KSLU Solved Question Papers
Administrative Law
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2025 Jan Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Administrative Law 2025 Jan 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 2025 Jan examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2025 Jan 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
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type question and short note/problems is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written 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)"Administrative law is an adjective law dealing with the principles of Governance". Explain the statement with reference to its definitions and compelling reasons for its growth.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the meaning of "adjective law" (procedural law, as against substantive law) and why administrative law is so described; the definitions (Jennings, Davis, Wade, Griffith and Street, the Indian Law Institute) and what each shows about its procedural character; the limits of the description (substantive standards under Articles 14 and 21, liability); the compelling reasons for its growth; Kraipak, Maneka Gandhi and Ram Jawaya Kapur; a conclusion.
What "adjective law" means
Law is often divided into two kinds. Substantive law creates rights and duties, such as the law of contract or crime. Adjective law, also called procedural law, lays down how rights and duties are enforced or powers are used. The Code of Civil Procedure is an example.
The statement in the question says that administrative law is mainly adjective law. It does not decide what the Government's policy on housing, taxation or licensing should be. That is for the legislature and the executive. Administrative law decides how the administration must exercise its powers. It fixes the authority, the procedure and the limits, and the remedy if things go wrong. In that sense it is the law of the "principles of governance".
The definitions
- Sir Ivor Jennings described administrative law as the law relating to the administration, which determines the organisation, powers and duties of administrative authorities.
- K.C. Davis described it as the law about the powers and procedures of administrative agencies, especially judicial review of their action.
- H.W.R. Wade saw it as the law about the control of governmental power, keeping powers within their legal limits to protect the citizen.
- Griffith and Street asked three questions. What powers does the administration have? What limits are there on them? How is the administration kept within those limits?
- The Indian Law Institute added control by the legislature and other bodies, and the liability of the administration to the citizen.
Most of these definitions stress procedure, limits, control and remedies. That supports the description of administrative law as adjective law.
The procedural character in practice
A.K. Kraipak v. Union of India, AIR 1970 SC 150. A candidate for the Indian Forest Service sat on the selection board while his rivals were assessed. The Supreme Court set aside the selection. Hegde J said that "every organ of the State under our Constitution is regulated and controlled by the rule of law". The rule of law would lose its vitality if the State's instrumentalities did not act "in a fair and just manner". The case is about how a decision is made, not what decision should be made.
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597. A passport was impounded "in public interest" without a hearing or reasons. The Court held that any procedure depriving a person of liberty must be "right and just and fair". The Government's power to impound was not denied; the manner of using it was corrected.
The limits of the description
Administrative law is not purely adjective. It also contains substantive rules. Article 14 forbids arbitrary decisions, whatever the procedure. Proportionality asks whether the result itself is excessive. The law of State liability in contract and tort creates real rights to compensation. So the better view is that administrative law is largely adjective, but with an important substantive core.
Compelling reasons for its growth
- The welfare State. The State now runs schools, hospitals, transport, banking and industry. Each function brings new powers, and each power needs rules on how it must be used.
- Limits of the legislature. The legislature lacks time and expertise, so it delegates rule-making to the executive. Delegated legislation needs its own procedures and controls.
- Limits of the courts. Ordinary courts are slow and costly, so tribunals and authorities decide many disputes. Their procedure must be fair.
- Technical complexity. Questions of drugs, power tariffs or pollution need experts in departments, not general courts.
- Speed and prevention. The administration can act quickly and prevent harm, through licences and inspections.
- The need to protect the citizen. More power means more risk of abuse, so safeguards such as natural justice, reasons and judicial review grew.
Rai Sahib Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab, AIR 1955 SC 549, shows the growth of the executive. The Punjab Government took over the publication of school text books by executive decisions. The Supreme Court held that executive power is the residue of governmental functions after legislative and judicial functions are taken away. The State could act without a specific law, so long as it did not infringe rights or break a law.
Conclusion. Administrative law is fairly called an adjective law of governance, because it chiefly governs how administrative power is organised, exercised, controlled and remedied. The definitions of Jennings, Davis and Wade all point that way. But through Articles 14 and 21 and the law of State liability it also has a substantive side. It grew because the welfare State needed wide powers, and those powers needed fair procedures and effective controls.
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