India has a written Constitution which is the supreme law of the

land. Being the grundnorm of the legal system of the country, it

conditions and overrides all legislative and administrative actions.
Besides providing for functional organisation and consequential
growth in administrative process, the Constitution has also provided
for an elaborate control mechanism. The Constitution demarcates
the legislative and administrative power of the Union and the States
conferring on the courts, the power to review legislative and
administrative action and adjudge their constitutionality. All the
legislative actions of the administration have been expressly
brought by the Constitution within the purview of Article 13 by
defining ‘Law’ as including ‘order’, ‘bye-law’, ‘rule’ and ‘notification’
etc. having the force of law. All these features of the Constitution
influence and shape the nature and content of administrative law in
India.

Constitution
Statute is the principal source of administrative power.
Statute emanates from the Constitution. Under the
Constitution, law-making power has been given to
Parliament and State Legislatures. Administration is given
powers by statutes. All the statutes have to conform to
the constitutional patterns. Exercise of administrative
powers has to conform to statutory patterns. In England
as well in the United States, a good deal of legislation has
been enacted to provide for administrative procedures,
composition and procedures of tribunals, liability of state
and its bureaucracy and for strengthening the control on
the exercise of administrative powers. 

Statues
The ordinance-making power relates to the
legislative powers of the Chief Executive in
Union and States. Article 123 of the
Constitution of India which deals with the
legislative powers of the President empowers
the President to promulgate ordinances
during the recess of Parliament, and Article
213 confers a similar power on the Governor
to promulgate ordinances during the recess
of state legislature.

ORDINANCES
These provisions have secured considerable flexibility both to the
Union and to the State to enact laws to meet emergent situations
as also to meet circumstances created by laws being declared void
by courts of law. Grave public inconvenience would be caused if an
Act, like the Bombay Sales Tax Act, being declared void, no
machinery existed whereby a valid law could be promptly
promulgated. However, it must be remembered that under the
Indian Constitution a validating Act must stand the test of Part III
of the Constitution. Further it must be noted that the Ordinance
making power of the Chief Executive is not unlimited or unbridled.
It is provided under the Constitution that the President or the
Governor, as the case may be, can issue ordinances on the advice
of Council of Ministers. For the confirmation of ordinance approval
of the Houses is required. In this way, the power is subjected to
legislative control. 

Ordinance
The question whether the ordinance can be challenged if made on
collateral grounds remains open in view of the Supreme Court
decision in R.C. Cooper v. Union of India which is also known as
the  Bank Nationalisation case. Will the same test, as advocated
in the obiter by the court apply for a declaration of emergency.
The Madras High Court has, however, held on April 3, 1993 that
the dismissal of Patwa Government under Article 356 was invalid
because the emergency power under that Article was exercised
mala fide. This is a landmark decision which opens a new chapter
in the history of public law review. Later on in S.R. Bommai v.
Union of India, the Supreme Court has held that proclamation of
emergency on ground of failure of constitutional machinery under
Article 356 is subject to judicial review. Accordingly, Presidential
Rule in certain states was held to be unconstitutional. 

Cases
Law-making is the primary function of the
Legislature. Yet, in no country does the
legislature monopolise the whole of legislative
power. A good deal of legislation is made by the
administration under the powers conferred by the
Legislature. This type of administrative legislation
is called delegated or subordinate legislation. The
delegated legislation is subject to Judicial and
Parliamentary control. In this way, delegated
legislation is an important source of law. 

Delegated legislation
Sources of admin law