The heart and spirit of the Indian Constitution is Article 21. It is filled with an ocean of rights. The Indian Supreme Court has given this a living body by broadening its scope and reach. As a result, the article can be considered a full theory.
From whence did Article 21 originate?
The US served as a model for the Constitution's writers when considering how to include Article 21. No one shall be deprived of his or her "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," as added by the US Constitution's Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Article 21 was referred to by Justice Krishna Iyer as "the procedural Magna Carta Protection of life and liberty." No one shall be deprived of life or liberty, nor shall any other criminal penalty be imposed, unless in accordance with the method established by law, according to Article XXXI of the Constitution of Japan.
Who is covered by Article 21?
The most valuable right that can be imagined is life. As a result, the same rules apply to both Indian citizens and visitors who are temporarily residing there. Applying the norm to foreigners is intended to treat them equally to Indian nationals for the duration of their stay.
What is covered under Article 21?
The Right to Life and the Right to Personal Liberty are the two rights that are protected by this article.
What does ‘life’ mean under the Article?
To comprehend the meaning of the word "life," one must first grasp the fundamental characteristic that sets living things apart from all other materials. Life is more than just "breathing," including everything else that surrounds it. The Supreme Court has ruled time and time again, most notably in Kharak Singh v. State of UP, that life is more than just an animal's existence. Francis Coralie v. Union Territory of Delhi, decided by Justice P.N. Bhagwati, stated that "any conduct which hurts or injures or interferes with the use of any limb or faculty of a person, either permanently or even momentarily, would fall within the restriction of Article 21."
How Supreme Court expanded the scope of Article 21?
The fundamental right known as Article 21 is one that everyone and every living thing is entitled to, regardless of nationality. Everyone is entitled to life, liberty, and personal security. The article's scope is broad enough to cover all the components necessary to safeguard and improve a person's quality of life.
The right to live with dignity is inextricably linked to the right to life. In the case of Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, where the jailor had treated several of the detainees brutally, which led to their deaths, the Supreme Court made this comment. The universal truth of a person's life is contained in Article 21, and it cannot be contested absent a formal legal process.
In Peoples Union for Democratic Rights v. UOI, it was decided that denying workers a minimum wage amounted to denying them their essential human life and dignity.
The supreme court ruled in Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. UOI, a case involving the issue of bondage and the rehabilitation of some labourers, that Article 21 includes the right to live with human dignity and be free from exploitation. The Directive Principles of State Policy under Articles 39(e) and (f), 41, and 42 give rise to this right to live with dignity.
Right to unpolluted environment and preservation and protection of nature’s gift has also been conceded under Article 21. The same was devised in M.C. Mehta v. UOI, where the green activist Mr Mehta claimed the right to maintenance of ecological balance and sustainable development as the basic human right.
Following the landmark ruling in KS Puttaswamy v. UOI, the SC has made it abundantly apparent that Article 21's right to life and liberty encompasses the right to personal privacy. By itself, the right to privacy entails the right not to be questioned. The privacy of one's own person, family, marriage, procreation, motherhood, childbearing, and education is protected by law.
What does liberty mean in the context of the Article?
The word "liberty" literally means "freedom from all forms of restrictions." The US Constitution covers a wide range of activities that people are free to engage in and is not just limited to freedom from physical restraint. However, when viewed in the context of India, the word liberty is qualified by "personal," which makes it more limited than in the US. This was acknowledged in the case of AK Gopalan v. the State of Madras.
In Makena Gandhi v. UOI, decided by the Supreme Court, stated that "The word personal liberty is of the largest amplitude, and it embraces a variety of rights which go to define the personal liberty, some of which have been raised to the level of unique basic rights."
An individual has the personal liberty to write a book and even get it published and where a detenu exercised this right its denial without any due consideration was held to be violative of Article 21 in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Prabhakar Pandurang.
The procedure established by law
The law here implies any interference which restricts the right to life and liberty of an individual with a valid objective. The key essentials for restricting Article 21 or for describing what ‘procedure established by law’ implies:
- There must be a law justifying the interference with the person’s life or personal liberty
- The laws should be a valid one
- The procedure established by law must have been strictly followed.
In the absence of any of the points above, the law shall not be considered a valid reason for restricting the right to life and personal liberty of an individual
In Maneka Gandhi v. UOI, the Supreme Court ruled that the legal process must be "just, just, and reasonable and not "arbitrary, whimsical, or oppressive." In order for the law to be equal, it must adhere to the natural justice concept and be impartial in its application.
Conclusion:
The apex court has broadly defined the right to life and personal liberty to include the right to a livelihood, health, education, the environment, and all other factors that contributed to a life of dignity. Many new ideas that are today considered as separate rights of a person were born from this fundamental Right.
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