Administrative law is a new area of law in India. It is vast and complex in nature and deals with some interesting topics. One amongst them is delegated legislation. In layman’s language delegated means “power or authority given to”. As we know that separation of powers in India is not in a strict sense, hence the legislative or the executive have the authority to delegate power to make laws and execute them.

Hence delegated legislation can be defined as a legislation made by a body or a person apart from the sovereign in Parliament deriving its powers from the sovereign itself. There are 2 types of delegated legislations-

1. Exercise of power by a subordinate agency of the legislative power delegated to it by the legislature.
2. The subsidiary rules that are made themselves by the subordinate authority in pursuance of powers given by the legislature

In the first case, it means the authority making the news laws and powers are subordinate to the legislature. This gives a hit about the supreme and subordinate legislation relationship. This further means that the subordinated powers are kept under the check of the legislature that is the supreme power.

In the second case, the statement means that the powers are created and vested in the subordinate body, that has derived itself from the legislature that is supreme body. This can be taken in a sense that the subordinate body has a power of its own. If the supreme body thinks apt to add onto to points, then they can do so.

For example, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 was made with the object to provide a standard minimum wage to all the employees and workers. It includes all the laws, bye- laws, rules and regulations. In this, all sections have a provision that if and when the Central Government feels apt and necessary they can bring in changes by way of publishing a notification.

WHY DID DELEGATED LEGISLATION COME INTO PICTURE?

1. Time Management– It was discovered and understood that the parliament cannot always sit making and working upon laws. There had to be some division of work and hence to increase the scope of research and to make proper bye- laws, rules and regulations, there was a support to bring up delegated legislations.
2. Details– If we investigate the parliament, the parliamentarians and the ministers holding the portfolio are not necessary knowing the crux and in-depth knowledge about the subject. Hence experts may be required to help in framing laws in these subjects. Therefore, the executive powers are given to the experts. Atomic energy, defense, natural gas etc.
3. Flexibility– Legislations made sometime cannot foresee the dangers and obstacles that come over a period. On top of that, legislations are cumbersome and complex to be amended and repealed. But when it is under delegated legislation then it can be handled swiftly and effectively.
4. Experimentation– the delegated legislation gives an amount of freedom for the legislation to experiment on the effect of various laws on the corresponding issues. For example, during the second wave of Covid in Mumbai, the traffic police monitored and restricted the movement of vehicles by giving them color coded stickers. A rule was bought that vehicles moving on road without these stickers and a proper reason would be penalized. Now after the second wave subsided a bit, this rule was revoked.
5. Emergency– In situations like national emergency, it is probably impossible for the legislature to sit, discuss, pass, and enact bills in such a short period of time. Therefore to give a broader prospect to laws passed, and during the aftermath of the World Wars the delegated legislations gained prominence.
6. Complex nature– administration is a very complex matter as there is not one sphere but there are various aspects to be considered. By resorting to the traditional legislation approach it can frustrate the actual need of the laws. The inclusion of executive to the delegated legislation gives a progress and a step towards establishment of a welfare state.

With the progress and development of the administrative law, I think delegated legislation was necessary to be bought in due to two reasons- to decongest the legislature to an extent, to help divide and gain expertise with the help of experts to make apt laws.

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