COI ASSIGNMENT

Submitted By-
Vidushi Tickoo
18001003131
CE52
1 SCHEME OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO EQUALITY
The Constitution of India codifies the fundamental rights- the basic human rights of its citizens
which are defined in Part III of the Constitution. One such right is the right to equality which
is protected under articles 14 to 18. Article 14 is the most significant of the lot. This deals with
the general principles of equality. All the situations not covered under 15 to18 are covered
under this.
Article 14 of the constitution states that:
“The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the
laws within the territory of India.”
This means that every person, who lives within territory of India, has the equal right before
the law. That equals will be treated equally.

Article 14 : Equality before the law

The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the
laws within the territory of India, on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
Article 15 : Prohibition of discrimination
This article prohibits discrimination in any manner.
No citizen shall, on grounds only of race, religion, caste, place of birth, sex or any of them, be
subject to any liability, disability, restriction or condition with respect to:

• Access to public places

• Use of tanks, wells, ghats, etc. that are maintained by the State or that are meant for the
general public
• The article also mentions that special provision can be made for women, children and the
backward classes notwithstanding this article.

Article 16 : Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment

No citizen shall be discriminated against in matters of public employment or appointment on
the grounds of race, religion, caste, sex, place of birth, descent or residence.
Exceptions to this can be made for providing special provisions for the backward classes.

Article 17 : Abolition of untouchability

Article 17 prohibits the practice of untouchability. Untouchability is abolished in all forms. Any
disability arising out of untouchability is made an offence.
 Article 18 : Abolition of titles

• The State shall not confer any titles except those which are academic or military titles.
• The article also prohibits citizens of India from accepting any titles from a foreign State.
• The article abolishes the titles that were awarded by the British such as Rai Bahadur,
Khan Bahadur, etc.
• Awards like Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna and military
honours like Ashok Chakra, Param Vir Chakra do not belong to this category

2 FREEDOM UNDER ARTICLE 19

All citizens shall have the right—

• to freedom of speech and expression;
• to assemble peaceably and without arms;
• to form associations or unions;
• to move freely throughout the territory of India;
• to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;
• to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
• This right also includes commercial as well as artistic speech and expression

Freedom of speech and expression:

It implies that every citizen has right to express his views, opinions, beliefs and convictions
freely by word of mouth, writing, picturing or in any other manner. This includes freedom of
press, freedom of commercial advertisements, right against tapping of telephonic
conversations, right to know about government activities, right to demonstration.
State can impose restrictions on exercise of freedom of speech & expression on grounds of
sovereignty and integrity of India etc.
Freedom of Assembly:
Every citizen has right to assemble peacefully and without arms. It includes holding public
meeting, demonstrations and processions. This provision doesn’t protect violent, disorderly,
riotous assemblies etc.
 Freedom of Association:
All citizens have right to form associations or unions or co-operations. It includes right to form
political parties, companies, partnership firms, societies etc. Restrictions can be imposed by
the State on the grounds of sovereignty and integrity of India, public order and morality.
Freedom of Movement:
This freedom entitles every citizen to move freely throughout the territory of the country. The
grounds of imposing restrictions on this freedom are interests of general public and
protection of interests of any scheduled tribe.
Freedom of Residence:
Every citizen has the right to reside and settle in any part of India The State can impose
restrictions on exercise of the right on the grounds of interest of general public and protection
of interests of any scheduled tribes.
Freedom of Profession:
All citizens are given the right to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade
or business. This doesn’t include immoral profession or trade such as trafficking in women
and children or dangerous(drugs).

Restriction on Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech is not absolute. Article 19(2) imposes restrictions on the right to
freedom of speech and expression. The reasons for such restrictions are in the interests of:
1. Security
2. Sovereignty and integrity of the country
3. Friendly relations with foreign countries
4. Public order
5. Decency or morality
6. Hate speech
7. Defamation
8. Contempt of court
Hate Speech
The Supreme Court of India had asked the Law Commission to make recommendations to
the Parliament to empower the Election Commission to restrict the problem of “hate
speeches” irrespective of, whenever made. But the Law Commission recommended that
several factors need to be taken into account before restricting a speech, such as the context
of the speech, the status of the maker of the speech, the status of the victim and the potential
of the speech to create discriminatory and disruptive circumstances.

Decency or Morality
Article 19(2) inserts decency or morality as grounds for restricting the freedom of speech and
expression. Sections 292 to 294 of the Indian Penal Code gives instances of restrictions on this
freedom in the interest of decency or morality. The sections do not permit the sale or
distribution or exhibition of obscene words, etc. in public places. However, the words decency
or morality is very subjective and there is no strict definition for them. Also, it varies with time
and place.

Freedom of Speech in Art

In relation to art, the court has held that “the art must be so preponderating as to throw
obscenity into a shadow or the obscenity so trivial and insignificant that it can have no effect
and may be overlooked.” There are restrictions in what can be shown in cinemas and this is
governed by the Cinematograph Act, 1952
3 SCOPE OF RIGHT TO LIFE AND PERSONAL LIBERTY
UNDER ARTICLE 2
The Right to Life and Personal Liberty is assured by the Indian Constitution under Article 21.
This is a very important and wide topic and has several implications for the citizens of India.

Right to Life
• This fundamental right is available to every person, citizens and foreigners alike.

• Article 21 provides two rights:

• Right to life
• Right to personal liberty

• The fundamental right provided by Article 21 is one of the most important rights that the
Constitution guarantees.

• The Supreme Court of India has described this right as the ‘heart of fundamental rights’.

• The right specifically mentions that no person shall be deprived of life and liberty except as
per the procedure established by law. This implies that this right has been provided against
the State only. State here includes not just the government, but also, government
departments, local bodies, the Legislatures, etc.

• Any private individual encroaching on these rights of another individual does not amount to
a violation of Article 21. The remedy for the victim, in this case, would be under Article 226
or under general law.

• The right to life is not just about the right to survive. It also entails being able to live a
complete life of dignity and meaning.

Right to Life and Suicide

Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) makes attempted suicide a criminal offence which
is punishable with imprisonment and fine. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 was passed by
the Parliament and the law came into force in 2018. This Act is meant to provide “for mental
healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfill the
rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services.”

Right to Life and Euthanasia

There are many debates on whether the right to life also extends to the right to die, especially
to die with dignity. Euthanasia is a topic that is frequently seen in the news. Many countries
have legalised euthanasia (the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Luxembourg). Euthanasia is
the practice of intentionally ending life in order to relieve suffering and pain. It is also called
‘mercy killing’.
Passive euthanasia has been made legal in India. In 2018, the SC legalised passive euthanasia
by means of the withdrawal of life support to patients in a permanent vegetative state.
This decision was made as a part of the verdict in the famous case involving Aruna Shanbaug,
who had been living in a vegetative state for more than 4 decades until her death in 2015.
The court rejected active euthanasia by means of lethal injection. Active euthanasia is illegal
in India. Passive euthanasia is legal under strict guidelines. For this, patients must give
consent through a living will, and should either be in a vegetative state or terminally ill. Living
Will: It is a legal document in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their
health if they are no longer able to make such decisions for themselves due to illness or
incapacity. When the executor (of the living will) becomes terminally ill with no hope of
recovery, the doctor will set up a hospital medical board after informing the patient and/or
his guardians.