Fundamental Rights

Fundamental Rights
Fundamental rights are the basic human rights enshrined in the Constitution of
India which are guaranteed to all citizens. They are applied without discrimination
on the basis of race, religion, gender, etc. Significantly, fundamental rights are
enforceable by the courts, subject to certain conditions.
Why are they called Fundamental Rights?
These rights are called fundamental rights because of two reasons:
1. They are enshrined in the Constitution which guarantees them
2. They are justiciable (enforceable by courts). In case of a violation, a
person can approach a court of law.
List of Fundamental Rights
There are six fundamental rights of Indian Constitution along with the
constitutional articles related to them are mentioned below:
1. Right to Equality (Article 14-18)
2. Right to Freedom (Article 19-22)
3. Right against Exploitation (Article 23-24)
4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25-28)
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Article 29-30)
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32)
Why Right to Property is not a Fundamental Right?

There was one more fundamental right in the Constitution, i.e., the right to
property.
However, this right was removed from the list of fundamental rights by the 44th
Constitutional Amendment.
This was because this right proved to be a hindrance towards attaining the goal
of socialism and redistributing wealth (property) equitably among the people.
Note: The right to property is now a legal right and not a fundamental right.
Introduction to Six Fundamental Rights (Articles 12 to 35)

Under this section, we list the fundamental rights in India and briefly describe
each of them.
1. Right to Equality (Articles 14 – 18)
Right to equality guarantees equal rights for everyone, irrespective of religion,
gender, caste, race or place of birth. It ensures equal employment opportunities
in the government and insures against discrimination by the State in matters of
employment on the basis of caste, religion, etc. This right also includes the
abolition of titles as well as untouchability.
2. Right to Freedom (Articles 19 – 22)
Freedom is one of the most important ideals cherished by any democratic
society. The Indian Constitution guarantees freedom to citizens. The freedom
right includes many rights such as:
 Freedom of speech
 Freedom of expression
 Freedom of assembly without arms
 Freedom of association
 Freedom to practise any profession
 Freedom to reside in any part of the country
Some of these rights are subject to certain conditions of state security, public
morality and decency and friendly relations with foreign countries. This means
that the State has the right to impose reasonable restrictions on them.
3. Right against Exploitation (Articles 23 – 24)
This right implies the prohibition of traffic in human beings, begar, and other
forms of forced labour. It also implies the prohibition of children in factories, etc.
The Constitution prohibits the employment of children under 14 years in
hazardous conditions.
4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25 – 28)
This indicates the secular nature of Indian polity. There is equal respect given to
all religions. There is freedom of conscience, profession, practice and
propagation of religion. The State has no official religion. Every person has the
right to freely practice his or her faith, establish and maintain religious and
charitable institutions.
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29 – 30)
These rights protect the rights of religious, cultural and linguistic minorities, by
facilitating them to preserve their heritage and culture. Educational rights are for
ensuring education for everyone without any discrimination.
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (32 – 35)
The Constitution guarantees remedies if citizens’ fundamental rights are violated.
The government cannot infringe upon or curb anyone’s rights. When these rights
are violated, the aggrieved party can approach the courts. Citizens can even go
directly to the Supreme Court which can issue writs for enforcing
fundamental rights.
Features of Fundamental Rights

 Fundamental rights are different from ordinary legal rights in the manner in
which they are enforced. If a legal right is violated, the aggrieved person
cannot directly approach the SC bypassing the lower courts. He or she
should first approach the lower courts.
 Some of the fundamental rights are available to all citizens while the rest
are for all persons (citizens and foreigners).
 Fundamental rights are not absolute rights. They have reasonable
restrictions, which means they are subject to the conditions of state
security, public morality and decency and friendly relations with foreign
countries.
 They are justiciable, implying they are enforceable by courts. People can
approach the SC directly in case of violation of fundamental rights.
 Fundamental rights can be amended by the Parliament by a constitutional
amendment but only if the amendment does not alter the basic
structure of the Constitution.
 Fundamental rights can be suspended during a national emergency. But,
the rights guaranteed under Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended.
 The application of fundamental rights can be restricted in an area which
has been placed under martial law or military rule.
Fundamental Rights Available Only to Citizens

The following is the list of fundamental rights that are available only to
citizens (and not to foreigners):
1. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of race, religion, caste, gender or
place of birth (Article 15).
2. Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment (Article 16).
3. Protection of freedom of:(Article 19)
 Speech and expression
 Association
 Assembly
 Movement
 Residence
 Profession
Protection of the culture, language and script of minorities (Article 29).
Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions
(Article 30).
Importance of Fundamental Rights
Fundamental rights are very important because they are like the backbone of the
country. They are essential for safeguarding the people’s interests.
According to Article 13, all laws that are violative of fundamental rights shall be
void. Here, there is an express provision for judicial review. The SC and the High
Courts can declare any law unconstitutional on the grounds that it is violative of
the fundamental rights. Article 13 talks about not just laws, but also ordinances,
orders, regulations, notifications, etc.
Amendability of Fundamental Rights

Any changes to the fundamental rights require a constitutional amendment that
should be passed by both the Houses of Parliament. The amendment bill should
be passed by a special majority of Parliament.
As per the Constitution, Article 13(2) states that no laws can be made that
take away fundamental rights.
The question is whether a constitutional amendment act can be termed law or
not.
In the Sajjan Singh case of 1965, the Supreme Court held that the Parliament
can amend any part of the Constitution including fundamental rights.
But in 1967, the SC reversed its stance taken earlier when in the verdict of the
Golaknath case, it said that the fundamental rights cannot be amended.
In 1973, a landmark judgement ensued in the Kesavananda Bharati case,
where the SC held that although no part of the Constitution, including
Fundamental Rights, was beyond the Parliament’s amending power, the “basic
structure of the Constitution could not be abrogated even by a constitutional
amendment.”
This is the basis in Indian law in which the judiciary can strike down any
amendment passed by Parliament that is in conflict with the basic structure of the
Constitution.
In 1981, the Supreme Court reiterated the Basic Structure doctrine.
It also drew a line of demarcation as April 24th, 1973 i.e., the date of the
Kesavananda Bharati judgement, and held that it should not be applied
retrospectively to reopen the validity of any amendment to the Constitution which
took place prior to that date.
Doctrine of Severability
This is a doctrine that protects the fundamental rights enshrined in
the Constitution.
It is also known as the Doctrine of Separability.
It is mentioned in Article 13, according to which all laws that were enforced in
India before the commencement of the Constitution, inconsistent with the
provisions of fundamental rights shall to the extent of that inconsistency be
void.
This implies that only the parts of the statute that is inconsistent shall be deemed
void and not the whole statue. Only those provisions which are inconsistent with
fundamental rights shall be void.
Doctrine of Eclipse
This doctrine states that any law that violates fundamental rights is not null or
void ab initio, but is only non-enforceable, i.e., it is not dead but inactive.
This implies that whenever that fundamental right (which was violated by the law)
is struck down, the law becomes active again (is revived).
Another point to note is that the doctrine of eclipse applies only to pre-
constitutional laws (laws that were enacted before the Constitution came into
force) and not to post-constitutional laws.
This means that any post-constitutional law which is violative of a fundamental
right is void ab initio.

Fundamental Rights

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Fundamental Rights

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Fundamental Rights

Why Right to Property is not a Fundamental Right?

Introduction to Six Fundamental Rights (Articles 12 to 35)

Features of Fundamental Rights

Fundamental Rights Available Only to Citizens

Amendability of Fundamental Rights

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