Administrative
Law
Twenty-seven chapter notes covering the law that disciplines the executive — delegated legislation and its judicial review, principles of natural justice, administrative tribunals, the doctrine of legitimate expectation, judicial review of administrative action, writ jurisdiction, and the law of State liability. Doctrine first, statute second, leading case third.
Disciplining the executive — the doctrines that hold administration to law.
Administrative law is the field that disciplines the modern executive. As the State expanded into welfare, regulation, and licensing, the courts developed a body of doctrine that holds administrative action to standards of legality, rationality, and procedural fairness. The doctrines — audi alteram partem, nemo judex in causa sua, the rule against bias, the doctrine of legitimate expectation, the Wednesbury principle of unreasonableness, the proportionality test — are common-law inventions adapted to Indian conditions through Article 14, Article 21, and the Article 226 writ jurisdiction.
These notes anchor every chapter to a doctrine — the central principle, the leading Indian case, the constitutional source. The two doctrinal pillars are natural justice (Maneka Gandhi) and judicial review of administrative action (E.P. Royappa, Kraipak, Wednesbury). The procedural machinery — administrative tribunals, the writ jurisdiction, public interest litigation — sits inside this doctrinal frame.
Each chapter is designed to be read in twelve to fifteen minutes and to leave the reader with the doctrine, the constitutional or statutory source, the test laid down by the Supreme Court, the standard of judicial review, and the leading authority.
How to read these notes
Start with the doctrine.
Every chapter opens with the relevant administrative-law doctrine — natural justice, legitimate expectation, Wednesbury, proportionality, promissory estoppel against the State, public-purpose review. Read the doctrine first, then the leading case, then the test.
Identify the standard of review.
Administrative review operates on multiple standards. Wednesbury asks if no reasonable authority could have reached the decision. Article 14 arbitrariness asks if the decision is non-arbitrary. Proportionality asks if the means are proportionate to the end. Identifying the right standard is the first analytical move.
Test on the leading case.
If you can restate the holding of Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, E.P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu, or A.K. Kraipak v. Union of India in two sentences, you understand the chapter. If not, return to the statutory section and rebuild from there.
All 27 chapters, in 6 groups
Sequenced through the natural structure of the subject — every chapter sits in a doctrinal cluster.Foundations & Sources
What administrative law is and where it comes from
The definition of administrative law, the distinction from constitutional law, the rule of law and Dicey’s three propositions, the separation of powers in the Indian Constitution, the kinds of administrative action — quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial, purely administrative.
Delegated Legislation
Rule-making by the executive
The doctrine of delegated legislation, the constitutional limits including the prohibition on delegation of essential legislative function, the rule against excessive delegation, the procedural requirements of publication and consultation, judicial review of delegated legislation, and the role of the Subordinate Legislation Committee of Parliament.
Sources of Administrative Law
ADM · 06Classification of Administrative Functions — Quasi-Legislative, Quasi-Judicial, Administrative
ADM · 07Delegated Legislation — Need, Constitutionality, Limits (Re Delhi Laws Act)
ADM · 08Conditional Legislation
ADM · 09Sub-Delegation and Henry VIII Clauses
Principles of Natural Justice
Audi alteram partem, nemo judex in causa sua
The two limbs of natural justice — the rule against bias (nemo judex in causa sua) and the right to be heard (audi alteram partem). The kinds of bias — pecuniary, personal, official. The content of the hearing — notice, opportunity to represent, reasoned decision. The Maneka Gandhi expansion of natural justice into Article 21.
Parliamentary Control over Delegated Legislation
ADM · 11Judicial Control over Delegated Legislation
ADM · 12Administrative Adjudication — Tribunals, Domestic Tribunals
ADM · 13Principles of Natural Justice — Audi Alteram Partem and Nemo Judex
ADM · 14Bias — Personal, Pecuniary, Subject-Matter, Departmental
Judicial Review of Administrative Action
Wednesbury, proportionality, legitimate expectation
The grounds of judicial review — illegality, irrationality (Wednesbury), procedural impropriety, proportionality. The doctrine of legitimate expectation, both procedural and substantive. The doctrine of promissory estoppel against the State. Judicial review of contractual and policy decisions of the State.
Right to Hearing — Components, Exceptions
ADM · 16Reasoned Decisions and Speaking Orders
ADM · 17Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation
ADM · 18Administrative Discretion — Failure to Exercise, Abuse, Excess
ADM · 19Judicial Review of Administrative Action — Grounds (Wednesbury, Proportionality)
Writ Jurisdiction & Tribunals
Articles 32 and 226 + administrative tribunals
The five writs — habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, quo warranto — with their conditions and limits. Locus standi and the public-interest litigation expansion. Administrative tribunals under Article 323A and 323B with the L. Chandra Kumar limitation on excluding writ jurisdiction. The role of the Central Administrative Tribunal and other specialised tribunals.
State Liability, Public Corporations & Wrap-Up
Vicarious liability, ombudsman + reference
The doctrine of State liability for tortious acts — the sovereign-non-sovereign distinction (now largely abandoned). The State’s contractual liability under Article 299. Public corporations and their amenability to writ jurisdiction. The institution of the Ombudsman and the Lokpal-Lokayuktas framework. The landmark Supreme Court decisions on administrative law.