The most notable and important development of the modern state is the rapid

growth of Administrative law. The growth which took place in the 20th century
can be considered as a radical change. The role and the functions of the state
have undergone an extreme alteration. There is a multiplication of government
functions. The state which is functioning today act as a progressive democratic
state it as to make sure whether the essential needs of the citizens are full
filled by the state.

It as to ensure Social peace and security, control the over production,

manufactures and distributes essential commodities, ensures equal pay for
equal work it should work on the improvement of slums, health and education
of the citizens the modern state takes care of its citizen till their existence
inside the state. Such kind of development have increased the reach and scope
of Administrative law. It is the law which governs the duties, powers and also
the manner in which those powers are executed. Administrative law limits the
authorities from using their powers in an abusive manner.

Determining the Reasons for the Growth of Administrative law which helps in
Analyzing whether such growth has witnessed an efficient functioning of the
Administrative authorities. Administrative law developed principles which
assist to ensure that the Administrative or public authorities works in a legal,
reasonable and efficient manner. This article is mainly concentrated on
knowing the reasons for the growth of Administrative law with a brief
introduction to the subject as well as the chronicle of administrative law and
it's functioning, through which a better understanding of Administrative can be
gained and also the need for administrative law can be known.

Introduction:
In India there present several Administrative bodies appointed by the Central
or the State government to ensure a proper and systematic functioning of
Government Agencies and Public Enterprises established either by the state or
the central governments. Administrative agencies can be shortly classified into
three the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary All the administrative
activities can be covered under these three main heads. It becomes necessary
to keep an eye on these Administrative Agencies. to regulate the activities of the
Administrative Authorities the concept of Administrative law was introduced.

Administrative law deals with the powers of the Administrative authorities, the
manner in which the powers are exercised and the remedies which are
available to the aggrieved persons when those powers are abused by these
authorities. Administrative law is a part of constitutional law and all concerns
of administrative law are also concerns of constitutional law. The main object
of the study of administration law is to unravel the way in which these
administrative authorities could be kept within their limits so that the
discretionary powers may not be turned into arbitrary powers.1
Chronicle of Administrative Law:
Administrative law is not a codified, document or well-defined law. It is
essentially unwritten, uncodified or a judge-made law. The evidence of
administrative law can be evidenced even in the ancient times. The concept of
dharma ruled and observed by the kings and administrators. The basic
principles of natural justice and fair play were followed by the kings and
officers as the administration could be run only on those principles accepted by
dharma, but still there was no administrative law in existence in the sense in
which it is studied today.

After the establishment of the East India Company and the rule of British rule
in India, the powers of the government had increased. Many Acts, statutes and
legislations were passed by the British government regulating public safety,
health, morality, transport and labour relations2. The practice of granting
administrative license began with the state with the Stage Carriage Act 1861.

The first public corporation was established under the Bombay Port Act, 1873.
Delegated legislation was accepted by the Northern India canal and Drainage
Act,1873and the Opium Act, 1878. Proper and effective steps were taken to
regulate the trade and traffic in explosives by the Indian Explosives Act,
1884.In many statutes, provisions were made regarding holding of permits and
licenses and for the settlement of disputes by the administrative authorities
and tribunals.

In the present century, social and economic policies of the government had
significant impact on private rights of citizens, e.g. housing, employment,
planning, education, health, service, pension, manufacture of goods etc.,
Traditional legislative and judicial system could not effectively solve these
problems. It resulted in increase in delegated legislation as well as tribalization.

Administrative law thus became a living subject. Since independence, the

activities and the functions of the government have further increased. Under
the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Minimum wages Act, 1948, the factories
Act, 1948 and the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, important social
security measures have been taken those employed in industries. The
philosophy of a welfare state has been specifically embodied in the Indian
constitution. In constitution itself provisions are there to secure social,
economic and political justice, equality of status and opportunity to all citizens.

The ownership and control of material resources of the society should be so

disturbed as to best serve the common good. The operation of the economic
system should not result in the concentration of wealth and means of
production with few. For the implementation of all objects, the state is vested
with the power to impose reasonable restrictions even on the fundamental
rights guaranteed by the constitution. While interpreting all these Acts and the
provisions of the constitution, the judiciary started taking into consideration
the objects and ideals of social welfare3.

In Joseph Kuruvilla Vellukunnel vs RB I4, the Supreme Court held that

under the banking companies Act, 1949, the Reserve Bank was the sole judge
to decide whether the affairs of a banking company were being conducted in a
manner prejudicial to the depositors interest and the court had no option but
to pass an order of winding as prayed for by the reserve bank. In Javid Rasool
Bhat vs state of J&K, the Supreme Court observed that a member of the
Selected Committee can even ask irrelevant questions to explore the candidates
capacity to detect irrelevancies5.

Definitions of Administrative Law:

 Ivor Jennings has defines: Administrative law is the law relating to the
administration. It determines the Organaisation, powers and duties of
the administrative authorities. This is the most widely accepted definition
6.

 According to wade , administrative law is the law relating to the control

of Governmental power. according to him, the primary object of
administrative law is to keep powers of the government with in their legal
bounce so as to protect the citizens against their abuse. The powerful
engines of authority must be preventive from running amok 7.

 According to K.C.Davis administrative law is the law concerning the

powers and procedures of administrative agencies, including especially
the law governing judicial review of administrative action 8.

 According to garner also adopts the American approach advocated by

K.C.Davis. According to him administrative law may be describe as those
rules which are recognized by the courts as law and which relate to
regulate the administration of government 9.

 According to Griffith and Street, the main object of administrative

law is the operation and control of administrative authorities.
It must deal with three aspects:

i. What sought power does the administration exercise?

ii. What are the limits of those powers?
iii. What are the ways in which the administration is contained within
those limits?
Functions of Administrative Law:
The primary function of administrative law is to keep governmental powers
within the limits of law and to protect private rights and individual interests.
As already noted, the scope of activities of the government have expanded.
Today the state is the protector, provider, entrepreneur, regulator and arbiter.
Rulemaking power and an authority and an authority to decide are described
as effective and powerful weapons of administration.

All powers have two inherent characters:

1. They are not absolute or unfettered, and

2. They are likely to be abused. Administrative law attempts to control the
powers of the government, and its agencies.

To achieve the object Administrative law provides an effective mechanism and

adequate protection. It helps to bring a balance between two conflicting forces
individual rights and public interest.

Reasons for the Growth of Administrative Law:

The following factors are responsible for the growth of administrative law:

 There is a radical change in the philosophy of the role played by the

state. The negative policy of maintaining law and order and social welfare
is changing. The state has not confined its scope to the traditional and
minimum functions of defense and administration of justice, but has
adopted the positive policy and as a welfare state has undertaken to
perform varied functions 11.

 The judicial system was proved to be an inadequate to decide and settle

all types of disputes. It was slow, costly, inept, complex and formalistic.
It was already overburdened and it was not possible to expect speedy
disposal of even very important matters. The important problems could
not be solved by mere literally interpreting the provisions of some
statutes, but required consideration of various other factors and it could
not be done by the ordinary courts of law. Therefore, industrial tribunals
and labour courts. Were established, which possessed the techniques
and expertise to handle these complex problems.

 The legislative process was also inadequate. It had no time and

technique to deal with all the details. It was impossible for it to lay down
detailed rules and procedures, and even when detailed provisions were
 laid down by the legislature, they have found to be defective and
inadequate. Therefore, it was necessary to delegate some powers to the
administrative authorities.

 There is scope for experiments in administrative process. Here unlike, in

legislation, it is not necessary to continue a rule until commencement of
the next session of the legislature. Here a rule can be made , tired for
some time and if it is defective, can be altered or modified within a short
period. Thus, legislation is rigid in character , while the administrative
process is flexible.

 The administrative authorities can avoid technicalities. Administrative

law represents functional rather than a theoretical and legislative
approach. The traditional judiciary is conservative, rigid and technical. It
is impossible for courts to decide cases without formality and
technicality. Administrative tribunals are not bound by rules of evidence
and procedure and they can take a practical view of the matter to decide
complex problems.

 Administrative authorities can take preventive measures. Unlike regular

courts of law, they do not have to wait for parties to come before them
with disputes. In many cases, these preventive actions may prove to be
more effective and useful than punishing a person after he has
committed a breach of law. As freeman says, Inspection and grading of
meat answers the consumer's need more adequately than does a right to
sue the seller after the consumer injured 12.

 Administrative authorities can take effective steps for the enforcement of

the aforesaid preventive measures e.g. suspension, revocation and
cancellation of license, destruction of contaminated articles etc., which
are not generally available through regular courts of law 13

Conclusion:
The Role of administrative law is to limit the powers of the government agencies
and keep a check in on the administrative authorities. it is not always possible
to rely upon some general statutes for rising disputes between the individuals
and the public authorities thus there should be a proper law to govern such
disputes, Administrative law act as the proper law which governs the
administrative actions.
Reasons for the Growth of Administrative Law:
The following have been the main reasons for the growth of Administrative Law-

(1) Impact of Industrialization and Urbanization- Due to the impact of industrialization and urbanization, the philosophy of individualism which remained very popular during the 18th and
19th centuries, suffered a decline. The Industrial Revolution led to the concentration of production in the hands of a few capital owners. This resulted in a situation of helplessness and virtual
starvation of the working masses. Under these circumstances, the state came forward to assume the role of a custodian committed to promoting the welfare of the exploited people. This could be
possible only through appropriately regulating and restricting the latter’s rights. The people engaged in running the state administration also began getting facilities and rights which were
conferred on the people working in the private administration. This resulted in the emergence of Administrative Law. Robson says, “The foremost characteristic of Administrative Law is that its
subordinates the common law rights of personal freedom and private property to the conception of the social or common good”.
(2) Flexibility of Standards was the need of the Hour- The Administrative Law does not stand for the enforcement of individual rights. Instead, it stands for furthering the policies of social
improvement. As such, it lays down certain flexible standards to be applied to cases instead of cut and dried legal rules to be followed. For example, Administrative Law may require that the
railway rate structure should be reasonable, that the drainage system shall be reasonably adequate, that unfair practices shall be disallowed in certain types of trades. The reasonableness or
unreasonableness, fairness or unfairness should be left to be determined by adjudication. This substitution of a general standard for clear-cut rules made Administrative Law more flexible than
the traditional body of older law.
(3) Discretion to Public Officials found Helpful- Administrative Law allows the officials the right to use discretion and freedom for the efficient management of public services. Discretionary
powers of the state officials always equip them with the requisite freedom of action without which the government is apt to fail in the fulfilment of its important functions- the welfare functions.
(4) Need for Suitable Standards to deal with Technical Matters- Matters of a highly technical nature necessitate the laying down of certain standards. The interpretation and applicability of
these standards to individual cases are entrusted to administrative courts which are composed of suitable subject-matter experts.
(5) Experimental Stage- Regulatory standards suiting new and hitherto undiscovered fields were discovered by Administrative Law. Hence, it came to be recognized as an experimental and
dynamic body of law. As Frankfurter and Davison say, “We are dealing with the law in the making….Administrative Law is growing; it necessarily is still crude and empirical. It is dealing with
new problems calling for new social inventions or fresh adoption of old experiences. In a field as vast and unruly, we must be wary against premature generalization and merely formed systems”.
The experimental capability of Administrative Law enables it to develop faster and in a big way.

REASONS FOR GROWTH OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW ARE:

1. The growth of administrative functions and powers as a result of great structural changes in the 20 th century as there was many power and function but how is this to be exercised,
measures etc nothing was incorporated or mentioned and this is the need for proper working of the government.

2. The shift from laissez faire system (non-interfering) to that of social welfare state, which is embodied in our Constitution so that people could think about themselves and the country.

3. State activism and multiple roles played by the State. These roles include service provider, economic regulator, facilitator etc and playing these may roles altogether without nay proper
management would lead us nowhere and is not long lasting.

4. Insufficiency of the traditional courts and the law-making organs which could formulate the laws efficiently for the people
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The need for the limitation on the power of executive, sought for the growth of Administrative law. The backwardness of the government in the modern era, also regulated the increase for the
developmental and regulatory functions of the government.