KSLU Solved Question Papers
Administrative Law
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2021 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Administrative Law 2021 Mar 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 2021 Mar examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2021 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Mar 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 80 · 20 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.
Q1
(a)Discuss the various definitions of administrative law. State its nature and scope.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why administrative law has no single definition; the main definitions, each with what it gets right and what it misses (Dicey, Jennings, Davis, Griffith and Street, Wade, the Indian Law Institute); a working definition; the nature (public law, judge-made, dynamic, tied to the Constitution: Kraipak, Maneka Gandhi); the scope (rule-making, adjudication, discretion and remedies, liability and accountability) with the Indian setting (Ram Jawaya Kapur); a conclusion.
Why there is no single definition
Writers define administrative law according to what they think it is for. Some stress the organisation of the administration, some its procedures, and some the control of its powers. So each definition captures part of the subject.
The definitions
1. A.V. Dicey. Dicey wrote with the French system in mind. He described administrative law as the part of a country's law that fixes the legal status and liabilities of State officials. It also fixes the rights of citizens in dealing with them. He believed England had no such law, because officials there were subject to the ordinary courts. Comment: the description is useful historically, but his view that England had no administrative law was mistaken even in his own time.
2. Sir Ivor Jennings. He described it as the law relating to the administration, which determines the organisation, powers and duties of administrative authorities. Comment: the widest and most quoted definition, but it does not mention procedure or remedies, and it overlaps with constitutional law.
3. K.C. Davis. Writing in the United States, he described it as the law about the powers and procedures of administrative agencies. He gave special place to the law of judicial review of their action. Comment: it brings in procedure and review, but says little about rule-making or control by bodies other than courts.
4. Griffith and Street. They framed the subject as three questions. What powers does the administration have? What limits are there on them? How is the administration kept within those limits? Comment: less a definition than a sound outline of the subject.
5. H.W.R. Wade. He treated it as the law about the control of governmental power, aimed at keeping powers within legal limits to protect the citizen. Comment: it captures the protective purpose, but views the subject mainly from the courts' side.
6. The Indian Law Institute. It added control by the legislature and other bodies, and the liability of the administration to the citizen. Comment: well suited to India, where Ombudsmen and State liability are part of the subject.
A working definition. Administrative law is the branch of public law that deals with the organisation, powers and duties of administrative authorities. It also deals with the procedure they must follow, the controls over them and the remedies of a person harmed by their action.
Nature
- Public law. It governs relations between the State and the citizen. But it borrows the private law of contract and tort when the State contracts or commits a wrong.
- Largely judge-made. India has no general administrative procedure code. A.K. Kraipak v. Union of India, AIR 1970 SC 150, illustrates this. A candidate sat on a selection board for the Indian Forest Service while his rivals were assessed. No statute forbade this, but the Supreme Court set the selection aside for bias, holding that natural justice applies to administrative action.
- Dynamic. New doctrines such as legitimate expectation and proportionality have been added over time.
- Tied to the Constitution. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597, made fairness a requirement of Articles 14 and 21, so most standards of administrative law now rest on the Constitution.
Scope
| Area | Content |
|---|---|
| Rule-making | Delegated legislation, its limits and control |
| Adjudication | Tribunals and quasi-judicial authorities, natural justice |
| Area | Content |
|---|---|
| Discretion | Its grounds of review |
| Remedies | Writs, suits, appeals |
| Liability and accountability | State liability, public corporations, Lokpal, Lokayukta, right to information |
The breadth of this scope reflects the breadth of executive power in India. Rai Sahib Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab, AIR 1955 SC 549, held that executive power is the residue of governmental functions left after legislative and judicial functions are taken away. The State could publish school text books by executive decision, without a statute. Administrative law must cover all of that activity.
Which definition to prefer
For an Indian student, the best approach is to combine them. Jennings supplies the subject matter, Davis and Wade supply procedure and control, and the Indian Law Institute supplies the wider controls and liability. A definition that includes organisation, powers, procedure, control and remedies covers everything the subject actually deals with.
Conclusion. No single definition of administrative law is complete. Jennings stresses organisation and powers, Davis procedure and review, Wade control, and the Indian Law Institute adds legislative control and liability. Together they show a public, largely judge-made and growing body of law, closely tied to the Constitution. Its scope covers rule-making, adjudication, discretion, remedies and accountability across the whole of administrative action.
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