Important Legal Definitions
Explore legal terms, clear definitions and practical examples.
Substantive Due Process
Constitutional & Public Law Doctrines
Definition
The constitutional standard imported into Indian jurisprudence through Maneka Gandhi (1978), requiring that a law depriving a person of life or liberty must not only follow a validly enacted statutory procedure, but that the procedure itself must be "just, fair, and reasonable."
Example
A statute authorizing indefinite detention of individuals suspected of financial irregularities without the right to legal representation or periodic judicial review violates substantive due process under Article 21.