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(xv) In Shayara Bano vs. Union of India, reported in 2017 (9) SCC 1 the Hon'ble Supreme Court, held thus:-

63. In the pre-1974 era, the judgments of this Court did refer to the rule of law or positive aspect of Article 14, the concomitant of which is that if an action is found to be arbitrary and, therefore, http://www.judis.nic.in unreasonable, it would negate the equal protection of the law contained in Article 14 and would be struck down on this ground. In S.G. Jaisinghani v. Union of India, (1967) 2 SCR 703, this Court held: In this context it is important to emphasize that the absence of arbitrary power is the first essential of the rule of law upon which our whole constitutional system is based. In a system governed by rule of law, discretion, when conferred upon executive authorities, must be confined within clearly defined limits. The rule of law from this point of view means that decisions should be made by the application of known principles and rules and, in general, such decisions should be predictable and the citizen should know where he is. If a decision is taken without any principle or without any rule it is unpredictable and such a decision is the antithesis of a decision taken in accordance with the rule of law. (See Dicey Law of the Constitution 10th Edn., Introduction cx). Law has reached its finest moments, stated Douglas, J. in United States v. Wunderlick [342 US 98], when it has freed man from the unlimited discretion of some ruler. Where discretion, is absolute, man has always suffered. It is in this sense that the rule of law may be said to be the sworn enemy of caprice. Discretion, as Lord Mansfield stated it in classic terms in the case of John Wilkes [(1770) 4 Burr. 2528 at 2539], means sound discretion guided by law. It must be governed by rule, not by humour: Shayara Bano vs Union Of India And Ors. Ministry Of ... on 22 August, 2017 Indian Kanoon -