Fundamental Rights

 Fundamental Rights (Right against Exploitation, Right to Religion Cultural and Educational Rights & Right to Constitutional Remedies

List of Fundamental Rights

1. Right to Equality (Article 14 to 18)
2. Right to Freedom (Article 19 to 22)
3. Right against Exploitation (Article 23 and 24)
4. Right to Religion (Article 25 to 28)
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Article 29 and 30)
6. Right to Property (Article 31) - Repealed by 44th Constitutional Amendment Act 1978
7. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32)

Right Against Exploitation

"There is no reason, there is no excuse. Child labour is child abuse"

Article 23 (1) - It prohibits traffic in human beings, begar and other form of forced labour.

Article 23 (2) - It empowers the state to compel the individual to provide services with or without payment, provided it is in public interest.

Article 24 - It prohibits employment of Child below the age of 14 years in Hazardous employment.

Child labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 2016 

• Child below the age of 14 years did not work anywhere except in family or in entertainment industry without disturbing his/her education.
• Children from 14 years to 18 years can't work in Hazardous industry.
• But it also reduced the number of Hazardous industry from 83 to 3.
• The three hazardous industry are -
• Mining
• Explosive industry
• Occupation mentioned in Factory Act
• The Children must work after the school hours or during vacation.

Right to Religion

"Religion is like a pair of shoes... find one that fits for you, but don't compel anyone to wear your shoes"

Article 25 - It guarantees to all individuals a two fold freedom of religion.

1. Freedom to Conscience (think)
2. Freedom to profess (speak/express), practice (do rituals) and propagate (spread) a religion of one's choice.

Freedom of Conscience - Freedom of conscience means absolute inner freedom of an individual to mould his religious belief and faith.

However, when this inner freedom takes an outward expression it is related to right to profess, practice and propagate a religion of one's own choice.

Right to Profess - It means the fundamental right to spell out his religious belief openly and freely.

Right to Practice - It means the fundamental right to follow the rituals prescribed by the religion including the display of symbols and signs associated with the religion. For example - Cross, Kirpan, Burkha, Om, etc.

Right to Propagate - Right to propagate means a fundamental right to spread one's religious teachings for edification (i.e., for influencing) of others.

Supreme Court in Father Stanislaw vs State of MP, 1977, that Fundamental Right of a person to spread his religion by explaining the context of the religion can't be questioned. However, there is no fundamental right to convert other to one's own religion. Infact, converting others using threat or temptation is a crime.

So, Right to propagate includes -

• Organising seminars
• Book writings and its dissimination
• Orgainsing Cultural and Religious programs

The Right to Religion means to follow religion of one's own choice. It also includes to get converted into any other religion by one's own choice. But the right to conversion is not a fundamental right as it may involve force or temptation.

Article 26 - It deals with the freedom of religious denomination to manage their religious affairs subjected to public order, morality and health.

Article 27 - It truly brings out the secular nature of Indian State. It prohibits the state from spending tax collections for the promotion and maintenance of any one specific religion.

However, Article 27 does not prohibit the state from spending the tax collection for the promotion and maintenance of all the religion without any distinctions.

Also, Article 27 does not prohibit the state from spending non-tax collection collected in the form of fee and donation in promotion and maintenance of even a particular religion. For example - Shree Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra (Trust).

Article 28 - It deals with imparting instructions (religious) in educational institutions. 

The Article divides the religious institutions into 4 categories -

1. Educational institutions wholly established and administered by the state.
2. Educational institutions privately established and administered  but aided by the government and course is recognised by the government.
3. Educational institutions privately established and administered and are unaided by the government.
4. Educational institutions administered by the state and were established by the contribution coming in the form of religious endowment (donation) or charitable trust.

In the first category of the educational institutions, no religious instructions can be imparted what so ever.

In second and third category of the educational institutions, religious instructions can be given. However no student can be compelled or forced to attend them.

In fourth category of the educational institutions, religious instructions can be given and it can be made compulsory for the student to attend them.

Cultural and Educational Rights

"The purpose of the Constitution is to restrict the majority's ability to harm minority"

Article 29 - Though the title of the Article 29 is 'Protection of the interest of the minorities', the language of Article 29 (1) extends this rights to all sections of the citizens (majority as well as minority) who are resident of India.

Article 29 (1) - Under Article 29 (1), any section of citizen residing in India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own sahll have the Fundamental right to conserve it.

Article 29 (2) - No citizen shall be denied admission in any educational institutions maintained by state or aided by state only on the ground of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

Note - Sex is not written here. That's why we have girl's school especially for girls and boy's school especially for boys.

Article 30 - It deals with the right of minority community to establish and administer educational institutions.

The Article classified minorities on the basis of religion and language.

Note - The term minority is not defined in Constitution.

Article 30 (1)(A) - It is added by 44th Constitutional Amendment Act 1978, which provides that educational institutions established by minorities and administered by them enjoy Right to property.

Though state can take over such property but only in public interest and after providing due compensation.

Article 31 - Right to Property. It was repealed by 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978.

Right to Constitutional Remedies

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

Martin Luther King Jr.

Article 32 - It confers the power on Supreme Court to issue appropriate orders, directions or writs to enforce fundamental right if found violated.

It allows individual to directly approach to the Supreme Court in case there is a violation of Fundamental Right. Thus, Article 32 contains the legal remedy, if fundamental right of an individual is violated.

Thus, it is Article 32 which makes other fundamental right real and enforceable, i.e., Article 32 provides teeth to other fundamental right to make an effect.

Article 32 has been described as "The Heart and Soul of the Indian Constitution" by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

The concept of writ jurisdiction has been taken from England. Under Indian Constitution, writ jurisdiction is enjoyed by both Supreme Court under Article 32 and High Courts under Article 226.

Writ jurisdiction enables the Court to issue appropriate writs for the enforcement of rights of an individual. 

Writ jurisdiction also implicitly empowers the High Courts and the Supreme Court to carry out Judicial Review.

Under Article 32 (3), Parliament has the power to confer writ jurisdiction on any other body other than Supreme Court and High Court.

Types of Writs 

1.   Habeas Corpus 

• It means to have the body.
• When an individual is detained without legal justification or is missing, the writ of Habeas Corpus is issued to set him free.
• The writ can be filed before the court by an individual or an organisation and not necessarily by the aggrieved person (as he/she is missing or detained).
• Thus, in the case of Habeas Corpus, the principle of Locus Standi doesn't apply (i.e., there is no need of person himself to go there to ask for justice).
• Locus Standi does not apply because the aggrieved person himself can't go to the court asking for justice as he has been detained.

2.   Mandamus 

• It literally means we command.
• This writ is issued by the judiciary in the form of a command to a public authority or a person holding public office, directing him to do or not to do certain act which are in the nature of public duty.
• Mandamus can be issued to implement only to a public and a legal right but not to a private right.
• Mandamus can't be issued against the Governor or the President.
• Also, it is not issued against the Private authorities like CEOs.

3.   Prohibition 

• It means to forbit.
• Prohibition is a writ issued by judiciary only against a judicial or a quasi-judicial body (executive may act as a quasi-judicial body) to ensure that these bodies remain within the limit of his jurisdiction and if such a body takes up a case by going beyond its jurisdiction then the writ of prohibition is issued to prohibit such a body to go ahead with the case.

4.   Certiorari 

• It means to be certified.
• Certiorari is similar to prohibition except that it is issued to quash (nullified) the judgement, direction or order issued by a judicial or a quasi-judicial body in excess of his jurisdiction.

• i.e., before judgement - writ of prohibition is issued
• & after judgement - writ of certiorari is issued

5.   Quo-Warranto 

• It literally means what is your authority.
• The purpose of this writ is to ensure that a person holding a public office is qualified enough to hold that office or not.

Difference between Writ Jurisdiction of Supreme Court and High Court

Writ Jurisdiction of Supreme Court under Article 32 

1. Under Article 32, Supreme Court can issue the writ only for the enforcement of fundamental right not for other legal rights.
2. Constitution places a duty on Supreme Court to enforce a fundamental right if found violated.
3. Supreme Court's writ jurisdiction extends over whole of India.

Writ Jurisdiction of High Court under Article 226 

1. High Court can issue writs not only for the enforcement of fundamental rights but also for the enforcement of ordinary legal rights.
2. There is no such constitutional obligations on High Court to implement fundamental right if found violated. High Court may or may not implement this right and may suggest some other remedy in place of implementing itself.
3. Writ jurisdiction of High Court is limited by the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court.

Thus, we can see that the writ jurisdiction of High Court under Article 226 is a bit more that that of Supreme Court as it can issue writs not only for fundamental rights but also for other rights.

Also, there is a constitutional obligation on the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental right if found violated. Thus, Constitution of India provides Supreme Court to be the primary protector of Fundamental Rights.

PYQs 

Other than Fundamental Rights, which of the following reflects the principles and provisions of the Universal declaration of Human Rights (1948).

1. Preamble
2. DPSPs
3. Fundamental Duties

Answer - All of the above

Previous Article - Right to Freedom

Next Article - Citizenship

Notes on other subjects 

Ancient History

Medieval History

Modern History

Art & Culture

Polity

Geography

International Relations

Society

Optional Subject 

Public Administration

Note - This is my Vision IAS Notes (Vision IAS Class Notes) and Ashutosh Pandey Sir's Public Administration Class notes. I've also added some of the information on my own. 

Hope! It will help you to achieve your dream of getting selected in Civil Services Examination 👍