colourable legislation
The doctrine rests on the idea that what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The court looks past the form and label of the law to its true nature and effect. If, in substance, the law deals with a subject outside the legislature's lists, it is void however it is framed.
The question is always one of competence, never of motive. If the legislature has the power, its reasons for using it are irrelevant, and the doctrine has no place. Students often treat it as a test of bad faith; it is not. It is closely tied to pith and substance, which identifies the true subject of the law.
Example
The levy, though called a fee, is in substance a tax on land the State cannot impose, so the Act is colourable legislation and void.
In Indian law
See also
pith and substance · ultra vires · federalism · repugnancy
Read more in the study notes
- Principles of constitutional interpretation: pith and substance, colourable legislation, occupied field and repugnancy (Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation)
- Administrative discretion and its judicial review (Administrative Law)
- Centre-State legislative relations (Constitutional Law II)
- Constitutional interpretation (Constitutional Law II)
- Indian federalism: Centre-State relations, the GST Council and the Governor (Indian Constitutional Law - New Challenges)
- Notification and acquisition: preliminary notification, objections and declaration (Land Law)