Rule of Law
/ruːl əv lɔː/
Constitutional / Jurisprudential Principle
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Definition
The principle that all persons and institutions — including governments and rulers — are subject to and accountable to law that is fairly applied and enforced. A.V. Dicey identified three elements: (1) supremacy of law — no punishment except for breach of law; (2) equality before law — everyone subject to ordinary courts; (3) constitutional law is the result of ordinary law, not its source. The Rule of Law is a basic structure feature of the Indian Constitution.
Examples
Case Study
In Secretary, State of Karnataka v. Umadevi (2006), a Constitution Bench held that irregular appointments to government posts without following due process cannot be regularised by court order — this would violate the rule of law and equal opportunity provisions. In ADM Jabalpur (1976), the dissenting Justice H.R. Khanna invoked the rule of law as a value transcending even the written Constitution — his dissent vindicated India's commitment to the rule of law above executive power.
Key Cases
Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain
1975AIR 1975 SC 2299
The Supreme Court upheld the Allahabad High Court's conviction of PM Indira Gandhi for electoral malpractice — demonstrating that even the Prime Minister is subject to the rule of law. Parliament's subsequent attempt to use the 39th Amendment to immunise past elections was struck down as violating the basic structure.
View on Indian Kanoon →A.V. Dicey — Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885)
1885Academic text — not a case
Dicey's three pillars of the rule of law — supremacy of law, equality before law, and predominance of legal spirit — remain the foundational academic reference for this concept worldwide.
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