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VOLUME 2                                                   SPRING 2022                                                 ISSUE 1

The Syin & Sern Law Review

ARTICLE

ANALYSIS OF DELEGATION OF LEGISLATIVE FUNCTION IN ADHERENCE TO THE CASE OF DELHI RACE CLUB LIMITED V. UNION OF INDIA

Kunal Yogesh Nadkarni*

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DOI

To be updated. 

Abstract

The Constitution of India has established the Parliament of India to act as the supreme legislature of the country. However, it is imperative that no modern legislature can possibly enact all the laws required to regulate the heterogeneous activities in the country independently. Thus, it emphasizes the need for delegation of legislative functions as indispensable and it ensures efficiency, effectiveness, flexibility, and adaptability in the functioning of the Legislation. Furthermore, the Parliament has the discretionary power to scrutinize and maintain authoritarian vigilance over the delegated legislation in view of ensuring that the laws are enacted in adherence to the provisions of the Parliament. “The ultimate power always remains in the delegator and is never renounced”.

 

The research paper will fundamentally focus on a detailed analysis of the case “Delhi Race Club Limited v. Union of India” in relation to the principle of Delegation of Legislative functions. It’s a well-settled principle that when a legislative function is delegated it must be backed by a legislative policy and a specific set of guidelines, otherwise, it will be deemed unconstitutional and ultra vires. Thus, the concept of Excessive Delegation will be examined in view to determine a reasonable relationship between the guidelines and the object of the act. Also, in view of the arbitrary and unconstrained power conferred, the limit of the permissible delegation will also be analysed which will facilitate the formulation of guidelines in the ambit of the provisions of the Parliament. The constitutional validity, scope, and limitations of the concept of Delegated Legislation will be explored with a view of ensuring smooth delegation of legislative functions, thus enhancing the efficiency of the Legislature.

©2021 The Author(s). Published by Syin & Sern on behalf of the Syin & Sern Law Review. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

 

* Mr. Kunal Yogesh Nadkarni is a fourth-year law undergraduate from Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad.

[1] Mansoor Ali, The Pillars of Indian Democracy- As they stand now, UdaipurTimes.com, ed. August 23, 2014.

[2] Robert M, Camille M, Historical Perspective on Delegated Legislation, 3 Special Committee on Statutory Instrument, October 22, 1969, https://www.ourcommons.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?Sec=Ch17&Seq=2&Language=E

[3] Kishan Prakash Sharma v. Union of India, March 19, 2001.

[4] The Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Birla Cotton Spinning and Weaving Mills, Delhi, A.I.R.1986 1232.

[5] Delegation of Legislative Power: The History of the Doctrine of Non-delegability, Cornell Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-1/the-history-of-the-doctrine-of-nondelegability

[6] J.B. Whitefield, Legislative Powers that May not be delegated, 2(20) Yale Law Journal, pp. 87-94, December 1910.

[7] John Salmond, Jurisprudence 9, Sweet & Maxwell Limited, 1947.

[8] P.V. Jois, Delegated Legislation and Exercise of Delegated Powers in India, 1982.

[9]Shrankhala Parwar, Delegated Legislation, Indian Legal Solution, November 6, 2019, https://indianlegalsolution.com/delegated-legislation/.

[10] INDIAN CONST. Article 312

[11] D.S. Grewal v. State of Punjab, A.I.R.1959, 512.

[12] Gwalior Rayon Mills Ltd. v. Assistant Commissioner of State, A.I.R. 1974 1660.

[13] The Essential Commodities Act, 1955, S 5.

[14] Saad.S, YP Rama, Conceptional Analysis of sub-Delegation: An overview, 3 International Journal of Law, pp. 75-79, May 2017.

[15] The Delhi Laws Act, 1912 v. The Part C States Act, 1950, A.I.R. 1951 332.

[16] Gwalior Rayon Mills Ltd. v. Assistant Commissioner of State, A.I.R.1974 1660.

[17] The Delhi Laws Act, 1912 v. The Part C States Act, 1950, A.I.R. 1951 332.

[18] Manasvin Andra, Excessive Delegation and Separation of Powers in India’s Right to Information Legislation, Adminlawblogorg, May 5, 2020, https://adminlawblog.org/2020/05/05/manasvin-andra-excessive-delegation-and-separation-of-powers-in-indias-right-to-information-legislation/

[19] Permissible Scope of Delegation of Legislative Power to an Administrative Agency, 8 Columbia Law Review, pp.1141-1144, December 1950.

[20] Jatindra Nath v. Province of Bihar, A.I.R. 1949 FC 175.

[21] Corporation of Calcutta v. Liberty Cinema, A.I.R. 1965 1107.

[22] M/S Holystar Natural Resources v. Union of India, Civil Writ Petition No. 7505 of 2013.

[23] C. H. Alexander, “Delegation of Legislative Power in India.”, 1 American Journal of Comparative Law, pp. 72–79, 1954.

[24] Queen v. Burah, 3 App Cas 889 (1877-78).

[25] H.R. Bhatia v. Union of India, A.I.R. 1970 SC 1453.  

[26] Sitaram Vishambhar Dayal v. State of Uttar Pradesh, A.I.R.1972 1168.

[27] Hamdard Dawakhana v. Union of India, A.I.R. 1960 SC  554.

[28] The Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954, S 3(d).

[29] M. Govindarajan, Constitutional Limit of Delegated Legislation, Taxmanagementindia.com, May 5, 2015, https://www.taxmanagementindia.com/visitor/detail_article.asp?ArticleID=6243

[30] State of Uttar Pradesh v. Renusagar Power Co. Ltd, A.I.R.1988 1737.

[31] Ajaib Singh v. Gurbachan Singh, A.I.R. 1965 PH 113.

[32] District Collector Chittoor v. Chittoor District Groundnut Traders Association, A.I.R. 1989 989.

[33] Kishan Prakash Sharma v. Union of India, March 19, 2001.

[34] State of Uttar Pradesh v. Renusagar Power Co. Ltd, A.I.R. 1998 1737.

[35] Sitaram Vishambhar Dayal v. State of Uttar Pradesh, A.I.R. 1972 1168.

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