A legislation which confers on the executive or administrative authority an unguided and uncontrolled discretionary power in the matter of application of law violates which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India?
Explanation
The doctrine of equality before the law under Article 14 of the Constitution of India is the cornerstone of the Rule of Law, which intrinsically repudiates arbitrariness.
– The Supreme Court has repeatedly held (e.g., *E.P. Royappa vs. State of Tamil Nadu* and *Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India*) that arbitrariness is the antithesis of equality.
– When a legislative enactment confers absolute, unguided, or uncanalized discretionary authority on executive officers without guiding policy criteria, it paves the way for arbitrary discrimination, directly violating the guarantee of equality under Article 14.
Hence, unguided discretionary power violates Article 14 — Option A.