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Timestamp: 2019-04-18 14:34:02+00:00

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Administrative Law has undergone a rapid expansion in the past six decades since its inception in Independent India. After India became free of British control, India has been witness to a huge leap in the number of administrative activities and functions in order for its smooth functioning. The Legislature and the Executive have been the pillars set up by the mandate of the Constitution and in the best interests of the nation both must work in tandem.
This is best seen from the fact that the Parliament cannot legislate on all aspects of a certain matter and simply vest authority in the executive to implement the same. In certain instances, it is necessary to leave certain gaps in laws and allow the same to be filled as per the discretion of the executive authorities on a case to case basis.
I shall look into the various grounds on the basis of which abuse of administrative discretion has been held by the courts. This project shall also delineate the origins of the jurisprudence of abuse of administrative discretion in India gleaned from English case laws. I will look into a multitude of Supreme Court case laws which have expounded the various actions that amount to ‘abuse’ such as mala fides, improper purpose, taking irrelevant considerations, colourable exercise of power and unreasonableness among others. Finally, I will look into the tools devised by the courts to check the discretion vested in administrative authorities.
Another instance where the court insisted on fetters being placed on the exercise of discretion was in the matter of R v. Oxford ex p. Levey.  In the instant case, a complaint was made against the police that it had formed a policy of not prosecuting illegal gaming clubs in London. The justification provided was that there was tremendous cost involved in doing so and the law pertaining to it was vague as well. Despite instructions being issued in the interim which cleared up the issue, the court clarified its position stating that even though the Commissioner had discretion to pursue prosecution; this was checked by the fetter that he had to mandatorily comply with public policy by enforcing the law.
The last element of unreasonableness is known famously as the rule of Wednesbury unreasonableness which covers within its ambit a host of actions that abuse administrative discretion. The court created a wide umbrella of ‘unreasonableness’ within which fell numerous elements such as acting against the spirit of the act, relying on irrelevant consideration, caprice in decision-making, mistakes and misunderstanding. The court came to a consensus that the standard of reasonableness is quite high and would be infringed only by an action that no man would dream of carrying out.  This seemingly high standard however, was not applied by the courts as they lowered this standard while actually applying the principle to tailor it to its idea of what constituted an abuse of administrative discretion.
The courts in India have adopted the test of Wednesbury reasonableness in order to review the discretionary actions of administrative authorities. The matter of U.P. Financial Corporation v. Gem Cap (India) Pvt. Ltd.  stated that the courts cannot interfere in an area where the administrative authority has discretion to decide upon a matter. In this case, the Appellant loaned a certain amount to the Respondents who failed to pay it back and were ceased operations within three months. The Appellant sought to recover the money by taking over the management of the Respondent which was challenged as unreasonable by the Respondent and this was allowed by the High Court via a writ petition. In appeal, the Supreme Court held that this would amount to replacing the decision of the authority with its own. However, the Supreme Court held that it can only interfere if the decision is so unreasonable that no reasonable person could be expected of taking the same course of action.  In the instant case, acting under the statute to recover the debt was held to be a reasonable action on the part of the Appellant.
Thus, the Indian jurisprudence has gleaned wisdom from English courts and not placed Administrative Discretion on too high a pedestal. It has ensured that administrative authorities comply with fairness and equity even when exercising discretion and choosing between alternative approaches.
Indian Law has delineated a myriad of ways in administrative discretion can be accosted. One such way is regarding a discretionary act as mala fide.
Instances of mala fide action being struck down are numerous. In the case of Pritpal Singh v. State of Haryana,  the appointment of 62 sub-inspectors was struck down owing to numerous discrepancies in the selection process. Discrepancies such as examination sheets being destroyed, prior to a policy for the same being passed as well as non-presentation of the selection panel’s scores confirmed the court’s view.
G. Sadanandan v. State of Kerela  is the best instance of administrative action being checked on the grounds of it being mala fide in nature. The DSP (Civil Supplies Cell) passed a detention order against a kerosene dealer on the grounds of operating without a license and dealing in Kerosene illegally. It was alleged that the DSP was acting malafidely to drive the appellant out of this trade as the DSP’s brother was a competitor in the same business. The DSP did not even file a counter-affidavit in court to counter the charges of mala fide action against the Appellant. Due to these considerations, the court quashed the action.
This was also seen in R.L. Arora v. State of Uttar Pradesh.  In this case, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 allowed to the State Government to give consent to acquisition of property for industrial purpose if it proved useful to the public. The government here assented to acquisition of property by textile factory. This was challenged on the grounds that the government could not interpret the words of the statute and exercise discretion on the same as well. The court held that the purpose of the statute was to allow acquisition when construction of work after acquisition would lead to benefit of people. In this case, the benefit would arise only after the industry is functioning and not during construction. Hence, the order of the government was struck down on the grounds that it violated the mandate of the legislation.
This was laid down authoritatively in Barium Chemicals Ltd. v. Company Law Board.  Under S.236 of the Companies Act, the CLB can order investigations into the affairs of the company if the company is being conducted with the intention to defraud creditors or the persons involved in management are guilty of fraud among other things or full information regarding the firm has not been given. Investigation was ordered in the instant case on the ground that there were continuous running losses owing to faulty planning and various directors had left the board. This order was challenged and the court quashed the order stating that these grounds were irrelevant and extraneous to the purpose enshrined in the statute. They did not conform to the mandate of S.236.
The same position was reiterated in Rohtas Industries v. S.D. Agarwal  wherein investigation into the affairs of a firm was ordered on the grounds of one of its directors being involved in several claims of misconduct as a member of other companies and also shares of another company were being sold at an inadequate rate. These grounds were held to be flimsy in order to seek investigation under S.237 of the Companies Act, 1956.
All discretionary action that is taken must be based on sound material and facts. There should be application of mind even when discretion is vested in the authorities. This was held in the Rohtas matter  and the Venkatraman case  where the orders of the authorities were vitiated owing to be based on lack of material.
This is so as arriving at a decision on negligible grounds is an abuse of the discretion vested. It stinks of arbitrariness and misuse of the authority given to an administrative body. This was seen in the case of Raala Corp. v. Director of Enforcement  which dealt with the discretion vested in the Directorate of Enforcement to refer cases to Supreme Court where he felt the punishment to be imposed was beyond his powers. This discretion was to be exercised on the basis of sufficient material. However, in this case, the reference was made even without holding any hearing and without reading any information. Hence, the Supreme Court quashed the order.
Sometimes an authority may act beyond the scope of the powers given by the law. It may make such mistakes owing to a misinterpretation of the law or a fact and thus, go beyond the scope of the power vested in them. If such a mistake concerning the fetters placed by law is made, it would vitiate the exercise of discretion.
The matter of M.A. Rasheed v. State of Kerela  has laid this down most lucidly. The state government came out with a notification in which consumption of coir by industries was curtailed in favour of traditional sector. This use of discretion was challenged on the grounds of reasonableness. The court established that as discretion gave room for subjective satisfaction, the court could not blindly follow the authority’s reliance on facts and law to arrive at a decision. Review was possible on the grounds of whether the authority had construed these elements correctly.
This tool was applied in the case of Ranjit Thakur v. Union of India  where an army official was court-martialled in response to a minor indiscretion committed by him. He challenged the order in the Supreme Court who quashed it stating that the rule of proportionality demanded that the punishment given has a nexus with the act committed and is proportional to the same. The court justified its interference on the ground that the decision in question was grossly disproportionate.
As we proceed further into the 21st century, the gamuts of activities that are being left to administrative control are ever increasing. More and more discretion is being given to administrative authorities to arrive at decisions without interference from other bodies. It has the freedom to decide between alternate approaches as per its best judgment.
Despite this seemingly wide freedom, courts in India have taken a leaf from English courts in that they have curtailed this discretionary power by ensuring that it is within the limits prescribed by statute, is fair, just and based on relevant grounds and good faith. The courts, in a gamut of aforementioned cases have made it clear that even when discretion is granted, its abuse by authorities is not without redressal.
Finally, the court has developed various controls over discretionary action. Firstly, it ensures that the action taken by the authority is not irrational and patently unreasonable such that no reasonable person could be expected to arrive at the same decision. It ensures that the authority acts within the limits of the statute and works in order to give the most effective and just decision based on sound and irrefutable grounds. Secondly, the courts have employed the English rule of Proportionality to ensure that the response of the authority to actions by individuals is proportional and not grossly unjust.
The freedom given to administrative authorities to decide matters, using their best judgment countered with the overarching judicial control is a sign of the balance maintained in Indian jurisprudence. This balance makes all the difference: on the one side lies unfettered power and on the other, judicial supremacy. Middle ground is perhaps the best place to be.
"The Abuse Of Administrative Discretion." LawTeacher.net. 11 2013. All Answers Ltd. 04 2019 <https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/the-abuse-of-administrative-discretion-administrative-law-essay.php?vref=1>.
"The Abuse Of Administrative Discretion." LawTeacher. LawTeacher.net, November 2013. Web. 18 April 2019. <https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/the-abuse-of-administrative-discretion-administrative-law-essay.php?vref=1>.
LawTeacher. November 2013. The Abuse Of Administrative Discretion. [online]. Available from: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/the-abuse-of-administrative-discretion-administrative-law-essay.php?vref=1 [Accessed 18 April 2019].
LawTeacher. The Abuse Of Administrative Discretion [Internet]. November 2013. [Accessed 18 April 2019]; Available from: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/the-abuse-of-administrative-discretion-administrative-law-essay.php?vref=1.

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