Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation: An Overview

Administrative law is the body of law which includes rule making, adjudication and the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. There are certain principles of Administrative law which are evolved by courts with the object of preventing arbitrariness and abuse of power of court. One of the most popular and important principle of Administrative Law is ‘Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation’ which is a result of synthesis between the principle of administrative fairness and the Rule of Estoppels. The Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation is different from fair expectation but is expectation of benefits by which a person can seek judicial review of any action which are arbitrary, discriminatory, unfair and malicious in law, devoid of Rule of Law and voilative of principles of Natural Justice. The main objective of this paper is to explain the concept of Legitimate Expectation in a detail manner describing its applicability and reasons for its formation. The paper also discusses about its origin and its development in Indian as well as English laws. Thus, at last in the paper, conclusion has been provided. In the process of making this paper, several journals, books and articles were referred and taken into consideration. Internet has also been a support in this process. Hence, this paper is a result of Doctrinal Research Methodology