Separation of powers in administrative law in India
March 12, 2024By Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty हिंदी में पढ़ें
The separation of powers is based on the principle of trias politica, which means separation between three independent powers in a nation i.e. Legislature, Administration, and Judiciary. The legislature makes laws, the executive enforces them and the judiciary applies them to the specific cases arising out of the breach of law.
Administrative law is concerned with the powers and procedures of administrative agencies, including judicial review of administrative action. It does not include the enormous mass of substantive law produced by the agencies.
Connect with an expert lawyer for your legal issue
Separation of Powers in India
The doctrine of separation refers to the division of powers among different branches of government to prevent the concentration of power, but it is not given a constitutional status. Other than the directive principles laid down in Article 50 of the Indian Constitution, which set out the separation of the judiciary from the executive functions, the constitutional schemes do not embody any dogmatic division of powers.
To understand the difference between directive principles and fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution, refer to LawRato’s article “Difference Between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy.”
In the Indian Constitution, the executive powers are vested with the President, the legislative powers with the Parliament, and the judicial powers with the judiciary- the Supreme Court, the High Courts, and Subordinate Courts. The President holds his office for a fixed period. His functions and powers are enumerated in the Constitution itself. Parliament of India is competent to make any law, subject to the provisions of the constitution and it can also amend the law prospectively or even retrospectively but it cannot declare a judgment delivered by a competent court void or of no effect.
Consult: Top Civil Lawyers in India
No interference is permitted with the actions of the judiciary, which functions independently of the executive and legislature. The Supreme Court and High Courts have been accorded the power of judicial review and are authorised to declare any law passed by Parliament or Legislature as ultra vires or unconstitutional.
Considering the above facts, the judiciary has, on numerous occasions, upheld the principle of separation of powers and accommodated the flexibilities of its function.
In Kartar Singh v. the State of Punjab, the duties of the executive, judiciary, and legislature were discussed. It was held that according to the fundamentals of the Indian Constitution, the legal sovereign power has been divided between the legislature to make the law, the executive to implement it, and the judiciary to interpret the law within the parameters set down by the Constitution.
The Supreme Court in Ram Jawaya Kapur v. the State of Punjab observed that even though the doctrine of separation has not been explicitly recognised in the Indian Constitution, the three branches have different functions, and these functions have been adequately differentiated.
Connect with an expert lawyer for your legal issue
In Delhi Development Authority v M/s UEE Electricals Engg. Pvt. Ltd, the Supreme Court made the observation that “One can conveniently classify under three heads the grounds on which administrative action is subject to control by judicial review. The first ground is “illegality", the second “irrationality" and the third “procedural impropriety".
In the case of Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain Ray, the Chief Justice also emphasised that the separation of powers is only recognised in a broader sense in the Indian Constitution.
Therefore, in conclusion, we see that organs of the state remain separated and this position of separation of powers doctrine has been upheld by the rulings made by the courts. No organs can encroach upon the other's ambit of powers, and in case an attempt is made even by way of an amendment it has been struck down to uphold the basic structure doctrine.
Connect with an expert lawyer for your legal issue
Applicability of the Doctrine in current times
Currently, the separation of powers includes not only organs such as the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary but also institutions like the press and academic institutions. The organs of an open society that holds power have thus increased, with the media playing a huge role. Therefore, implementing the Separation of Powers doctrine in its absolute terms is extremely difficult in modern society. Since vesting any one organ with too much power may be very dangerous, a system of checks and balances has been developed over the years, which has even been consistent with many rulings of the Supreme Court, as has been discussed previously. Hence, though the doctrine of separation of powers is a theoretical concept and may take a lot of work to follow completely, a compromised version of it is used in our country.
These guides are not legal advice, nor a substitute for a lawyer
These articles are provided freely as general guides. While we do our best
to make sure these guides are helpful, we do not give any guarantee that
they are accurate or appropriate to your situation, or take any
responsibility for any loss their use might cause you. Do not rely on
information provided here without seeking experienced legal advice first. If
in doubt, please always consult a lawyer.
The internet is not a lawyer and neither are you.
Talk
to a real lawyer about your legal issue.
Comments by Users
No Comments! Be the first one to comment.
Related Articles
- Police Clearance Certificate for passport if criminal case pending
- How to file a case through lok adalat?
- How can I convert the panchayat approved land to a DTCP or CMDA
- Case was dismissed due to non appearance can I restore the case
- someone sending the legal notice i have not accepted what will happpen
- How to file a complaint in National Green Tribunal (NGT)? | Civil Law Guide
- Separation of powers in administrative law in India
- OBC Non Creamy Layer Income Limit 2019 Criteria
- punishment for false affidavit
- I got show cause notice from passport office please advise what to do
- What is the validity of an agreement on Rs 10 stamp paper
- What is the basic difference between Section / Rule / Article /Act
- What is the procedure and grounds for filing defamation case
- Have received court challan what to do.
- Police verification for govt job
- How to File Writ Petition?
Civil Law Articles
User Reviews
4.5 - 24 reviews
very well written. Please tell more about the work of exxecuive, legislature and judiciary
what is doctrine of separation of powers?
nicely written please state more about executive
good article on separation of powers
please state about the division of powers
can you share your helpline number
good article and easy to understand
great legal advice
needed a lawyer….what is the procedure?
very well written
its very helpful on the subject
how to contact a lawyer for my legal case?
whom to contact for any legal query?
good work. Keep it up
very informative. Can you tell more about this
nice legal article.
Nice one.
It’s a very nice article.
thanks for the information
very good article. Please provide more information on the subject
nice artcile
Nicely written article. Very comprehensive.
nice one. Please share more info
Very nice article.
VIEW ALL