Case Studies on Right to Freedom - Indian Polity for UPSC CSE

Protection of life and personal liberty

Article 21 declares that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. This right is available to both citizens and non citizens.

• In the famous Gopalan case11(1950), the Supreme Court has taken a narrow interpretation of the Article 21. It held that the protection under Article 21 is available only against arbitrary executive action and not from arbitrary legislative action. This means that the State can deprive the right to life and personal liberty of a person based on a law. This is because of the expression ‘procedure established by law’ in Article 21, which is different from the expression ‘due process of law’ contained in the American Constitution.
• Hence, the validity of a law that has prescribed a procedure cannot be questioned on the ground that the law is unreasonable, unfair or unjust. Secondly, the Supreme Court held that the ‘personal liberty’ means only liberty relating to the person or body of the individual. But, in Menaka case12 (1978), the Supreme Court overruled its judgement in the Gopalan case by taking a wider interpretation of the Article 21.Therefore, it ruled that the right to life and personal liberty of a person can be deprived by a law provided the procedure prescribed by  that law is reasonable, fair and just.
• In other words, it has introduced the American expression ‘due process of law’. In effect, the protection under Article 21 should be available not only against arbitrary executive action but also against arbitrary legislative action. Further, the court held that the ‘right to life’ as embodied in Article 21 is not merely confined to animal existence or survival but it includes within its ambit the right to live with human dignity and all those aspects of life which go to make a man’s life meaningful, complete and worth living.
• It also ruled that the expression ‘Personal Liberty’ in Article 21 is of the widest amplitude and it covers a variety of rights that go to constitute the personal liberties of a man.

Right to Education

In 1993 itself, the Supreme Court recognised a Fundamental Right to primary education in the right to life under Article 21. It held that every child or citizen of this country has a right to free education until he completes the age of 14 years. Thereafter, his right to education is subject to the limits of economic capacity and development of the state. In this judgement, the Court overruled its earlier judgement(1992) which declared that there was a fundamental right to education up to any level including professional education like medicine and engineering. In pursuance of Article 21A, the Parliament enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

• This Act seeks to provide that every child has a right to be provided full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.
• This legislation is anchored in the belief that the values of equality, social justice and democracy and the creation of a just and humane society can be achieved only through provision of inclusive elementary education to all.

Protection against Arrest and Detention.

The 44^th Amendment Act of 1978 has reduced the period of detention without obtaining the opinion of an advisory board from three to two months. However, this provision has not yet been brought into force, hence, the original period of three months still continues. The Constitution has divided the legislative power with regard top reventive detention between the Parliament and the state legislatures. The Parliament has exclusive authority to make a law of preventive detention for reasons connected with defence, foreign affairs and the security of India. Both the Parliament as well as the state legislatures can concurrently make a law of preventive detention for reasons connected with the security of a state, the maintenance of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community.

The preventive detention laws made by the Parliament are:

• Preventive Detention Act, 1950. Expired in 1969.
• Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), 1971. Repealed in1978.
• Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), 1974.
• National Security Act (NASA), 1980.
• Prevention of Black marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act (PBMSECA), 1980.
• Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), 1985.Repealed in 1995.
• Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PITNDPSA), 1988.
• Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002. Repealed in 2004.
• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, as amended in2004, 2008, 2012 and 2019.

It is unfortunate to know that no democratic country in the world has made preventive detention as an integral part of the Constitution as has been done in India. It is unknown in USA. It was resorted to in Britain only during first and second world war time. In India, preventive detention existed even during the British rule. For example, the Bengal State Prisoners Regulation of 1818 and the Defence of India Act of 1939 provided for preventive detention.