 Human Rights in India including

Constitutional Guarantee of
Fundamental Rights,
 Judicial activism and the
protection of human Rights in India,
 Role of Non- Governmental
Organizations in the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights,
 Human Rights of Accused
person,
 Human Rights and Environment
protection,
 Human Rights of Women,
 Human Rights of Children.
 1.HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA
INCLUDING CONSTITUTIONAL
GUARANTEE OF
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
 INTRODUCTION

1. Human rights are the basic rights

available to any human being by
virtue of his birth in human race.

2. It is inherent in all human beings

irrespective of their nationality,
religion, language, sex, colour or
any other consideration
 3. The Constitution of India
guarantees basic human rights to
each and every citizen of the
country.
4. India had signed the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights
January 01, 1942.

 Human Rights and The lndian

Constitution

• The framers of the Indian

Constitution were influenced by the
concept of human rights and
guaranteed most of human rights
contained in the UDHR.
• The UDHR contains
 1.Civil and Political
as well as
2.Economic Social and
Cultural rights.
1. While Civil and Political rights has
been
incorporated in  Part III of Indian
Constitution
i.e. Fundamental Rights,
2. Economic Social and Cultural rights
have been
incorporated in  Part IV of the
Constitution
i.e. Directive Principles of States
Policy.
• The inclusion of important
provisions of UDHR in the Constitution
of India has given them supremacy
over all other statutory provisions.
CASE LAWS:
 Keshvanand Bharti v. State of
Kerela,
The apex court observed: “The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
may not be a legally binding
instrument but it shows how India
understood the nature of human rights
at the time the Constitution was
adopted.”
INDIA AND UNIVERSAL DECLARATION
 India was a signatory to the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.

 A number of fundamental rights

guaranteed to the individuals in
Part Ill of the lndian Constitution
are similar to the provisions of the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.

 The following chart makes it very

clear.
CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
 Many of the civil and political rights
contained in the International
Covenant on Political and Civil
Rights, 1966 (ICCPR) are also
contained in the Part III of the
Constitution of India.
  India has signed and ratified the
ICCPR
CASE LAW
Jolly George Varghese & Anr. v. Bank
of Cochin,
J. Krishna Iyer observed that though a
provision is present in ICCPR but not in
Indian Constitution, does not make the
covenant an enforceable part of
‘Corpus Juris’ in India.

 Provisions of ICCPR along with

corresponding provision of
Constitution of India are as follows
  Some of the rights which were not
earlier included in Fundamental
Rights but were available in ICCPR.
They were considered as
Fundamental Rights by various judicial
pronouncements.
 Some of them are
 Right to fair trial,
 Right to privacy,
 Right to legal aid,
 Right to travel abroad.

ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND

CULTURAL RIGHTS
 The ICESCR is a multilateral treaty
which mainly focuses on social and
cultural rights like food, health,
education, shelter etc.
  India ratified this covenant on April
10, 1979
 . Most of the provisions in this
covenant are found in Part IV
(DPSPs) of the Indian Constitution.

Provisions of ICESCR along with

corresponding provision of Constitution
of India are as follows
:

UNREMUNERATED FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS
 A number of rights that were
available in the covenant were not
available as fundamental rights at
the time of enactment of
Constitution.
 The judicial interpretations have
widened the scope of fundamental
rights available in the Indian
Constitution.
CASE LAWS
 A.D.M. Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla,
The apex court had observed that the
law of land does not recognize any
natural or common law rights other
than specifically provided in the Indian
Constitution.
 Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
J. Bhagwati observed, No person can
be deprived of his right to go
abroad.”

CONCLUSION
 Human Rights are the basic rights
which form the essential part of
his/her development as human
being.
 Constitution acts as a protector of
those basic rights as Fundamental
Rights and DPSPs.
 More emphasis has been given to
the fundamental rights and they are
directly enforceable in the court of
law.
 From a deep study of the Part III
and Part IV of the Indian
Constitution, it is easily evident that
almost all of the rights provided in
UDHR (Universal Declaration on
Human Rights) are covered in these
two parts.
2 . JUDICIAL ACTIVISM AND
PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

INTRODUCTION
 Judiciary is ultimate guardian of the
human rights of the people.

 It not only protects the rights

enumerated in Constitution but also
has recognized certain
unenumerated rights by
interpreting the fundamental rights
and widened their scope.

 As a result people not only enjoy

enumerated rights but also un-
enumerated rights as well.
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM
 Black’s Law Dictionary defines
judicial activism as:
A theory of judicial decision-making
through which judges
attach their personal opinions
on public policy,
among other aspects,
to direct their decisions.

 Judicial Activism means the rulings

of the court based on political and
personal rational and prudence of
the Judges presiding over the issue.
 Judicial activism in India
implies  the authority of the
 Supreme Court
and the high courts,
but not the subordinate courts,
 To declare the regulations
unconstitutional and void  if they
breach or
 if the legislation is
incompatible with one or more of the
constitutional clauses.

JUDICIAL ACTIVISM METHODS

There are various methods of judicial
activism that are followed in India.
They are:
a. Judicial review (power of the
judiciary to interpret the constitution
and to declare any such law or order
of the legislature and executive void,
if it finds them in conflict with the
Constitution)
b. PIL (The person filing the petition
must not have any personal interest
in the litigation, this petition is
accepted by the court only if there is
an interest of large public involved;
the aggrieved party does not file the
petition).
c. Constitutional interpretation
d. Access of international statute for
ensuring constitutional rights
e. Supervisory power of the higher
courts on the lower courts
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM AND
PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN
INDIA.
 It is constitutional mandate of
judiciary to protect human rights of
the citizens.

 Supreme Court and High Courts are

empowered to take action to
enforce these rights.

 Machinery for redress is provided

under Articles 32 and 226 of the
constitution.

 An aggrieved person can directly

approach the Supreme Court or
 High Court of the concerned state
for the protection of his/her
fundamental rights, redress of
grievances and enjoyment of
fundamental rights.

 In such cases Court are empowered

to issue appropriate order, directions
and writs in the nature of
 Habeas Corpus,
 Mandamus,
 Prohibition,
 Quo-Warranto and
 Certiorari
 The oppressed sections of the society
are more prone to the violation of
human rights.
 Most vulnerable sections of society
are children, women and socially and
educationally weaker sections of
society.
 Judiciary has taken many steps to
ensure protection of human rights of
these sections
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
 The right to privacy is an essential
component of the right to life and
personal liberty under Article 21 of
the Indian Constitution.

 However, it is not an absolute right

as it is subjected to certain
reasonable restrictions
  . The Supreme Court has widened
the scope of Article 21 to form a
multi-dimensional article by giving
an extended meaning to the
provisions in it.
CASE LAWS
1. Kharak singh v. State of U.P.
The Supreme Court held that the right
to privacy falls within the scope of
Article 21 of the Constitution and
therefore concluded that an
unauthorized intrusion into a person’s
home and disturbance caused to him is
in violation of the personal liberty of
the individual.
2. R. Rajagopal v. State of T.N.
 Popularly known as the Auto Shankar
case.
 The publication of autobiography of
Auto Shanker was in question due to
the fact that it involved name of
many public officials.

 Supreme Court allowing the

publication, said the writings were
based on public records, and
therefore right to privacy is not
attracted.

 The Court recognised two aspects of

right to privacy
1)Tortious and
2)Constitutional.
 RIGHT TO SPEEDY TRIAL

 Speedy trial is important to safeguard

the miscarriage of justice

 Speedy trial is one of the basic

human rights as without speedy trial
justice cannot be said to be done.

 It has been endorsed in almost all

international charters and
conventions.

 The Supreme Court through its

various judgements observed that
speedy trial is inherent under Article
21 of the Constitution.
CASE LAWS

1.Hussainara Khatoon v. Home

Secretary, State of Bihar,

 A petition was filed for a writ of

Habeas Corpus, on behalf of a large
number of men and women
including children who were
languishing behind bars for years
awaiting trial and that the offences,
even if proved, would not warrant
punishment for more than a few
months.
 The Apex Court, in this case, held
that the “right to a speedy trial” is a
fundamental right implicit in the
right of life and personal liberty
 provided under Article 21 of the
Indian Constitution.
 Hence ordered the Bihar
Government to release forthwith
the undertrial prisoners on their
bond.

2.Abdul Rehman Antuley v. R S

Nayak
 In this case, the Supreme Court, in
this case, held that the Right to a
speedy trial under Article 21 is
available at all stages namely, the
stage of investigation, inquiry, trial,
appeal, revision and retrial.
 The Court laid down detailed
guidelines for the speedy trial of an
accused in a criminal trial but refused
 to set a time limit for the conclusion
of the trial.
 The Court held that the nature of the
offence and the circumstances may
be such that quashing of proceedings
may not be in the interest of justice.
In such a case it may make an
order that the trial may be concluded
within a fixed time and reduce the
sentence.

RIGHT TO LEGAL ASSISTANCE

The Judiciary has been in the forefront
in promoting free legal aid services to
poor people, who cannot afford to
engage a legal practitioner to protect
the interests in courts
The Constitution of India provides for
the principle of legal aid in the
Directive Principles of the State Policy
contained in Part IV
CASE LAWS
1. Khatri v. State of Bihar
The Supreme Court held that the state
is constitutionally bound to provide
legal assistance by hiring a lawyer to an
accused person not only at trial stage
but also when they are first produced
before the magistrate or remanded
time and again and such a right shall
not be denied on the ground of
financial or administrative inability or
that the accused did not ask for it.
Magistrates and Sessions Judges have
the must responsibility to inform the
accused of his rights.
2. H. Hoskot v State of Maharashtra
In this case it was observed that a
prisoner sentenced to imprisonment is
not capable of exercising his
constitutional and statutory right of
appeal virtually inclusive of special
leave to the Supreme Court for the
legal assistance, but there is implicit
power to assign counsel for such
imprisoned individual in the Court
under Article 142 read with Articles 21
and 39-A of the Constitution.
RIGHT TO TRAVEL ABROAD
 The Supreme Court in the case of
Satish Chandra Verma vs. Union of
 India, reiterated that the right to
travel abroad is a genuine and basic
human right like marriage and
family.
 The right to move freely throughout
the territory of India is bestowed
under Article 19 of the Indian
constitution,
however,
the right to travel abroad has been
derived from the right to life and
personal liberty provided under Article
21.
CASE LAWS
1.Satwant Singh Sawhney v. D.
Ramarathnam:
Regarding the issue of the right to
travel abroad in the Supreme Court
established the “expression” personal
liberty takes the right of locomotion
and to travel abroad.
2.Maneka Gandhi v. UOI
The court held that no person can be
deprived of his right to go abroad
unless there is a law made by the state
prescribing the procedure for so
depriving him.

RIGHT TO COMPENSATION
No specific provision in our
constitution that wrongful detenues
may be compensated for their unlawful
detention, yet our Supreme court has
provided compensation to such
detenues whose detention was proved
unlawful by the court.

CASE LAWS
1. Rudal shah v state of Bihar
 The supreme court held that the
court had the power to award
monetary compensation in
appropriate cases where there has
been violation of constitutional
rights of the concerned citizen.
 In the present case the supreme
court directed Bihar government to
pay Rs 30,000 as compensation to
Rudal shah who had to remain in
jail for 14 years because of the
irresponsible behaviour of the state
 government officers even after his
acquittal by the court.

2. Bhim singh vs state of J&k

The court awarded a sum of Rs 50,000
to the petitioner as compensation for
the violation of his constitutional right
of personal liberty under Article 21 of
the constitution.
CONCLUSION
 Human Rights is a very old
phenomenon and is integral to
every human beings for its
development. Human Rights has
always been regarded as the
backbone of every democratic set
up.
 India has made the most sincere
efforts for the protection and
promotion of human rights in the
world over.
 One of the role of judiciary is the
activist role which is popularly
known as “Judicial Activism.” When
there is no specific law for a specific
offence in that case judiciary applies
its activist power for the protection
of our rights.
 3. ROLE OF NGOs IN THE
PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS

INTRODUCTION
 Many organizations around the
world dedicate their efforts to
protecting human rights and ending
human rights abuses.
 Non-Governmental Organization is
one of the examples of such groups.
 By their active campaigning, they
remind Governments to keep their
promise in order to give practical
shape to goals set by various
national and international
conventions on human rights.
 India is estimated to have between
1 million and 2 million NGOs.
NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS
 As defined by the World Bank
NGOs refers to not-for-profit
organizations
 That pursue activities to
 relieve suffering,
 promote the interests of the
poor,
 protect the environment,
 provide basic social services, or
 undertake community
development.

 These organisations are not a part of

the governement, have a legal status
and are registered under the specific
Act (Societies Registration Act, 1860
in India) of the government.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND NGO
 NGO’s have a vital role to play in the
promotion and protection of human
right specially in the developing
 country, has the largest number of
NGO’s whose activates are spared in
different fields for the welfare of
human being including the promotion
and protection of human right.
 The world conference on human right
was held in Vienna in Austria in 1993,
with objective
“to review and assess the progress
made in the field of human right”.
 The resolution no 38 of the
declaration stated –the world
conference on human right
recognizes the important role of
Non Government Organization in
the promotion of all human right
and in humanitarian.
ROLE OF NGOs
  NGOs play a pivotal, role in many
fields, such as in
 prevention of HIV/AIDS,
 to educate to teach and train
vulnerable groups,
 child care,
 child exploitation,
 child labour,
 bonded labour
 , in sex tourism, and
 providing counselling in number of
matters
 including domestic disputes, subject
relating to rights of women and
children and so on.
Among the wide variety of roles that
NGOs play, the following are
important
1. Providing Information
 NGOs play an essential role in
providing information to the
Government along with the human-
centric solution.
 NGOs have functioned as the
conscience in the field of human
rights by taking prompt action to
investigate the instance of human
rights by undertaking spot studies
and publishing the observations.
 Education on ‘human rights issues
contributes to the improvement of
human rights situations by
themselves because people learn
 about their rights and thus increase
the possibility of claiming them.
 May it be a campaign, organizing
courses, releasing publications, and
organizing events (seminars, round
tables and etc.) on various topics of
human rights; thereby increasing
public awareness of human rights can
be done.

2. Lobbying
 NGOs play a role of an influencer in
keeping cooperation with the
Government and its fellow
organizations.
 They are active members working in
different sectors based on human
rights.
 NGOs lobby powerful decision-
makers to take account of the
interests of marginalized people and
influence the Government to change
its favor to the public.
3. Aid/Assistance
 The role of NGOs nowadays is very
significant and effective.
 Many NGOs are coming forward in
giving legal assistance to vulnerable
communities who do not understand
the right and cannot afford legal
services because of economic, social,
or other reasons.
 It has been common to be
concerned with NGOs with
humanitarian assistance and human
rights.
4. Eliminate Social Problems and
Health Issues
 Human rights are the rights
inherent to all human beings,
regardless of race, sex, nationality,
ethnicity, language, religion, or any
other status.
 It includes the right to life and
liberty and freedom from slavery and
torture.
 NGOs have played a pivotal role in
managing human trafficking,
prevention of HIV/AIDS, educating
teaching, and training vulnerable
 people, childcare, providing
counseling related to health issues,
and promoting human rights laws and
rules among the people by going
from the local level to the central
level.
5. Bridge Between Government
and Local People
 Human rights can be secured with
the joined work of both the NGOs
and the Government
INTERNATIONAL NGOs
1. The Fred Hollows Foundation
 It is a non-profit, community-based,
non-government development aid
organization that focuses on
treating and preventing blindness
and other vision problems.
 It operates in Australia, The Pacific,
South and South East Asia, and Africa.
2. Human Rights Foundation
 The Human Rights Foundation (HRF)
is a non-profit organization whose
stated mission “is to ensure that
freedom is both preserved and
promoted” in the Americas.
 Human Rights Foundation was
founded in 2005 by Thor Halverson.
 Its head office is in New York City,
New York, USA.
 Its definition of human rights
focuses on the essential ideals of
freedom of self determination and
freedom from tyranny and the rights
of property.
 Role of NGO at national level in
protecting human right
1. Ramakrishna Mission Home of
Service:
 It is an Indian non-governmental
organization established in Varanasi ,
established in 1900 and became a
branch of Ramakrishna Mission in
1902.
 It manages an education program
on essential health problems in
schools, slums and villages of Uttar
Pradesh (India) thanks to auto
produced multimedia educational
films.

2. Child Rights and You:

 Rights and You (formerly Child
Relief and You, till 2005), commonly
abbreviated as CRY is a non-profit
organization in India that aims to
restore children’s rights in India.
 The organization was established in
1979.
 The organization partners with
grassroots Nongovernmental
organizations to uplift thousands of
Indian children denied basic
children’s rights.
Contribution of NGOs towards the
development of Human Rights
* They mobilize public opinion.
* They contribute a lot to the society.
* They pressurize the government on
certain issues, such as protection of
prisoners rights, torture etc.
* They approach the judiciary on behalf
of poor people who otherwise have no
access to justice.
* They ask for submission of certain
reports.
* The play a special role especially in
the developing countries for the
development of human rights.
CASE LAWS
Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of
India and Ors.
The Supreme Court gave directions to
the government of Haryana to take the
help of NGO’s and other voluntary
agencies to ensure the implementation
of the Bonded Labour Act, 1976.

Saheli V/S Commissioner Of Police

In this case a writ petition was filed by
the Women’s and Civil Rights
Organisations known as SAHELI in the
Hon’ble Supreme Court, demanding
exemplary damages for child (Naresh)
death.

CONCLUSION
There are various roles of NGOs in
India which are being done by NGOs.
The NGOs work for the assistance of
the Government of India to provide all
the facilities given by the government
and help many people by providing the
facilities which are not even given by
the government.

4.HUMAN RIGHTS OF AN ACCUSED

PERSON

INTRODUCTION
In India, rights to an accused person
are given because a person is
presumed to be innocent until found
guilty. There’s a saying that, ‘Let
hundreds go unpunished, but never
punish an innocent person.

RIGHTS OF ARRESTED PERSON IN

INDIA
 The arrested person can file an
appeal in a higher court against the
verdict of the lower court.
 The accused person has the right
to have all his human rights behind
the bars also. He should be treated
benevolently by the authorities
regulating the prison.
  The accused person has the right
to meet his family members when
he is in jail.
 The accused person has the right
to solitary confinement also.
WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF THE
ACCUSED IN INDIA?
The rights of accused persons are
divided into different stages which are
as follows:-
 The right is given to the persons
who are arrested before their trial.
 The rights are given to the
persons who are accused during
their court trial.
 The rights are given to the
persons who are arrested after their
trial is over.
Pre-Trial Rights of the Accused
Pre-trial rights are given to an accused
to ensure their freedom and human
rights.
The pre-trial stage is the first stage of a
trial and is of paramount importance.
In this stage, an FIR is filed by the virtue
of which the policeman arrests a
person, and afterward, his property is
searched.
The rights given to the accused before
trial are as follows:-

 Right to know the grounds of

arrest- An accused has the right to
know the grounds of arrest, the
offense committed by him/her, and
 the charges filed as per section 50(1)
of The Code of Criminal procedure
(CrPC).
 Right against wrongful arrest/
Right to be taken before a
Magistrate- As per sections 56 and 76
of the CrPC and article 22(2) of the
Indian Constitution, the accused must
be produced before a Judicial
Magistrate within 24 hours. In India,
before arresting the accused, a
warrant has to be issued.
 Right to privacy and protection
against unlawful searches- The police
officials cannot search the property
of the accused without a search
warrant. They cannot violate the
 privacy of the accused on a mere
presumption of an offense.
 Right against self-incrimination- As
per article 20(3) of the Indian
Constitution, a person cannot be
compelled to be a witness against
himself.
 Right against double jeopardy- As
per article 20(2) of the Indian
Constitution, a person cannot be
prosecuted and punished for the
same offense more than once.
 The right to file bail- Every accused
person has a right to file a bail
application to be released from jail
custody.
 Right to legal aid- Every accused
person has a right to hire a lawyer to
 defend him/her and if he/she is not
able to afford a lawyer, then the State
must provide the accused with free
legal aid to represent him/her in the
court.
 Right to free and expeditious trial-
Every accused in India has a right to a
free and fair trial and it must be
without any bias or prejudice.
RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED DURING
TRIAL

In India, the accused persons have

many rights during their trial in court.
They are as follows:-
 The right to be present during the
trial- As per section 273 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, all evidence
and statements must be recorded in
the presence of the accused or his
criminal lawyer.
 Right to get copies of the
document- The accused person has
the right to receive copies of all the
documents that are filed by the
prosecutor in the court.
 Right to be considered innocent
until proven guilty- The accused has
the right to be considered innocent
until his guilt is proven in the court
based on evidence and statements by
witnesses.
 The right to be present at the trial-
The accused person has the right to
be present during his trial in the court
and have the attestation presented in
front of him.
 Right to cross-examination- In
criminal cases, the accused has the
right to be cross-examined by the
prosecutor to prove his/her
guiltlessness.

POST-TRIAL RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

PERSON
The accused person gets some rights
after his/her trial is over. The outcome
of the trial determines the rights of the
accused. This is divided into two parts.

 If the accused is acquitted by the

court, then he has the right to get a
copy of the judgment and the right to
receive police protection.
 If the accused is declared to be
guilty and is convicted by the court
of trial, the major right available to
him/her is that he/she has a right to
appeal in the higher court. The
accused can file n appeal against the
order/judgment passed by the lower
court.
CONCLUSION

The accused in India should be heard

properly in the court of trial and
should have equal rights to represent
themselves. The rights provided are
supported by the provisions given in
The Constitution of India and The
Code of Criminal Procedure.
The accused are also humans and
should be subjected to humane
treatment behind the bars also. The
police officials should strictly follow
this because custodial deaths and
illegal arrest is major problem in
India. Article 21 of the Constitution is
infringed and also the basic human
rights which are available under the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
 5.HUMAN RIGHTS AND
ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION
The United Nations Conference on
Environment in Stockholm in 1972
designated as the 'Magna Carta of
Environment' laid down the foundation
for the statutory base of the
environmental law framework in India

DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENT
According to section 2(A) of
Environment Protection Act, 1986
Environment includes:
(a) Water, Air and Land
(b) The interrelationship which exists
among and between-
(i) Water, Air, Land
(ii) Human being, other living creatures,
plants, micro-organism and property
ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The protection and promotion of the
basic human rights is the duty of state.
 Also to protect the environment is
essential because with the growth of
commercialization and man's greed,
over exploitation of environment has
become a common feature.
This can be checked only through
proper legislation.
So the need is to make such
environmental laws those concerned
to protect global and national
environments so that man lives in
harmony with nature and attains his
goals of a creative and happy life.
Initially, the subject of protection of
human rights and environment was
dealt with in a fragmentary manner
under international law through
various international conventions,
treaties and laws.
A few important of these are :-
• International Plant Protection
Convention, 1951.
• The Nuclear Weapons Test Ban
Treaty 1963.
• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons, 1968.
• The African Convention on the
Conservation of Natural Resources,
1968.
• Treaty on Oil Pollution in Seas, 1969.

ENVIRONMENT PROVISIONS UNDER

INDIAN CONSTITUTION
 With the 42 Amendment 1976,
specific provisions relating to certain
aspects of the environment was
adopted, especially forth protection of
the forest and wildlife in the country,
the same were incorporated in:
 Part-IV of the constitution and
 List-III (i.e., The Concurrent List of
the Seventh schedule of the
constitution).
As a result, the constitution now has
the following provisions specifically
relating to environment protection and
nature conservation.
1. Part IV:
Directive Principles of State Policy
(Article 48A): Protection and
improvement and safeguarding of
forests and wildlife:
The state shall endeavor to protect and
improve the environment and to
safeguard the forests and wildlife of
the country.
2. Part IV-A
Fundamental Duties (Article 51-A):
It shall be the duty of every cit-izen of
India: to protect and improve the
natural environment, including forests,
lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have
compassion for living creatures and,
3. Seventh Schedule (Article 246):
 List III – Concurrent List
 Item No. 17- Prevention of
cruelty to animals;
 Item No. 17A - Forests and
 Item No. 17B -Protection of Wild
Animals and Birds

JUDICIAL PRONOUNCMENTS
There have been several remarkable
judicial pronouncements in the recent
years, especially relating Article 21 of
the constitution, dealing with 'the right
to life'. The right to environment has
been closely linked with the right to
life.
M C Mehta v. UOI
 The Supreme Court held that life,
public health and ecology have priority
over unemployment and loss of
revenue.
Shanti Star Builders v. Narayan
Totame
The Supreme Court held that the right
to life is guaranteed in a civilized
society and would take within its
sweep the right to food, the right to
clothing, the right to decent
environment and a reasonable
accommodation to live in.
PROVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
IN INDIA
Apart from international laws, every
country has enacted laws regarding
environment protection, pollution
control etc. In India, there are several
acts for environment protection that
says protection of environment is the
duty of government.
The main acts for environment
protection in India are as follows :-
1. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
2. The Prevention of Air and Water
Pollution, 1974, 1981
3. The Air Prevention and Control of
Pollution, 1981.
4. The Atomic Energy Act. 1982.
5. The Environmental Protection Act,
1986.
(It came into force soon after the
Bhopal Gas Tragedy)
6. The Environmental Conservation Act.
1989.

CONCLUSION
 Environmental law in the context
of human rights presents a new
vision and a new scenario for
mankind.
 A new hope is born of creativity,
harmony and human brotherhood.
An environmental perspective of
 human rights reveals that global
progress is assured for the twenty
first century based on eco-
management of national and global
society.
 Our Constitution provides for a
balance between human rights and
duties based on harmony with
nature and harmony among people.

6.HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN

INTRODUCTION
 Human rights can be defined as
the minimum equal and inalienable
rights compulsorily obtainable by
every human for being a member of
global human community regardless
of gender, ethnicity, language, race,
religion, nationality or any other
ground.
 Women have to face
discrimination, injustice and
dishonor based on gender in every
walk of life..
 The United Nations has a long
history of addressing women's
human rights and much progress
has been made in securing women's
 rights across the world in recent
decades.
Protection Of The Human Rights Of
Women Under International Law:

I. Provisions of United Nations

Charter 1945 concerning Human
Rights of Women:
 The soul of United Nations charter
i.e. The Preamble speaks explicitly
about Human Rights of Women.
 It shows the importance of the
concept of parity especially with
respect to gender.
 The very purpose of United Nations
is, “To achieve international co-
operation involving international
problems of an economic, social,
 cultural, or humanitarian character
and in promoting and encouraging
respect for human rights and for
fundamental freedoms for all without
distinction as to race, sex, language,
or religion.”
 It means the charter provides that
there is no discrimination on the
ground of sex.
 Everyone should be treated as
equal, irrespective of his Race,
Language, Religion and Sex. Here it is
crystal clear that United Nations are
bound to respect Human Rights of
women without discrimination.
II. Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) 1948:
 The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, 1948 is one of the greatest
historic achievements of United
Nations.
 This step has been taken for the
promotion and protection of Human
Rights at international level. “All
human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights.”
 This international document strictly
advocates the notion of equality.
Everyone shall respect and maintain
the dignity of all without
discrimination.
 To give due respect to other’s
dignity is the basic fundamental
principle of Human Rights.
 III. International Convention for the
Suppression of the Traffic in
Persons andexploitation of the
Prostitution of others, 1949:
 This is an important convention
which prohibits and punishes the
persons who do any act which includes
Prostitution and Traffic in Persons.
 The member countries shall take
measures to educate and encourage
through their public and private
services to prevent prostitution and
rehabilitation of victims of such
offences.

IV. Convention on the Elimination

of all forms of Discrimination
Against Women(CEDAW), 1979
The U.N. Convention on the
 Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against women,
 advocates the maintaining of
parity and
 to elimination discrimination
against women in
all areas of life,  including
healthcare, education, 
employment,
domestic relations,  law,
 commercial transactions, and
political participation, among other
thing.
 The convention is a valuable
mechanism for fighting women’s
discrimination worldwide.
  The Convention specifies that
State Parties should undertake to
“embody the principle of equality of
men and women in their national
constitutions or other appropriate
legislations to ensure, through law and
other appropriate means, the practical
realization of this principle.
 The committee on the
elimination of all forms of
discrimination against womenwas
established under the convention
on the elimination of all forms of
Discriminationagainst women.
 The committee has performed
significant work but has not
succeeded.
 V. Declaration on Elimination of
violence against Women, 1993:
 Violence has affected millions of
women worldwide. This results into
lack of involvement of women in
socio, economicand cultural
activities.
 The declaration assists the
Government of States to take
necessary steps to prevent violence
against women.
Women's Human Rights Under
Constitutional Framework
 The preamble of the Indian
constitution ensures the basic
human rights of all men as well as
women.
 However, a special protection
has also been provided to women
under the provisions of the
constitution from the perspective of
human rights of women.

1. Right to Equality under Article

14:
Article 1 of UDHR declares that all
human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights and article
7 provides for equality before law.
Under the constitutional framework
of India the status of women is equal
to men in the eyes of law because the
state cannot deny to any person
equality before the law or the equal
 protection of laws within the territory
of India.
2. Right against Discrimination:
Article 2 of UDHR assures all the rights
and freedoms without any
discrimination.
Article 7 also talks about equal
protection against discrimination.
Indian citizens can also not be
discriminated on the basis of their sex
by any government authority because
the state cannot discriminate against
any citizen on ground only of religion,
race, caste, sex, and place of birth or
any of them.
3. Right to Equal opportunity in
Public Employment:
 Women are able to get equal
opportunity pertaining to public
employment because there is
equality of opportunity for all
citizens, whether males or
females, in matters relating to
employment or appointment to
any office under state
 No citizen can, on grounds only
of religion, race, caste, sex,
descent, place of birth, residence
or any of them, be ineligible for or
discriminated against in respect of
any employment or office under
the state.
 However, government has
authority to make rules for
reservation
 4. Right to Life and Personal
Liberty:
 Right to life, liberty and security of
person has been recognized under
article 3 of UDHR.
 Article 21 of Indian Constitution also
provides right to live to all women
and men as per their own choice by
constitutional guarantee that no
person shall be deprived of his/her
life or personal liberty except
according to procedure established
by law.
5. Equal Pay for Equal Work:
 Under article 39 (d), Indian
Constitution ensures that the state
shall, particular;
 direct its policy towards securing
that there is equal pay for equal work
for not only men but also women.
 UDHR under article 23(2) also
provides such right.

Conclusion:
 Only when women and girls have
full access to their rights - from equal
pay and land ownership rights to
sexual rights, freedom from violence,
access to education, and maternal
health rights - will true equality exist.
 Only when women have taken
leadership and peacemaking roles
and have an equal political voice will
economies and countries be
transformed.
 And only then will all women and
girls have the self-determination they
are entitled to.
6.HUMAN RIGHTS OF CHILDREN
INTRODUCTION
Every Child is the future custodians of
Nation. They are future hopes,
ambitions, goal, children are the future
shoulders’ in the form of great
philosophers, rulers, scientists,
politicians, able legislators,
bureaucrats, teachers, judges,
technologists etc.
Thus these hopes can’t be achieved
without protecting their human rights.
Legal Definition of Child:
The term ‘Child’ is not de fined in the
Indian Constitution.
According to Article 1 of the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child 1989, ‘a child means every
human being below the age of
eighteen years unless, under the law
applicable to the child, majority is
attained earlier

United Nations Convention on the

Rights of the Child (CRC)
 The United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a
comprehensive, internationally
binding agreement on the rights of
children, adopted by the UN General
Assembly in 1989.
 It incorporates children's
 civil and political rights (like their
treatment under the law),
  social, economic and cultural
rights (like an adequate standard of
living) &
 protection rights (from abuse
and exploitation).
 A child is defined in the UNCRC as a
person under the age of 18 years.
 There are four main sections to the
UNCRC:
 The Preamble, which sets out the
major underlying principles of the
UNCRC and provides a context for it,
 The substantive articles, which set
out the rights of all children and the
obligations of governments (Part I,
Articles 1-41),
 The implementation provisions,
which define how compliance with
 the UNCRC is to be monitored and
fostered (Part II, Articles 42-45)

 The conditions under which the

UNCRC comes into force (Part III,
Articles 46-54).

General Principles
 Within the UNCRC, four articles
are afforded special emphasis, as
they are basic to the
implementation of all other rights.
 These four articles are often
referred to as 'general principles'.
 These are:
 That all the rights guaranteed by
the UNCRC must be available to all
 children without discrimination of
any kind (Article 2);
 That the best interests of the
child must be a primary
consideration in all actions
concerning children (Article 3);
 That every child has the right to
life, survival and development
(Article 6); and
 That the child’s view must be
considered and taken into account
in all matters affecting him or her
(Article 12).

Constitutional Provisions relating to

Children
The framers of our Constitution were
well known of the fact the
development of the nation can be
achieved by the development of the
children of the nation & it is necessary
to protect the children from
exploitation as well.
The following are the provisions of
the Indian Constitution relating to
children:
Article 14
Provides 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.
Article 15(3)
provides that Nothing in this article
shall prevent the State from making
any special provision for women and
children.
Article 21
Provides that no person shall be
deprived of his life or personal liberty
except according to procedure
established by law.
Article 21A
Provides that the State shall provide
free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of six to fourteen
years in such manner as the State may,
by law, determine.
Article 23(1)
Provides that traffic in human beings
and beggar and other similar forms of
forced labour are prohibited and any
contravention of this provision shall
 be an offence punishable in
accordance with law.
Article 24
Provides that no child below the age
of fourteen years shall be employed
to work in any factory or mine or
engaged in any other hazardous
employment.
Article 29(2)
Provides that 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.
Article 45
Provides that the State shall
endeavour to provide early childhood
 care and education for all children
until they complete the age of six
years.
Other Legislations:
Apart from the Constitution there are a
number of legislations which deals with
children. The following are some of
them:
The Guardian and Wards Act
1890
This Act deals with the qualifications,
appointment & removal of guardians
of children by the courts & is
applicable to all children irrespective
of their religion.
The Child Marriage Restraint Act
1929
This Act as amended in 1979
restraints the solemnization of child
marriages by laying down the
minimum age for both boys & girls.
This law is applicable to all
communities irrespective of their
religion.
The Orphanages and Other
Charitable Homes (Supervision And
Control) Act 1960
This Act provides for the supervision
and control of orphanages and homes
for children.
The Child Labour (Prohibition
And Regulation) Act 1986
This Act prohibits the engagement of
children in certain employment &
regulates the conditions of work of
children in certain other
employment.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act 2000
This Act deals with the law relating to
juveniles in conflict with law &
children in need of care & protection,
by providing for proper care,
protection & treatment by catering to
their development needs & by
adopting a child friendly approach in
the adjudication & disposition of
matters in the best interest of
children & for their ultimate
rehabilitation through various
institutions established under the
Act.
Policies of the Government regarding
Children
The Government of India has made a
number of policies regarding the
physical, mental & social development
of the children of the country.
The Government has also made many
policies on the health & education of
the children.
The following are some of the
important policies of the Government
regarding children:
 National Policy for Children, 1974
 National Policy on Education, 1986
 National Policy on Child Labour, 1987
The National Policy on Child Labour is a
landmark endeavour in the progressive
elimination of child labour in India. The
policy encompasses actions in the field
of education, health, nutrition,
integrated child
development & employment.
 National Health Policy ,2002
CASE LAWS
 M.C. Mehta Vs. State of Tamil
Nadu and Others
In this case, Indian activist plaintiff
M.C. Mehta sued the state of Tamil
Nadu to improve the working
conditions for children and to provide
children rescued from hazardous labor
with an education.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court issued a
landmark ruling that the Indian
Constitution (Article 24) requires the
state to endeavor to provide a free,
compulsory education for children.
 J.P.Unnikrishnan & Others Vs. State
of Andhra Pradesh & Others
In this case, the Supreme Court held
that citizens of this country have the
fundamental right to education and the
said right flows from Article 21 of the
Constitution.
This right is, however, not an absolute
right.
Every child/citizen of this country has
the right to free education until he
completes the age of fourteen years.
Conclusion:
Article 21 of Indian Constitution is a
right to economic compensation for
denial of the right to life and liberty
suffered at the hands of the State.
So in this connection Indian judiciary
(especially Supreme Court) has given
several directions to protect the right
of children from various types of
exploitation and court made directions
and suggestions in many instances to
protect basic human rights of children.