Fundamental Rights
Master Part III (Articles 12-35): the six Fundamental Rights, their reasonable restrictions, key writs, and the landmark cases that define their UPSC-relevant scope.
The Constitutional Location
Fundamental Rights are enshrined in Part III of the Constitution (Articles 12 to 35), inspired by the United States Bill of Rights. They are justiciable: a citizen may move the Supreme Court directly under Article 32 (called by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar the 'heart and soul of the Constitution') or a High Court under Article 226 for their enforcement. Originally seven, the rights were reduced to six when the Right to Property (Article 31) was deleted from Part III by the 44th Amendment Act, 1978 and relocated to Article 300A as an ordinary constitutional right.
The Six Fundamental Rights
The six surviving categories are:
- Right to Equality (Articles 14-18) — equality before law and equal protection of laws (Art. 14); prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth (Art. 15); equality of opportunity in public employment (Art. 16); abolition of untouchability (Art. 17); abolition of titles (Art. 18).
- Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22) — six freedoms under Art. 19(1)(a)-(g); protection in respect of conviction (Art. 20); protection of life and personal liberty (Art. 21); right to education (Art. 21A, inserted by the 86th Amendment, 2002); and protection against arrest and detention (Art. 22).
- Right against Exploitation (Articles 23-24) — prohibition of trafficking and forced labour; prohibition of child labour below 14 in hazardous employment.
- Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25-28).
- Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29-30) — protecting minorities.
- Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32).
The 'State' and Article 13
Article 12 defines 'State' expansively to include the Government and Parliament of India, the Government and Legislature of each State, and all local and 'other authorities'. The judiciary has read 'other authorities' broadly — Ajay Hasia v. Khalid Mujib (1981) laid down the instrumentality-or-agency test. Article 13 is the engine of judicial review: it declares void any pre-Constitution law inconsistent with Part III (doctrine of eclipse) and bars the State from making any law that takes away or abridges Fundamental Rights. Crucially, the 24th Amendment (1971) inserted Article 13(4) and Article 368(3) to clarify that a constitutional amendment is not 'law' under Article 13 — a move the Supreme Court tempered through the basic structure doctrine in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973). Candidates must remember that Fundamental Rights are not absolute; each carries 'reasonable restrictions' subject to judicial scrutiny on grounds of public order, sovereignty, decency, and morality.
