Fundamental Rights

• Articles 14-18: Right to equality
• Articles 19-22: Right to freedom
• Articles 23-24: Right against exploitation
• Articles 25-28: Right to freedom of religion
• Articles 29-30: Cultural and educational rights
• Article 32: Right to constitutional remedies
• Equality — 14 — Equality before the law and equal protection of the laws
• — 15 — Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth
• — 16 — Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
• — 17 — Abolition of untouchability and prohibition of its practice
• — 18 — Abolition of titles except military and academic
• Freedom — 19 — Freedom of speech, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession
• — 20 — Protection in respect of conviction for offences
• — 21 — Protection of life and personal liberty Right to elementary education (Art 21A)
• — 22 — Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases
• Exploitation — 23 — Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
• — 24 — Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.
• Religion — 25 — Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion
• — 26 — Freedom to manage religious affairs
• — 27 — Freedom as to payment of taxes for the promotion of any particular religion
• — 28 — Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions
• Cultural & Educational Rights — 29 — Protection of interests of minorities
• — 30 — Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions

1. Right to freedom of religion
2. Right to property
3. Right to equality
4. Right to Constitutional remedies

Answer: Right to Constitutional remedies

Ambedkar called Art. 32 (constitutional remedies) the heart and soul of the Constitution.

1. Right to Freedom of Religion
2. Right against Exploitation
3. Cultural & Educational Rights
4. Right to Equality

Answer: Right to Equality

Arts. 14–18 form the Right to Equality; Art. 15 is among them.

1. Right against Exploitation
2. Right to Freedom
3. Right to Constitutional Remedies
4. Right to Equality

Answer: Right to Equality

Abolition of untouchability (Art. 17) is part of the Right to Equality.

1. Article 14
2. Article 28
3. Article 32
4. Article 44

Answer: Article 14

Unguided, arbitrary discretion violates equality before law — Art. 14.

1. Article 15
2. Article 19
3. Article 21
4. Article 29

Answer: Article 21

Right to privacy is part of Art. 21 (Puttaswamy, 2017).

1. 1, 2, 4 only
2. 2, 3, 4 only
3. 1, 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4

Answer: 1, 4 only

Right against exploitation = Art. 23 (traffic, forced labour) and Art. 24 (child labour).

• All FRs are available against actions of State
• – State is defined in Article 12
• – It includes Govt and all its agencies, even private companies working on behalf of govt
• Some FRs are also available against actions of private individuals
• – 15(2), 17, 23, 24
• Art. 15(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
  Art. 15(2) No citizen shall, on these grounds, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to — (a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or (b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public.
• FRs are not absolute but qualified
• – State can impose restrictions. Courts can decide if its reasonable.

• They are not permanent or sacrosanct
• – Parliament can amend or repeal FRs, but without affecting basic structure
• Negative and positive in character:
• – Some are negative i.e. they impose restriction on State, e.g. 22
• – Some are positive i.e. they give privileges to people, e.g. 26
• Supreme Court is defender and guarantor of fundamental rights
• – Under Article 32, one can directly move SC
• – To enforce FRs, jurisdiction of SC is original, but not exclusive. (concurrent to HC u/a 226)
• Article 13: laws inconsistent with FRs shall be void.
• – Hence, it provides for judicial review. SC has this power u/a 13, and HCs have this power u/a 226

• Their application to armed forces etc. can be restricted by Parliament (Article 33)
• Their application can be restricted during martial law (Article 34)
• Some are self-executory, some can be enforced by law
• – Parliament, not states can make law to enforce FRs (Article 35)

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: 2 only

The Constitution does not itself define its basic structure; judicial review is provided (Arts. 13, 32, 226).

1. Disputes between Centre and States
2. Disputes between States
3. Protection of Fundamental Rights
4. Protection against violation of Constitution

Answer: Protection of Fundamental Rights

Both SC (Art. 32) and HCs (Art. 226) can enforce Fundamental Rights.

1. Rights are claims of the State against the citizens
2. Rights are privileges which are incorporated in the Constitution of a State
3. Rights are claims of the citizens against the State
4. Rights are privileges of few citizens against many

Answer: Rights are claims of the citizens against the State

Rights are claims of the citizens against the State.

• Parliament can restrict FRs of armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, etc.
• ✗ State legislatures can restrict FRs of armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, etc.
• Army/Navy/AF/BSF Act etc impose restrictions on speech, association, etc.
• Applicable on all employees (officers, soldiers, cook, tailor, barber, etc)
• Affects only FRs — Also affects Centre-State relations, etc.
• Govt and ordinary law courts are suspended — Not suspended

• ✗ People have religious rights without any restrictions
• People have right to practice (worship/ritual/ceremony) religion
• People have the right to propagate their religion
• ✗ People have the right to convert others to their religion
• ✗ No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution administered by State
• No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds

• Art. 29(1) Any section of the citizens residing in India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.
  Art. 29(2) No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
  Art. 30(1) All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
  Art. 30(1A) A law for the compulsory acquisition of any property of an educational institution run by a minority must fix an amount that does not restrict or abrogate this right. (Inserted by the 44th Amendment, 1978.)
  Art. 30(2) The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against an institution because it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.

• Aka constitutional rights or legal rights or non-fundamental rights
• Art. 265 → No tax except by authority of law
• Art. 300-A → No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law
• Art. 301 → Trade, commerce and intercourse throughout the territory of India shall be free

• Type of right
• – Fundamental right? No
• – Constitutional right? Yes
• – Legal right? Yes
• – Original Constitution had 19(f) & 31 → a fundamental right, but property could be taken for public purpose with compulsory compensation
• – 44th Constitutional Amendment Act 1978 → removed 19(f) & 31, inserted 300-A → not a fundamental right; law can take away property; compensation not necessary
• Compensation is necessary only if:
• – the property was of a minority educational institution (Article 30)
• – the property was under personal cultivation (Article 31-A, added by the 1st Amendment 1951)
• Adverse possession
• – If someone illegally occupies your property for 12 years and you take no legal action, you lose its ownership
• – But the government cannot use this method to take over your property
• Remember
• – 300-A: no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law
• – 300-A protects property against executive action
• – ✗ 300-A protects property against legislative action

1. 2 only
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 3
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: 2 only

Art. 301 is about trade and commerce. Art. 300-A came by the 44th Amendment (1978) under the Janata government, not Congress.

1. Legal right available to citizens only
2. Legal right available to any person
3. Fundamental Right available to citizens only
4. Neither Fundamental Right nor legal right

Answer: Legal right available to any person

Right to property (Art. 300-A) is a constitutional/legal right available to any person.

• Impact of National Emergency on FRs
• Article 358: Art. 19 automatically suspended, only in case of external emergency (added by 44th Amendment)
• Article 359: President can suspend enforcement of any FRs, but not 20 & 21 (added by 44th Amendment)
• Note: President’s order u/a 359 must be approved by Parliament

• ✗ When National emergency is proclaimed, Article 19 is automatically suspended.
• When National emergency is proclaimed, Article 19 is automatically suspended, only when it is due to war or external aggression, not armed rebellion.

• 1. SC can issue writ only for FR, but HC can issue writ for other legal rights also.
• 2. SC can issue writ throughout India, HC can do so only in its jurisdiction.
• 3. SC can't refuse to exercise Writ jurisdiction (Art. 32), but HC can refuse (as Art.
• 226 is not FR)

• SC (Art. 32)
• HC (Art. 226)
• Any other court empowered by parliament (Art. 32).
• 1. Habeas Corpus – (to have the body of)
• – a. Issued to a detaining authority, to produce the detained person in the court
• 2. Mandamus – (we command)
• – a. Issued to a public official / lower court / govt to perform official duties that were not performed
• 3. Prohibition – (to forbid)
• – a. Issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal, prohibiting it from taking up a case
• – b. Reason: lack of jurisdiction, hence Higher court transfers case to itself
• – c. Can be against only judicial or quasi-judicial authorities.

• 4. Certiorari – (to be certified / to be informed)
• – a. issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal, to transfer to itself or quash the order
• – b. Reason: lack of jurisdiction, or error of law
• – c. Can be also be against administrative authorities affecting rights of individuals (SC ruled in 1991)
• – d. Unlike prohibition which is only preventive, it is both preventive and curative.
• 5. Quo-Warranto – (by what authority or warrant)
• – a. Issued to enquire into the legality of the claim of a person to a substantive public office.
• – b. Unlike other four writs, it can be sought by non-aggrieved person also.

1. Mandamus
2. Certiorari
3. Quo Warranto
4. Habeas Corpus

Answer: Habeas Corpus

Habeas corpus protects against illegal detention — the greatest safeguard of personal liberty.

1. A writ issued by a superior court command that a specified thing be done
2. A legal term for prisoner’s right to appear in person and be tried in court
3. A written public declaration of the intentions, opinions or motives of a sovereign or of a leader, party or body
4. The principle of hybridisation, discovered by Gregor Mendel which led to the improved breeds of plant and animal life

Answer: A writ issued by a superior court command that a specified thing be done

Mandamus = ‘we command’ — an order to perform a public duty.

1. the writ jurisdiction of any of the other judges of the High Court
2. special control exercised by the Chief Justice of India
3. discretionary powers of the Governor of the state
4. special powers provided to the Chief Minister in this regard

Answer: the writ jurisdiction of any of the other judges of the High Court

In an administrative capacity the HC Chief Justice is subject to the writ jurisdiction of the other judges of the High Court.