General Studies Topic: The Fundamental Rights and Features of the Fundamental Rights for UPSC, SSC and other Govt Exams

The Fundamental Rights

The Indian Constitution, as Granville Austin States, is "first and foremost a social document" The core of its commitment to a fundamental change in the social order lies in the sections of Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy, "The conscience of the Constitution".
   
     The Fundamental Rights reflect both India's assimilation of Western liberal tradition and its desire for the political freedom it was denied under colonial rule. The Fundamental Rights, embodied in Part III of the Constitution, guarantee to each citizen basic substantive and procedural protections against the state.

Meaning of the Fundamental Rights:

     Rights are those conditions of social life without which no man can seek to be himself at his best. In what sense "Rights" are "Fundamental Rights". These rights are fundamental in the sense that they have been incorporated in the fundamental law (Constitution) of the land. They are fundamental in the sense that they are justiciable rights enforceable by the courts and are available to all citizens. They are fundamental in that they are binding on public authorities in India. on the Central Government as well as State Governments and on local bodies. Some of the rights, such as the abolition of untouchability (Article 17) are enforceable against private individuals as well.

Salient Features of the Fundamental Rights

The Fundamental Rights guaranteed in the Constitution of the Indian Republic are characterised by certain features which may be brought out as follows:

1. Integral Part of the Constitution:

Fundamental Rights are an integral part of the constitution and hence cannot be altered or taken away by ordinary legislation. These rights are Fundamental in the sense that any law passed by any legislature in the country would be declared null and void if it is derogatory to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

2. Most Comprehensive and Detailed:

The chapter on Fundamental Rights in the Constitution is the most comprehensive and detailed one. It not only enumerates the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to the Indian citizen is a comprehensive and detailed treatment of each right and no article included in this chapter us without any elaborate set of limitations and reservations.

3. Negative and Positive Rights:

Fundamental Rights as embodied in our Constitution can be divided into two broad categories: namely those which impose certain restrictions of negative character on the state without conferring special privileges on the citizens. There are positive rights which confer privileges on the people, e.g., Article 18 desires the state not to confer any special titles on the citizens. Similarly Article 17 abolishes untouchability. These can eeasily be categorised in the farmer category. Right to liberty, equality or freedom express or worship come under the second category.

4. All Rights are Justiciable:

Another feature of these rights is that these are justiciable. This means that if any of these rights is isolated, the individual affected is entitled to move the Supreme Court or High Court for the protection and enforcement of his rights. The Supreme Court may declare a law passed by parliament or a state legislature in India or the orders issued by any executive authority as null and void if these are found to be consistent with the rights granted by the Constitution. The Judiciary is thus the jealous guardian of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

5. Restrictive Nature of Rights :

The Indian Constitution does nit formulate Fundamental Rights in absolute terms. Every right is submitted under certain limitations and reasonable restrictions can be imposed at any time in the large interest of the community. In some cases, restrictions can be imposed by the Constitution itself. Article 19, for example, guarantees to all citizens freedom of speech and expression. But while exercising this right, they are not to utter anything which may affect the security of the state, public order or friendly relations with foreign states. Similarly, Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens but the state has been empowered to make reservations in appointments in favour of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

6. Suspension of Rights:

During the operation of an Emergency, the President may suspend to all or any of the fundamental rights and may also suspend the right of the people to move the High Courts and Supreme Courts for the enforcement of the fundamental rights.

7. Citizens alone Enjoy Fundamental Rights:

Another important feature of our fundamental rights is that some of them are only guaranteed to the citizens of India while the rights relating to protection of life, freedom of religion, right against exploitation are guaranteed to every person whether citizen or alien. This means that our Constitution draws a distinction between citizens and aliens in the matter of enjoyment of Fundamental Rights.\

8. No Natural or UN-Enumerated Rights:

The chapter on fundamental rights is not based on the theory of natural rights. "Natural" rights are said to belong to man by "Nature". It is claimed that man possessed these rights before state itself came into existence. "Natural" rights accordingly, do not owe their validity to their enumeration in a constitution. In this respect, a significant difference may be noticed between the American Constitution  and the Constitution of India. The Ninth Amendment to the American Constitution provides that " Enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people". The Indian Constitution has left no scope for such unenumerated rights. The Indian courts cannot enquire into any fundamental rights that is not enumerated in the Constitution.

9. Fundamental Rights are Amendable:

The Fundamental rights can be amended but they cannot be abrogated because that will violated the basic structure of the Constitution.

    The most striking feature of the provisions of Part III of our Constitution, writes D.D. Basu, is that " They expressly seek to strike a balance between a written guarantee of individual rights and the collective interests of the community".

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