Parliament cannot amend the Constitution to destroy its essential features
Laid down in Kesavananda Bharati (1973). Features held basic include the supremacy of the Constitution, democracy, secularism, federalism, separation of powers, judicial review, free and fair elections and the rule of law.
Quick check: Which doctrine is described here: "Parliament cannot amend the Constitution to destroy its essential features"?
Doctrine of harmonious construction
Doctrine of indoor management
Doctrine of basic structure
Creamy layer
Answer: C.
Doctrine of pith and substance
A law is valid if its true nature falls within the legislature's list, even if it incidentally touches another list
Used to resolve conflicts between the Union, State and Concurrent Lists. Applied by the Privy Council in Prafulla Kumar Mukherjee v. Bank of Commerce, Khulna (1947) and by the Supreme Court in State of Bombay v. F.N. Balsara (1951).
Quick check: Which doctrine is described here: "A law is valid if its true nature falls within the legislature's list, even if it incidentally touches another list"?
Doctrine of constructive notice
Continuing mandamus
Doctrine of pith and substance
Doctrine of repugnancy
Answer: C.
Doctrine of colourable legislation
What a legislature cannot do directly, it cannot do indirectly
A law that appears to be within the legislature's competence but in substance transgresses it is void. Discussed in K.C. Gajapati Narayan Deo v. State of Orissa (1953).
Quick check: Which doctrine is described here: "What a legislature cannot do directly, it cannot do indirectly"?
Lifting the corporate veil
Doctrine of colourable legislation
Political question doctrine
Doctrine of incidental and ancillary powers
Answer: B.
Doctrine of eclipse
A pre-Constitution law inconsistent with fundamental rights is not dead but dormant
Such a law is eclipsed by the fundamental right and revives if the right is amended to remove the inconsistency. Laid down in Bhikaji Narain Dhakras v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1955).
Quick check: Which doctrine is described here: "A pre-Constitution law inconsistent with fundamental rights is not dead but dormant"?
Doctrine of ultra vires (companies)
Judicial activism and judicial restraint
Doctrine of eclipse
Residuary power
Answer: C.
Doctrine of severability
Only the unconstitutional part of a law is struck down if it can be separated from the rest
Flows from Article 13, which declares laws void "to the extent of" inconsistency. Explained in R.M.D. Chamarbaugwalla v. Union of India (1957).
Quick check: Which doctrine is described here: "Only the unconstitutional part of a law is struck down if it can be separated from the rest"?
Doctrine of necessity (adjudication)
Doctrine of severability
Holding out
Doctrine of prospective overruling
Answer: B.
126 more entries under this heading
Doctrine of waiver · Fundamental rights cannot be waived by an individual
Doctrine of territorial nexus · A state law may apply to persons or things outside the state if there is a sufficient connection with the state
Doctrine of harmonious construction · Conflicting provisions should be read so that both can operate
Doctrine of repugnancy · On a Concurrent List matter, a Central law prevails over an inconsistent state law
Doctrine of incidental and ancillary powers · The power to legislate on a subject includes power over matters incidental to it
Residuary power · Subjects not in any list belong to Parliament
Doctrine of prospective overruling · A court overrules a precedent only for the future, leaving past transactions undisturbed
Doctrine of reasonable classification · Article 14 permits classification based on an intelligible differentia with a rational nexus to the object
Doctrine of manifest arbitrariness · A law may be struck down under Article 14 if it is manifestly arbitrary
Doctrine of proportionality · A restriction on rights must pursue a legitimate aim through suitable, necessary and balanced means
Doctrine of legitimate expectation · A person may expect a public authority to follow a regular practice or promise
Promissory estoppel against the government · The government can be held to a promise on which a person has relied to their detriment
Doctrine of pleasure · Civil servants hold office during the pleasure of the President or Governor
Separation of powers · Legislative, executive and judicial powers should be exercised by separate organs
Judicial review · Courts can examine the validity of legislative and executive action
Constitutional morality · Adherence to the core values of the Constitution over popular or social morality
Transformative constitutionalism · The Constitution is a tool to transform an unequal society
Essential religious practices test · Only practices essential to a religion get constitutional protection
Creamy layer · The advanced sections of backward classes are excluded from reservation benefits
Continuing mandamus · A court keeps a case open and issues directions over time to ensure compliance
Political question doctrine · Courts avoid deciding questions committed to the political branches
Judicial activism and judicial restraint · Two approaches to the judicial role
Doctrine of necessity (adjudication) · A disqualified judge may decide a case if no one else can
Doctrine of merger · When a superior court decides an appeal, the lower court's decision merges into it
Sovereign immunity · The State is not liable for torts committed in the exercise of sovereign functions
Public trust doctrine · The State holds natural resources in trust for the public
Precautionary principle · Lack of scientific certainty is no reason to postpone measures against environmental harm
Polluter pays principle · The polluter must bear the cost of remedying the damage caused
Sustainable development · Development that meets present needs without compromising future generations
Inter-generational equity · The present generation holds the environment in trust for future generations
Literal rule · Words of a statute are given their plain, ordinary meaning
Golden rule · The literal meaning may be modified to avoid an absurd result
Mischief rule · A statute is read to suppress the mischief it was passed to remedy
Purposive interpretation · A statute is interpreted to advance its purpose
Beneficial construction · Welfare legislation is interpreted liberally in favour of those it protects
Strict construction of penal statutes · Ambiguity in a penal law is resolved in favour of the accused
Reading down · Narrowing the meaning of a provision to save it from invalidity
Reading in · Supplying words to a statute to make it constitutional or workable
Statutes in pari materia · Statutes on the same subject are read together
Presumption of constitutionality · A law is presumed valid, and the burden lies on the challenger
Doctrine of privity of contract · Only parties to a contract can sue on it
Doctrine of frustration · A contract becomes void when performance becomes impossible or unlawful
Doctrine of part performance · A transferee in possession under a written contract can protect that possession
Feeding the grant by estoppel · A transfer by an unauthorised person becomes valid when they later acquire the interest
Doctrine of election · A person taking a benefit under an instrument must also accept its burdens
Unjust enrichment · A person must not retain a benefit obtained at another's expense without legal basis
Doctrine of indoor management · Outsiders dealing with a company may assume internal procedures have been followed
Doctrine of constructive notice · Persons dealing with a company are deemed to know its public documents
Lifting the corporate veil · Courts look behind a company to the persons controlling it in cases of fraud or sham
Doctrine of ultra vires (companies) · An act beyond a company's objects is void
Holding out · A person who represents themselves as a partner is liable as one
Kompetenz-kompetenz · An arbitral tribunal may rule on its own jurisdiction
Separability of the arbitration clause · An arbitration clause survives even if the main contract is void
Seat versus venue in arbitration · The seat determines the supervisory courts; the venue is only where hearings take place
Group of companies doctrine · A non-signatory company in the same group may be bound by an arbitration agreement
Strict liability · Liability without fault for the escape of dangerous things, with exceptions
Absolute liability · Liability without any exception for harm from hazardous activities
Vicarious liability · One person is liable for the torts of another, as an employer for employees
Contributory negligence · The claimant's own negligence reduces the damages
Last opportunity rule · The party with the last chance to avoid the accident is liable
Eggshell skull rule · A wrongdoer takes the victim as they find them
Remoteness of damage: directness and foreseeability · Damages are limited to consequences that are not too remote
Doctrine of transferred malice · Intention to harm one person is transferred when another is harmed instead
Common intention · Each person is liable for an act done by several in furtherance of their common intention
Common object · Every member of an unlawful assembly is guilty of offences committed in prosecution of its common object
Grave and sudden provocation · Culpable homicide is not murder if done while deprived of self-control by grave and sudden provocation
Res gestae · Facts forming part of the same transaction are relevant
Rule against hearsay · Oral evidence must be direct
Last seen together theory · Being last seen with the deceased shifts an evidentiary burden to the accused to explain
Benefit of the doubt · Where there is reasonable doubt, the accused must be acquitted
Reverse burden of proof · The law places the burden on the accused to disprove a presumption
Doctrine of recent possession · A person found with recently stolen goods may be presumed to be the thief or receiver
Idea–expression dichotomy · Copyright protects expression, not ideas
Doctrine of exhaustion (first sale) · Once a genuine product is sold, the right holder cannot control its resale
Passing off · A trader must not misrepresent goods as another's
Fair dealing · Limited uses of copyright works are not infringement
Monism and dualism · Whether international law applies directly in domestic law
Act of state doctrine · Courts of one country do not judge the sovereign acts of another state within its territory
Estrada doctrine · States should not pass judgment on the legitimacy of foreign governments
Stimson doctrine · Territorial changes brought about by force should not be recognised
Calvo doctrine · Foreign investors should settle disputes in local courts, not through diplomatic protection
Responsibility to Protect (R2P) · The international community has a responsibility to protect populations from mass atrocities
Persistent objector rule · A state that consistently objects to an emerging custom is not bound by it
Clean slate doctrine · A newly independent state is not bound by its predecessor's treaties
The Caroline test · Anticipatory self-defence requires a necessity that is instant and overwhelming
Margin of appreciation · States get some latitude in applying human rights standards
Forum non conveniens · A court may decline jurisdiction if another forum is more appropriate
Comity of nations and courts · Courts respect the laws and judgments of other jurisdictions as a matter of courtesy
Doctrine of occupied field · A state cannot legislate on a matter Parliament has fully covered
Doctrine of implied repeal · A later law repeals an earlier inconsistent law without saying so
Doctrine of immunity of instrumentalities · Federal and state governments cannot tax each other's instrumentalities
Wednesbury unreasonableness · A decision so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could have made it
Malice in law · Using a power for a purpose other than the one for which it was given
Fettering of discretion · An authority may not bind itself by rigid rules so as to refuse to consider individual cases
Doctrine of non-retrogression · Rights once recognised should not be rolled back
Doctrine of constitutional avoidance · Courts should avoid deciding constitutional questions when a case can be resolved on other grounds
Living tree doctrine · A constitution grows and adapts with the times
Originalism · A constitution should be read according to its original meaning
Complete justice under Article 142 · The Supreme Court may pass any order necessary to do complete justice
Doctrine of subrogation · One who pays another's debt steps into the creditor's shoes
Doctrine of marshalling · A creditor with two securities must not unfairly exhaust the one another creditor relies on
Rule against perpetuity · Property cannot be tied up indefinitely
Doctrine of unconscionability · Courts will not enforce grossly unfair terms imposed by a stronger party
Force majeure · Events beyond control excusing performance
Constructive res judicata · A plea that could have been raised in an earlier case cannot be raised later
Rule against forum shopping · Litigants may not pick courts to get a favourable judge
Corporate opportunity doctrine · Directors may not take for themselves business opportunities belonging to the company
Business judgment rule · Courts do not second-guess honest business decisions of directors
Doctrine of identification · A company's mind is the mind of those who control it
Rescue doctrine · A rescuer injured while helping can sue the person who created the danger
Doctrine of alternative danger · A person who acts wrongly in the agony of the moment is not negligent
Bolam test · A doctor is not negligent if acting in accordance with a responsible body of medical opinion
Informed consent · Patients must understand the nature and risks of treatment before agreeing
Discovery of facts under Section 27 · Information from an accused in custody leading to a discovery can be proved
Adverse inference · A court may presume that withheld evidence would have been unfavourable
Fruit of the poisonous tree · Evidence derived from an illegal search is excluded
Doctrine of blending · A coparcener can throw self-acquired property into the joint family stock
Doctrine of pious obligation · Sons were bound to pay their father's debts not incurred for illegal or immoral purposes
Doctrine of factum valet · A fact cannot be altered by a hundred texts
Doctrine of relation back · An adoption relates back to the date of the adoptive father's death
Effective control and overall control · Tests for attributing the acts of armed groups to a state
Universal jurisdiction · Any state may prosecute certain grave crimes wherever committed
Command responsibility · Commanders are liable for subordinates' crimes they knew of and failed to prevent
Complementarity · The ICC acts only when national courts are unwilling or unable
Equitable and reasonable utilisation · States sharing a river must use it fairly
Common but differentiated responsibilities · All states must protect the climate, but developed states bear greater responsibility
PlusAll 131 entries, and every heading in the LibraryYours from ₹1,499, till CLAT 2028See Plus
