Conditional Legislation

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CONDITIONAL LEGISLATION

Meaning
Frequently, the Legislature enacts a law conditionally leaving
it to the Executive to decide as to when it will come into
operation.
Its prospective operation or territorial extension or both may
depend upon the fixation of the date of commencement of the
Act by the government through a notification to this effect.
Its operative effect may be in relation to time or place r both
depending on the fulfilment of the condition.
The condition is laid down by the Legislature but the
Government is given the authority and discretion to determine
and to decide whether the event statutorily contemplated, has
happened or not or whether the contemplated expediency on
which the operation of the enactment depends has arisen or not.
The operation of the law follows the fulfilment of the condition.
May be the date of commencement be entirely left to the
Government. It was laid down that-
“ It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government
by notification in the Official Gazette appoint and different dates
may be appointed for different provisions of the Act.”
“The aim of all legislatures is to project their minds as far as
possible into the future, and to provide in terms as general as
possible for all contingencies likely to arise in the application of
the law.
But it is not possible to provide specifically for all cases and,
therefore legislation from the very earliest times and particularly
in modern times, has taken the form of conditional legislation,
leaving it to some specified authority to determine-
(i) The circumstances in which the law shall be applied, or
(ii) What its operation shall be extended to, or
(iii) The particular class of persons or goods to which it shall be
applied.”
In conditional legislation, law is full and complete when it leaves
the legislative chamber, but the operation of law is made de­
pendent upon the fulfillment of a condition, and what is
delegated to an outside body is the authority to determine, by the
exercise of its own judgment, whether or not the condition has
been fulfilled.
It would be a case of conditional legislation where the legislature
empowers an authority-

(a) To extend the duration of an Act within the maximum period fixed by
the legislature;
(b) To extend the existing laws to any territory;
(c) To determine the extent to which limits fixed by law should be
applied;
(d) To determine the time of applying law;
(e) To bring into force a special law if the Government deems fit or is
satisfied to do so in view of any contemplated situation.
(f) To bring an Ordinance into force if the State Government is satisfied
about existence of an emergency and declares it to be in force in the
State. The Ordinance provides for the es­tablishment of the special
courts the time and within the limits considered necessary by the State
Government.
The doctrine of Conditional Legislation was laid down in the
case of Empress v. Abdullah, 1878.
Their Lordship have observed that where plenary powers of
Legislation exist as to particular subjects in an Imperial or in
a Provincial Legislation they may be well exercised , either
absolutely or conditionally.
Other cases-
King Emperor v. Banwari Lal Sharma, 1945.
Banglore Weaving and Spinning Mills v. Banglore
Corporations, 1962.
State of Bombay v. Narottam Das, 1951.
Jatinder Nath Gupta v. Province of Bihar, 1949.
Inder Singh v. State of Rajasthan, 1957.
In the case of Jagriti v. State, 1994, A.P. High Court stated that a
legislature when enacting a legislation which is otherwise
complete, may leave it to an external authority to decide whether
the facts necessary for bringing into force the legislation are in
existence.
The power to extend the period of duration of legislation can also
be entrusted to any external agency to decide as to whether the
facts which were in existence and which justify enactment
continue to subsist. Such an enactment is conditional legislation
which cannot be assailed as enabling excessive legislation.
In Sardar Inder Singh v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1957, it was
laid down that when an appropriate Legislature enacts a law
and authorizes an outside authority to bring it into force in
such area or at such time as it may decide, that is conditional
and not delegated legislation.
Criticism
Constitutionally, it attacked on the ground that the authority and
the discretion given to the Government to extent an Act to a
territory or to a trade or industry or to any group of persons in
effect are the powers of making the law and therefore this cannot
be permitted.
It is said that the discretion is wide enough giving rise to a
possibility of abuse of the authority.
It may give unrestricted power to hold the authority of the law
for the reasons of administrative expediency and hence extends
the chance of defeating the legislation.
It is said that the power to extend the law to an area is in
essence a power to enact for that area. This is clearly a
legislative power. And hence should not be permitted.
But this contention was rejected by the Privy Council and held
that the Legislature vested with plenary legislative power could
enact a law conditionally. What it would not permit was
delegation of legislative power simpliciter by any measure
whatever.
Distinction between Conditional and Delegated Legislation
In the case of conditional legislation, the legislation is complete in itself but its
operation is made to depend on fulfillment of certain conditions and what is
delegated to an outside authority, is the power to determine according to its own
judgment whether or not those conditions are fulfilled. In case of delegated
legislation proper, some portion of the legislative power of the Legislature is
delegated to the outside authority in that, the Legislature, though competent to
perform both the essential and ancillary legislative functions, performs only the
former and parts with the latter, i.e., the ancillary function of laying down details
in favour of another for executing the policy of the statute enacted.
Conditional legislation contains no element of delegation of legislative power
and is, therefore, not open to attack on the ground of excessive delegation,
delegated legislation does confer some legislative power on some outside
authority and is therefore open to attack on the ground of excessive delegation.
In Sardar Inder Singh v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1957 it was laid down that
when an appropriate Legislature enacts a law and authorizes an outside authority
to bring it into force in such area or at such time as it may decide, that is
conditional and not delegated legislation.
Following this decision in State of T.N. v. K Sabanayagam, AIR 1998
the Supreme Court held-

“In the former the delegate's power is that of determining when a


legislative declared rule of conduct shall become effective : Hampton
and Co. v. U.S., (1927) 276 US 394, and the latter involves delegation
of rule-making power which constitutionally may be exercised by the
administrative agent. This means that the legislature having laid down
the broad principles of its policy in the legislation can then leave the
details to be supplied by the administrative authority. In other words
by delegated legislation the delegate completes the legislation by
supplying details within the limits prescribed by the statute and in the
case of conditional legislation the power of legislation is exercised by
the legislature conditionally, leaving to the discretion of an external
authority the time and manner of carrying its legislation into effect as
also the determination of the area to which it is to extent.
Thus when the delegate is given the power of making rules
and regulations in order to fill in the details to carry out and
subserve the purposes of the legislation the manner in which
the requirements of the statute are to be met and the rights
therein created to be enjoyed it is an exercise of delegated
legislation. But when the legislation is complete in itself and
the legislature has itself made the law and the only function
left to the delegate is to apply the law to an area or to
determine the time and manner of carrying it into effect, it is
conditional legislation."
In the case of Hamdard Dawakhana v. UOI 1960, the court
observed that “the distinction between the conditional and
delegated legislation is that- in the former, the delegate’s power
is that of determining when a legislative declared rule of conduct
shall become effective and the latter involves delegation of rule-
making power which may be exercised constitutionally by the
administrative agent. This means legislature after have laid down
the broad principles of its policy in the legislation can leave
details to be supplied by the administrative authority.”
“ Under delegated legislation, the delegate supplements the
legislation by supplying details within the limits prescribed by
the statute, on the other hand, in the case of conditional
legislation, the power of legislation is exercised by Legislature
conditionally leaving to the discretion of an external authority,
the time and manner of carrying its legislation into effect as also
the determination of area to which it is extended.”

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