THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-January 7, 2017- Topic 1

Clamping down on Ordinance Raj

Both superior courts and constitutional functionaries have routinely deprecated the propensity of governments to take the ordinance route for mere political expediency. The temptation to use the power vested in the President and the Governors under Articles 123 and 213 of the Constitution is generally a result of one of the following three reasons: 


reluctance to face the legislature on particular issues, fear of defeat in the Upper House where the government may lack the required numbers, and the need to overcome an impasse in the legislature caused by repeated and wilful disruption by a vociferous section of the Opposition. The verdict of a seven-member Bench of the Supreme Court breaks new ground in highlighting the constitutional limitations on the cavalier resort to ordinances. The Supreme Court had already declared in 1986, in D.C. Wadhwa, that repeated re-promulgation of ordinances was unconstitutional. Now, in Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar, it goes deeper and concludes that the failure to place an ordinance before the legislature constitutes abuse of power and a fraud on the Constitution. It noted in this case that a 1989 ordinance by which the State government took over 429 Sanskrit schools in Bihar was promulgated several times until 1992, but not once tabled in the State Assembly.

The judgment widens the scope of judicial review of ordinances. The court can go into whether the President or Governor had any material to arrive at the satisfaction that an ordinance was necessary and to examine whether there was any oblique motive. The judgment will be welcomed by those who believe in constitutional propriety, legislative control over lawmaking and the larger ethical basis for the exercise of power in any circumstance. However, it is not always that the ordinance route can be neatly explained as a cynical move to privilege political expediency over parliamentary accountability. While contending that ordinances should be issued only to meet certain exigencies and under compelling circumstances, it is equally important to understand that disruption as a parliamentary tactic plays a significant role. A dysfunctional House sometimes constitutes a compelling circumstance in itself. Generally, it is the combination of Opposition obstructionism and government obstinacy in not making any concessions to those across the aisle that derails legislative business and leads to ordinances. The courts can only define the boundaries between the use and abuse of power, but it is up to parties in the legislature to observe the limits of constitutional propriety and show that they have both the time and the will to enact laws.

    Vocabulary

Deprecate: express disapproval of.

Example: He sniffed in a deprecating way

Synonyms: deplore, abhor, disapprove of, frown on, take a dim view of, take exception to

Propensity: an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way.

Example: A propensity for violence

Synonyms: tendency, inclination, predisposition, proneness, proclivity, readiness

Temptation: a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.

Example: He resisted the temptation to call Celia at the office

Synonyms: desire, urge, itch, impulse, inclination

Reluctance: unwillingness or disinclination to do something.

Example: She sensed his reluctance to continue

Synonyms: unwillingness, disinclination, hesitation, wavering, vacillation

Impasse: a situation in which no progress is possible, especially because of disagreement; a deadlock.

Example: The current political impasse

Synonyms: deadlock, dead end, stalemate, standoff, standstill, halt, stoppage

Vociferous: a person or speech vehement or clamorous.

Example: He was a vociferous opponent of the takeover

Cavalier: showing a lack of proper concern; offhand.

Example: Anne was irritated by his cavalier attitude

Synonyms: offhand, indifferent, casual, dismissive, insouciant

Oblique: neither parallel nor at a right angle to a specified or implied line; slanting.

Example: We sat on the settee oblique to the fireplace

Synonyms: slanting, slanted, sloping, at an angle, angled

Exigency: an urgent need or demand.

Example: Women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it

Synonyms: need, demand, requirement, necessity; urgency

Obstructionism: the practice of deliberately impeding or delaying the course of legal, legislative, or other procedures.

Example: The party surely dread the kind of obstructionism they themselves practiced during the last Congress.

Obstinacy: the quality or condition of being obstinate; stubbornness.

Example: His reputation for obstinacy

Synonyms: stubbornness, inflexibility, intransigence, intractability, obduracy