2017

Pinnacle IAS Indian polity DPSP

DPSP - Directive Principles of state policy
History

In 1919, the Rowlett Acts gave extensive powers to the British government and police, and allowed indefinite
arrest and detention of individuals, warrant-less searches and seizures, restrictions on public gatherings, and
intensive censorship of media and publications. The public opposition to this act eventually led to mass
campaigns of non-violent civil disobedience throughout the country, demanding guaranteed civil freedoms,
and limitations on government power. Indians, who were seeking independence and their own government,
were particularly influenced by the independence of Ireland and the development of the Irish constitution. Also,
the directive principles of state policy in the Irish Constitution were looked upon by the people of India as an
inspiration for the independent India's government to comprehensively tackle complex social and economic
challenges across a vast, diverse nation and population.

Irish constitution
Article 36 to 51
Directive Principles and the Fundamental Rights as the Conscience of the Constitution

Features of the Directive Principles

The ideals that the State should keep in mind while formulating policies and enacting laws.
Directive Principles constitute a very comprehensive economic, social and political programme for a
modern democratic State. They aim at realising the high ideals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity
as outlined in the Preamble to the Constitution.
Directive Principles resemble the Instrument of Instructions enumerated in the Government of India
Act of 1935
Directive Principles are non-justiciable in nature, that is, they are not legally enforceable by the courts
for their violation.
Help the courts in examining and determining the constitutional validity of a law. The Supreme Court
has ruled many a times that in determining the constitutionality of any law, if a court finds that the law
in question seeks to give effect to a Directive Principle, it may consider such law to be reasonable in
relation to Article 14 (equality before law) or Article 19 (six freedoms) and thus save such law from
unconstitutionality.

Fundamental rights and the directive principles find common origin in the Sapru Report of 1945,
which had divided the fundamental rights into two parts viz. Justifiable and non-justifiable rights. While
justifiable rights were incorporated in the Part III; non-justifiable rights were incorporated as directive
principles to the state without any guarantee to be enforced via court.

socialistic
To promote the welfare of the
people by securing a social

Gandhian
To
organise
village
panchayats and endow them

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liberalintellectual
To secure for all citizens a
uniform
civil
code
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Pinnacle IAS Indian polity DPSP

order permeated by justice
social, economic and political
and to minimise inequalities
in income, status, facilities
and opportunities (Article 38).
Certain principles of policy to
be followed by the State
To secure
a) the right to adequate
means of livelihood for all
citizens
b) the equitable distribution
of material resources of
the community for the
common good
c) prevention
of
concentration of wealth
and means of production
d) Equal pay for equal work
for men and women
e) Preservation of the health
and strength of workers
and
children
against
forcible abuse
f) Opportunities for healthy
development of children5
(Article 39).
To promote equal justice and
to provide free legal aid to the
poor (Article 39 A).
To secure the right to work, to
education and to public
assistance in
cases
of
unemployment,
old age,
sickness and disablement
(Article 41)
To make provision for just and
humane conditions for work
and maternity relief (Article
42)
To secure a living wage, a

with necessary powers and

authority to enable them to
function as units of selfgovernment (Article 40).
To
promote
cottage
industries on an individual or
co-operation basis in rural
areas (Article43)
To
promote
voluntary
formation,
autonomous
functioning,
democratic
control and professional
management
of
cooperative societies (Article
43B)
To promote the educational
and economic interests of
SCs, STs, and other weaker
sections of the society and to
protect them from social
injustice and exploitation
(Article 46).
To prohibit the consumption
of intoxicating drinks and
drugs which are injurious to
health (Article 47)
To prohibit the slaughter of
cows, calves and other milch
and draught cattle and to
improve their breeds (Article
48)

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throughout
the
country
(Article 44)
To provide early childhood
care and education for all
children until they complete
the age of six years (Article
45)
To organise agriculture and
animal husbandry on modern
and scientific lines (Article 48)
To protect and improve the
environment
and
to
safeguard forests and wild life
(Article 48A)
To
protect
monuments,
places and objects of artistic
or historic interest which are
declared to be of national
importance (Article 49)
To separate the judiciary from
the executive in the public
services of the State (Article
50)
To promote international
peace and security and
maintain just and honourable
relations between nations; to
foster
respect
for
international law and treaty
obligations, and to encourage
settlement of international
disputes
by
arbitration
(Article 51).

Pinnacle IAS Indian polity DPSP

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decent standard of life and

social
and
cultural
opportunities for all workers
(Article 43).
To take steps to secure the
participation of workers in the
management of industries
(Article43 A)
To raise the level of nutrition
and the standard of living of
people and to improve public
health (Article 47)

42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added four new Directive Principles to the original list.
1. To secure opportunities for healthy development of children (Article 39).
2. To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor (Article 39 A).
3. To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industries (Article43 A).
4. To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wild life (Article 48 A).

Directive Principles non-justiciable and legally non enforceable because

The country did not possess sufficient financial resources to implement them.
The presence of vast diversity and backwardness in the country would stand in the way of their
implementation.
The newly born independent Indian State with its many preoccupations might be crushed under the
burden unless it was free to decide the order, the time, the place and the mode of fulfilling them.

Criticism of the Directive Principles

1.
2.
3.
4.

No Legal Force
Illogically Arranged
Conservative
Constitutional Conflict

Directives also play the following roles:

They facilitate stability and continuity in domestic and foreign policies in political, economic and social
spheres in spite of the changes of the party in power.
They are supplementary to the fundamental rights of the citizens. They are intended to fill in the
vacuum in Part III by providing for social and economic rights
Enable the opposition to exercise influence and control over the operations of the government.

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Pinnacle IAS Indian polity DPSP

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Conflict between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles

The justiciability of Fundamental Rights and non-justiciability of Directive Principles on the one hand and
the moral obligation of State to implement Directive Principles (Article 37) on the other hand have led to
a conflict between the two
In Golaknath case (1967) Supreme Court ruled that the Parliament cannot take away or abridge any of
the Fundamental Rights, which are sacrosanct in nature. In other words, the Court held that the
Fundamental Rights cannot be amended for the implementation of the Directive Principles.
Parliament reacted to the Supreme Courts judgment in the Golaknath Case (1967) by enacting the 24th
Amendment Act (1971) and the 25th Amendment Act (1971).
The 24th Amendment Act declared that the Parliament has the power to abridge or take away
any of the Fundamental Rights by enacting Constitutional Amendment Acts.
The 25th Amendment Act inserted a new Article 31C which contained the following two
provisions:
1. No law which seeks to implement the socialistic Directive Principles specified in Article
39(b)22 and (c)23 shall be void on the ground of contravention of the Fundamental
Rights conferred by Article 14 (equality before law and equal protection of laws), Article
19(protection of six rights in respect of speech, assembly, movement, etc) or Article 31
(right to property).
2. No law containing a declaration for giving effect to such policy shall be questioned in
any court on the ground that it does not give effect to such a policy.
In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court declared the above second provision of
Article 31C as unconstitutional and invalid on the ground that judicial review is a basic feature of the
Constitution and hence, cannot be taken away.
In the Minerva Mills case (1980), the Supreme Court also held that the Indian Constitution is founded
on the bedrock of the balance between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles. They
together constitute the core of commitment to social revolution.
The present position is that the Fundamental Rights enjoy supremacy over the Directive Principles.

Directives contained in other Parts of the Constitution.

Claims of SCs and STs to Services
Instruction in mother tongue
Development of the Hindi Language

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