The Rule of Law is a fundamental concept of governance where all persons, institutions, and the State itself are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated. The phrase was popularized by British jurist A.V. Dicey in his 1885 work, Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, to solve the problem of arbitrary power by ensuring the supremacy of law over the influence of wide discretionary authority. Dicey's theory rests on three principles: the absolute supremacy of law, equality before the law, and the predominance of the legal spirit.
In India, the concept is an integral part of the constitutional framework, though the term is not explicitly defined in the Constitution. It is enshrined in the Preamble and operationalized through Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws, and Article 21, which protects life and personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law. The mechanism to enforce the Rule of Law is the power of Judicial Review, vested in the Supreme Court and High Courts under Articles 13, 32, 136, 142, and 226.
The most significant development is its connection to the Basic Structure Doctrine, which limits the Parliament's amending power under Article 368. In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), the Supreme Court held that the Rule of Law is one of the unamendable basic features of the Constitution. This was reaffirmed in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975), where the Court held that the Rule of Law, as enshrined in Article 14, forms part of the Basic Structure. A critical moment was the ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla case (1976), also known as the "Habeas Corpus case," where the majority ruled that the right to life under Article 21 was the sole source of the Rule of Law during an Emergency, a position later widely criticized. The core principle of the Rule of Law—that no one is above the law—has remained constant, but its constitutional protection was significantly strengthened by its inclusion in the Basic Structure in 1973.