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  The doctrine of laches is applied by the judiciary to check if the case was brought in front of the court in a reasonable time or not. Laches literally means delay. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, the doctrine is based on the maxim that “equity aids the vigilant and not those who slumber on their rights.” Therefore one can claim their legal right in reasonable time and not after a long delay. Concept of Doctrine of Laches This doctrine means that if a prolonged delay in asserting a legal right or claim has harmed the opposing party, the right or claim will not be upheld or permitted. Anyone seeking redress must appear in court within a fair time frame. However, the question is whether fundamental rights can be denied under Article 32 due to a delay. Fundamental rights cannot be withheld just due to inaction, as this is unjustifiable. It is vital for one's personal development. Supreme Court Judgements in which doctrine of laches is used Ravindra Jain vs UOI The supreme court...

  The doctrine of territorial nexus is used by the judiciary to check if a territorial nexus can be established between the law and jurisdiction of the law-making body. Failure of which the law fails the doctrine of territorial nexus and can be declared invalid. In simpler words, any law-making body can legislate on matters outside their territorial jurisdiction only if it establishes a territorial nexus. Concept of Doctrine of Territorial Nexus Article 245 of the Indian constitution mentions that Parliament has the authority to enact laws for extraterritorial operations as well as legislation for the entire country or any part of it. The state legislature has the authority to enact laws that apply to the entire state or just a portion of it. Thus both the Union as well as the states have their own territorial jurisdictions. Article 246 of the Indian constitution mentions that Parliament has the exclusive authority to enact legislation on the topics listed in the union list (list I...

  The idea of severability is also known as the separability doctrine. The doctrine of severability states that where a specific component of legislation violates a constitutional limitation but is severable or separable from the remainder of the statute, the Court will declare only that offending provision unconstitutional, not the entire statute. Doctrine of Severability When only a piece of a challenged statute or law violates fundamental rights, and in such cases, the Doctrine of Severability is used. Article 13  of the Constitution establishes the Doctrine of Severability’s legitimacy, which states that “All laws in force in India, before the commencement of the Constitution, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of fundamental rights shall to the extent of that inconsistency be void.” The Doctrine of Severability, which is an extension of Article 13, asserts that where a certain section of legislation infringes or breaches fundamental rights but is sever...

  The doctrine of colourable legislation checks if the legislature has transgressed its power mentioned in the constitution. The expression “Colourable Legislation” means “what can’t be done directly, can’t be done indirectly as well”. In this article, we will discuss what is the doctrine of colourable legislation and the famous Supreme Court Judgements in which this doctrine is used to check the validity of the law. Concept Concept of Doctrine of Colourable Legislation Separation of powers entails the division or sharing of power. The Constitution states that each of these organs should exercise diverse powers in order to prevent the misuse of authority by any of the government's organs. As a result, a system of checks and balances emerges. With respect to their respective subjects, the Constitution has split powers between the federal government and the states. However, the legislative body occasionally passes laws that are outside of its purview. This signifies it has oversteppe...

  Doctrine of Eclipse  states that any law that is incompatible with fundamental rights is not invalid. It isn't completely dead, but it has been  overshadowed by the fundamental right . According to the Doctrine of Eclipse, any law that is incompatible with fundamental rights is not invalid. Concept of Doctrine of Eclipse Any law that is incompatible with fundamental rights is not invalid, according to the  Doctrine of Eclipse . It isn't completely dead, but it has been eclipsed by the fundamental right. "All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, i.e.  Part III , shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void," states  Article 13(1)  of the Constitution, which is part of the fundamental rights. The eclipse doctrine considers  fundamental rights  to be prospective in nature. It states that a  pre-constituti...

  The doctrine of Pith and Substance is applied when one legislature's law is contested or trespassed upon by other legislatures. This theory states that while assessing whether a certain law applies to a specific subject, the court looks at the substance of the matter. For instance, if a state’s law falls in the domain of the Union list of Schedule, the court uses the doctrine of Pith and Substance to check the validity of the law. In this article, we will discuss what is the doctrine of Pith and Substance and the famous Supreme Court Judgements in which this doctrine is used to check the validity of the law. Concept Of Doctrine Of Pith And Substance The doctrine of pith and substance is a legal doctrine that first emerged in the Canadian constitution. When there is a dispute between two or more topic issues from different lists, this occurs. In some cases, the topic content of list 1 may conflict with the subject matter of list 2. As a result, this doctrine is used in this case. ...

  In the Indian legal system, the principle of harmonious construction is used for statutory interpretation. When two provisions of a legal text appear to conflict, it is held that they should be read in such a way that each has its own impact and none is redundant or negated. Concept Of Doctrine Of Harmonious Construction The word "harmonious construction" refers to the process of achieving harmony or oneness among the numerous components of a statute. When a legislative provision's terms have more than one meaning and it's unclear which one should prevail, they should be interpreted so that each has its own consequence and none is redundant or invalidated. The Doctrine of Harmonious Construction arose from judicial interpretations in a number of cases. The doctrine's development may be traced all the way back to the first amendment to the Indian Constitution, with the landmark verdict of Shankari Prasad v. Union of India. This doctrine was established in order t...

  The Doctrine of Proportionality is frequently invoked as a basis for judicial review in matters involving administrative action. Doctrine of Proportionality - Background The theory arose in Europe and basically states that the penalty should not be disproportionate to the crime committed and that the tools chosen by the administration to attain a certain goal or outcome should not be more restrictive than what is necessary to achieve it. In the case of  Om Kumar v. Union of India , the Supreme Court of India adopted the proportionality concept and noted that Indian courts have been using this approach in circumstances of legislation that violates fundamental rights entrenched in Article 19(1) of the constitution since 1950. Doctrine of Proportionality - Concept When taking administrative action, the body should bear in mind the goal it is pursuing and the methods it is employing to get there; if its actions depart from the goal, are discriminatory, or disproportionate, the c...

  The basic structure doctrine is a common law legal doctrine which states that the constitution of a sovereign state has certain characteristics that cannot be erased by its legislature. It was developed by the Supreme Court of India in a series of constitutional law cases in the 1960s and 1970s that culminated in  Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) , where the doctrine was formally adopted. The UPSC Indian Polity and Governance Syllabus includes Basic Structure Doctrine which is described in this article. Basic Structure Doctrine - Historical Background Since the adoption of the Indian Constitution, debates have started regarding the power of the Parliament to amend key provisions like Fundamental Rights. In the early years of Independence, the  Supreme Court conceded absolute power to Parliament in amending the Constitution  which was seen in the verdicts of  Shankari Prasad case (1951) and Sajjan Singh case (1965). The Supreme Court ruled that the...

  The principle of  separation of powers  refers to a government structure in which authorities are  divided among numerous branches , each handling a  separate aspect of government.  Separation of powers refers to the  distribution of jurisdiction  among government organs.  Division of powers  refers to how the authority is distributed  at the different levels of government.  This is a  common characteristic  of a  federal country . In this article, we discuss the Different Approaches to Separation of Power Vs Division of Power which will help in clearing Basic Concepts of the aspiring candidates for the UPSC Civil Services Examination. Background The  Roman Republic  adopted the notion of separation of powers, also known as trias politica, which was developed in  ancient Greece. Montesquieu  discovered that when power is concentrated in the hands of a  single person  or a group of ...