CONDITIONAL LEGISLATION:
SC case Hamdard Dawakhana (Wakf) Lal ... vs Union Of India And
Others
The distinction between conditional legislation and delegated legislation is this that
CL: in the former the delegate's power is that of determining when a legislative
declared rule of conduct shall become effective; Hampton & Co. v. U.S. (1)
DL :and the latter involves delegation of rule making power which
constitutionally may be exercised by the admin- istrative agent.
DL: 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
CL: 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 extend;
(The Queen v. Burah (2 ); Russell v. The Queen (3); King-Emperor v. (1) 276 U.S.
394. (2) (1878) 3 App. Cas. 889. (1882) 7 App. Cas. 829, 835.
Benoarilal Sarma (1);7Sardar Indar Singh v. State of Rajasthan7(2).
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.
REASONS WHY CL COME INTO THE PLAY:
To put it in the language of another American case: (In Lockes Appeal 72 Pa.
491 ; Field v. Clark 143 U. S.)
The proper distinction there pointed out was this:
" The legislature cannot delegate its power to make a law, but it can make a law to
delegate a power to determine some fact or state of things upon which the law
makes or intends to make its own action depend. There are many things upon which
wise and useful legislation must depend which cannot be known to the law making
