KSLU Solved Question Papers
Administrative Law
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2017 Jun Examination
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Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Administrative Law 2017 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2017 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2017 Jun 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 · 13 questions answered
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.
Q1What is Administrative law ? Explain its scope.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the definitions (Jennings, Wade, Davis, the Indian Law Institute) and a working definition; the characteristic features or nature (public law; largely judge-made and uncodified; dynamic; concerned with control of power and protection of the individual; covers all three kinds of administrative function; procedural as well as substantive; flexible remedies); the scope, area by area, each with a decided case (Ram Jawaya Kapur, Hamdard Dawakhana, Kraipak, Barium Chemicals, L. Chandra Kumar, N. Nagendra Rao, Ajay Hasia); what lies outside it; a conclusion.
Definitions
No single definition of administrative law is accepted everywhere, because writers stress different parts of the subject.
- Sir Ivor Jennings called it the law relating to the administration. It determines the organisation, powers and duties of administrative authorities.
- H.W.R. Wade saw it as the law concerning the control of governmental powers. Its purpose is to keep those powers within their legal limits, so as to protect the citizen against their abuse.
- K.C. Davis, in the United States, defined it as the law concerning the powers and procedures of administrative agencies. He gave special importance to the law of judicial review of their action.
- The Indian Law Institute added the control of the administration by the legislature and other bodies. It also included the remedies of the citizen and the liability of the administration.
A working definition. Administrative law is the branch of public law that deals with the organisation, powers and duties of administrative authorities. It also covers the procedure they must follow, the ways they are controlled, and the remedies of persons harmed by their action.
Characteristic features (nature)
1. It is public law. It governs the relationship between the State and the individual, not relations between private persons. Its rules apply because one party exercises public power.
2. It is largely judge-made. There is no administrative code in India. The principles of natural justice, the grounds of review of discretion and the test of "State" under Article 12 were built by the courts. Statutes such as the Administrative Tribunals Act 1985 and the Right to Information Act 2005 supplement them.
3. It is dynamic. It changes with the role of the State. As the welfare State grew, the subject grew with it, and it still develops through new doctrines such as proportionality and legitimate expectation.
4. Its central concern is control of power. It seeks to keep administrative power within law, so that power is used for its purpose and not arbitrarily. Its other side is the protection of the individual's rights and interests.
5. It covers every kind of administrative function. It deals with rule-making (delegated legislation), deciding disputes (administrative adjudication) and purely executive action, including discretion.
6. It is both procedural and substantive. It lays down how decisions must be made, through hearing, reasons and absence of bias. It also controls what may be decided, through the limits of power, relevance and reasonableness.
7. Its remedies are flexible. Writs under Articles 32 and 226, suits for damages, appeals to tribunals and complaints to ombudsmen all form part of it.
8. It balances two needs. It must allow the administration enough power to govern effectively. It must also protect citizens from misuse of that power.
Scope
The scope of administrative law is as wide as the work of the executive. Rai Sahib Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab, AIR 1955 SC 549, held that executive power is what remains of governmental functions after the legislative and judicial functions are taken away. The Punjab Government could take over the publishing of school text books by executive decision. The scope can be stated area by area.
1. Delegated legislation. Administrative law determines when the legislature may delegate rule-making power and how the rules are controlled. Hamdard Dawakhana (Wakf) Lal Kuan v. Union of India, AIR 1960 SC 554, struck down words letting the Government add "any other disease or condition" to a list of diseases for which drug advertisements were banned. Parliament had given no standard to guide the executive.
2. Administrative adjudication and natural justice. It governs how tribunals and authorities decide rights. A.K. Kraipak v. Union of India, AIR 1970 SC 150, set aside a selection to the Indian Forest Service, because one board member was himself a candidate. The Court held that natural justice applies to administrative inquiries too.
3. Administrative discretion. It controls how discretionary power is used. Barium Chemicals Ltd. v. Company Law Board, AIR 1967 SC 295, held that an investigation ordered on the Board's "opinion" could be examined. The opinion must rest on circumstances that could reasonably suggest fraud. As the Board's grounds did not, the order was set aside.
4. Tribunals and judicial review. It deals with the structure of tribunals and their relation to the courts. L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India, AIR 1997 SC 1125, held that the High Courts' power under Articles 226 and 227 is part of the basic structure. Every tribunal's decision can be taken to a Division Bench of the High Court.
5. Liability of the State. It determines when the State must pay for wrongs done by its servants and honour its contracts. N. Nagendra Rao and Co. v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1994 SC 2663, held the State liable when goods seized by its officers rotted in their custody.
6. Public corporations. It decides when a corporation or company is "State" and therefore bound by fundamental rights. Ajay Hasia v. Khalid Mujib Sehravardi, AIR 1981 SC 487, held a society running an engineering college to be State, because the Governments controlled its members, funds and rules.
7. Ombudsmen and transparency. It includes the Lokpal, the Lokayuktas, the Central Vigilance Commission, commissions of inquiry and the right to information.
| Area of scope | What the law decides | Case |
|---|---|---|
| Rule-making | Limits and control of delegated power | Hamdard Dawakhana |
| Adjudication | Natural justice, bias | Kraipak |
| Discretion | Grounds of review | Barium Chemicals |
| Tribunals | Their place under the High Courts | L. Chandra Kumar |
| Liability | Tort and contract claims against the State | N. Nagendra Rao |
| Public bodies | Who is "State" | Ajay Hasia |
Why the scope keeps widening
The scope of administrative law is not fixed. It has widened with each change in the work of government.
- The welfare State brought schemes for pensions, housing, food and employment, and with them new powers and new disputes.
- Economic regulation has moved much decision-making to independent regulators for telecom, electricity, securities and competition. Their rules and decisions are administrative action and are reviewed by the courts.
- Contracts and largesse. The State now gives licences, quotas, contracts and jobs on a vast scale. The courts have required it to act fairly and without arbitrariness under Article 14 even in these fields.
- Accountability bodies. Ombudsmen, vigilance bodies and the information commissions under the Right to Information Act 2005 have added new controls.
- Public bodies outside government. Corporations, companies and societies controlled by the State are treated as "State", as Ajay Hasia shows.
Each of these changes has added to what administrative law must cover. The subject's boundary therefore moves with the boundary of State activity.
What lies outside it
Administrative law does not cover the structure of the State as a whole, which belongs to constitutional law. It also leaves out the internal working of the administration, such as office organisation, which is the concern of public administration. Matters of pure policy, such as whether a road or a dam should be built, are also outside it, unless the decision breaks the law. Administrative law is concerned with the legal powers, procedure, controls and remedies that affect the citizen.
Conclusion. Administrative law is the public law of the administration. It deals with the organisation and powers of administrative authorities and the procedure they must follow. It also deals with the controls over them and the remedies of those they harm. Its features are that it is judge-made, dynamic, procedural and substantive, and centred on controlling power and protecting the individual. Its scope runs from delegated legislation and adjudication to discretion, tribunals, State liability and public corporations. Hamdard Dawakhana, Kraipak, Barium Chemicals, L. Chandra Kumar, Nagendra Rao and Ajay Hasia mark each area.
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