The Article 123 of the Constitution of India is a provision that grants the President of India the power to promulgate Ordinances. An Ordinance is a temporary law that carries the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament. This power originated from Section 72 of the Government of India Act, 1935, which gave the Governor-General analogous emergency law-making authority, and its lineage traces back to the Indian Councils Act of 1861. It was retained in the Constitution to address situations demanding immediate legislative intervention when the legislature cannot be convened.
The mechanism of Article 123(1) requires two conditions: at least one House of Parliament must not be in session, and the President must be satisfied that circumstances exist rendering immediate action necessary. The President acts on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, meaning the power is effectively exercised by the Union Cabinet. An Ordinance must be laid before both Houses of Parliament when they reassemble, and it automatically ceases to operate at the expiration of six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament, unless it is approved earlier. The President can also withdraw an Ordinance at any time under Article 123(2)(b).
This provision connects to Article 213, which grants the parallel ordinance-making power to the Governor at the state level. A significant change occurred when the 38th Amendment (1975) made the President's "satisfaction" non-justiciable, but the 44th Amendment (1978) deleted this bar, restoring the possibility of judicial review. Furthermore, the Supreme Court, in D.C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar, concluded that the practice of re-promulgation of ordinances is unlawful and a fraud on the constitution. Article 123(3) clarifies that an Ordinance is void if it makes any provision that Parliament would not be competent to enact.