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IAI Actuarial Core Principles · Business Management · Sources of Indian law and valid contracts

Meera, an actuarial analyst at a Mumbai insurer, is reading about the hierarchy of Indian legal sources. She asks which source sits at the top, so that any ordinary law or executive rule inconsistent with it can be declared invalid by the courts. Which source is it?

The Constitution of India is the highest source of Indian law. Every statute, rule, regulation and circular must conform to it, and courts may declare inconsistent provisions invalid through judicial review. Parliamentary Acts, ministerial rules, regulator circulars and judgments all rank below it.

  1. AThe Constitution of IndiaCorrect
  2. BAn Act passed by Parliament
  3. CRules framed by a Ministry under delegated power
  4. DA circular issued by a regulator
  5. A High Court judgment on a commercial dispute

Explanation

The Constitution is the supreme source of law in India. Statutes, delegated legislation and circulars must conform to it, and courts can strike down any that do not. Statutes are subordinate to it, and rules, circulars and judgments rank lower still.

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