Rule of Law

1. GOVERNMENT NEW LAW COLLEGE, INDORE
ASSIGNMENT
Submitted To – Submitted By -
Prof. Gourav Jain Khyati Tongia
BBA.LL.B, VI Sem

2. INTRODUCTION
The term Rule of Law is derived from the French phrase ‘la principe
de legalite’ (the principle of legality) which refers to a government
based on principles of law and not of men.
Rule of Law is a legal principle that law should govern a nation, and
not arbitrary decisions by individual government officials.
In simple words, ‘men are ruled by law and not by men’.
It primarily refers to the influence and authority of law within society,
particularly as a constrain upon behaviour, including behaviour of
government officials.

3. POSTULATES OF RULE OF LAW
In 1885, Professor A.V Dicey developed this concept and
propounded three principles or postulates of the rule of law in his
classic book Law and the Constitution.
According to Professor A.V Dicey, for achieving supremacy of
law three principles of postulates must be followed which are as
follows:
1. Supremacy of law,
2. Equality before law and
3. Predominance of Legal Spirit

4. PRINCIPLES OF RULE OF LAW
• Law is Supreme, above everything and everyone.
• Nobody is above the law.
• All things should be done according to law and not according to whim.
• No person should be made to suffer except for a distinct breach of law.
• Absence of arbitrary power being the heart and soul of the rule of law.
• Equality before the law and equal protection of the law.
• Discretionary power should be exercised within reasonable limits set by
law. Adequate safeguard against executive abuse of powers.

5. RULE OF LAW UNDER INDIAN CONSTITUTION
At the time of framing of Constitution, Rule of law was adopted
from England by our constitutional fathers and many provisions
were incorporated in the Indian Constitution.
Indian Constitution is considered to be supreme and no one is
above Indian Constitution.
Rule of law is also given impliedly in the preamble and such
concept is enshrined in Part III of the Indian Constitution.
In case of violation of such rights, one can approach Supreme
Court or High Court under Article 32 and 226 of the Indian
Constitution. The Constitution of India is enriched with the
principles of law i.e. justice, equality and liberty.

6. It has been held that the rule of law pervades the constitution as its
basic feature and cannot be taken away even by an amendment of
the constitution
The doctrine of ultra virus to some extent is a derivation of the
principle of the rule of law.
The former underlines that power should be exercised according to
law. The later, goes one step further and states that an action of
any official or agency beyond the scope of power given to it is ultra
virus (i.e. beyond power), hence it is considered as null and void.
An ultra virus act does not have any binding effect in the eyes of
the law.
DOCTRINE OF ULTRA-VIRES

7. PROOF OF EXISTENCE OF
RULE OF LAW IN INDIA
• Separation of powers
• Fundamental Rights – especially Art. 21
• Judicial Independence and Impartiality
• Judicial Review
• Fair and Just Procedure
• Speedy Trial
• Protection of Human Rights

8. RULE OF LAW AND
THE INDIAN JUDICIARY
• In Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain(AIR 1975 SC 2299) :
Article 329-A was inserted in the Constitution under 39th amendment,
which provided certain immunities to the election of office of Prime
Minister from judicial review. The Supreme Court declared Article 329-A
as invalid since it abridges the basic structure of the Constitution.
• Bachan Singh v. Union of India (AIR 1982 SC 1325) :
Bhagwati J said “rule of law excludes arbitrariness and
unreasonableness”

9. • Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (AIR 1973 SC 1461) :
It was held that Rule of Law is a part of basic structure on the Indian
Constitution and, therefore, it cannot be abrogated or destroyed
even by Parliament.
• ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (AIR 1976 SC 1207) :
In this case, the question before the court was ‘whether there was
any rule of law in India apart from Article 21’. This was in context of
suspension of enforcement of Articles 14, 21 and 22 during the
proclamation of an emergency. The Supreme Court held that there
is no rule of law other than the constitutional rule of law. Article 21 is
our rule of law. If it is suspended, there is no rule of law.

10. CONCLUSION
On a brief overview of the constitutional provisions and
judicial decisions, it can be safely concluded that the Indian
Constitution enshrines the rule of law as a fundamental
governance principle, though the term is not mentioned
expressly in the text of the Constitution. It is the present day
modernized name for natural law.
Thus, to upheld Supremacy of law, Rule of Law is the
best tool to achieve the same.