Public Utilities Law Notes | LL.M. (Two Years) Semester 2 | KSLU | munotes

Contents

Unit I

1. Public Utilities Law: What This Paper Covers, and How to Read This Book 1
2. What a Public Utility Is 4
3. The Growth of Public Utilities and Their Legislation 8
4. Railways and Road Transport 12
5. Electricity and Gas 16
6. Post, Telegraph and Telephone 20
7. Police, Fire Service and Banking 24

Unit II

1. Why Government Monopoly? 28
2. Corporations and Public Undertakings: Definition and Characteristics 33
3. Classification of Public Corporations 39
4. Liability of and Control over Public Corporations 43
5. Congressional and Parliamentary Committees 49
6. The Constitutional Division of Power to Legislate on Utilities 55
7. Utilities Legislation: The Patterns 58
8. The Executive, Statutory Authorities and Public Corporations 62
9. Regulatory Agencies and the Modern Regulatory State 65
10. Delegated Legislation and Why It Grew 68
11. Forms and Types of Delegated Legislation 74
12. Excessive Delegation: Permissible and Impermissible Delegation 79
13. Legislative Control over Delegated Legislation 86
14. Other Controls: Publication, Consultation and Procedural Safeguards 91
15. Judicial Control over Delegated Legislation 97

Unit III

1. Principles of Natural Justice: Definition, Nature and Scope 103
2. Audi Alteram Partem 110
3. The Rule Against Bias 116
4. Exceptions to the Principles of Natural Justice 122
5. Post-Decisional Hearing 127
6. The Effect of a Failure of Natural Justice 133
7. Reasoned Decisions 139
8. Classification of Administrative Functions 144
9. Distinguishing Legislative, Judicial, Quasi-judicial and Administrative Functions 150
10. Administrative Discretion and Why It Is Conferred 157
11. Grounds of Judicial Review: Abuse of Discretion 163
12. Grounds of Judicial Review: Failure to Exercise Discretion 169
13. The Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation 174
14. Public Utilities and Consumer Protection 180
15. Service and Deficiency 184
16. Types of Services and Denial of Service 188
17. Permanent Lok Adalats: The Forum for Public Utility Services 191
18. How a Permanent Lok Adalat Decides, and Why It May Decide at All 196
19. The Exclusion from the MRTP Act, and the Competition Act 203
20. Rights Arising from the Law of Contract and the Law of Torts 206

Unit IV

1. Public Utilities and Their Employees: Articles 16 and 311 210
2. Civil Services in India: Nature, Organisation, Powers and Functions 214
3. Natural Justice in Service Cases: Article 311 221
4. 'Strike': Concept, Legality and Justification 224
5. Public Utilities and Fundamental Rights: The Air Hostess Case 235
6. The State under Article 12, and Who Can Be Sued in a Writ 238
7. Other Authorities, and the Tests the Courts Built 242

Unit V

1. Liabilities and Special Privileges of Public Utilities 249
2. Contractual Liability of the State 253
3. Estoppel and Waiver against the Government 259
4. The Utilities' Liability in Contract 265
5. Tortious Liability of the State 269
6. Sovereign and Non-Sovereign Functions 275
7. Compensation in Public Law 282
8. The Utilities' Liability in Tort 286
9. Public Utilities and the Criminal Law 289