The President is empowered to promulgate ordinances during the recess of Parliament under:

Article 123 gives the President the power to promulgate (issue) ordinances when either House of Parliament, or both, are not in session, if the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which make immediate action necessary. This is the most important legislative power of the President.

An ordinance has the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament. However, it is a temporary law, and there are several limits on this power:

It can be issued only when Parliament (or one House) is not in session.

It can be issued only on subjects on which Parliament can make laws.

The President acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

Every ordinance must be laid before both Houses of Parliament when they reassemble. It ceases to operate six weeks after Parliament reassembles, unless it is approved earlier. It can also stop operating earlier if both Houses pass resolutions disapproving it. So the maximum life of an ordinance is about six months and six weeks, since the gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot exceed six months.

The President can withdraw an ordinance at any time.

An ordinance cannot be used to amend the Constitution.

The 38th Amendment (1975) had made the President's "satisfaction" final, but the 44th Amendment (1978) removed this, so the decision can be challenged in court on grounds of mala fide. In the D.C. Wadhwa case (1987), the Supreme Court held that repeated re-promulgation of ordinances without placing them before the legislature is unconstitutional; in Krishna Kumar Singh (2017), it called re-promulgation a "fraud on the Constitution".

The Governor of a state has a similar power under Article 213 when the state legislature is not in session.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Article 213 is the Governor's ordinance power.
• ✗Article 72 is the President's pardoning power.
• ✗Article 110 defines a Money Bill.