Ultra vires
Latin: Beyond the powers.
Also called: Doctrine of ultra vires, Intra vires
Beyond the powers. An act, rule or law made in excess of the authority conferred by the Constitution, the parent statute or a company's memorandum is ultra vires and void.
Explained
Ultra vires means beyond the powers. An act done by a body or authority that goes beyond the powers conferred on it is ultra vires and, as a rule, void. Its opposite is intra vires, within the powers. The doctrine appears in constitutional law, administrative law and company law, and the source of the limit differs in each.
In constitutional law, a law made by Parliament or a State Legislature is ultra vires if it falls outside its legislative competence under Article 246 and the Seventh Schedule, or exceeds the territorial limits of Article 245, or contravenes a constitutional limitation. Article 13(2) provides that the State shall not make any law that takes away or abridges the fundamental rights and that a law made in contravention shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void. In Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2013), Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was declared ultra vires because Parliament had no power to defer the disqualification that the Constitution attaches.
In administrative law, delegated legislation and administrative action are ultra vires if they exceed the parent Act, which is substantive ultra vires, or fail to follow mandatory procedure, which is procedural ultra vires. A rule may also be struck down for violating the Constitution even if within the parent Act. Courts correct such action through judicial review, including the writ of certiorari.
In company law, the memorandum of a company states its objects under Section 4(1)(c) of the Companies Act, 2013. Under the classic doctrine, derived from Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Co. v. Riche (1875), a contract beyond the objects is void and cannot be ratified even by all the shareholders. Examiners test the meaning in language questions and its use in leading cases where a provision was struck down.
What the law says
(1) All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.
(2) The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by this Part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.
(3) In this article, unless the context otherwise requires,—
Laws contravening fundamental rights are void
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may make laws for the whole or any part of the territory of India, and the Legislature of a State may make laws for the whole or any part of the State.
(2) No law made by Parliament shall be deemed to be invalid on the ground that it would have extra-territorial operation.
Territorial extent of legislative power
(1) Notwithstanding anything in clauses (2) and (3), Parliament has exclusive power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List I in the Seventh Schedule (in this Constitution referred to as the “Union List”).
(2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (3), Parliament, and, subject to clause (1), the Legislature of any State *** also, have power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List III in the Seventh Schedule (in this Constitution referred to as the “Concurrent List”).
(3) Subject to clauses (1) and (2), the Legislature of any State *** has exclusive power to make laws for such State or any part thereof with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List II in the Seventh Schedule (in this Constitution referred to as the “State List”).
Distribution of legislative competence
(1) The memorandum of a company shall state—
(a) the name of the company with the last word “Limited” in the case of a public limited company, or the last words “Private Limited” in the case of a private limited company:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to a company registered under section 8;
Memorandum must state the company's objects
For the exam
- Means beyond the powers; opposite is intra vires.
- Law contravening fundamental rights is void to that extent (Article 13(2)).
- Delegated legislation exceeding the parent Act is substantively ultra vires.
- Section 8(4) of the RP Act, 1951 held ultra vires the Constitution (Lily Thomas, 2013).
- Company acts beyond the objects in the memorandum are void and not ratifiable (classic doctrine).
32 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this maxim. Practise Administrative Law questions
Judgments
Related terms
- Delegatus non potest delegareA person to whom a power or duty has been delegated must exercise it himself and cannot pass it on to another, unless the authority conferring it permits sub-delegation.
- CertiorariA writ by which a superior court calls up the record of an inferior court, tribunal or authority and quashes a decision made without jurisdiction, against natural justice, or with an error of law apparent on the record.
- MandamusA writ commanding a public authority, body or official to perform a public or statutory duty that it has failed or refused to perform. Issued under Articles 32 and 226.
- Existing lawUnder Article 366(10), any law, Ordinance, order, bye-law, rule or regulation passed or made before the Constitution commenced by a body or person having power to make it.
- LawFor Article 13 of the Constitution, law includes any Ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having the force of law in India.
- Nemo judex in causa suaNo one should be a judge in his own cause. It is the rule against bias, one of the two main principles of natural justice.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.