Exploring India’s Fundamental Rights: Article 12-35

Exploring the Elaborate Framework of Fundamental Rights

Fundamental Rights, enshrined in Part III of the Indian Constitution (Articles 12-35), constitute the bedrock of individual liberties and freedoms. These are fundamental for all round (material, intellectual, moral and spiritual) development. These were inspired by the Constitution of the USA (Bill of Rights). Fundamental Rights in India are more elaborate than those found in any other country in the world, including the USA.  It has been rightly described as the Magna Carta of India.

Fundamental Rights Enshrined in the Constitution: Key Rights in our Constitution

Features of the Fundamental Rights

• Constitutional Democracy: They promote the ideal of political democracy.
  • They are limitations on the tyranny of the executive and arbitrary laws of the legislature, thereby preventing the establishment of an authoritarian and despotic rule.
  • They aim at establishing a government of laws and not of men.
• Justiciable: These are justiciable in nature. (A person can move to the courts for their enforcement, if  and when they are violated.)
• Claims Against the State: Rights are claims by the citizens against the state and not vice versa. [UPSC 2017]
• Government of Laws: Fundamental Rights promote political democracy by preventing authoritarian rule and protecting people’s liberties from state intrusion. 
  • They limit executive tyranny and arbitrary laws, aiming for a government ruled by laws, not individuals.
• Amendment Process: Not sacrosanct or permanent, It can be amended by Parliament only by a constitutional amendment without affecting the ‘basic structure’ of the constitution.
• Universal Protection: Guaranteed by the Supreme Court to all persons without any discrimination.
• Protection Against State Intrusion: Protects the liberties and freedoms of the people against the invasion by the State.
• Qualified Rights: They are not absolute but qualified – Subject to reasonable restrictions. 
  • Whether such restrictions are reasonable or not is to be decided by the courts.
  • They strike a balance between individual liberty and social control.
• Dual Scope of Rights: While all of them are available against the arbitrary action of the state, some of them are also against the actions of private individuals.
• Negative and Positive Dimensions: Some of them are negative in character (placing limitations on the authority of the states), while others are positive in nature (providing certain privileges on the person).
• Suspension and Exceptions: They can be suspended during the operation of a National Emergency except for the rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21.
  • The six fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 19 are automatically suspended only on the grounds of external aggression (external emergency) and not on the grounds of armed rebellion (internal emergency).
• Limitations on Fundamental Rights: Their scope of operation is limited by 
  • Article 31A: Laws providing for the acquisition of estates etc.
  • Article 31B: Validation of certain acts included in the 9th schedule.
  • Article 31C: Laws giving effect to certain directive principles.

Constitutional Provisions pertaining to Fundamental Rights

Definition of State 

Definition of State (Article12)

• As per Article 12, the term State includes Government and parliament; Government and legislature of states; All local authorities i.e. municipalities, panchayat, district boards, improvement trust etc.; All other authorities, that is, statutory or non-statutory authorities like LIC, ONGC, etc.
• According to the Supreme Court, even a private body or an agency working as an instrument of the state falls within the meaning of state under Article 12.
• Broad Definition and Enforcement: The state is defined in a wider sense to include all its agencies, whose actions violating Fundamental Rights can be challenged in court.

Laws Inconsistent with Fundamental Rights (Article 13)

• Judicial Review (Article 13): All laws that are inconsistent with or in derogation of any of the fundamental rights shall be void (expressively provides for the doctrine of judicial review).
• Term ‘law’ in Article 13: 
  • Permanent laws enacted by the centre and state; 
  • Temporary ordinance by the President; 
  • Statutory instruments of delegated legislation (executive legislation) like order; 
  • Custom or usage having the force of law.
• Constitutional Amendment is a Law: Article 13(4) states that nothing in this article shall apply to any amendment of this constitution made under Article 368. (24th constitutional amendment, 1971)
  • However, in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the SC held that a Constitutional amendment can be challenged on the ground if it violates a fundamental right that forms a part of the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution and hence, can be declared as void.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

• The General Assembly of the United Nations, on 10 December 1948, announced the 30 rights and freedoms that belong to everyone, under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
• It promises to all the economic, social, political, cultural and civic rights for a life free from want and fear. Reflected in the principles of Fundamental rights, DPSPs, fundamental duties and the Preamble.[UPSC 2020]
• Code Napoléon: The structure of the UDHR was influenced by a set of laws formulated by Napoléon Bonaparte centuries before, collectively known as the Code Napoléon.
• The second draft was prepared by French jurist René Cassin, who worked on the initial draft prepared by Canadian legal scholar John Peters Humphrey.

Rights Outside Part III

Comparison between Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and Fundamental Duties

Right to Vote (Constitutional Right)

• It is provided both by the Indian Constitution and the Representation of People’s Act, 1951.
• Article 326 (Part XV): Right to vote to every citizen above the age of 18.
• Section 62 of the Representation of Peoples Act (RoPA), 1951: States that every person who is in the electoral roll of that constituency will be entitled to vote.
• 61st Constitutional Amendment 1989: Lowered the voting age of elections to the Lok Sabha and to the Legislative Assemblies of States from 21 to 18 years.

Exceptions to Fundamental Rights

• Article 31A: Saves five categories of laws from being challenged for contravention of the fundamental rights conferred by Article 14 and Article 19. These are:
  • Acquisition of estates and related rights by the State; 
  • Taking over the management of properties by the State; 
  • Amalgamation of corporations; 
  • Extinguishment or modification of rights of directors or shareholders of corporations;
  • Extinguishment or modification of mining leases.

Article 31B: 

• Saves the acts and regulations included in the Ninth Schedule (added by First Amendment in 1951) from being challenged for contravention of any of the fundamental rights.
• SC in I.R. Coelho Case (2007): No blanket immunity from judicial review of laws included in the Ninth Schedule. 
  • Judicial review is a ‘basic feature’ of the constitution. Such laws placed after April 24, 1973 (the date of Kesavananda Bharati judgment), are open to challenge in court if they violated fundamental rights. [UPSC 2018]

Note: Both articles 31 A and 31 B are inserted by  Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951

• Article 31C: No law that seeks to implement the socialistic DPSP specified in Art. 39(b) or (c) shall be void on the ground of contravention of the FR conferred.
• This article is inserted by the 25th Amendment Act of 1971.

Conclusion

• Fundamental rights serve as crucial safeguards promoting political democracy by preventing authoritarian rule and protecting individual liberties from state intrusion. 
• They establish a framework for a government governed by laws, not individuals, and provide avenues for challenging state actions that violate these rights. 
• Their overarching purpose is to ensure the protection and preservation of individual freedoms within the legal and institutional framework of a democratic society.