Administrative law IB

The development of administrative law in the last few decades has been phenomenal, as is evident from the increasing number of textbooks on the subject. The change is visible not merely in the size of textbooks but also in their content. Some areas of administrative law, which were considered very important, have lost their significance, while others, which were considered insignificant, have gained importance.

The growing importance of administrative law has been directly proportionate to the increasing powers of the State. With the decline in the concept of welfare State and the present trend towards withdrawal of the State from many service sectors, doubts have been expressed as to whether administrative law can continue to remain relevant and significant. Allaying the fears expressed by the prophets of doom, administrative law has expanded to new areas and responded to new challenges. If one surveys the vast literature on administrative law, especially the textbooks, one cannot miss the wide range of perspectives and differences in emphasis. A law student who begins the study of the subject is likely to get lost in this bewildering jungle of literature.

Another problem that makes the study of Indian administrative law difficult to a student is that it is almost entirely built, brick by brick, by judicial decisions. While this gives tremendous opportunities for judicial creativity and facilitates immediate response to the problems as they arise, the contradictions and inconsistencies inherent in the judicial process place the comprehension of principles beyond the reach of an ordinary student. As the body of principles which constitute administrative law evolves mostly through judicial decisions, a student will be able to grapple with a bewildering range of case laws only with the help of a dependable textbook. The elaboration and elucidation of principles by academics is, therefore, more keenly felt in administrative law than in other branches of law.