Sahil Barhate

53LLB14

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW PROJECT SYNOPSIS

TOPIC: Recognition of the Principles of Administrative law An Empirical
Study (TNNLS, Tiruchirapalli)
Overview:
Administrative law is that branch of public law that deals with administrative actions, and the
functions of administrative and quasi-administrative agencies. The principles of
administrative law form a fundamental aspect of governance in several governmental
institutions and public bodies. It can be quite difficult to contain the subject, as it touches on
various aspects of governance and the issues concerned with the same.
There are several principles which are fundamental to administrative law, in so much as they
are the principles to which administrative bodies are supposed to adhere to and function with
these include but are not limited to the Principles of Natural Justice, Rule of Law as well as
the principles of quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative powers.
Here, we seek to practically examine the various dimensions of these fundamental principles
of administrative law in a practical context. The law cannot be seen in isolation from the
applications it possesses and hence, the aim of this project will be to study whether the
application of the fundamental principles of administrative law is being followed by
universities.
However, we will restrict our study to the West Bengal National University of Juridical
Sciences, Kolkata (also known as WBNUJS or simply, NUJS) and through a thorough
examination of the rules and regulations governing this university, we seek to recognize
whether the principles of administrative law have been followed and recognized by the
university in its administration.
This will be achieved through a study of the various regulations governing the functioning of
the university and its internal governance. For instance, the rules that are laid down for the
functioning of the bodies such as the Academic Council, Executive Council etc. It may be
noted at this juncture that the university has not provided a good number of guidelines as per
mandatory disclosure guidelines on its website, and hence RTI applications will be filed as
necessary to obtain the same and analyse the same for any violation of administrative law
principles.

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Review of Literature:
Books:

Elliott M, Beatson J, and Matthews M, Beatson, Matthews, and Elliotts

Administrative Law: Text and materials (4th edn, Oxford University Press 2011)

This book has been used to gain a deeper understanding of the practical aspects of
administrative law, and in identifying the various fundamental principles of administrative
laws. Policy concerns and case laws elucidated within the same provide a practical context of
the issues affecting administrative action and that shall help us in analysing the rules
governing the university in question.

Massey IP, Administrative Law (7th edn, Eastern Book Company 2008)

This book has been used to gain a more Indian perspective into the administrative law in both
the past and the contemporary times and also to help analyse the judicial pronouncements of
the courts on the issues of the administrative law. This is to help understand the legal position
and tenability of the regulations of NUJS as per the existing Indian law.

Craig P, Administrative law (6th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2008)

This book has been used to get an understanding into the principles of natural justice, and the
historical application of the same from a historical perspective, particularly in the United
Kingdom. This book will be used to understand and apply the fundamentals of administrative
law to this particular context.

Dicey AV and Allison JWF, The law of the constitution (Oxford University Press,
USA 2014)

This pioneering and classic book popularized the principle of rule of law in governance
across the world, and this book has been used to understand the principles of rule of law in
the administrative law context.
Statutes:

Tamil Nadu National Law School Act, 2012.

This is a statute that was passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislature, which brought the university
into existence. This act has been used to gain an understanding on the formation and
governance of the university, and the various administrative bodies that have been constituted
for the same.

Sahil Barhate
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Right to Information Act, 2005.

The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote
transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and
make our democracy work for the people in real sense. The Act is a big step towards making
the citizens informed about the activities of the Government. This Act is being utilised to
understand how to file RTI applications, as might be necessary for this project.
Research Question:
1. What are the standards by which the University determines whether or not a person
has dressed decently as per the hostel regulations?
Hypothesis:
The Tamil Nadu National Law School recognizes the fundamental principles of
administrative law, although a lack of consistency in terms of framing its rules remains a
glaring issue.

Methodology:
The project will be primarily empirical in nature and depends on questionnaires and surveys
to collect data. RTI applications under section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, may be filed as
necessary to obtain the necessary regulations governing the university. Students of the
university also may be contacted for obtaining the regulations, as well as an understanding of
their perspective of the universitys functioning.
The guidelines will then be carefully analysed to assess whether or not the principles of
natural justice have been recognized by the universitys regulations, and whether or not abuse
of discretion and violations of the same exist within the regulations.
The method of the project itself shall be descriptive.