Judicial Discretion - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition judicial-discretion

Definition :

Judicial discretion, signifies unrestrained exercise of choice or will; freedom to act according to one's own judgment; unrestrained exercise of will, the liberty of power of acting without other control than one's own judgment, Reliance Airport Develo-pers Pvt. Ltd. v. Airports Authority of India, (2006) 10 JT 424: (2006) 11 SCALE 208.

Judicial discretion. Such matters in the course of a trial as are to be decided summarily by the judge, and cannot be questioned afterwards, are said to be within his discretion. Various matters incidental to the conduct of a cause before trial are also by statute left in the discretion of the Court, or a judge at chambers. Discretion is thus defined by Coke, in Rooke's case, 40 Eliz.: 'Discretion is a science of understanding, to discern between falsity and truth, between wrong and right, between shadows and substance, between equity and colourable glosses and pretences, and not to do according to their wills and private affections; for, as one said, talis discretio discretionem confundit.'

The court is regarded as invested with a 'discretion' which it must exercise judicially. In every case in which a tribunal is bound to exercise a 'judicial discretion' power has been confided to the tribunal to act or refrain from acting in a particular way in certain proved or admitted circumstances, Abdul Bari Chowdhury v. Commissioner of Income-tax, AIR 1931 Rang 194.