Fundamental Rights (Articles 12-35)

● Fundamental Rights are included in Part-III of the Indian constitution which

is also known as Magna Carta of Indian Constitution because it strives for
the all round development of citizens.
● The provision of Fundamental Right in the Indian Constitution has been
taken from the US Constitution.
sets of
● The Constitution of India provides for six Fundamental Rights.
● Fundamental Rights are protected and guaranteed by the constitution.
● These rights are called fundamental rights because they are justiciable in
nature allowing persons to move the courts for their enforcement, if and
when they are violated.
● Fundamental Rights protect us from state exploitation.
● The constitution allows the person to move directly to the Supreme Court
and high court for the reinforcement of his fundamental right as and when
they are violated or restricted.

Fundamental Rights are different from other rights available to us:

● While ordinary legal rights are protected and enforced by ordinary law,
Fundamental Rights are protected and guaranteed by the constitution of the
country.
● Ordinary rights may be changed by the legislature by ordinary process of law
making, but a fundamental right may only be changed by amending the
Constitution itself,
● Fundamental Rights could be suspended by the President of India (Article 358 and
Article 359) during the proclamation of National Emergency.
● However Rights under Article 20 and Article 21 cannot be suspended under any
circumstances.
● Rights under Article 19 are suspended only if National Emergency is declared on
the basis of war or external aggression and remain unaffected if declared
according to armed rebellion.
 ● All people, irrespective of race, religion, caste or sex, have been given the right to
move the Supreme Court and the High Courts for the enforcement of their
fundamental rights.

The Constitution of India provides for six Fundamental Rights:

1. Right to equality (Articles 14–18)

2. Right to freedom (Articles 19–22)
3. Right against exploitation (Articles 23–24)
4. Right to freedom of religion (Articles 25–28)
5. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29–30)
6. Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32-35)

● Originally the constitution also included Right to property (Article 31) And 19
[1(f)]. However, it was deleted from the list of Fundamental Rights by the 44th
Amendment Act, 1978.
● It is made a legal right under Article 300-A in Part XII of the Constitution.
● Article 12- Defines Government & Legislature of each state.
● Article 13- declares that all laws that are inconsistent with or in derogation of any
of the fundamental rights shall be void.

Right to equality (Articles 14–18)

Article 14 -
● Says that no person shall be denied treatment of equality before the law or the
equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
● The concept of 'equality before law' is an - element of the concept of 'Rule of
Law', propounded by A.V. Dicey.
Exceptions:
1. The President of India or Governor of states is not answerable to any court for the
exercise of their powers/duties and no civil or criminal proceedings can occur or
continue against them in any court during their term of office.
2. No member of Parliament and State Legislature shall be liable to any court
proceedings in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or
any committee.
 3. The foreign sovereigns (rulers), ambassadors and diplomats enjoy immunity from
criminal and civil proceedings.

Article 15-
● Provides that no citizen shall be discriminated against on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, sex or place of birth.
● Provision of Article 15 prohibits discrimination both by the State and private
individuals.
● Exception: Certain provisions can be made for the women, children, citizens from
any socially or educationally backward class for their upliftment (such as
reservation and access to free education).
● [Art 15-(4,5)]- Talks about reservations in educational institutions.
[Art 15-(6)] - Talks about EWS reservation.

Article 16-
● Indian constitution provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters
of employment or appointment to any public office.
● [EWS (103rd amendment in 2019) and OBC have reservation in public services]

Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs)

On 14 th January 2019 Constitution Amendment) Act, 2019 came into force. The Act
amends Article 15 and 16 and provides 10 percent reservation for economically
backward upper castes in government jobs.
Eligibility
● Annual family income is less than Rupees 8 lakh.
● Agricultural land should be less than 5 acres Residential flat of the family
should be less than 1000 sq.ft.
● Residential plot of a family should be less than 100 sq.yards in a notified
municipality. In a non notified municipality the residential plot should be below
200 sq.yards.
● They should not come under any other reservation.
Article 17-
● Abolishes ‘untouchability’ and forbids its practice in any form. The enforcement
of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an offense punishable in
accordance with law.
For the abolition of untouchability, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 have
been passed by the Parliament.

Article 18-
● Constitution of India abolishes titles and makes four provisions in that regard:
1. It prohibits the state from conferring any title on any citizen or a foreigner (except
a military or academic distinction).
2. It prohibits a citizen of India from accepting any title from any foreign state.
3. A foreigner holding any office of profit or trust under the state cannot accept any
title from any foreign state without the consent of the President of India.
4. No citizen or foreigner holding any office of profit or trust within the territory of
India can accept any present, emolument or office from or under any foreign
State without the consent of the president.
● The awards of Bharat Ratan and Padma Vibhushan cannot be used by the
recipient as a title and do not accordingly, come within the constitutional
prohibition".
● Awards were constituted in 1954. In 1977 Janata Party government suspended
these awards. However in 1980 these awards were again continued.

Right to freedom (Articles 19–22)

Article 19

● guarantees to all citizens the Six rights of freedom including:

Article 19 Provision

Article 19(1)(a) Freedom of speech and expression

Article 19(1)(b) Assemble Peaceful and without Arms

Article 19(1)(c) To form association or co-operative society

Article 19(1)(d) To move freely throughout the territory of India

Article 19(1)(e) To reside and settle in any part of the territory of India

Article 19(1)(g) To practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or

business.

● The Constitution originally provided for the right to property under Articles
19[1(f)] and 31 .
● The 44 th Amendment Act, 1978 deleted the right to property from the list of
fundamental rights.
● A new provision, Article 300-A, was added to the constitution which provided that
" no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law".
● So Right to property is only a legal and ordinary right and now if an individual's
right to property is violated, he can not move to the Supreme Court under Art-32.
● Such rights are protected by the ordinary law of the land.

Important Judicial Cases regarding Fundamental Rights

● Sankari Prasad vs Indian Union and Sajjan Singh vs Rajasthan case (1951)
Supreme Court agreed to the power of Parliament to amend Fundamental
Rights of constitution.
● Golak Nath v. State of Punjab (1967), 11 member Supreme Court bench ruled
that Parliament could not curtail any fundamental right guaranteed under the
Constitution.
24th Amendment to the Constitution of India (1971)-The Parliament may in the
exercise of its constituent power amend by way of addition, variation or repeal
any provision of the Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down.
● Kesavananda Bharati vs Kerala State,1973-Thirteen judges of the Supreme
Court held that although no part of the constitution, including fundamental
rights, was beyond the amending power of Parliament (thus overruling the
1967 case), the "basic structure of the Constitution" could not be abrogated
even by a constitutional amendment".
● Minerva Mills case (1980)- the Supreme Court provided key clarifications on the
interpretation of the basic structure doctrine. The court unanimously ruled that
 the power of the Parliament of India to amend the constitution is limited by the
constitution.

Article 20-
● Protection in respect of conviction for offenses
● According to this article, no person shall be convicted of an offense unless he has,
at the time of doing the act which is alleged to be an offense, contravened any
law.
● According to this article, no person can be prosecuted or punished for the same
offense more than once.
● A person accused of an offense cannot compel any person to be a witness against
himself.

Article 21-
● Protection of Life and Personal Liberty.
● According to this article, no person can be deprived of his life or personal liberty
except according to procedure established by law, and not otherwise.
● 44th amendment 1978- Art 21 not be suspended even in emergency. It is known
as Backbone of the Constitution .
● Right to Life includes- Right to Privacy, Right to Marriage, Right to Food, Right to
Health, Right to water, Right to enjoyment of pollution-free water and air, Right to
Sleep, Right to travel abroad etc.
● Article 21 (A)- Declares that the State shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years.
● Article 21A was included under the fundamental right by the 86th Constitutional
Amendment Act, 2002.

Article 22-
● Grants protection to persons who are arrested or detained.
● Detention is of two types, namely, punitive and preventive. Punitive detention is
to punish a person for an offense committed by him after trial and conviction in a
court.
 ● To every arrested person the following Fundamental Rights are provided:
● The Right to be presented before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.
● Confessions made in police custody cannot be used as evidence against the
accused.
● The Supreme Court of India has laid down specific requirements and procedures
that the police and other agencies have to follow for the arrest, detention and
interrogation of any person. These are known as the D.K.Basu guidelines.

Prevention Detention
● Ordinarily, a person would be arrested after he or she has reportedly
committed some offense. However there are exceptions to this.
● Sometimes a person can be arrested simply out of an apprehension that he or
she is likely to engage in unlawful activity and imprisoned for some time
without following the above mentioned procedure.
● This is known as preventive detention. This preventive detention can be
extended only for three months.