Q6Indian Constitution

Part III of the Indian Constitution (Articles 12-35) guarantees Fundamental Rights, described as the 'Magna Carta' of India, enforceable directly through the Supreme Court (Article 32) and High Courts (Article 226) via writs. Originally there were seven Fundamental Rights, but the Right to Property (Article 31) was removed from the list of Fundamental Rights by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 (following disputes over land reform legislation) and downgraded to a mere legal/constitutional right under Article 300A, leaving six Fundamental Rights currently in force.

1. Right to Equality (Articles 14-18): guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of laws (Article 14), prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article 15, while permitting affirmative action for backward classes), ensures equality of opportunity in public employment (Article 16), abolishes untouchability (Article 17), and abolishes titles except military/academic distinctions (Article 18).

2. Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22): guarantees six freedoms under Article 19 (speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession/occupation, all subject to reasonable restrictions), protection in respect of conviction for offences (Article 20, including protection against double jeopardy and self-incrimination), protection of life and personal liberty (Article 21, expansively interpreted by courts as covering dignity, privacy and more), right to education (Article 21A, added by the 86th Amendment), and protection against arbitrary arrest and detention (Article 22).

3. Right against Exploitation (Articles 23-24): prohibits traffic in human beings, forced labour/begar (Article 23), and prohibits employment of children below 14 years in hazardous occupations like factories and mines (Article 24).

4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25-28): guarantees freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion (Article 25), freedom to manage religious affairs (Article 26), freedom from taxation for promotion of a particular religion (Article 27), and freedom from religious instruction in wholly state-funded educational institutions (Article 28), reflecting India's model of secularism.

5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29-30): protects the interests of minorities by guaranteeing any section of citizens with a distinct language, script or culture the right to conserve it (Article 29), and grants all religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice (Article 30).

6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32): famously called the 'heart and soul' of the Constitution by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, this guarantees the right to directly approach the Supreme Court for enforcement of any Fundamental Right, through writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, and quo warranto — without this right, all other Fundamental Rights would lack an effective enforcement mechanism, which is precisely why it holds this special status among the six rights.

Unlike ordinary legal rights, Fundamental Rights enjoy special constitutional protection: they cannot be overridden by ordinary legislation (any law inconsistent with them is void under Article 13), and while Parliament can amend them through the special constitutional amendment procedure, the Kesavananda Bharati ruling ensures that amendments cannot destroy their basic structure or the essence of judicial review that protects them, giving Fundamental Rights a permanence that distinguishes them sharply from the non-justiciable Directive Principles.