Rule of Law - Indian Laws - General

Rule of Law Rule of Law is based on the concept of expository jurisprudence which requires exposition of contents of actual legal system as it exists Black s Law Dictionary , 11th Edition (Page 726) . To say that in a given case the statutory scheme laying down the procedure is not good enough and a new standard of democratic due process ought to have been deployed by the executive would be a classic way of abjuring the principle of Rule of Law which requires consistency and uniformity of approach by one and all and in particular, by a judicial forum. In matters which may appear to be wholesome for accomplishing ideals of administrative efficiency including democratisation of the decision-making process, even if a Court is of the opinion that a different procedure (in addition to the statutory scheme) would be more just and appropriate, it may not attempt to implement its ideal by way of judicial review, much less to strike it down Justice J.C. Shah, in his published lecture on The Rule of Law and the Indian Constitution rightly noted that: The Rule of Law in a democratic society may, in its ultimate analysis, be reduced to the following broad propositions: (1) Without regard to the content of the law, all power in the State is derived from and must be exercised in accordance with the law. (2) The law itself is based on the supreme value of the human personality. For that purpose (a) protection of the individual s rights is secured through the medium of an impartial judicial authority. By judicial it is not meant that the authority must have the paraphernalia of a trial in a civil court. An administrative tribunal infused with the requisite qualities for competently performing its functions consistently with the basic norms of the judicial process, acts judicially. When the tribunal departs from the basic norms of the judicial process or is swayed by irrelevant considerations or objects, the Rule of Law is violated; (b) the law must be designed to ensure for the individual equality of status and opportunity, in fields social, political and economic, and provide environment for development of his special forte and his capacities. published in 1972 at Bombay, pp. 24-25 RAJEEV SURI VERSUS DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ORS.- 2021 (2) TMI 568 - SUPREME COURT