Definition
Separability of provisions.
Invalid part of law can be severed if rest can stand.
Etymology & Origin
From 'sever' (to cut off or separate). In law, cutting away the unconstitutional parts of a statute to save the healthy parts.
Full Legal Analysis
The Doctrine of Severability (or Separability) is a constitutional principle used by courts to save a legislation from being entirely struck down. When a specific section of a law is found to violate the Constitution (e.g., it breaches a Fundamental Right), the court asks: Can this invalid section be 'severed' (separated) from the rest of the Act?
If the remaining provisions of the Act can still function independently and fulfill the legislature's original intent without the invalid section, the court will only strike down the bad part and uphold the rest.
However, if the valid and invalid parts are so inextricably mixed up that separating them changes the very nature of the legislation or leaves it unworkable, the entire Act must be struck down.
The Supreme Court struck down Section 14 of the Preventive Detention Act as unconstitutional but applied the doctrine of severability to uphold the rest of the Act, noting that removing Section 14 did not alter the Act's fundamental purpose.
Advocates defending government legislation always plead severability as a fallback option: 'Even if the court finds this specific clause unconstitutional, please sever it and save the rest of the statute.'
