Constitutional Law I

Topic to be covered:-
 Article 19 of the Indian Constitution
 Article 19
(1) All citizens shall have the right:-
(a) to freedom of speech and expression;
(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
(c) to form associations or unions;
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and
(f) omitted
(g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation,
trade or business
(2) Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause ( 1 ) shall affect the
operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making
any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on
the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause in the
interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of
the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order,
decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court,
defamation or incitement to an offence

(3) Nothing in sub clause (b) of the said clause shall affect the
operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the
State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the
sovereignty and integrity of India or public order, reasonable
restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub
clause
(4) Nothing in sub clause (c) of the said clause shall affect the
operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the
State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the
sovereignty and integrity of India or public order or morality,
reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by
the said sub clause

(5) Nothing in sub clauses (d) and (e) of the said clause shall affect
the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent
the State from making any law imposing, reasonable restrictions
on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub
clauses either in the interests of the general public or for the
protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribe
(6) Nothing in sub clause (g) of the said clause shall affect the
operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the
State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the
general public, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right
conferred by the said sub clause, and, in particular, nothing in the
said sub clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so
far as it relates to, or prevent the State from making any law
relating to,
(i) the professional or technical qualifications necessary for
practicing any profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or
business, or
(ii) the carrying on by the State, or by a corporation owned or
controlled by the State, of any trade, business, industry or
service, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens
or otherwise
 Scope
• Article 19(1) provides for six types of freedoms.
• The guarantee of each of these right is not absolute, they are
restricted by the Constitution itself, under sub clause (2) to
(6).
• Hence for a restriction to be valid it must satisfy the two
tests:
1. Restriction must be for the purposes mentioned under
clauses (2) to (6)
2. It must be reasonable restriction
 Test of Reasonable Restriction
• The requirement that a restriction should be reasonable
means that it is for the Courts to determine whether any
restriction is reasonable or not.
• If the courts are of the opinion that a particular restriction is
not reasonable then it will declare it void.
• The word ‘reasonable’ thus widens the scope of judicial
review and the determination by the legislature as to what
constitute as reasonable restriction is not final and conclusive
but subject to the supervision by the supreme court.
The supreme court has laid down the following guidelines for
determining the reasonableness of restrictions:
 It is the court and not the legislature which has to judge finally
whether a restriction is reasonable or not.(Chintamani Rao vs St
of MP)
 The restriction should not be arbitrary and must have a
reasonable relation with the object which the legislation seeks to
achieve.
 There is no exact standards or general pattern of reasonableness
that can be laid down for all cases. Each case is to be judged on
its own merits.(St of Madras vs VG Rao)
 The court should consider not only the
duration and extent of the restriction but also
the circumstances under which, and the
manner in which that imposition had been
authorized.(N.B Khare vs St of Punjab)
 A restriction which is imposed for securing
the objects laid down in the DPSP may be
regarded as reasonable restriction.(Hanif
Qureshi vs St of Bihar)
 The question is not if the court feels the restriction to be
reasonable but whether a normal reasonable man would
regard a restriction to be reasonable.
 The grounds for which the legislature can impose restriction
are mentioned in clause (2) to (6).
 It is the reasonableness of the restriction which is to be
determined by the court and not the reasonableness of the
law.
 Restrictions may also amount to prohibition under certain
circumstances. Eg. Prohibition to carry out dangerous trades
like that of liquor.

Right available to citizens only

Article 19(1)(a) Freedom of Speech & Expression
• Case Law:
Romesh Thapar Vs. State of Madras AIR 1950 SC 124
• Freedom of speech & expression means the right to express
one’s own convictions and opinions freely by words of
mouth, writing, printing, pictures or other mode.
• It thus includes the expression of one’s ideas through any
communicable medium or visible representation, such as
gesture, signs and the like.
• Freedom of expression has four broad special purposes to
serve:
1) It assists in the discovery of truth
2) It helps an individual to attain self fulfillment
3) It strengthens the capacity of an individual in participating in
decision making
4) It provides a mechanism by which it would be possible to
establish a reasonable balance between stability and social
change.
 Freedom of Speech & Expression
• Includes
 Freedom of circulation
Romesh Thapar vs. State of Madras
Sakal Papers Pvt Ltd vs. Union of India
 Volume of News and Views
Bennett Coleman & Co. vs. Union of India
 Commercial Advertisements
Hamdard Dawakhana vs. Union of India
Tata Press Ltd. Vs. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.
 Demonstration
Kameshwar Prasad vs. State of Bihar
CPI(M) Vs. Bharat Kumar & Others
 Dramatic Performance
K.A.Abbas vs. Union of India
 Right to Know
Prabha Dutt vs. Union of India
 Fly the National Flag
Union of India vs. Naveen Jindal
 Voter’s Right to know about the candidate
UOI Vs. Association for democratic reforms
 Right to Reply
LIC of India Vs. Manubhai D Shah
 Territorial Extent of Freedom of Speech
Maneka Gandhi Vs. UOI
 Case Laws
• Prabha Dutt vs Union of India AIR 1982 SC 6
• UOI Vs. Association for Democratic Reforms AIR 2002 SC
2112
• Secretary, Ministry of I & B Vs. Cricket Association of
Bengal (1995) 2 SCC 161
• Tata Press Ltd. Vs. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (1995)
5 SCC 139
• People’s Union for Civil Liberties Vs. UOI AIR 1997 SC 568
• KA Abbas Vs. UOI AIR 1971 SC 481
• Bobby Art International Vs. Om Pal Singh Hoon (1996) 4
SCC 1
Freedom of Press
• India Express Newspapers Vs. UOI (1985) 1 SCC 64
• Express Newspapers Vs. UOI AIR 1958 SC 578
• Romesh Thapar Vs, State of Madras AIR 1950 SC
124
• Sakal Papers Ltd. Vs. UOI AIR 1962 SC 305
• Bennett Coleman & Co. Vs. UOI AIR 1973 SC 106
• R.Rajgopal vs St of TN (1994)6 SCC 632
 Grounds of Restriction under Clause(2)
• Under Clause (2) of Article 19 restrictions can be imposed on
the following grounds:
a) Security of the state
b) Friendly relations with foreign states [1st
Amendment 1951]
c) Public order [1st Amendment 1951]
• Suprintendent Central Prison Vs. Ram Manohar Lohia
• Babulal Parate Vs. State of Madras
a) Decency or morality
• Test of indecency given in English Case R Vs Hicklin
• Sec 292 and 294 IPC
• Ranjit D Udeshi Vs. State of Maharashtra
• Aveek Sarkar Vs. State of West Bengal
a) Contempt of court
b) Defamation
c) Incitement of an offence [1st Amendment 1951]
d) Sovereignty and integrity of India [16th Amendment 1963]
 Article 19(1)(b) Right to Assembly
• Article 19(1)(b) guarantees to all citizens of India right “to
assemble peaceably without arms”.
• The right of assembly includes the right to hold meetings and
to take out processions.
• The right is subject to following restrictions:
a) The assembly must be peaceable
b) It must be unarmed
c) Reasonable restrictions can be imposed under Clause 3 of
Art. 19.
When a lawful assembly becomes unlawful
• If an assembly becomes unlawful it can be dispersed.
• Chapter VIII of IPC lays down the conditions when an
assembly becomes unlawful, if the common object of the
persons composing assembly is:-
a) to resist the execution of any law or legal process
b) To commit any mischief or criminal trespass
c) Obtaining possession of any property by force
d) To compel a person what he is not legally bound to do or
omit which he is entitled to do
e) To overawe the Government by means of criminal force or
show of criminal force to any public servant in exercise of his
lawful powers.
• An assembly which was not unlawful when assembled may
subsequently become unlawful if it becomes violent.
• Section 144 Cr.P.C. empowers the magistrate to restrain any
assembly if there is a risk of obstruction or danger to human
life, health or safety or disturbance of public tranquility.
• Police Act empowers the public officer to direct the conduct
and prescribe the route and time of all assemblies in the
interest of public order.
• Sec-30 of the Police Act provides that a prior license has to
be taken by a member of public to take out procession.
 Article 19(1)(c) Right to form Association
• It includes the right to form companies, societies,
partnerships, trade unions and political parties.
• Clause (4) of the Article 19 empowers to impose reasonable
restrictions:
a) In the interest of public order and morality
b) Sovereignty and integrity of India
• Case Laws:
Damyanti Vs. UOI AIR 1971 SC 966
OKA Nair Vs.UOI AIR 1976 SC 1179
 Article 19(1)(d) Right to Movement
• Grounds of Restrictions under clause (5):
a) In the interest of general public
b) For the protection of scheduled tribes
• Case Law:
State of UP Vs. Kaushalya AIR 1964 SC 416
Ajay Kanu Vs. UOI (1988) 4 SCC 156
 Article 19(1)(e) Right to Residence
• Grounds of Restrictions under clause (5):
a) In the interest of general public
b) For the protection of scheduled tribes
• Case Laws:
State of MP Vs. Bharat Singh AIR 1967 SC 1170
 Article 19(1)(f) Right to Trade, Profession,
Occupation or Business
• Grounds of Restrictions under Clause (6)
a) Restriction must be reasonable
b) In the interest of general public
• Case Laws:
P A Inamdar vs State of Maharashtra
Excel Wear vs Union of India
B R Enterprise vs State of UP (State lottery case)
Om Prakash vs State of UP (Sale of eggs)
Godawat Pan Masala vs Union of India (Ban on Pan masala)
Thank You !