Q: What is doctrine of colourable legislation ?

Ans: Doctrine of Colorable Legislation means that if a legislature lacks the jurisdiction to enact laws on a specific subject directly, it cannot make laws on it indirectly. In simple words, the doctrine checks if a law has been enacted on a subject indirectly when it is barred to legislate on that topic directly. This is designed to prevent the legislature from doing anything that has been explicitly forbidden from being done indirectly or secretly. The expression “Colourable Legislation” means “what can’t be done directly, can’t be done indirectly as well”.