Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Governance-I)
SUMMER SESSION
(JULY-NOVEMBER, 2015)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Upon the successful completion of this assignment, the author would like to take the
opportunity to express his immense gratitude to all those who have contributed to it, and
without whose combined efforts and guidance this project would not possibly have been
shaped as it has.
First and foremost, the author would like to convey his heartfelt gratitude to his teacher,
mentor and guide, Mr. Anand Kumar Singh, Faculty of Law, whose support and
encouragement helped steer the project in the desired direction, and provided the
indispensable impetus in the vision of the project. The project, as it has turned out in its
The author is also grateful to all the members of the IT Staff and the Library Staff for
providing all the necessary facilities for carrying out his research work, and for rendering
The author would like to express his special gratitude to his friends and batch-mates whose
support throughout the course of the project was absolutely essential to its eventual
completion. Last, but in no way the least, the author would like to express his earnest and
sincerest gratitude to his parents, for their unyielding faith, for their helpful advice as well as
their blessings, and for their unselfish love and presence. Without a doubt, this project would
not have come to fruition, and definitely not in time, had it not been for them.
The author is greatly obliged to all the above and to anybody who, despite the attempt of this
acknowledgment, may have been unintentionally excluded but was nonetheless imperative to
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement ..................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4
Role ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Importance ............................................................................................................................. 8
Role ...................................................................................................................................... 10
Importance ........................................................................................................................... 12
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 13
References ................................................................................................................................ 14
Books ................................................................................................................................... 14
Cases .................................................................................................................................... 14
3
INTRODUCTION
The fact that the Indian Constitution was drafted in the mid-twentieth century gave an
advantage to its makers in so far as they could take cognisance of the various constitutional
processes operating in different countries of the world and thus draw upon a rich foundation
of human experience, wisdom, heritage and traditions in the area of governmental process in
order to fashion a system suited to the political, social and economic conditions in India.1
For instance, the Indian Federalism is influenced by the American, Canadian and Australian
Federalism. Fundamental Rights in India owe a great deal to the American Bill of Rights. The
influence of the British Constitutional Law, theories and practices on the Indian Constitution
is quite pervasive.
In much the same way, inspiration was drawn from the Irish Constitution in the shaping of
the Directive Principles of State Policy. These principles underline the philosophy of
Democratic Socialism to secure the lofty ideals set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution.
It was on the Soviet (the erstwhile USSR) model that Fundamental Duties were added to the
on the fulfilment of certain duties. Although the Directive Principles of State Policy and the
Fundamental Duties are not legally enforceable, they nonetheless play an important and
indispensable role in the smooth functioning of the government and its agencies and also the
citizens of India.
The role and importance of Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties is explored in great
1
Prof. S.R. Bhansali, The Constitution of India, Volume 1, First Edition, India Publishing House, 2007
4
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY
Part IV of the Constitution (Articles 36-51) provides the Directive Principles of State Policy.
These principles may include certain economic ideals that states may strive for, certain
directions to the legislature and the executive intended to show the manner in which the State
should exercise its executive and legislative powers, and certain rights of the citizens which
The Directive Principles of State Policy set forth in Part IV enjoin upon the state the duty to
strive to protect, as effectively as it may, a social order in which justice, social, economic and
Article 37 provides that the Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Part IV of the
Constitution, in which Article 46 occurs, are fundamental to the governance of the country
and that it is the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws. As said by Justice
Mustafa Fatal Ali in State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas, 2 the directive principles form the
fundamental feature and the social conscience of the Constitution and the Constitution
Role
The Directive Principles are instructions or guidelines to the State for securing socio-
economic developmental objectives through its policies. The philosophy behind the
Directive Principles is that the State and its agencies are commanded to follow certain
2
AIR 1976 SC 490 (at p. 548)
5
In general, the Directive Principles aim at building a Welfare State. The Directive
Principles are not enforceable in a court of law, but are nevertheless fundamental in
They instruct or direct that the State should provide facilities and opportunities to
Their purpose is to direct the state to carry resolutely the drive against poverty,
They place an ideal before the legislatures of India, and lay down a code of conduct
for the administrators of India. In short, the Directive Principles enshrine the
follows:
(i) To secure the right to work, education and public assistance in cases of
Article 45, which declares that the State shall endeavour to provide within a
3
G.S. Pande, Constitutional Law of India, Ninth Edition, Allahabad Law Agency, 2003
4
Dr. Durga Das Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India, 19th Edition (Throughly Revised) (Reprint),
Wadhwa and Company Law Publishers, 2007
6
period of ten years from the commencement of the Constitution, for free and
compulsory education for all children until they attain the age of fourteen
years.
(i) Article 40- The State shall organise village panchayats as units of self
government;
(ii) Article 43- The State shall try to promote cottage industries;
(iii) Article 48- The State shall preserve and improve the breeds, and
prohibit the slaughter of, cows, calves, and other milch and draught
cattle.
including Article 51 which declares that the State shall endeavour to, inter
alia:
5
P.M. Bakshi, The Constitution of India, Fifth Edition, Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., 2002
7
Importance
They promote and protect an appropriate social, economic, cultural and political order
in democracy for development, taking into account the need for fuller responsibility
They are aimed at ensuring greater social and economic reforms, and serve as a guide
to the State to institute laws and policies that help reduce the poverty of the masses
The Directive Principles now stand elevated to the stature of inalienable fundamental
human rights. Although they are legally non-enforceable, they nevertheless provide
The Directive Principles provide the criteria with which we can judge the
performance of the government. These principles are assurances to the people. At the
same time, they are directions to the Government, both central and state.
The harmony and balance between the fundamental rights and the directive principles
The real importance of Directive Principles is that they contain the positive or active
obligations of the State towards its citizens. If the Fundamental Rights guarantee a
political democracy in India, the Directive Principles ensure the eventual emergence
The ideals stated in the Preamble are reinforced through the Directive Principles of
State Policy which spell out in greater detail the socio-economic content of political
freedom and the concept of a welfare state. The Directive Principles thus supplement
6
Ashoka Smokeless Coal India Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. v. Union of India, (2007) 2 SCC 640
7
Mahendra P. Singh, V.N. Shuklas Constitution of India, Tenth Edition (Reprint), Eastern Book Company
(EBC) Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 2003
8
The Preamble to the Constitution read with Directive Principles in Articles 38, 42, 43,
46 and 48A promotes the concept of social justice. The aim of social justice is to
The Preamble, the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles have been
(principle of harmonious construction) with each other and every attempt should be
The Fundamental Rights represent the civil and political rights and the Directive
Principles embody social and economic rights. Merely because the Directive
Principles are non-justiciable does not mean that they are of subordinate importance.10
Though these Directives are not enforceable by the Courts, the sanction behind them
is, in fact, political.11 The authorities of the State may not have to answer for the
breach of Directive Principles in a law court, but they will certainly have to answer
Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Rights together constitute the
conscience of the Constitution, and represent the basic rights inherent in human
8
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation v. Nawabkhan Gulab Khan, AIR 1997 SC 152
9
State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas, AIR 1958 SC 966
10
Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India, (2008) 6 SCC 1
11
Prof. Dr. M.C. Jain Kagzi, The Constitution of India, Volume 2, Sixth Edition (Thoroughly Revised, Enlarged
& Updated), India Law House, 2004
9
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
Rights and duties are jural correlatives. The enjoyment of rights involves the fulfilment of
certain obligations. There can be no right without a corresponding duty, and vice versa.
Originally, in India, a rather disproportionate emphasis was placed on the rights of citizens as
against their duties, even though the traditions and temper of Indian thought through the ages
No duties of citizens were incorporated in the original Constitution of India at the time of its
commencement in 1950. The Fundamental Duties of citizens were eventually added to the
Constitution by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, upon the recommendations of the Swaran
Singh Committee that was constituted by the government earlier that year.12 Such duties are
generally not found in the constitutions based on western liberal traditions. They are
invariably found in the socialist constitutions. Fundamental Duties are inserted in Part IV A,
Role
into the Indian Constitution in 1976 by the 42nd Amendment, in an attempt to balance
the citizens and to bring about excellence in all the spheres of national life.
12
Arvind P. Datar, Commentary on the Constitution of India, Volume 1- Art. 1 to 212, Second Edition
(Thoroughly Revised and Enlarged) (Reprint), Wadhwa and Company Law Publishers Nagpur, 2010
10
No democratic polity can ever succeed if the citizens are not willing to be active
certain duties.
The Fundamental Duties enjoin citizens to promote harmony and the spirit of
common brotherhood among all the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic
The Fundamental Duties are calculated to draw the attention of citizens towards the
duties they owe to the nation and to one another. These duties are defined as the moral
obligations of all citizens to help promote a spirit of patriotism and to uphold the unity
of India.
They can be used for interpreting ambiguous statutes.13 The court may look at the
Fundamental Duties while interpreting equivocal statutes which admit of two or more
plausible constructions.
Since the Fundamental Duties were not added after Fundamental Rights but after the
Directive Principles, it is clear that the intention of the 42nd Amendment was to keep
these duties at par with the Directive Principles and not with Fundamental Rights.
While the directives are addressed to the State without any sanction, the duties are
addressed to the citizens, without any legal sanction for their violation.
The Fundamental Duties constitute a constant reminder to the citizens that they have
13
Mumbai Kamgar Sabha v. Abdulbhai, AIR 1976 SC 1455
11
Importance
In a vast country like India, constituting people of different races, castes, religions,
languages, and communities, the need for maintaining national unity and integrity is
of primary importance. It is in this context that the Fundamental Duties of the citizens
and, particularly, the duty to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of
our country, assume paramount importance. It reminds the citizens that rights cannot
The Fundamental Duties are the foundations of human dignity and national character.
They serve as a source of inspiration for the citizens and promote a sense of discipline
and commitment among them. They create a feeling that the citizens are not mere
While determining the constitutionality of any law, if the court finds that it seeks to
give effect or legal sanction to any of the Fundamental Duties, it may consider such
Fundamental Duties have great importance because they reflect certain basic values
It has been held that when the Courts are called upon to examine the reasonableness
14
M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law, 7th Edition, LexisNexis (A Division of Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd.),
2014
15
In re Ramlila Maidan Incident, (2012) 5 SCC 1
12
CONCLUSION
As can be seen, the Directive Principles of State Policy as well as the Fundamental Duties are
indispensable to the governance of the country and its citizens. The Directive Principles,
though not legally enforceable, are guidelines for creating a social order characterised by
social, economic and political justice, along with liberty, equality and fraternity as enunciated
in the Preamble to the Constitution. The Directive Principles commit the State to promote the
welfare of the people by raising the standard of living, improving public health and fighting
A rather important task, and one involving considerable complexity, that governments today
are faced with is the reconciliation of the claims of individual citizens and those of the civic
society. To achieve this, it is essential to orient the individual citizen to be conscious of his
awareness of ones rights. This is where Fundamental Duties play an imperative role and gain
also do not have legal sanction but their sanctity is preserved by virtue of their inclusion in
the suprema lex or the supreme law of the land, viz., the Constitution of India.
The Supreme Court of India has taken the view that the Fundamental Rights must not be read
in isolation but must be read along with the Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties.16
The principle of harmonious construction, and later the relation between the three being
recognised as an essential feature of the Constitution, are clear indicators of the paramount
importance accorded to the Directive Principles as well as Fundamental Rights in the crucial
role that they play in the machinery that is the State in the Indian context.
16
Javed v. State of Haryana, (2003) 8 SCC 369
13
REFERENCES
Books
Second Edition (Thoroughly Revised and Enlarged) (Reprint), Wadhwa and Company
M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law, 7th Edition, LexisNexis (A Division of Reed
Prof. S.R. Bhansali, The Constitution of India, Volume 1, First Edition, India
Prof. Dr. M.C. Jain Kagzi, The Constitution of India, Volume 2, Sixth Edition
P.M. Bakshi, The Constitution of India, Fifth Edition, Universal Law Publishing Co.
Dr. Durga Das Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India, 19th Edition
G.S. Pande, Constitutional Law of India, Ninth Edition, Allahabad Law Agency, 2003
Cases
14