KSLU Solved Question Papers
Administrative Law
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2012 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Administrative Law 2012 Dec Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2012 Dec examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2012 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2012 Dec examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all 5 questions. (2) Figures to the right indicate marks. (3) Answers should be written completely either in English or in Kannada completely.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)"The rapid growth and development of Administrative Law in India has become the foundation stone of modern political philosophy". Explain.[15]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what the statement means ("modern political philosophy": the welfare State, democracy, the rule of law and the protection of rights); how India's Constitution adopted that philosophy (Preamble, Part III, Part IV, Article 38); how administrative law grew to carry it out, in four roles: (1) it equips the welfare State with power (Ram Jawaya Kapur; Delhi Laws Act), (2) it keeps that power within law and fairness (Royappa; Kraipak; Maneka Gandhi), (3) it makes government open and accountable (S.P. Gupta; RTI; Lokpal), (4) it gives redress when the State causes harm (Nilabati Behera; Olga Tellis); the forces behind its rapid growth in India; a critical view (overstatement, the danger of administrative despotism, the Constitution as the deeper foundation); a conclusion.
What the statement means
The statement makes a large claim. "Modern political philosophy" here means the ideas on which a modern democratic State rests. The State should actively work for the welfare of its people. Power should come from the people and answer to them. Government should be under law. And individual rights should be protected. The statement says that administrative law, by its rapid growth, has become the foundation on which these ideas stand in India.
The claim can be tested by asking what a modern State needs to put this philosophy into practice. It needs power to act, limits on that power, openness and accountability, and remedies for those it harms. Administrative law supplies all four.
The philosophy in India's Constitution
The Constitution adopts this philosophy clearly. The Preamble promises justice, social, economic and political, and equality of status and opportunity. Part III guarantees fundamental rights against the State. Part IV, the Directive Principles, directs the State to secure a social order in which justice informs all institutions of national life (Article 38). The State is thus both a provider and a potential threat. Administrative law is the body of law that manages both sides.
Role 1: It equips the welfare State with power
A welfare State must run schools, hospitals, transport and industries, regulate trade and labour, and plan the economy. Parliament alone cannot do this. Administrative law provides the tools: delegated legislation, administrative adjudication and discretion.
Rai Sahib Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab, AIR 1955 SC 549. The Punjab Government took over the printing and publication of school textbooks by executive orders, under a policy of nationalisation. Private publishers complained that they were driven out of business. The Supreme Court dismissed their petitions. It held that executive power is not limited to carrying out existing laws. The executive may act in any field within the State's legislative power, provided it does not infringe any law or anyone's legal rights. The welfare State can thus act without waiting for a statute on every subject.
In re The Delhi Laws Act, 1912, AIR 1951 SC 332, accepted that the legislature may delegate law-making to the executive, so long as it keeps the essential function of laying down policy. Without this, the volume of modern regulation would be impossible.
Role 2: It keeps that power within law and fairness
Power given to the administration must not become arbitrary. Administrative law supplies the limits.
- Non-arbitrariness. In E.P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu, AIR 1974 SC 555, Bhagwati J. said that equality is antithetic to arbitrariness. An arbitrary act is unequal and violates Article 14.
- Fair procedure. In A.K. Kraipak v. Union of India, AIR 1970 SC 150, the Court applied natural justice to administrative inquiries. In Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597, it held that any procedure affecting personal liberty must be right, just and fair.
- Proportionality. In Om Kumar v. Union of India, AIR 2000 SC 3689, the Court held that administrative action restricting fundamental freedoms is reviewed for proportionality. The administration must choose the least restrictive measure that achieves its aim.
These decisions make the rule of law a working reality for the ordinary citizen dealing with the administration.
Role 3: It makes government open and accountable
Democracy requires that people know what their government does. In S.P. Gupta v. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 149, Bhagwati J. said open government flows from the right to know, implicit in Article 19(1)(a). Disclosure should be the rule and secrecy the exception. Parliament later enacted the Right to Information Act 2005, and the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 created anti-corruption watchdogs. These are administrative law institutions serving democratic accountability.
Role 4: It gives redress when the State causes harm
A State that does more can also harm more. In Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa, AIR 1993 SC 1960, a young man died in police custody. The Supreme Court awarded compensation to his mother under Article 32. It held that the claim was in public law, based on strict liability for breach of fundamental rights, and sovereign immunity was no defence. In Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, AIR 1986 SC 180, pavement dwellers faced eviction under a power to remove encroachments "without notice". The Court held that the power excluded a hearing only by way of exception, and that the affected persons must ordinarily be heard.
The philosophy and its legal tools
| Element of modern political philosophy | Administrative law device | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Welfare State | Executive power, delegated legislation, tribunals | Ram Jawaya Kapur; Delhi Laws Act |
| Rule of law | Review for arbitrariness and unfairness | Royappa; Kraipak; Maneka Gandhi |
| Liberty and rights | Proportionality review | Om Kumar |
| Democracy and openness | Right to know; RTI; Lokpal | S.P. Gupta |
| Justice to the injured | Public law compensation; hearing before eviction | Nilabati Behera; Olga Tellis |
Why the growth was rapid in India
- The Constitution itself chose the welfare State, so the administration grew quickly after 1950.
- Planned development and the public sector, including the nationalisation of banks in 1969, multiplied administrative bodies.
- Courts were slow and costly, so tribunals were created for service, tax, labour and other disputes.
- The Emergency of 1975 to 1977 showed the danger of unchecked power. That led the courts to strengthen judicial review after 1978.
A critical view
The statement contains truth, but it is overstated.
- Administrative law is an instrument, not the foundation. The deeper foundation is the Constitution itself. Administrative law works within it and draws its principles from Articles 14, 19, 21, 32 and 226.
- Growth carries danger. In England, Lord Hewart warned in 1929 of a "new despotism" of officials. Rapid growth of administrative power without equal growth of control can undermine the very philosophy it is meant to serve.
- The gap between law and practice. Delay, corruption and weak enforcement mean the promise of administrative law is not always kept.
- Independence of the new bodies. Tribunals and regulators were created to make administration expert and quick. But the executive often controls their appointments and service. The Supreme Court has repeatedly had to strike down such rules to protect their independence. It did so in Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (14 July 2021), and again on 19 November 2025.
Read fairly, the statement means that modern political philosophy cannot be realised without administrative law. That is true.
Conclusion. Modern political philosophy demands an active welfare State that remains democratic, lawful and respectful of rights. Administrative law has become indispensable to that philosophy in India. It equips the State with power (Ram Jawaya Kapur; Delhi Laws Act) and confines that power within law and fairness (Royappa; Kraipak; Maneka Gandhi). It makes government open and accountable (S.P. Gupta) and compensates those whom the State wrongs (Nilabati Behera; Olga Tellis). It is a foundation stone of that philosophy in practice. But the true foundation remains the Constitution, and administrative law must keep growing in control as fast as it grows in power.
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