Due Process of Law and Natural Justice

Chhavi Agarwal*
"The principles of natural justice are easy to proclaim but their precise
extent is far less easy to define"
Evershed M R
Introduction to Natural School :
Natural School of Law deals with norms which are higher and which is involved in search of
absolute justice. It is the touchstone of all activities and the ruled as well as the ruler is bound by
it. It can be divided into two parts :
- Natural law is higher law, which renders inconsistent laws invalid. If the law is contrary to
natural law, it becomes ultra vires. Law in ancient and medieval period was prevalent in this
sense.
- Natural law is an ideal and without affecting the constitutionality the law has to conform to
its principles.
In absence of such principles peace and happiness cannot be established in the society. Natural law
is the dictate of the reason. It contains transcendental and immutable principles to which the
system has to confirm. Cicero pointed this out that law is just and reasonable. It contains in itself 3
things
- The human inclination towards goal and every element, which protects itself and therefore
it, includes all elements necessary for protection of human life and it discards all rules,
which are against the same.
- Like other animals, men have certain desires and object in life. Natural law includes rules
pertaining to instincts.
- Due to its rationale nature it has inclination towards what is good and bad.
According to Diaz, Natural law has been used in 5 ways :
- as an ideal which directs the development of law
- It contains rules of morality, which does not allow permanent separation between law as it
and law as it ought to be.

- It's an away to search absolute law.

- Natural law is content of law derived from reason
- It is necessary for the legitimacy and existence of any law.
Hence, natural school basically deals with the dictates of the reason and rationality.
DUE PROCESS OF LAW :
The concept of due process originated in English Common Law.1 The rule that individuals
shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without notice and an opportunity to defend
themselves predates written constitutions and was widely accepted in England.2 The MAGNA
CARTA, an agreement signed in 1215 that defined the rights of English subjects against the
king, is an early example of a constitutional guarantee of due process.3 That document
includes a clause that declares, "No free man shall be seized, or imprisoned ... except by
the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land". This concept of the law of the
land was later transformed into the phrase "due process of law."
The application of constitutional due process is traditionally divided into the two categories
of
* Substantive Due Process and
* Procedural due process
These categories are derived from a distinction that is made between two types of law. Substantive
Law creates, defines, and regulates rights, whereas procedural law enforces those rights or seeks
redress for their violation.
A fundamental, constitutional guarantee that all legal proceedings will be fair and that one will be
given notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard before the government acts to take
away one's life, liberty, or property. It is also, a constitutional guarantee that law shall not be
unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious. Due process is the principle that the government must
respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law. Due process holds the
government subservient to the law of the land, protecting individual persons from the state. Due
process has also been frequently interpreted as placing limitations on laws and legal proceedings,
in order for judges instead of legislators to define and guarantee fundamental fairness, justice, and
liberty. This interpretation has often proven controversial, and is analogous to the concepts of
natural justice.
PARADOX OF SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS: The doctrine of Substantive Due Process holds that

the Due Process Clause not only requires "due process," that is, basic procedural rights, but that it
also protects basic substantive rights.4 "Substantive" rights are those general rights that reserve to
the individual the power to possess or to do certain things, despite the government's desire to the
contrary.5 These are rights like freedom of speech and religion. "Procedural" rights are special
rights that, instead, dictate how the government can lawfully go about taking away a person's
freedom or property or life, when the law otherwise gives them the power to do so.6 It is not only
that appropriate and just procedures (or "processes") be used whenever the government is
punishing a person or otherwise taking away a person's life, freedom or property, but that these
clauses also guarantee that a person's life, freedom and property cannot be taken without
appropriate governmental justification, regardless of the procedures used to do the taking. In a
sense, it makes the "Due Process" clause a "Due Substance" clause as well. Substantive Due
Process provides comprehensive nation-wide protection for all our most cherished rights.
Supporters of this concept argue that the doctrine is a simple recognition that no procedure can be
just if it is being used to unjustly deprive a person of his basic human liberties and that the Due
Process Clause was intentionally written in broad terms to give the Court flexibility in interpreting
it. Critics claim that "Substantive Due Process" is an oxymoron and that there is no way a
reasonable person with a sixth grade grasp of grammar could read the "Due Process" Clause to
assure anything but procedural rights.7 Critics in America say that when the Court uses judicial
review to enforce these pseudo-Constitutional rights they are stealing the legitimate law-making
power from the state legislatures.
STATUS IN AMERICA :
The due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, ratified in 1791, asserts that no person
shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The Due Process
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, declares," Nor shall any State
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". In Den v.
Hoboken Land and Improvement Company8, the first Supreme Court case to attempt to
define the Fifth Amendment's " due process of law " provision, Justice Benjamin R. Curtis,
for a unanimous court, stated that the "words ' due process of law ' were undoubtedly
intended to convey the same meaning as the words 'by the law of the land,' in Magna Carta.
Lord Coke, in his commentary on those words ... says, they mean due process of law."9
Justice Curtis continued and noted that although the Constitution did not define " due
process of law," provided no description of those processes which were intended or
forbidden and did not declare the principles to be applied: It is a restraint on the legislative
as well as on the executive and judicial powers of the government, and cannot be so
construed as to leave Congress free to make any process " due process " by its mere will ...
We must first examine the Constitution ... to see whether this process be in conflict with

any of its provisions.10 The case of Stuart v Palmer11 has to be considered in which it was
declared that "due process of law" is based upon the first principles of natural law, which is
older than written constitutions, that a citizen should not be deprived of his life, liberty or
property without an opportunity to be heard in defense of his rights, and the constitutional
provision that no person shall be deprived of these without due process of law.12 This
concept of "due process" is almost analogous to principles of natural justice. Basically due
process has not been attempted to define as it is based on the concept of free government
and wide gamut of rights. The word "due" in American sense is interpreted as "reasonable",
"just" and "proper".13 The power to decide as to the reasonability of the same is vested in
the courts.
This concept augmented and broadened the scope of rights in America leading to a bunch of
uncertainty.14 The decisions on the question of reasonability are not uniform in USA. Moreover,
doctrine of police power is established in USA to restrict the ambit of "due process" i.e. doctrine of
governmental power to regulate private rights in public interest.15
STATUS IN INDIA :
In order to surmount the uncertainty, which would arise because of broadening of scope of rights
like in America, Indian constitution makers restricted it to procedure established by law.16 The
phrase "procedure established by law" seems to be borrowed from article 31 of the Japanese
Constitution, which gives the legislature the final word.17 Gopalan18 held the field for almost three
decades. It gave legislature a carte blanche to enact a law to provide for arrest of a person without
much procedural safeguards.19 It gave the ultimate power to the legislature to decide what was
going to be the procedure to curb the liberty of a person under article 21. This was an absolute
right given to the legislature. It held that the term "law" in article 21 could not be understood as
principles of natural justice. In its normal connotation it should means procedure established by
law means law enacted or State made law and not the American concept of due process which
simple means vague and uncertain principles of natural justice.20 It was held by the majority that
procedure established is in the nature of "Lex" and not "Jus". Jurisprudentially speaking Gopalan
reflected the sway of positivism the superior authority of law - the thoughts of Austin. An extreme
view was taken during the emergency of 1975-1977 when Supreme Court, in one of the most
unfortunate decisions, held that once article

21

was suspended by a presidential order the court

could not enquire whether the deprivation of life or liberty of an individual was authorized by
law.21
Prof Hart and Prof Fuller attacked this analytical separation of law. According to them the law
should discharge the prerequisite of justice and rationale. In Maneka Gandhi v UOI22 it was held
that a procedure lacking rationale and fairness is void. Procedure as established by law should not

be bizarre, oppressive or arbitrary otherwise it would not be a procedure in law. A procedure to

fulfill this basis should fulfill the needs of natural law. This case generated an aura if peaceful
transition from archaic legal positivism to the dictates of natural law and reach social justice
jurisprudence solely on account on judicial interpretation, something which was not seen by the
founding fathers of the constitution. Justice Bhagawati in Maneka Gandhi pointed out that the
"procedure established by law under article 14 should fulfill the test of reasonableness under
article 14. Law should be reasonable law, and not enacted piece of law "
This shows that even in India the concept of "reasonable" and "Fair", and not only "Lex" but "Jus"
prevails. It's only after the eye opening decision of Maneka Gandhi that the status has changed so
drastically. Now, In India also "procedure" has to pass the test of reasonability and the
Government has not given unfettered and unregulated power to curtail the liberty and freedom of
any person. Moreover, it overruled the explanation in the Gopalan which delinked article 14,19 and
21. This case laid down that these articles are not mutually exclusive. A nexus has been
established between these three articles. To deprive a person of his "personal liberty" the
procedure should fulfill all the requirements of article 14 and 19.
The power to decide as to the reasonability of the same is vested in the courts. "Fair Procedure"
includes 4 elements:
(1) Notice
(2) Opportunity to heard
(3) Impartial tribunal
(4) Orderly procedure
CONCLUSION :
While J. Bhagwati in Maneka Gandhi established the requirement of reasonableness of
procedure in article 21 through article 14 some judges in the case have read "procedure
established by law" as "due process of law" which was intentionally avoided by constitution
makers. Indian constitution, even though has adopted and borrowed many things from the
United States' constitution has not adopted the American doctrine of the "Due process of
Law" in its formal and comprehensive form but the discretion has been left to the judiciary
to decide the rationality of a procedure. Nevertheless, this principle has been incorporated
in the Indian Constitution in especially article 21 as discussed. When we compare the
narrow view of article 21 in Gopalan Case we can realize that judiciary was living in an ivory
tower unconnected and unconcerned with the social reality - far away from where the law
originates - the nature. The judiciary was undermining the values of natural justice. Only

after the astounding decision of Maneka Gandhi case the state of affairs in India has
radically revolutionized.
_____________________________
*. Chhavi Agarwal, 3rd year BA LLB(Hons), Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
1. Refer, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_process\ as on 25.2.2010.
2. Robert E. Riggs, 'SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS',1990 Wis. L. Rev. 941.
3. supra note 1.
4. Refer, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substantive_due_process as on 23.2.2010
5.

Refer,

http://www.stanford.edu/group/psylawseminar/Substantive%20Due%

20Process.htm as on 20.2.2010
6. Id.
7. Id.
8. 59 U.S. (18 How.) 272, 15 L.Ed. 372 (1855).
9. Id. at 276, 15 L.Ed. at 374.
10. Hon. Maurice Portley, 'THE DUE PROCESS CLAUSE OF THE FIFTH AMENDMENT', 28-DEC
Ariz. Att'y 13
11. 74 NY 183 at p.190 (1878).
12. Misra A S, "Law of Bias and Mala Fides", p 18 (4th Edn., 2007).
13. M.P. Jain, 'Indian Constitutional law', p 1080 (5th Edn, 2005).
14. Supra note 11, at 1081
15. Id.
16. Supra note 11, at 1081
17. DATAR, ARVIND, 'Datar on Constitution', p.57, (1st Ed., 2001)
18. Gopalan v State of Madras, AIR1950 SC 27
19. Supra note 11, at 1082
20. Dhyani S N, "Jurisprudence and Indian Legal Theory", p 65 (4th Edn. 2002).

21. ADM Jabalpur v Shivakant Shukla AIR 1976 SC 1207.

22. AIR 1978 SC 597.