Which of the Fundamental Rights is in your opinion the most important right? Summarise its provisions and give arguments to show why it is most important?

In my view, the Right to constitutional Remedies is the most important right in our constitution. This right gives a citizen the right to approach a High Court or the Supreme Court to get any of the fundamental rights restored in case of their violation. The supreme court and the High Courts can issue orders and give direction to the government for the enforcement of rights. The courts can issue various special orders which are known as writs. There writs are Habeaus Corpus, Mardamus, Prohibition, QuoWarranto and Certiorari.

Merely writing down a list of rights is not enough without provision for a way through which they could be realised in practice and defended against any attack on these rights, these rights would be toothless. Right to constitutonal Remedies is the means through which this is achieved. This is why right is the most important Dr. Ambedkar considered the Right to Constitutional Remedies as 'heart and soul' of the constitution.

164 Views

Which of the following is a violation of Fundamental Rights and why?
(a) Not paying minimum wages.
(b) Banning of a book.
(c) Banning of a loudspeakers after 9 pm.
(d) Making a speech.

An activist working among the poor says that the poor don't need Fundamental Rights. What they need are Directive Principles to be made legally binding. Do you agree with this? Give your reasons.

A petition by a human rights group drew attention of the court to the condition of starvation and hunger in the country. Over five crore tonnes of food grains was stored in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India. Research shows that a large number of ration cardholders do not know about the quantity of food grains they can purchase from fair price shops. It requested the court to order the government to improve its public distribution system.
a. Which different rights does this case involve? How are these rights interlinked?
b. Should these rights form part of the right to life?

Read the statement by Somnath Lahiri in the Constituent Assembly quoted in this chapter.

Somnath Lahiri's statement in the Constituent Assembly 'I feel that many of these fundamental rights have been framed from the point of view of a police constable....you will find that very minimum rights have been conceded and are almost invariably followed by a provision which takes away the right almost completely. What should be our conception of fundamental rights?.....we want to incorporate every one of these rights which our people want to get'.

Do you agree with him? If yes, give instances to prove it. If not, give arguments against this position.

Rights in the Indian Constitution

Which of the Fundamental Rights is in your opinion the most important right? Summarise its provisions and give arguments to show why it is most important?