A legislation which confers on the executive or administrative authority an unguided and uncontrolled discretionary power in the matter of application of law violates which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Article 14
Article 14, the guarantee of equality before the law and equal protection of the laws, is violated by a law that gives officials unguided and uncontrolled discretion. Such a power can be used arbitrarily, and the Supreme Court has held that arbitrariness and equality cannot go together.
- ✓ (a) With no guidelines to control the discretion, the authority can treat similar persons differently at will. The Supreme Court has held that a statute vesting unguided and unrestricted power in an authority is vitiated by discrimination, and so violates Article 14.
- ✗ (b) Article 28 is about religious instruction and worship in educational institutions, not administrative discretion.
- ✗ (c) Article 32 gives the right to move the Supreme Court for enforcing Fundamental Rights. It is a remedy, not a right that such a law would breach.
- ✗ (d) Article 44 is a Directive Principle on a uniform civil code, which is not enforceable in court and is unrelated to discretionary powers.
Remember · Arbitrary or unguided discretion in a law offends Article 14: equality is the enemy of arbitrariness.
Sources
- Constitution of India, Article 14 ↗ “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.”
- Supreme Court of India, Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (25 January 1978), official judgment PDF ↗ “when a statute vests unguided and unrestricted power in an authority to affect the rights of a person without laying down any policy or principle which is to guide the authority, in exercise of the power, it would be affected by the vice of discrimination … Equality and arbitrariness are sworn enemies; one belongs to the rule of law in a republic while the other to the whim and caprice of an absolute monarch.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·