ARTICLE – 21 Protection of life and personal

Transcript:ARTICLE – 21 Protection of life and personal:
ARTICLE – 21 Protection of life and personal liberty. Tejaswi Sade 3rd Year, DSNLU, Visakhapatnam. CONTENTS Introduction Article 21 and Ambit of Article 21 Historic Judgments Right to Life Right to Livelihood Right to Privacy Right to Education Right Against Sexual Harassment Prison Reforms Right to Clean Environment A.K. Gopalan Case Maneka Gandhi Case. ARTICLE 21 2 Introduction to Article - 21 The right to life and personal liberty is one of the most coveted and crucial fundamental human rights, revolving about where all other individual rights revolve. By applying the concept of judicial activism, the Indian judiciary has evolved in many ways as a saviour of mankind, and has interpreted Article 21 in a very effective and progressive manner, including the rights to education, the environment, privacy, euthanasia, legal aid, and compensation under Article 21 in various landmark judgements. This right has long been regarded as the Constitution's heart, the most organic and progressive clause in our living constitution, and the bedrock of our laws. Article 21 can only be invoked when a person's "life" or "personal liberty" is taken away by the "State," as defined in Article 12. Private Individuals' violations of the right are not covered under Article 21. ARTICLE - 21 3 ARTICLE - 21 Article – 21 of the Indian Constitution is incorporated under the Part – III of the Fundamental Rights in our Indian Constitution. It states that, “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the Procedure Established by Law”. It Fundamentally secures two Rights. They are: Right to Life, and Right to Personal Liberty. It was a Fundamental Right, that was available to citizens as well as non-citizens. According to Justice Bhagwati, Article 21 “embodies a constitutional value of supreme importance in a democratic society”. Iyer, J., has characterized Article 21 as “the procedural magna carta protective of life and liberty. It cannot be suspended during any emergency. Article 21 doesn’t mean mere animal existence, it actually guarantees the right to a dignified life. Article 21 corresponds to the Magna Carta of 1215, the Fifth Amendment to the American Constitution, Article 40(4) of the Constitution of Ireland 1937, and Article XXXI of the Constitution of Japan, 1946. ARTICLE 21 4 Rights included in the ambit of article 21 Right to Livelihood Right to Privacy Right to Education Right to Information Right to speedy and fair trial