Fundamental rights in India

 

Fundamental rights in India 

The Fundamental Rights in India enshrined in part III (Article 12–35) of the Constitution of India guarantee civil liberties such that all Indians can lead their lives in peace and harmony as citizens of India. These rights are known as "fundamental" as they are the most essential for all-round development i.e., material, intellectual, moral and spiritual and protected by fundamental law of the land i.e. constitution. If the rights provided by Constitution especially the Fundamental rights are violated the Supreme Court and the High Courts can issue writs under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution, respectively, directing the State Machinery for enforcement of the fundamental rights. 

The six fundamental rights are:

Right to equality (Article 14–18)

Right to freedom (Article 19–22)

Right against exploitation (Article 23–24)

Right to freedom of religion (Article 25–28)

Cultural and educational rights (Article 29–30)

Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32–35)

 Article 14

Article 14 guarantees equality before law as well as equal protection of the law to all people within the territory of India. This includes the equal subjection of all persons to the authority of law, as well as equal treatment of persons in similar circumstances.  The latter permits the State to classify persons for legitimate purposes, provided there is a reasonable basis for the same, meaning that the classification is required to be non-arbitrary, based on a method of intelligible differentiation among those sought to be classified, as well as have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the classification.

Article 15 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, and also gender or any of them. This right can be enforced against the State as well as private individuals, with regard to free access to places of public entertainment or places of public resort maintained partly or wholly out of State funds. However, the State is not precluded from making special provisions for women and children or any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens, including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This exception has been provided since the classes of people mentioned are considered deprived and in need of special protection.

Article 16

Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment and prevents the State from discriminating against anyone in matters of employment on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, place of residence or income. It creates exceptions for the implementation of measures of affirmative action for the benefit of any backward class of citizens to ensure adequate representation in public service, as well as reservation of an office of any religious institution for a person professing that particular religion 

Article 17 abolishes the practice of untouchability in any form, making it an offense punishable by law. The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 was enacted by Parliament to further this objective.

Article 18 prohibits the State from conferring any titles other than military or academic distinctions, and the citizens of India cannot accept titles from a foreign state. Thus, Indian aristocratic titles and title of nobility conferred by the British have been abolished. However, military and academic distinctions can be conferred on the citizens of India. The awards of Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan can be used by the recipient as a title and do not, accordingly, come within the constitutional prohibition".^[20][21] The Supreme Court, on 15 December 1995, upheld the validity of such awards.

Article 19 guarantees six freedoms in the nature of civil rights, which are available only to citizens of India.^[23][24] These include the freedom of speech and expression, freedom of assembly without arms, freedom of association, freedom of movement throughout the territory of our country, freedom to reside and settle in any part of the country of India and the freedom to practice any profession.

Right to information has been given the status of a fundamental right under Article 19(1) of the Constitution in 2005. Article 19 (1) under which every citizen has freedom of speech and expression and the right to know how the government works, what roles it plays, what its functions are, and so on.

Article 20 provides protection from conviction for offences in certain respects, including the rights against ex post facto laws, double jeopardy and freedom from self-incrimination.

Article 21 prevents the encroachment of life or personal liberty by the State. It includes within it a number of rights including those to livelihood, good health,^] clean environment, water, speedy trial and humanitarian treatment while imprisoned.

The right to education at elementary level has been made one of the Fundamental Rights under Article 21A by the 86th Constitutional amendment of 2002.

Article 22 provides that when a person is detained under any law of preventive detention, the State can detain such person without trial for only three months, and any detention for a longer period must be authorised by an advisory board. The person being detained also has the right to be informed about the grounds of detention, and be permitted to make a representation against it, at the earliest opportunity. 

Article 23 prohibits human trafficking, making it an offence punishable by law, and also prohibits forced labour or any act of compelling a person to work without wages where he was legally entitled not to work or to receive remuneration for it. However, it permits the State to impose compulsory service for public purposes, including conscription and community service. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, has been enacted by Parliament to give effect to this Article.

Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in factories, mines and other hazardous jobs. Parliament has enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, providing regulations for the abolition of, and penalties for employing, child labour, as well as provisions for rehabilitation of former child labourers.

Article 25 guarantees all persons the freedom of conscience and the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion of their choice. This right is, however, subject to public order, morality and health, and the power of the State to take measures for social welfare and reform  The right to propagate, however, does not include the right to convert another individual, since it would amount to an infringement of the other's right to freedom of conscience.

Article 26 guarantees all religious denominations and sects, subject to public order, morality and health, to manage their own affairs in matters of religion, set up institutions of their own for charitable or religious purposes, and own, acquire and manage a property in accordance with law. These provisions do not derogate from the State's power to acquire property belonging to a religious denomination. The State is also empowered to regulate any economic, political or other secular activity associated with religious practice.

Article 27 guarantees that no one can be compelled to pay taxes for the promotion of any particular religion or religious institution.

Article 28 prohibits religious instruction in a wholly or partially state-funded educational institution, and educational institutions receiving aid from the State .The State cannot compel any of their members to receive religious instruction or attend religious worship without their (or their guardian's) consent. 

Article 29 grants any section of citizens having a distinct language, script, or culture of its own, the right to conserve and develop the same, and thus safeguards the rights of minorities by preventing the State from imposing any external culture on them.

Article 30 confers upon all religious and linguistic minorities the right to set up and administer educational institutions of their choice to preserve and develop their own culture, and prohibits the State, while granting aid, from discriminating against any institution on the basis of the fact that it is administered by a religious or cultural minority. 

Article 32 provides a guaranteed remedy, in the form of a Fundamental Right itself, for enforcement of all the other Fundamental Rights, and the Supreme Court is designated as the protector of these rights by the Constitution. The Supreme Court has been empowered to issue writs, namely habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto, for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.

Article 33 of the Indian constitution grants the Parliament the authority to enact legislation aimed at limiting the extension of fundamental rights to particular groups, which may encompass individuals within the Indian Army and intelligence agencies.

Article 34 of the Constitution grants authority to the Parliament to provide indemnification for government servants or individuals who may have taken actions in relation to the maintenance or restoration of order within regions where martial law had been enforced. This constitutional provision essentially empowers the Parliament to absolve these individuals from any legal liability or consequences arising from their actions undertaken in the context of martial law implementation. In essence, it allows for the legal protection and exoneration of those involved in maintaining or restoring order during periods when martial law was in effect.

Article 35 of the Indian Constitution is a provision that gives the Parliament the exclusive power to make laws on certain matters related to the fundamental rights, such as the reservation of public employment, the application of fundamental rights to the armed forces, the restriction of fundamental rights during martial law, and the punishment for violating the fundamental rights.

Article 35 should not be confused with Article 35A, which was a separate article that empowered the Jammu and Kashmir (union territory) state's legislature to define "permanent residents" of the state and provide special rights and privileges to them. Article 35A was added to the Constitution through a presidential order in 1954, without any amendment by the Parliament. It was abrogated by another presidential order in 2019, along with Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.