The following code results throws an NPE instead of a JspException: <tck:catch var="e" exception= "javax.servlet.jsp.JspException" > <sql:transaction dataSource= "${null}" > <sql:query var="resultSet" > <c:out value="${sqlProps.Select_Jstl_Tab1_By_Id_Query}" /> </sql:query> </sql:transaction> </tck:catch> The output is: Error: The expected Exception javax.servlet.jsp.JspException was not thrown! The actual Exception thrown was: class java.lang.NullPointerException