Question

Under constitutional jurisprudence in India, repeated re-promulgation of Ordinances without placing them before the Legislature was described by the Supreme Court as a “fraud on the Constitution” in which decision?

• A. Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1974 SC 2192
• B. Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar, (2017) 3 SCC 1
• C. D.C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar, AIR 1987 SC 579
• D. R.C. Cooper v. Union of India, AIR 1970 SC 564

Hint:

D.C. Wadhwa = "Fraud on the Constitution." Ordinance-making is for emergencies, not a way to bypass the elected Assembly or Parliament!

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The Ordinance-making power (Article 123/213) is an emergency power meant for exigencies, not a substitute for the legislative process.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- In D.C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar, the Supreme Court held that the re-promulgation of Ordinances without placing them before the state legislature is a subversion of the democratic legislative process and a "fraud on the Constitution."
- Note: While Krishna Kumar Singh (2017) later clarified and expanded on this by stating that ordinances can be judicially reviewed, D.C. Wadhwa is the seminal case that coined the phrase "fraud on the Constitution" in this specific context.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The phrase is famously associated with D.C. Wadhwa. Option (C) is correct.