MODULE 3[C]: RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF

RELIGION [ARTICLES 27, 28 & 29]

1. Article 27: Freedom as
to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion

Words of the Article:

No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes, the proceeds of which are specifically
appropriated in payment of expenses for the promotion or maintenance
of any particular religion or religious denomination.

Meaning:

 This article emphasizes the secular character of the state.

 In general this article provides protection in respect to payment of taxes, if such amount
is appropriated for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion.
 Reason behind providing such provision is that India is the secular country.
 Secular means state has no its own religion or identity and state should treat every
religion equally.
 Therefore when a person wants to dispose off any of his amount to any religious
institution for the promotion or maintenance of such religion then such amount shall be
exclude from being charged by tax.

Explanation:

 Tax and Fees:-

 One question may be arise regarding the fees, that whether fees payment in respect of any
religion for the promotion and maintenance of that religion, would be exclude from being
charged or not.
  The answer has been given by the Supreme Court in RatiLal V. State of Bombay1and
defined tax as a common burden and the only return which the tax payer gets is a
participation in the common benefits of the state, fees as the payments primarily in public
interest but for some special service rendered or some special work done for the benefits
of those from whom the payments are demanded.
 In determining whether a levy is a fee, the true test must be whether its primary and
essential purpose is to render specific services to a specified area or class.
 In Sri Jagannath V. State of Orissa 2Supreme Court held that the levy under the Orissa
Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1939 was in the nature of fee and not tax.
 The payment was demanded only for the purpose of meeting the expenses of the
commissioner and his office which was the machinery set up for due administration of
affairs of the religious institution.

Exception:-

 General rule under article 27 is that no person shall be compelled to pay any tax for any
amount which is or has been utilized for the promotion and maintenance of any particular
religion, also state is under obligation not to give any aid to any particular religion as it is
a secular country which has no religion.
 The article 27 will not be applicable when state would start giving aid to all religious
institution along with the secular and without any discrimination.
 In the present context we may say that the Government is trying to promote a particular
religion for the vote bank but not really.
 They are doing drama in the name of promoting particular religion and playing with the
common people for the purpose of vote bank.
 Some latest examples are the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s 40 daysGauravYatra throughout
the area of Rajasthan, recent rejection of appeal for permission of RathYatra in North
Bengal (WB) by the Supreme Court on 15th Jan 2019.

Need and Importance of the Article:

1
AIR 1954 SC 388
2
AIR 1954 SC 400
  As India is a secular country, it doesn’t have its own religion and identity.
 It therefore should not promote any particular religion.
 However if being promoted, then it should promote all religion equally, that means it
must treat all religion equally or in one eye.
 Therefore this Article is playing an important role in maintaining the secular character of
our country, which needs such provisions.

Author’s Note:

In my opinion Article is itself clear and such provision is necessary for a secular country like
India. The Political parties should strictly follow this article and should not forget that they are
the representatives of a secular country.

2. Article 28- Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or

religious worship in certain educational institutions

Words of the Article

(1) No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained
out of State funds.

(2) Nothing in clause (1) shall apply to an educational institution which is administered by the
State but has been established under any endowment or trust which requires that religious
instruction shall be imparted in such institution.

(3) No person attending any educational institution recognized by the State or receiving aid out
of State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that may be imparted in
such institution or to attend any religious worship that may be conducted in such institution or in
any premises attached thereto unless such person or, if such person is a minor, his guardian has
given his consent thereto.

Meaning:
  This Article contains three clauses where the first clause provided for general rule stating
any kind of religious instruction cannot be provided in any state funded educational
institutions.

 Second clause provided for an exception to the first clause and said that in the
educational institution funded by trust or endowment religious instruction can be given.

 Third clause provided for the protection to person who attending any educational
institution which administered by state or funded by state that such person shall not be
compelled to take part in any religious instruction or in any religious worship unless such
person given his consent.

Explanation:

 After reading the article 28 we may find that there are four types of educational
institutions mentioned such as

I. Institutions wholly maintained by the state.

II. Institution recognized by the state.

III. Institutions that are receiving aid out of the state fund.

IV. Institutions that are administered by the state but are established under any trust or
endowment.

 In 1st type of institutions no religious instructions can be imparted. In 2 nd and 3rd type of
institutions religious instructions may be imparted only with the consent of the
individuals.

 In the 4th type of institution, there is no restriction on religious instructions.

 Though article itself is clear regarding religious instructions but still various questions
arose in various times regarding the religious instructions.

 Such as provision for the study and research on the life and teaching of Guru Nanak of
section 4 of the Guru Nanak University Act was challenged in D.A.V. College,
 JullundharV. State of Punjab3on the ground that it was violation of article 28, which
prohibited religious instruction in state, aided educational institutions.

 Court rejected the contention and held that section 4 which enjoined the university to
encourage an academic study of the life and teaching of Guru Nanak does not amount to
religious instructions or promotion of any particular religion and therefore
constitutionally valid.

 The validity of National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2000 (NCFSE)
challenged in Aruna Roy V. Union of India4which provided for education for value
development based upon all religions and also a comparative study of philosophy of all
religions was challenged on the ground that it was violative of article 28 of the
constitution.

 Court rejected the contention and held that the National Curriculum Framework for
School Education is neither violative of article 28 of the constitution nor it is against the
concept of secularism.

 Court further held that the entire emphasis of article 28 of the constitution is against
imparting religious instructions or of performing religious worship.

 It does not prohibit study of religion’s philosophy and culture particularly for having
value based social life in a society degenerating for power, post or property.

Need and Importance:

 This Article is important for the proper governing of a Secular Country like ours.

 It plays an important role in maintaining the secular character of the country in the
educational institutions by making restriction on giving religious instructions in state
funded educational institutions.

Author’s Note

The Author suggestsa stringent following by the state and educational institutions to maintain the
secular character of our country.

3
AIR 1971 SC 1737
4
AIR 2002 SC 3176
 3. Article 29: Protection of interests of minorities-
Words of the Article

(1) Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a
distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.
(2) No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State
or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of
them.

Meaning:
 Article 29 contains two clauses, the first clause provides for the right to conserve one’s
distinct language, culture or script.
 The second clause provides for a general rule that no person shall be denied admission in
any educational institution maintained by states or funded by states on the ground of
religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

Explanation:
 Article 29(1) provides right to conserve one’s distinct language, script or culture residing
in the territory of India.
 It means a person can be distinct on the basis of his language, script, or culture and such
person can claim right under this article, as he has right to conserve and preserve his such
distinct character.
 For example in India Punjabi speaking people are distinct from other states like Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, therefore Punjabi speaking people can claim
rights under this article.
 Article 29 clause (2) provides that every citizen has the right to take admission in any
educational institution maintained by the state or receiving aid out of the state funds.
 Such person cannot be discriminated against on the grounds only of religion, race, caste,
language or any of them.
 Article 29 protects the interests of the minorities only, whether based on language, script
or culture.
  Article 30 provides for the right to establish and administer educational institutions of
their own to promote their own society or their community.

Generality of Article 29(2):

 Article 29(2) is general in nature as it starts with No Citizen.
 It means this Article is applicable to all irrespective of minority or majority groups.
 Therefore a school run by a majority, if it is aided by the state funds, cannot refuse
admission to boys belonging to other communities.
 The state cannot direct such school to restrict admission to their own community.
 An order of Madras Government was challenged in State of Madras V.
ChampakamDorairajam5 on the ground that it denied admission to a person only on the
ground of religion or caste, which had fixed the proportion of students of each
community that could be admitted into the state Medical and Engineering Colleges.
 The petitioners in this case were denied admission only because they were Brahmins.
Supreme Court held that the order was invalid for being violative of Article 29(2).

Rights of Minorities:
 India is a secular is a secular country where hundreds of religious and linguistic
minorities live together for centuries together and have inherited common heritage,
language, and traditions and accordingly share a common culture.
 But every religious denomination has a fundamental right to preserve and protect their
distinct cultural attributes like religion, language, rites, rituals etc.

1. To Establish and Maintain Educational Institutions:The most vital right guaranteed to

a religious or linguistic minority is the right to establish and maintain educational
institution for preserving their community interests.
2. Cultural Rights: Art. 29 and 30 provide for minority rights, which also include
educational and cultural rights. Clause (1) of Art. 29 gives protection to every section of
the citizens having distinct language, script or culture by guarantying their right to

5
AIR 1951 SC 226
 conserve the same. A minority community can preserve its language, script or culture by
and through educational institutions, which is guaranteed under Art. 30 of the
Constitution.
 The inter-relation between Art. 29(1) and Art. 30 (1) was elaborately examined by the
apex court in the case of St. Xavier’s College V. State of Gujarat6and held that while
as the right guaranteed in the former wider in scope, as it applies to all section of the
society who want to conserve their culture, as against this the later provision deal with
minority’s right to education.
 In State of Bombay V. Bombay Educational Society7Supreme Court struck down an
order of the Bombay Government banning admission of those whose language was not
English into schools having English as the medium of instruction.
 This was donebecause the admissions were denied solely on the ground of language.
 The Court said that the order would not be valid, even if the object for making it was the
promotion or advancement of national language.
 In Ramesh Chandra V. Principal B.B.I. College8Court held that the protection of Art.
29(2) do not apply where the student is expelled from an institution on ground of
indiscipline.
 This Art. Also not applicable where the student is refused admission on grounds of his
not possessing requisite qualifications.9

Need and Importance:

 This Article play very important role in protecting rights and interests of minorities.
 India consists of the people of various languages, religions, cultures etc., therefore the
existence of minority on the basis language, religion etc. are common.
 Hence such provisions play important role in protecting the rights of minority.

6
AIR 1974 SC 1389
7
AIR 1954 SC 561
8
AIR 1953 All 90
9
NageshwaraRao V. Principal, Medical College, AIR 1962 AP 212
Suggestions:
Articles 29 and 30 which protect the interest of minorities should be strictly applied or
implemented;they should not be misused in the name of the vote bank.

THE MUCH DETAILED & IN- DEPTH EXPLANATION OF ALL

THE ARTICLES HAS BEEN PROVIDED IN THE ADVANCED
CERTIFICATE COURSE ON ENFORCEMENT OF
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS.
ADVANCED CERTIFICATE COURSE ON ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS.

https://www.thelawlearners.com/certificate-course-on-enforcement-o