Skip to main content

Fundamental rights

Right to equality

Equality before the law (Article 14)

Article 14 treats all people the same in the eyes of the law.
  • This provision states that all citizens will be treated equally before the law. 
  • The law of the country protects everybody equally.
  • Under the same circumstances, the law will treat people in the same manner.

Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment (Article 16)

Article 16 provides equal employment opportunities in State service for all citizens.
  • No citizen shall be discriminated against in matters of public employment or appointment on the grounds of race, religion, caste, sex, place of birth, descent or residence.
  • Exceptions to this can be made for providing special provisions for the backward classes.

Abolition of untouchability (Article 17)

Article 17 prohibits the practice of untouchability.
  • Untouchability is abolished in all forms.
  • Any disability arising out of untouchability is made an offence.

Abolition of titles (Article 18)

Article 18 abolishes titles.
  • The State shall not confer any titles except those which are academic or military titles.
  • The article also prohibits citizens of India from accepting any titles from a foreign State.
  • The article abolishes the titles that were awarded by the British such as Rai Bahadur, Khan Bahadur, etc.
  • Awards like Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna and military honours like Ashok Chakra, Param Vir Chakra do not belong to this category.
Article Brief description 
Article 14The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
Article 15The State shall not discriminate against any
citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
Article 16There shall be equality of opportunity for all
citizens in matters relating to employment or
appointment to any office under the State.
Article 17Abolition of untouchability
Article 18Abolition of all titles except military and academic

Right to freedom

Article 19

Article 19 guarantees six freedoms. They are:
  1. Freedom of speech and expression
  2. Freedom to assemble
  3. Freedom to form associations/unions
  4. Freedom to move freely
  5. Freedom of residence
  6. Freedom of profession



Article 20

Article 20 deals with the protection of citizens in respect of conviction for offences. This provides for three types of protection of the individual against the State.
  1. Retrospective criminal legislation: This is also known as ex-post facto criminal legislation. Under this, a person cannot be convicted for an act that was committed at a time when the act had not been declared by law as an offence.
  2. Double jeopardy: This indicates that a person cannot be convicted for the same offence more than once.
  3. Prohibition against self-incrimination: This implies that no person accused of an offence shall be compelled by the State to bear witness against himself.

Article 21

Article 21 states that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty by the State except as per the procedure established by law. This article has a wide scope and its interpretation has undergone many changes over the decades.

Article 22

Article 22 deals with the protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. 
Article Brief description 
Article 19Protection of 6 rights concerning the freedom of: 
  1. Speech and expression
  2. Assembly
  3. Association
  4. Movement
  5. Residence
  6. Profession
Article 20Protection with respect to conviction for offences
Article 21Right to life and personal liberty
Article 21ARight to elementary education
Article 22Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases

Right against Exploitation

There are two articles of the Constitution which guarantee the right against exploitation. They are described below:

Article 23 – Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour

Article 23(1): Traffic in human beings and beggar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with the law.
Article 23(2): Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for public purposes, and in imposing such service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste or class or any of them.

Article 24 – Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.

Article 24 says that “No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.”

Right to Freedom of Religion

The Constitution of India guarantees the right to freedom of religion to not only individuals but also religious groups in India. This is enshrined in Articles 25 to 28. 

Article 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion)

Article 25 guarantees the freedom of conscience, the freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion to all citizens.

Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs)

This Article provides that every religious denomination has the following rights, subject to morality, health and public order.
  1. The right to form and maintain institutions for religious and charitable intents.
  2. The right to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion.
  3. The right to acquire immovable and movable property.
  4. The right to administer such property according to the law.

Article 27 (Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion)

According to Article 27 of the Constitution, there can be no taxes, the proceeds of which are directly used for the promotion and/or maintenance of any particular religion/religious denomination.

Article 28 (Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions)

This article permits educational institutions that are maintained by religious groups to disseminate religious instruction.

Cultural and Educational Rights

Fundamental Rights guarantee basic rights to the citizens of India. There are six fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India, and Articles 29 and 30 deals with cultural and educational rights of Indian citizens. 

Article 29 – Protection of Interests of Minorities

This article is intended to protect the interests of minority groups.
Article 29(1): This provides all citizen groups that reside in India having a distinct culture, language and script, the right to conserve their culture and language. This right is an absolute right and there are no ‘reasonable restrictions’ in the interest of the general public here.
Article 29(2): The State shall not deny admission into educational institutes maintained by it or those that receive aids from it, to any person on the basis of race, religion, caste, language, etc. This right is given to individuals and not any community. 

Article 30 – Right of Minorities to Establish and Administer Educational Institutions

This right is given to minorities to form and govern their own educational institutions. Article 30 is also called the “Charter of Education Rights”.
Article 30(1): All religious and linguistic minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. 
Article 30(2): The State should not, when granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.
Right to constitutional remedies
This right implies that the citizens are entitled to move to law court to safe guard their fundamental rights Supreme Court has power to issue writs under article 32, High Courts have been given same powers under article 226
Article 32 was called the “soul of the constitution and very heart of it” by Dr. Ambedkar.

Comments

Post a Comment

if you have any doubts. please let me know.

Popular posts from this blog

MOTION

BASIC Scalar quantities A scalar quantity is a quantity which is defined by only magnitude. Some examples of  scalar quantities are Mass, Charge, Pressure, etc. Vector quantities Vector quantities are those which have both magnitude and direction and obey vector laws of addition. Some examples of vectors are displacement, velocity, force, etc. Scalars and Vectors Following are some differences listed between scalars and vectors. S.No. Scalars Vectors 1. Have only magnitude Have both magnitude and direction 2.  Algebra: Same as real numbers Algebra: Follow vector laws of addition 3. Examples: Mass, charge, etc Examples: velocity, force, electric field. etc. MOTION Movement of any object from one position to another position with respect to the observer is called as  Motion . Distance Distance  is the actual path travelled by an object from its initial position to final position. It is a scalar quantity. Displacement Displacement of object is equal to the l
Post a Comment
Read more

Cell the unit of life

So,what is cell? The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life .   Focusing on the cell permits a detailed understanding of the tissues and organisms that cells compose. Some organisms have only one cell, while others are organized into cooperative groups with huge numbers of cells. On the whole, cell biology focuses on the structure and function of a cell, from the most general properties shared by all cells, to the unique, highly intricate functions particular to specialized cells. CELL THEORY The cell theory proposed by Schleiden and Schwann is important because It provides guidelines (rules) to define life i.e. an organism is believed to have life only if they follow the the three concepts of cell theory The theory gave a fundamental (basic) generalization of biology that cell is the smallest unit of all the living organisms (whether  unicellular or multicellular). The theory also proposed the origin of new cells (cells come pre-existing cells) Excepti
Post a Comment
Read more