Prohibition of Arbitrariness Under Article 14: A Study of Judicial Trends

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Date
2025-06
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National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
Abstract
Article 14 of the Constitution of India provides for equality before law and equal protection of law. When giving meaning to Article 14, the Supreme Court has extended the domain of arbitrary state action to additionally include a prohibition on state action that is characterized by arbitrariness. This extension which guarantees the prohibition on arbitrariness, while intended to promote fairness, has, to some extent, introduced problems of clarity and consistency of application. It is problematic that there is not a precise, universally accepted concept for identifying and measuring arbitrariness, because it could lead to inconsistency in judicial application or arbitrary conclusions that violate the equality principle. This study will explore the judicial development of the prohibition of arbitrariness in the context of Article 14, the implications for the equality principle, and the implications for legal certainty in India.
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Dissertation submitted to National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam in partial fulfilment for award of the degree of MASTER OF LAWS/ ONE YEAR LLM DEGREE PROGRAM SUBMITTED BY Riya Das UID- SF0224025 LL.M. 3 rd Semester (2024-25) SUPERVISED BYDr. Kailash Jeenger Associate Professor of Law
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