Oversight and monitoring of executive actions in India during the pandemic : A case of absentee parliament

Executive decree through delegated legislation had been the principal governance mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, with governments resorting to the rule of and by delegated legislation to an evolving situation. Although there was a genuine need to respond to the pandemic quickly, the breadth of the executive decrees and the complete lack of monitoring of these powers by the Indian Parliament was surprising. Given that the parliament’s core role is law-making and monitoring executive action, the absence of parliament during a time of crisis raises questions of institutional resilience, readiness and adaptability. There is also concern if there are structural issues and deficiencies in the Indian Parliament’s monitoring and oversight functions of the executive. This paper investigates the Indian Parliament’s powers to examine and monitor executive action and its shortcomings during the pandemic. The paper also considers how the right scrutiny principles and oversight frameworks can be strengthened in India.