Article 21 of the Indian Constitution safeguards a fundamental right, known to all. It ensures the protection of personal liberty and the right to life. Its core purpose is shielding citizens’ rights from State intervention, contrasting with actions from private entities. In essence, if an individual infringes upon these rights, enshrined in Part III of the Indian Constitution, the affected party must seek legal remedies. Given its status as a fundamental right, Article 21 remains beyond legislative limitations.
“No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”.
The phrases “life” and “personal liberty” refer to a broad range of individual rights that have arisen from the courts’ evolving interpretation of Article 21 throughout time. We will look at this Fundamental Right’s different facets in this section. Nonetheless, before delving into that, it is important to examine the legal development of this notion and the import of the most well-known rulings of it.
In this instance, the Preventive Detention Act of 1950 was used to hold the Petitioner, a communist leader. He argued that the imprisonment was unlawful because it violated his liberty as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and his freedom of movement, which are both recognized in Article 19(1)(d) of the Indian Constitution.
Judgment- The court held that the rights granted by Article 19(1) did not fall under the definition of personal liberty, which was defined as liberty of the physical body. Therefore, it was believed that one’s “personal” liberty encompassed certain rights, such as the freedom to eat and sleep, but not the ability to move around freely, which was regarded as a relatively minor right.
According to the Passport Act of 1967, the Central Government decided to confiscate the petitioner’s newly-made passport “in the public interest,” thus the Regional Passport Office in Delhi gave her the order to relinquish it within seven days. The Government responded that they could not provide a copy of the same “in the interest of the general public” when asked to provide a summary of the reasons for such impounding. The petitioner filed a writ contesting the government’s decision, its failure to justify, and its denial of the petitioner’s right to self-defence.
Judgment- The Supreme Court ruled that the right to personal liberty must include the freedom to travel and leave the nation. It declared that the term “personal liberty,” as defined in Article 21, had the broadest definition and encompassed a range of rights about an individual’s liberty. As a result, the definition of personal liberty was substantially expanded, and it was decided to cover all rights guaranteed by Article 21 in addition to all other rights of an individual’s personal liberty. Only a legally defined process that was “fair, just, reasonable, oppressive, or arbitrary” could limit such a right.
After discussing the enlargement of Article 21’s scope, it’s critical to comprehend the vast range of rights and benefits that this one right entails under its modern interpretation. This part discusses various aspects of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty.
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Despite its negative tone, Article 21 grants everyone, even foreigners, the fundamental right to life and personal liberty, and courts have deemed these two rights to be of utmost importance. Because these rights are fundamentally superior to all other aspects of the political and social order, the legislative, executive, and judicial branches are more attentive to these rights than to other aspects of day-to-day life. Furthermore, even though the term “person” refers to an individual, Article 21 of the treaty also establishes the enforcement of the people’s collective rights through “Public Interest Litigation” under Articles 32 and 226.
The “literal interpretation” placed restrictions on the early application of Article 21. However, as time has gone on, “liberal interpretation” of the article’s provisions under pertinent international understanding has broadened the article’s scope of application. Therefore, protection against the arbitrary deprivation of “life” would encompass all these aspects of life that contribute to a man’s meaningful and worthwhile existence, and would go beyond simple protection against bodily harm or death to include an invasion of the right to “live” with human dignity.
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The right to life is mentioned in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
"Protection of Life and Personal Liberty: No one shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty unless in accordance with the procedures established by law," as stated in Article 21. This fundamental right is available to all people, citizens and non-citizens alike.
Art. 21 was given a new meaning by the Supreme Court. According to the Court, having the right to life encompasses more than just the ability to live one's life in a humane manner.
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