Fair & Equitable Principle: A State Action

The Hon’ble Supreme Court held that “Every Action of the state must be fair and reasonable, failing which it will lead to the infringement of the Fundamental Right to Equality which has been enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

The Bench included Justices K.M. Joseph and S. Ravindra Bha and they set aside the Patna High Court judgement which had directed the National Highway Authority of India to shift the toll plaza to Patna-Bakhtiyarpur (NH-30) from Karmalichak-Deedarganj. According to them, it was a clear violation of Rule 8 of the National Highways Fee Rules, 2008. The Supreme court observed that the duty to give reasons will come to light in the administrative actions and where these actions adversely influence the legal rights.

The Court observed that there is no general duty in administrative decisions to give reasons but if a statute provides that the executing authority should provide reasons in writing then it is open to question. The Executive Power of the Union and the States have been defined under Article 73 and Article 162 of the Constitution of India.

The reasons help in determining the application of mind of the administrator. It would also provide great assistance under the ambit of judicial review which encompasses wide aspects of public interest litigation. The obligation to act fairly, may expect reasons yet the obligations, however, there is an overall obligation on all states to act reasonably which may have its strengths to give right impact on the legal rights.

Moreover, where there is no duty to record reasons in assisting the administrative actions, the Court can take into consideration the materials which aided such pleadings and will prove whether the action taken was arbitrary or illegal. Therefore, the Supreme Court had set aside the direction of the Patna High Court to shift the toll plaza and held that the toll plaza construction was not illegal or arbitrary.