DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN
ADMINISTRATIVE AND
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
It is difficult in theory and impossible in practical
to make distinction between Legislative and
administrative actions.
But Committee on the Minister’s Power
distinguished between administrative and
legislative action on the ground that where the
former is the process of performing particular acts
or of making decisions involving the application
of general rules to particular cases, latter is the
process of formulating general rule of conduct
without reference to particular cases and usually
for future operation.
In the case of State of Haryana v. Ram Kishan, 1988, the
action of pre-mature termination of a mining lease was held to
be administrative, while in Union of India v. Cynamide India
Ltd, 1987, price fixation was held to be legislative function. In
this case, Supreme Court held that “With proliferation of
delegated legislation, there is tendency for the line between
legislation and administration to vanish into an illusion.”
 Adminnistatve action
 The executive has only delegated
legislative powers.
 The legislative power of executive is
flexible.
 It functions according to its present day
needs.
 The legislation made by executive
supplement the supreme legislation, but
it cannot supplant it.
 Griffith and Street propounded two
tests-
- i) Institutional test;
- (ii)The rest is administrative.
 (iii) Specific cases.
The power is given to executive to
meet the ‘specific circumstance’ and
‘specific case’ and the rule made by
such executive called executive power
Legislative action
 The Parliament has the supreme
legislative power.
 The legislative power of Parliament is
rigid.
 It looks to future.
 The legislation made by Parliament and
State Legislatures always superior than
the administrative legislation.
 Griffith and Street propounded two
tests-
- (i) Institutional test-
 Whatever is enacted by the Legislature
is ‘legislation’.
- (ii) General application-
 The legislature is empowered for the
purpose of ‘general application’, and
such act or rule is called legislative rule.
 In administrative orders,  In legislative actions,
there is need to follow principles of natural
the principles of natural justice are not required
justice. to be followed.
 Duty to give reason is  Duty to give reason is
must. not must.

Administrative action Legislative action