Fundamental Rights
As the Right to Property was deleted by the Parliament through the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act in 1978, at present there are six rights. These are discussed as follows.
Right to Equality (Articles 14-18) :
This right establishes the rule of law. Article 14 for all persons before the law and equal opportunities within the country. No discrimination is shown in the application of the law. No one is given special privileges. Article 15 abolishes the practice of discrimination by the state to the individuals on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, birth etc. It ensures equal access to shops, hotels and use of wells, tanks, bathing places, roads and places of public importance to all persons. Article 16 guarantees equal opportunities for all citizens in employment matters. However, it also gives some concessions to the weaker sections for their material development: Article 17 declares that the practise of untouchability in any form is illegal and forbidden. This article empowers the Parliament to make any law in this regard. Article 18 abolishes the assumption of any title other than military and academic distinctions.
Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22)
This right confers several freedoms on individuals. Article 19 guarantees seven freedoms. The makers of our constitution borrowed these freedoms from the Constitution of America. These seven freedoms are:
- Freedom of speech and expression ii) “Freed.
- Freedom of peaceful assembly without arms
- Freedom of association iv) Freedom of movement throughout India
- Freedom of residence and settlement vi) Freedom of acquiring, holding and disposing of property
- Freedom of profession, occupation, trade or business.
- freedom of property was deleted from the above freedoms by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978.
These freedoms have to be enjoyed by the individuals under certain limitations imposed by the State in the interests of sovereignty, integrity and pure order in India. The Parliament can impose certain restrictions on the above freedoms.
Article 20 provides that no person shall be convicted of any offence except for the violation of the law. No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. No person shall be compelled to give evidence. Article 21 states that no person shall be deprived of his life and liberty except according to the procedure established by law. It guarantees freedom of life for every citizen against arbitrary interference. Article 22 states that no person shall be arrested and detained by the police personnel for an indefinite period without the permission of a Magistrate. The detenu must be informed of the grounds of his arrest. He must be produced before the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours. He must be allowed to consult a lawyer for defending his case. However, various Acts like the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), Preventive Detention Act (PDA), Defence of India Rules (DIR), National Security Act (NSA) & TADA restrict the above freedoms of citizens to a great extent.
3. Right against Exploitation (Article 23-24) :
This right is in accordance with the objective of protecting and maintaining the dignity of individuals as embodied in the Preamble. It protects the individuals against any form of exploitation either by the State or privileged classes. Article 23 prohibits trafficking in human beings and begar (forced labour). But the State can direct the people to render compulsory service in times of emergency. Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years of age in any factory, mine, or other hazardous occupations.
4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25-28):
This right ensures freedom of religion and conscience for all persons. Article 25 empowers the individuals to profess, practice and propagate any religion of their liking subject to public order, morality and health. It also authorises the state to regulate the economic, social, and political or other secular activity, which may be associated with the religious practice. Article 26 allows every religious denomination the right to manage its own religious affairs. Accordingly, individuals are free to establish and maintain religious and charitable institutions and to acquire property for religious purposesArticle 27 prohibits the imposition of taxes on any individual for maintaining or promoting religion. It also abolishes the collection of taxes from individuals for the benefit of any particular religion. Article 28 prohibits religious instructions in state-aided or state-owned educational institutions,
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Article 29-30):
These rights guarantee the culture, language and script of individuals. Article 29 allows individuals to have a distinct language, script or culture. Article 30 allows all minorities (based on religion or language to establish and maintain educational institutions of their choice. It prohibits discrimination by the state in granting financial aid to all educational institutions whether minorities or others manage them.
6. Right to Property (Article 31):
Article 31 guarantees this right for all citizens. But several restrictions were imposed on this right through 31-A, 31-B, 31-C and 31-D Clauses. All these amendments imposed restrictions on this right in a phased manner. The implementation of various welfare state principles forced the governments to completely restrict this right. As a result, the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978 deleted this right from the list of Fundamental Rights. At present this right is considered as an ordinary right only.
Right to Constitutional Remedies (Articles 32): This right enables the individuals to move to the higher courts for enforcing the above fundamental rights. The Supreme Court and the High Courts issue several writs for protecting the above rights. They can declare the laws of the executive and legislature as unconstitutional if the latter violate any of the rights mentioned in Part III of the constitution. Dr. Ambedkar described this right as the heart and soul of the constitution. Some of the above fundamental rights are not applicable to military personnel. Article 33 empowers the Parliament to determine the extent of application of the above rights to the Armed Forces. Article 34 states that fundamental rights are not applicable in the areas where martial law was in force. Article 35 empowers the Parliament to make laws for Central Government Employees.
LIMITATIONS
Citizens should not utilise fundamental rights against the judgement of the courts. They should enjoy their rights with great care and caution. The government, by law, can impose several restrictions on individuals’ rights for maintaining law and order. Citizens should utilise their rights according to such restrictions. Citizens should not utilise their right to freedom of speech, expression and criticism affecting our country’s relation with other countries. Government can impose censorship on Press to avoid communal conflicts. The freedoms of Article 19 are imposed with the following limitations on the freedom of speech and expression. Accordingly, the citizens have to utilise and enjoy these freedoms subject to Security of the State Public order: Decency or morality Friendly relations with foreign states Contempt of court f Defamation
Incitement to an offence Freedom of Assembly is subject to the following limitations.
a) The Assembly must be peaceful
b) The Assembly must be unarmed
c) The Assembly must not be a hurdle to public order.
Freedom of movement shall be utilised by individuals without causing inconvenience to the interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Here are the notes on constitutional remedies in India.