The principle that the State and its officials are governed by law and not by arbitrary power, that all persons are equal before the law, and that no one is above the law. Associated with the British jurist A.V. Dicey.
- Dicey's three elements: supremacy of law (no arbitrary power and no punishment except for a definite breach of law), equality before the law (all classes subject to the ordinary law and ordinary courts), and that rights flow from the ordinary law of the land developed by courts.
- In India it is reflected in Article 14 (equality before the law and equal protection of the laws) and is part of the concept basic structure.
- Affirmed as a basic feature in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975), where a clause placing the Prime Minister's election beyond judicial scrutiny was struck down.
- The Indian rule of law is not absolute: there are reasonable classifications, immunities (for example Article 361 for the President and Governors) and protective provisions, so Dicey's model applies with modifications.
It is a foundational polity concept feeding into Article 14, basic structure and the security-versus-rights balance; commonly tested as a basic feature and a Diceyan idea.
"Rule of law" (no one above the law) is different from "rule by law" (using law as an instrument of arbitrary power); Article 14 is its constitutional anchor in India.
Dicey's principle of law's supremacy and equality before the law; an Article 14 value and part of the basic structure (Indira Nehru Gandhi, 1975).