised.
Hindi Meaning
अध्यादेश (adhyādesh); पुनर्प्रख्यापन (punarprakhyāpan) for re-promulgation.
Common Questions
- What did Krishna Kumar Singh decide about ordinances?
- That re-promulgating an ordinance without placing it before the legislature is a fraud on the Constitution, that laying it before the House is mandatory, and that a lapsed ordinance creates no enduring rights.
- How long does an ordinance remain in force?
- It ceases to operate six weeks after the legislature reassembles unless approved before then, and it may be withdrawn earlier.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Prelims 2025 — Parliament
- Prelims 2018 — Emergency Provisions
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Ordinance” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation
