Category: Polity

Article 356 in Part XIII of the constitution provides for the proclamation of Emergency by the President in any state where there is a breakdown of constitutional machinery either based on the report of the Governor or even otherwise.

The Article emphasizes the supremacy of the constitution and national unity and integrity.

The state governments ruled by the opposition parties of the ruling party at the centre have complained against the frequent and improper use of this article by the ruling party or coalition at the centre.

More than a hundred times the Article has been used to impose emergency in states and in many instances there was a huge complaint that political and party considerations have led to the imposition of the President’s Rule.

Many regional parties have demanded the abolition of this Article.

However, since the Supreme Court’s judgment in S.R.Bommai vs Union of India case, the chances for misuse of Article 356 drastically reduced.

Somappa Rayappa Bommai (6 June 1924 to 10 October 2007) was the 11th Chief Minister of Karnataka.

He was also the HRD minister in the United Front Government from 1996 to 1998 and served with both the PM H.D.Deve Gowda and I.K.Gujral.

The Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment in the S.R.Bommai Versus Union of India case in 1994 that has protected the rights of the states greatly.

S.R.Bommai was the Chief Minister of Karnataka and his government was dismissed in 1994 by the central government leading to the filling of the case in the Supreme Court.

The judgment protected the states from arbitrary dismissal at the hands of the hostile central government.

The main features of the judgment

Article 356 is an exceptional power to the Union Government and it should be used only occasionally to meet the exigencies of special occasions.

Emergency under this article can be imposed only on certain grounds signifying constitutional breakdown.

For Example, if no party or coalition can generate majority support after the Legislative Assembly elections resulting in a hung Assembly;

If constitutional directions from the central government are disregarded by the state government or state government actively assists in internal subversion.

An emergency cannot be imposed on certain grounds as they do not constitute a constitutional breakdown.

For example, a mere law and order problem cannot be construed as a constitutional breakdown.

And, an emergency cannot be imposed if the ruling party in the state lost heavily in the Parliamentary election.

The Governor’s report on the breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state must be placed in Parliament.

The report should be a thorough one detailing the exceptional situation in the state.

The Legislative Assembly of a state cannot be dissolved before the proclamation of the president is approved by both the houses of the Parliament.

The court has the power to determine the validity of the imposition of emergency under Article 356 of the constitution.

If the court finds the grounds of imposition unconstitutional it can and will nullify the proclamation and restore the dismissed state government to life.

To put it succinctly the Supreme Court possesses the power of Judicial Review over the imposition of Article 356.

The Supreme court delivered the Judgement that the state governments ruled by opposition parties have been protected from arbitrary dismissal by the central government with a different ruling party.

Dr Ambedkar called Article 356 to the Constitution as it neglects the federal character of the Indian Political System and the Popular Sovereignty of an elected government.

🇮🇳 Discover Your Fundamental Rights in India! 🇮🇳

Think of Fundamental Rights as your personal shield 🛡️, guaranteed by the Constitution of India. They ensure everyone gets respect, dignity, and equality, protecting you from unfair actions by the state. These are the basic human rights for every citizen, no matter their race, religion, gender, or birthplace.

Where are they found?

In Part III of the Indian Constitution, specifically Articles 12 to 35. This part is so important, it’s often called the Magna Carta of India!

Why are they important?

• They protect your liberty and freedom.
• They prevent the government from becoming too powerful or dictatorial.
• They are crucial for your personal growth and the nation’s development.
• They act as a check on the government’s actions.

✨ The 6 Pillars: Your Fundamental Rights Explained ✨

Here’s a breakdown of the six main categories of rights you possess:

1. Right to Equality (Articles 14-18) ⚖️

• What it means: Everyone is equal before the law! No special treatment for anyone. The law protects everyone equally.
• Key Guarantees:
  • ✅ Equality Before Law (Art. 14): No one is above the law.
  • 🚫 No Discrimination (Art. 15): The state cannot discriminate based on religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
  • 🧑‍💼 Equal Opportunity (Art. 16): Everyone gets an equal chance in government employment matters.
  • ❌ Abolition of Untouchability (Art. 17): Practising untouchability is forbidden.
  • 🎖️ Abolition of Titles (Art. 18): No hereditary titles of nobility are allowed (like Raja, Maharaja).

2. Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22) 🕊️

• What it means: You have essential personal freedoms!
• Key Freedoms (Art. 19):
  • 🗣️ Freedom of speech and expression.
  • 🤝 Freedom to assemble peacefully (without weapons).
  • 👥 Freedom to form associations or unions.
  • 🚶 Freedom to move freely throughout India.
  • 🏠 Freedom to reside and settle anywhere in India.
  • 💼 Freedom to practice any profession, trade, or business.
• Other Protections:
  • 🛡️ Protection Regarding Conviction (Art. 20): Protection against unfair punishment.
  • ❤️ Protection of Life & Personal Liberty (Art. 21): Your right to live and be free. (This is interpreted very broadly by courts!)
  • 📚 Right to Education (Art. 21A): Free and compulsory education for children (age 6-14).
  • 🔒 Protection Against Arrest & Detention (Art. 22): Rights if you are arrested or detained.

3. Right Against Exploitation (Articles 23-24) 🛑

• What it means: Protection from being exploited or forced to work.
• Key Protections:
  • 🙅 Ban on Human Trafficking & Forced Labour (Art. 23): Includes practices like ‘begar’ (forced work without pay).
  • 🧒 Ban on Child Labour (Art. 24): Prohibits employing children under 14 in hazardous jobs (factories, mines, etc.).

4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25-28) 🙏🕉️☪️✝️☸️✡️

• What it means: You have the freedom to follow your faith.
• Key Aspects:
  • ✝️ Freedom of Conscience & Religion (Art. 25): Freedom to believe, practice, and share your religion.
  • ⛪ Manage Religious Affairs (Art. 26): Religious groups can manage their own affairs.
  • 💰 No Taxes for Promoting Religion (Art. 27): Freedom from paying taxes specifically to promote a particular religion.
  • 🎓 Religious Instruction Freedom (Art. 28): Rules about religious teaching in educational institutions.

5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29-30) 🎭📚

• What it means: Protecting diverse cultures and ensuring educational rights, especially for minorities.
• Key Rights:
  • 🌍 Protection of Interests of Minorities (Art. 29): Right to conserve distinct language, script, and culture. No denial of admission to state-aided institutions based on religion, race, caste, language.
  • 🏫 Minority Educational Institutions (Art. 30): Minorities have the right to establish and run their own educational institutions.

6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32) 🏛️💡

• What it means: This is your master key! If any of your Fundamental Rights are violated, you can directly approach the Supreme Court (or High Courts under Art. 226) to get them enforced.
• The Court’s Tools (Writs): The courts can issue special orders called writs:
  • Habeas Corpus: To produce a detained person before the court.
  • Mandamus: To order a public official to do their duty.
  • Prohibition: To stop a lower court from exceeding its jurisdiction.
  • Certiorari: To quash an order of a lower court.
  • Quo Warranto: To question the legality of a person holding a public office.
• Other Related Articles (33-35): These allow Parliament to modify rights for armed forces, impose restrictions during martial law, and make laws to enforce these rights.

🤔 Fundamental Rights vs. Fundamental Duties

• Rights: Are guaranteed to you by the Constitution and are enforceable by courts. Think of them as what the country promises you.
• Duties: Are expected from you as a citizen (added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976). Think of them as your contribution to the country. They are not directly enforceable by courts in the same way rights are.

❓ FAQ Spotlight: What is “Equal Protection of Laws”?

It means the law must operate equally for everyone under similar circumstances. If two people commit the same crime under similar conditions, they should face the same legal consequences, regardless of their background. It ensures fairness and prevents the government from treating people differently without a valid reason.

Understanding your Fundamental Rights empowers you as a citizen. They are the bedrock of India’s democracy! 🌟

• https://nios.ac.in/media/documents/srsec317newE/317EL6.pdf

Child Rights

A child is a person who has completed the age of 18, Minor as per UNO. Child rights are mentioned in Articles 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights.

Child rights are accepted and adopted in the UN General Assembly on 20th November 1989. Child rights are rights to Life, family environment, education, social security, against sexual exploitation and against sale or trafficking, against exploitation like child labor.

Right to Life

The child has the right to life before its birth. The right to survival also has the right to be born, the right to basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing, and dignified living.

Right to Family Environment

Every child has the right to live a normal childhood in a family environment. Children with no family, abandoned, or destitute also have the right to live. These children can be given for adoption.

Right to Benefit from Social Security

Children should get financial support from the state or country, when their parents or guardian is not in a state to provide them with a good standard of living, due to illness, disability, or old age.

Right to Education

The right to education is an act of parliament of India enacted in 2009 for free and compulsory education for children from 6 to 14 years.

This act is based on Article 21A of the constitution. This act provides every child with compulsory elementary education. The child need not pay fees for elementary education.

Right against sale or trafficking

Children are vulnerable to sale or trafficking for various activities such as Child labour, Sex slaves, prostitution, drug trafficking, etc.

This right provides children with fundamental human rights against sale or trafficking.

Right against sexual exploitation

The government should protect children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, physically or mentally.

POSCO Act- Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act

POSCO Act, 2012, is one of the most important acts as far as Child interest is concerned.

Feature of POSCO Act,2012

• This act ensures anyone below the age of 18 to ensure health in the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development of a child.
• The statement is recorded as it is like the child narrates when the abuse is committed by the family member or the acquaintances.

• “A child not to be called repeatedly to testify.”
• The death penalty for rapist of girls under the age of 12 and stringent penal provisions for rape is added in April 2018.

• The Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018 amended the Indian Penal code.
• The fine imposed is used for the treatment and rehabilitation of the child victim.

National Human Rights Commission

It is an autonomous body constituted on 12 October 1993, by the protection of the Human Rights Act, 1993. National Human Rights Commission is responsible for the protection and promotion of Human Rights in India.

These human rights are guaranteed by the constitution.

Functions of NHRC

To inquire about the violation of human rights or negligence in the prevention of violation by public servants. Court proceedings are intervened that are relating to human rights.

To promote research in the field of human rights. To promote human rights education among societies. To encourage the effects of NGOs and institutions working in the field of human rights.

State Human Rights Commission (SHRC)

Every state in India has SHRC that was established with power by the state under section 21 of the protection of the Human Rights Act 1993.

The protection and promotion of human rights is the main objective of the commission.

Moreover, the procedures by the SHRC to conduct its proceeding, the Suo Moto action was taken on the complaints it receives irrespective of the sources and the proceeding transparency adds strength to the SHRC.

Function of SHRC

It enquires into Human rights violation matters, confined to state and concurrent lists. Its functions and duties are similar to the National Human Rights Commission but are confined within the state.

It has a Chairman and two members. It has the power of the civil court and can take cases by surveillance or in Suo Motu. It also recommends compensation to victims.

The Indian Penal Code is the criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted in 1860 on the recommendation of the first law commission of India established in 1834.

It came into force in British India during the early British Raj period of 1862. The objective of this act is to provide a general penal code for India.

The Indian Penal Code has a basic format, it is a document that lists all the cases and punishments that a person committing any crimes is liable to be charged. It covers any person of Indian citizenship. The exceptions are the military and other armed forces, they cannot be charged based on the Indian Penal Code. They have a different set of laws under the Indian Penal Code as well.

The Indian judicial system is one that has evolved into a stable and fair system of detention and penalizing, after being tested well for several years. The most important feature of the Indian Penal Code is the impartial nature of judgments promoted by the document.

The Indian Penal Code does not include any special favors for any special person in some position. Thus, the code stands alike for government employees, as for the common man, and even for a judicial officer.

This builds up the faith of the common citizens in the law-making and enforcing bodies in the country and prevents any sort of corruption or misuse on the part of the people in power. The Indian Penal Code includes all the relevant criminal offenses dealing with offenses against the State, offenses in public, offenses for armed forces, kidnapping, murder, and rape.

It also deals with offenses related to religion, offenses against property and it has an important section for offenses for marriage, cruelty from husbands or relatives, defamation, and so forth.

Indian Penal Code also provides for group liabilities that is, group liability under section 34 in the form of a rule of evidence making each member of the group liable for the final act if he has in any manner participated in action in furtherance of the common intention of all members of the group irrespective of his individual contribution which may have been very small.

Group liability under section 149 is envisaged making the members of the unlawful assembly vicariously liable for the criminal act which is in furtherance of the common object or what members of the unlawful assembly ought to have known is likely to be committed in given circumstances besides making each of them liable for punishment for being a member of an unlawful assembly.

The code also makes punishable what are described as inchoate crimes that are, amendment, attempt, and criminal conspiracy, etc.

The Indian Penal Code has been amended numerous times according to emerging needs. Concepts like sedition which was outside the purview of the Indian Penal Code was included in it after amendments. The need to revamp the criminal justice system was felt for quite some time as it has come under severe stress and strain due to changing aspirations of the citizens and the resulting social transformation.

The process of criminal investigation, prosecution, and adjudication necessarily warrant changes and transformation in tune with the developments in science and technology.

The information age has ushered in modern methods of criminal activities which need new methods of investigation and prosecution. For these, new criminal laws are needed. In view of this, the Indian government set up the V.S Malimath committee in 2000 to consider measures for revamping the criminal justice system in the country.

The committee submitted its report in 2003. This report has been examined at various levels to consider the various measures recommended by it for revamping the criminal justice system.

Some of the recommendations of the committee have been accepted by the government and have been incorporated in the criminal law of the land substantive and procedural.