ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC – ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND REASONS FOR ITS

GROWTH IN INDIA

Submitted by –
Upasana Chopra
L19BALB044
BA-LLB(H)
Batch – B

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 Table of Contents

S. No. Tittle Page No.

1. Abstract 3

2. Administrative Law – Meaning 4

3. Historical Perspective 5

4. Functions of Administrative Law 6

5. Reasons Behind the growth of the 6

Administrative Law –
• Change in State Policy
• Inadequate Judicial System
• Inadequacy with the Legislature
Process.
• Scope of Experiments
• Helps in Avoiding Technicalities
• Can Take Preventive Measures
• Can Take Effective Measures to
Enforce Decisions

6. Conclusion 9

7. Bibliography 10

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 Abstract
The paper put emphasis on the concept of Administrative law, the Administrative Law is the
branch of law which keeps the check over the functioning of the executive branch of the
government. It deals with the administrative actions of the government bodies and make sure
that all the authorities should work within the powers assigned to them. The administrative law
derives its authority from the Constitutional law itself which is considered as the grand norm
of the country. It ensures that no body working should be arbitrary in nature.

the paper further shows that the entire idea of administrative law was developed over time.
Earlier the main focus of the administrative bodies was on maintaining the law and order in
the country and collecting taxes but due to change in the society the shift was made from the
Police State to the Welfare State and main focus was laid down on maintaining the welfare of
the people- maintaining health facilities, sanitation facilities, education opportunities, equal
distribution of income and many more. This was the main reason which lead to the growth of
the administrative law in India.

Apart from the main reason, the paper further explains the other factors which lead to the
development of the administrative law. The inadequacy of the Judicial System and the
Legislature system to make the law lead to the growth of administrative law. The Judicial
System and the Legislature involves the detailed process of law which is a technical process
and involves lot of time whereas looking at the rules passed by administrative authorities, these
are flexible and can be modified looking at the changing needs of the society.

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 Administrative Law – Meaning
Administrative Law which is also called as the Public Law, is the branch of law which deals
with the administrative functions of the government. It is the branch which deals with the
executive branch of the government. It is the body of law which has been formed by agencies
and departments of the government which carries forward the law or implement the law passed
by the Parliament. When the legislature passes the law, it requires someone to implement those
laws, so the administrative bodies try to fill up those gaps1.

Sir Ivor Jennings defined Administrative law as the law which is related to Administration
body. It is one of the most widely accepted definition of the Administrative law. It explains the
powers and responsibilities of the administrative authorities2. Whereas William Wade defined
the Administrative Law in term of its objective. It states that the main objective is to keep the
government within the legal bounds and to protest the citizens against the abuse of the
government3.

This branch of law generally determines the powers and responsibilities of the administrative
bodies. This responsibilities basically includes the rule making power of the body, quasi-
judicial functions of administrative authority and many more. It generally governs the function
of executive and ensures that executive body treats people with equality4. It explains the
relationship between the government and the people. The entire administrative law is the part
of the Constitutional Law.

Looking at the definition given by MP Jain and SN Jain5, it states that this body of law deals
with functions, structure and power of the Administrative Law, the limitation over these powers
and what all rules have to be followed in exercising those powers. The definition also includes
the remedies that can be used by person in case of violation of their right. The definition given
by MP Jain is the broad definition as it includes every aspect. The main criticism of this
definition is that it excludes two things- Judicial Review and the concept of Delegated
Legislation.

However, the administrative branch of law is not the codified law, it is the judge made law
which has been developed through various judgements passed by the court6.

1
SP Sathe; Administrative Law; 7th Edition; Publication: LexisNexis.
2
Sir Ivor Jennings definition of Administrative Law. Sir Ivor Jennings was a Constitutional Critic and an expert
on the Constitutional Law.
3
Wade’s Seventh Edition and Recent English Administrative Law; Administrative Law Review; Volume 48, No.
1; Published by: American Bar Association
4
All You Need to Know About Administrative Law, IPleaders; Published on 26th June 2018.
5
MP Jain & SN Jain; Principles of Administrative Law; 8th Edition; Publication: LexisNexis.
6
MP Jain & SN Jain; Principles of Administrative Law; 8th Edition; Publication: LexisNexis.

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 Historical Perspective
The existence of the Administrative law could be traced back during the ancient times. Their
exists the centralised Administrative system. In the earlier times the states was regarded as the
police state which is also called as Lesis Fare policy. The main focus of the state was to
maintain law and order in the country instead of looking at the welfare rights of the people.
The King emphasised on three major things- collecting taxes, safeguarding the state from the
external aggression, and maintaining law and order in the society. There work was restricted
to these things only. It was held that there was minimum state intervention.

Earlier the contractual freedom was given to people- which means that rich people were
becoming even more richer. There exists the concentration of the wealth in some hands. There
was. unequal. Distribution of thee income. Weaker section was exploited by the people.
belonging to the upper class. A sense of discrimination was prevailing, working conditions for
both the classes were not same. The main focus of the state was on the idea of maximisation
of profits irrespective of the fact of the working conditions.

With the arrival of Britishers in India, new laws were formed. Several Act, Legislations and
Statutes were enacted by the British Parliament which generally deals with the public safety,
transport, health and labour relations in India. switch was made from the police state to the
welfare state which further led to the administrative developments in the country. During the
Post-Independence, State approach was adopted by India which increased the activities of the
state. With increase in the responsibilities and power of the state and the authorities so the
necessary focus was laid down on ‘Rule of Law’ and ‘Judicial Review of State Actions’.

The society transformed to the welfare state which means that the state has a positive role to
play in the development process. This philosophy of the state got embodied within the
Constitution of India. Part IV of the Indian Constitution mentions about welfare state. Article
38 of the Indian Constitution7 which states that the state will try to promote the welfare of the
people by promoting the idea of justice, social, economic and political equality. It further states
that it will try to reduce the inequalities among the people.

Therefore, it can said the Administrative Law has played an important role in the development
of the societies from the police state to the welfare state. Since, in order to have the existence
of the fair system in the country it is essential to have some law to keep check and balances
over the power given to the administration.

7
Article 38; The Indian Constitution, 1950

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 Functions of Administrative Law
The main function of the administrative law is to make sure that government authorities don’t
exceed its limit, it should work within the authority assigned to them and thus protecting the
rights of the individuals. The administrative authorities have been provided with wide powers
so it should not misuse it.

The other function of the administrative law is to provide the citizens with remedies in case of
violation of their rights. For this reason different tribunals have been established to provide
relief to the individuals. It further ensures that the government should be made accountable to
the people and should not work in an arbitrary manner.

Reasons Behind the Growth of the Administrative Law

To manage the complexities some kind of law is essential in order to ensure that there should
not be misuse of any power. There are several reasons for the growth of. The Administrative
law in India. These are as follows-

1. Change in the State Policy – There is a sudden change in the philosophy of the part
played by the state. Earlier the state played the negative role, i.e., it was regarded as the
police state. The only role of the state was confined with maintaining law and order in
the society and collecting taxes. After the Post-Independence the role state got changed
to the welfare state, positive policy was adopted.

The state now focused more on the framing of the policies, giving equal rights, health
facilities and promotion of trade practices. The main idea of the state. is too promote
the welfare of the people.

2. The Inadequate Judicial System to Decide all Kinds of Dispute – The existing
Judicial System was considered as inadequate system of the dispute resolution when it
comes to solving and settle the disputes. The judicial system involves a long and costly
process which includes a lot of formalities. These courts were already overburdened
with lot of cases and it was not possible for these courts to provide people with speedy
justice. Because of all this it was seen that the settlement of the important matters was
taking much more time than expected.

Further, the dealing with the important matters not only requires the interpretation of
the statutes but it also requires into looking the various other factors which was not
possible for the ordinary courts. the judges were already overburden with cases and
lack of judge expertise in that particular case. As a result of which the tribunals were
established like Income tax tribunals, tribunals which deal with labour law and many
more.

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 Now-a-days a lot of cases are solved by these tribunals. These tribunals have expertise
judges to handle the cases of complex problems and are possessed with different
techniques.

3. The Inadequacy with the Legislature Process – The working system of the legislative
authorities was also inadequate. It was not possible for the Parliament to frame all the
policies that are important for the working of the societies. The Parliament body had no
time to mention the detail provisions of the law, and even if in the situations the detailed
provisions were made, they were found to be inadequate and ineffective.

Therefore, there was the need to have support of the administrative authorities. These
authorities were responsible to frame the rules and policies as it was felt necessary to
delegate some of the powers. The example of this could be Air (Prevention and Control
of Pollution) Act, 19818, under this act we have an administrative body- Central
Pollution Air Authority. The main task of this body is to adopt the measures to control
pollution in the country.

If in the present scenario, the quality of air is getting verse, we cannot wait or expect
from the legislature to enact the law as law making is a long and lengthy process. So,
for this reason we require administrative authorities where these authorities have power
to make their own rules to control pollution.

4. Scope of Experiment in Administrative Law – In the administrative process, their

exists the scope of doing experiment. Experiment generally means to try something for
particular time duration. Unlike the rule passed by the legislature, it is not necessary to
carry forward the rule unless that particular rule has been declared as invalid or unless
the legislature itself says no to follow that rule.

In experiments the rule can be made and can be tried for some time and if felt necessary
that rule could be modified or altered at any point of time. Thus differentiating the
legislature from the administrative bodies, while the legislature are rigid in law making
process on the other hand administrative bodies functions flexibly. Experiments can be
done depending on the prevailing needs of the society.

The example of this could be odd even system9, under this system the individuals can
drive their private vehicles on the alternative days depending on the last digit of their
vehicle number. This was one of the experiment done by the government which was
later removed.

8
Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
9
Odd-Even Scheme in Haryana Likely from Next Week, Say Sources, NDTV News; Published on November 18,
2021, 11:54 pm IST.

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 5. Administrative Authorities helps to Avoid Technicalities – The administrative
authorities helps to avoid the basic technicalities as these authorities are not bound to
follow the rigid procedure while enacting the rules. Whereas on the other hand, the
courts and the Parliaments have to follow a rigid and a lengthy process while enacting
the laws which makes it a more technical process. It means that the administrative
authorities follow a functional approach rather than the legislative approach.

The Indian Judiciary involves the complex process thus making it impossible for the
courts to decide the cases without involving any formalities. Whereas the only thing
which administrative tribunals have to take into consideration while administrating
justice is that they should follow the principle of Natural Law. There is no strict
procedure which the administrative tribunals have to follow. The entire system of
administrative body is flexible and less technical.

6. Administrative Authorities Can Take Preventive Measures – The administrative

bodies have power to take preventive measures. These administrative tribunals don’t
have to wait like the regular courts for the parties to come up with the disputes to them.
In these situations, these administrative tribunals passes the rules which prove to be
more effective then punishing a person who has violated some rule.

The prevailing COVID situation could be the best example for this. According to the
guidelines issues by the administrative bodies, all public places should have a
sanitizer10. The main reason for this was to prevent the spread of COVID. These
authorities have power to enforce these preventive measures and for the effective
enforcement of the rules penalties are attached to it.

7. Administrative Authorities Can Take Effective Measures to Enforce its Decisions-

The administrative bodies have the power to take certain steps in order to make their
decisions enforced like their exists the power with them to revoke or suspend the licence
of a person in order to make him follow traffic rules.

Therefore, the above stated are the main reasons which led to the development and growth of
the administrative law in India. The law has been arisen out of necessity and because of the
sudden shift in the society. This system is less technical and provides flexibility in working.

10
Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting – Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools, and Homes.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/pdf/reopening_america_guidance.pdf

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 Conclusion
Therefore, it can be said that the administrative law is generally an uncodified and unwritten
law. It is considered as the judge made law which has been developed keeping in mind the
changing needs of the society and through various interpretations given by the courts. The
administrative law is considered as the part of the Constitutional Law which is also called as
the grand norm of the country. Constitutional Law deals with the structure of the organs of the
government namely Legislature, Executive and Judiciary whereas Administrative Law only
deals with the executive authorities and their functions. It generally governs with the
administrative actions of the state.

The main reason behind the growth and development of the administrative law is with respect
to the transformation of the state from the Police State to the Welfare State. Due to change in
time the needs of society was also changed and the focus was made on the health facilities,
education, employment opportunities, equal distribution of income, and proper sanitation
facilities.

The main function of the administrative law is to keep check on the governmental powers and
to check how the administrative authorities function. Also, it is not possible that to solve a
dispute between the government officials and the individuals to always rely on the statute, there
should be a proper law to solve such kind of disputes. Thus, administrative law governs the
working of the administrative bodies. It is a law which deals with the executive actions of the
government.

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 Bibliography

Books –
• SP Sathe; Administrative Law; 7th Edition; Publication: LexisNexis.
• MP Jain & SN Jain; Principles of Administrative Law; 8th Edition; Publication:
LexisNexis.
• CK Takwani; Lectures on Administrative Law; 7th Edition.

Sources –
• Research in Administrative Law; College of William & Mary Law School; William &
Mary Law School Scholarship Repository; 1964; By – E. Blythe Stason Jr.; Faculty
Publication.
• Administrative Law and Judicial Review of Administrative Actions Through Writs:
Grounds of Review; Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research;
ISSN: 2349 – 5162; Volume 9, Issue 2; February 2022.
• Constitutionalizing Administrative Law in the Indian Supreme Court: Natural Justice
and Fundamental Rights; Internal Journal of Constitutional Law; Volume 16, Issue 2;
April 2018.

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