The Civil and Political Rights:

Civil and political rights are a class of rights ensuring things such as the protection
of peoples physical integrity; procedural fairness in law; protection from
discrimination based on gender; religion; race; sexual orientation, etc; individual
freedom of belief, speech, association, and the press; and political participation.
Contrast with economic. Social and cultural rights, civil and political rights are
included in Universal Declaration of Human Rights and elaborated upon in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The civil and political rights are intimately related to modern democracy. The
protection of these rights would help the success of democracy. These rights are
 The Rights to life, liberty and security of person;
 Freedom from slavery and torture;
 Equality before the law;
 Protection against arbitrary arrest, detention or exile;
 The Right to a fair trial;
 The Right to own property;
 The Right to political participation;
 The Right to marriage;
 The Fundamental freedoms of thought, conscience and religion, opinion and
expression;
 Freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
 The Right to take part in the government of his/ her country, directly or
through freely chosen representatives.
The Indian Constitution contains many of these rights in Part III under Fundamental
Rights.

The Nature and Evolution of Civil and Political Rights:

A range of international standards on human rights have been developed through

the UN system since 1945. These standards fulfill part of the mandate of the UN
under its Charter to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights.
In 1948 the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
proclaimed a set of fundamental rights to which ‘everyone’ is entitled without
discrimination. The Declaration was intended as a common standard of attainment
for all nations. It was not, however, seen at the time as imposing binding legal
obligations on governments (although many international lawyers have concluded
that the Declaration now has substantial legal force). Moreover, it proclaimed rights
only in general terms, rather than setting out in detail how those rights should be
translated into law and practice. The last fifty five years have seen the development
of more detailed instruments. Standards have been developed concerning the
human rights of particular vulnerable groups. These standards are involved in a
series of Declarations, Covenants, Treaties, Principles and Rules.

Many international treaties and other instruments guarantee civil and political rights
and include a number of provisions specifically addressing the rights of persons with
disabilities. The main treaty at the international level is the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In addition, the Convention Against Torture
(CAT), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) also contain guarantees
of civil and political rights, as do the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Regional human rights
conventions also contain guarantees of civil and political rights.

International Instruments for the Protection and Promotion of Civil and

Political Rights

The coverage of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The ICCPR was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966. It requires that all
Parties ‘respect and ensure to all individuals within their territory and subject to
their jurisdiction’ the rights which the Covenant recognises. The ICCPR covers a
range of traditional civil and political rights, often referred to over simplistically as
‘negative’ rights, enforceable only in relation to the actions of the State. These
rights include (amongst others):

• the right to life (Article 6);

• the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment (Article 7);
• the right to liberty and security of the person (Article 9);
• the right to be treated with respect for dignity and with humanity, if
deprived of liberty (Article 10);
• the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence (Article 12);
• the right to equality before courts and tribunals, and to a fair hearing
in any criminal case or law suit; to be presumed innocent until proved guilty if
charged with a criminal offence; and, in determination of any criminal charge,
to guarantees including the right of every person:

• to be informed promptly, in detail and in a language the person

understands of the nature and cause of the charge;
• to be tried without undue delay
• to be tried in his or her presence, and defend himself or herself in
person or through counsel of his or her own choosing;
• to have legal assistance assigned where required by the interests of
justice, free of charge where the person has insufficient means to pay;
• to examine witnesses;
• to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he or she cannot speak
the language used in court (Article 14);

• the right to recognition as a person before the law (Article 16);

• the right to freedom from arbitrary interference with privacy or family
life (Article 17);
• the right to freedom of conscience and religion (Article 18);
• the right to freedom of opinion, expression and information (Article
19);
• the right to freedom of association including the right to form and join
trade unions (Article 22);
 • the right to marry and found a family (Article 23);
• the right of children to special protection (Article 24);
• the right to take part in public affairs, to vote and to be elected, and to
have access on equal terms to public service (Article 25); and
• the right of people belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities
to enjoy their own culture, practice their religion or use their own language,
in community with other members of their group (Article 27).

RIGHT TO PERSONAL FREEDOM

The constitution of India contains the right to freedom, given its article 19, 20, 21,
22 with the view of guaranteeing individual rights that were considered vital by the
framers of the constitution

Personal freedom in the context of human rights guarantees that the state has a
responsibility to:
 Protest us from torture and degradation.
 Protest us from slavery or forced or compulsory labour.
 Guarantee us a fair examination and effective remedy in case of violate of
rights.
 Ensure our right to liberty, freedom of thought and freedom of expression.
 Protect us from discrimination and prohibit abuse of our rights.
The right to freedom in article 19 guarantees the following six rights.
 Freedom of speech and expression, which enable an individual to participate
in public activities. The phrase, ‘freedom of press’ has not been used in
article 19, but freedom of expression includes freedom of press. Reasonable
restrictions can be imposed in interest of public order, security of state,
decency or morality.
 Freedom to assemble peacefully without arms, on which the state can impose
reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order and sovereignty and
integrity of India.
 Freedom to form association or unions on which the state can impose
reasonable restrictions the interest of public order and sovereignty and
integrity of India.
 Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India though reasonable
restrictions can be imposed on this right in the interest of the general public,
for example, restrictions may be imposed on movement and traveling, so as
to control epidemics.
 Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India which is also
subject to reasonable restrictions in the state in the interest of general public
or for the protection of scheduled tribes because certain safeguards are
envisaged here seem to be justified to protect indigenous and tribal peoples
from exploitation and coercion.
 Freedom to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or
business on which the state may impose reasonable restrictions in the
interest of the general public. Thus, there is no right to carry on a business
 which is dangerous or immoral. Also, professional or technical qualifications
may be prescribed for practicing any profession or carrying on any trade.
The constitution also guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, which in turn
cites specific provisions in which these rights are applied and enforced:
 Protection with respect to conviction for offences is guaranteed in the right to
life and personal liberty. According to Article 20, no one can be awarded
punishment which is more than what the law prescribes at that time. This
legal axiom is based on the principle that no criminal law can be made
retrospective, that is, for act to become an offence, the essential condition is
that it should have been an offence legally at the time of committing it.
Moreover, no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a
witness against himself. “Compulsion” in this article refers to what in law is
called “Duress” (injury, beating or unlawful imprisonment to make a person
do something that he does not want to do). This article is known as safeguard
against self incrimination. The other principle enshrined in this article is
known as the principle of double jeopardy, that is no person can be convicted
twice for the same offence, which has been derived from Anglo Saxon law.
This principle was first established in the Magna Carta.
 Protection of life and liberty is also stated under right to life and personal
liberty. Article 21 declares that no citizen can be denied his life and liberty
except law. This means that a person’s life and liberty can only be disputed if
that person has committed a crime. However, the right to life does not
include the right to die, and hence, suicide or an attempt thereof, is an
offence. “Personal liberty” includes all the freedoms which are not included in
Article 19. The right to travel abroad is also covered under “personal liberty”
in Article 21.
 In 2002, through 86th amendment act, article 21 (A) was incorporated. It
made the right to primary education part of the right to freedom, stating that
state would provide free and compulsory education to children from six to
fourteen years of age.
 Rights of person arrested under ordinary circumstances are laid down in the
right to life and personal liberty Article 22 no one can be arrested without
being told the grounds for his arrest. If arrested citizen has to be brought
before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours. The rights of a person
arrested under ordinary circumstances are not available to an enemy or
alien. They are also not available to persons detained under the “Preventive
Detention Act”. Under preventive detention the government can imprison a
person for a maximum of three months. It means that if the government feels
that a person being at liberty can be a threat to the law and order or to the
unity and integrity of the nation, it can detain or arrest that person to prevent
him from doing this possible harm. After three months such a case is brought
before an advisory board for review.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OR FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democratic rights and

freedoms. Freedom of speech and expression enable an individual to
participate in public activities. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak
freely without restriction or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of
expression is sometimes used to denote not only freedom of verbal speech
but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas,
regardless of the medium used.

Importance of the right to freedom of expression and speech:

 Freedom of expression is essential in enabling democracy to work and

public participation in decision-making.
 Citizens cannot exercise their right to vote effectively or take part in
public decision-making if they do not have free access to information
and ideas and are not able to express their views freely.
 Freedom of expression is thus not only important for individual dignity
but also to participation, accountability and democracy.
 Violations of freedom of expression often go hand in hand with other
violation, in particular the right to freedom of association and
assembly.

Indian constitutional framework on freedom of expression:

The constitution of India contains the right to freedom, given in articles

19, 20, 21 and 22, with the view of guaranteeing individual rights that were
considered vital by the framers of the constitution. The right to freedom in
article 19 guarantees the freedom of speech and expression as one of the
freedom.
Freedom of expression or speech is recognized in international and
regional human rights law. The right is protected in article 19 of the
International covenant on civil and political rights, article 10 of the European
convention on Human rights, article 13 of the American convention on
human rights, and article 9 of the African charter on human and peoples’
right to freedom of speech today is understood as a multi-faceted right that
includes not only the right to express, or disseminate, information and ideas,
but three further distinct aspects:
 The right to seek information and ideas;
 The right to receive information and ideas;
 The right to impart information and ideas.

International, regional and national standards also recognizes that

freedom of speech, as the freedom of expression, includes any medium, be it
orally, in written, in print, through the internet or through art forms. This
means that the protection of freedom of speech as a right includes not only
the content, but also means of expression.

Relationship to other rights:

The right to freedom of speech is closely related to other rights, and

may be limited when conflicting with other rights. The right to freedom of
 speech is particularly important for media, which plays a special role as the
bearer of the general right to freedom of expression for all reasonable
restrictions.

The freedom of speech and of the press does not confer an absolute right
to express without any responsibility; reasonable restrictions on these
grounds can be imposed only by a duly enacted law and not by executive
action. With the same token clause (2) of article 19 of the Indian constitution
enables the legislature to impose reasonable restrictions on free speech
under following heads:

i. Security of the state

ii. Friendly relations with other states
iii. Public order
iv. Decency and morality
v. Contempt of court
vi. Defamation (insult)
vii. Incitement (encouragement) to an offence, and
viii. Sovereignty and integrity of India.

Limitation of freedom of speech:

 The freedom of speech is not absolute.

 Legal systems, and society at large, recognize limits on the freedom of
speech, particularly when freedom of speech conflicts with other
values or rights.
 Exercising freedom of speech always takes place within a context of
competing values.
 Limitation to freedom of speech may follow the “harm principle” or the
“offense principle”. For example in the case of pornography or “hate
speech”.
 Limitations to freedom of speech may occur through legal sanction.

RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION (ARTICLE 25-28)

Articles 25,26,27,28 provide the right to freedom of religion.
 Article 25 deals with the freedom of conscience and free profession,
practice and propagation of religion.
 Article 26 deals with freedom to manage religious affairs.
 Article 27 deals with freedom of payment of taxes for promotion of any
particular religion.
 Article 28 deals with freedom to attend religious instruction or religious
courtship in certain education institutions.
Article 25 deals with the freedom of conscience and free profession, practice
and propagation of religion.

Article 25 (1) guarantees the right to profess, practice and propagate

religion. This freedom is not absolute. It can affect laws for social welfare and
reform.
Article 25 (2) provides that nothing in article 25 shall affect the operation of
any existing laws.
Article 25 (2) (a) provides that the state can make any law regulating or
restricting which may be associated with religious practice.

Freedom to manage religious affairs article 26

Every religious section can care the following four freedoms.
 To establish and maintain religious and charitable institution.
 To manage religious affairs.
 To own and acquire immovable and movable property for the
institution.
 To administrate such property in accordance with law.

Freedom from payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion

(article 27)
 No person should be compelled to pay taxes towards the promotion of
any particular religion.
 Every person has the freedom to pay money to any religious fund he
likes.
 In the same way, taxes collected by the state should not be spent for
the promotion of any particular religion.

Religious instructions in schools (Article 28)

Article 28 imposes restrictions on religious instruction in government
institution.
It speaks about four types of educational institutions.
1. Institutions wholly maintained by state.
2. Institutions recognized by state.
3. Institutions that are receiving aid out of state fund.
4. Institutions that are administered by the state but are established
under any trust or endowment.

 If the educational institutions are maintained wholly by the state, then

there should be no religious instructions.
 If the institutions are recognized by the state and only receive aid from
the government fund, then the religious instruction may be imparted
with the consent of the students.
  If the institutions are established under any religious trust endowment,
then the religious instruction classes can be carried on even without
the consent of the students.

RIGHT TO EQUALITY (ARTICLE 14 – 18)

Article 14-18 of the constitution guarantees the ‘Right to Equality’
Article 14 guarantees equality before law and equal protection of law.
Article 15 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste or
place of birth.
Article 16 guarantees the equality of opportunity in matters of public
employment.
Article 17 abolishes untouchability in the country.
Article 18 abolishes titles other than military distinctions.

Article 14-Equality before law

 Article 14 of the Indian constitution guarantees “state shall not deny to
any person equality before the law or equal protection of the law”.
 Article 14 applies to any person and is not limited to citizens alone.
 Both individuals and juristic persons are entitled to benefit article 14.
 Rights in article 14 directs that “All persons shall be equal before the
court and tribunals”
 Article 14 protects persons against discrimination among equals not
only by substantive law but also by law of procedure.
 Article 14 restricts class legislation but at the same time it permits
reasonable classification.
 Article 14 recognizes the actual fact of practical life. It means among
equals, equal laws shall be applicable and among unequal same shall
not be applicable.
 Supreme Court has laid down two conditions which are as follows.
i. The classification should be found on intelligible difference.
ii. The differentia must have rational relationship with the object of
law.

Article 15 (Prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion)

 Article 15 (1) provides that shall not discriminate against any citizen on
the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
 Article 15 (2) provides that no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them be subjected to any
disability, restriction or condition with regards to access to shops,
public restaurants, hotels, and places of public entertainment.
 Article 15 (3) lays down that nothing in this article shall prevent, the
state from making any special provision for women and children which
is recognized universally.
 Article 15 (4) provides that nothing in article 15 shall prevent the state
from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially
 and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes.

Article 16 (Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment)

 Article 16 (1) provides that there shall be equality of opportunity for all
citizens in matters relating to employments and appointments to any
office under state.
 Article 16 (2) provides that no citizens shall be on grounds of religion,
race, caste, sex, place of birth, residence or any of them , be in eligible
for, or discriminated against in respect of any employment or office
under the state.
 Article 16 bars discrimination not only in the matter of initial
employment but also for the promotion and termination of service.
 If safe guards not only against communal discrimination but also
against local discrimination or discrimination against the weaker
section.
Exceptions
 Article 16 (3) (4) (5) are the exceptions to this general rule of equality
of opportunity.
 Article 16 (4) permits the state to male provisions for reservation of
some appointments in favor of backward class, office of religious
institutions.

Article 17 (abolition of untouchability)

 Article 17 provides that untouchability is abolished and its practice any
form is forbidden.
 Article 17 must be read with article 35 (a) (ii) which confers upon
parliament the exclusive power to make laws prescribing punishment
for those acts which are declared to be offences under part (III) of the
constitution.
 This led to the enactment of untouchability act in 1955 by the
parliament of India.
 This act was amended in 1976 and the amended act has been given
the name of protection of civil right act, which came into force on 19th
November 1976.

Article 18 (Abolition of titles)

 Article 18 provides that no titles, not being a military nor academic
distinction shall be conferred by a state.
 No citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign state.
 No person who is not a citizen, while he holds any office under state,
accept without the consent of the President, entitle from any foreign
state.
 The ban under article 18 operates only against state.
 Military and academic distinctions are exempted under article 18.
  The government confer such honors as Ashoka Chakra, Virchakra,
Param Vir, etc.,

RIGHT TO PROPERTY (Article 31)

The right to property prior to 44th amendment 1978 was a fundamental right
under article 37 of part III of the constitution.
But by the 44th amendment, the right to property was taken away from
fundamental rights it was made as a constitutional right.
The effect of deleting “Right to property” from fundamental rights and
making it a constitutional right is as follows:
The right to property is only a constitutional right and therefore the remedy
for the offered party will be to convoke the jurisdiction of High Court.
No person shall be deprived of his property saved by the authority of law.
Article 31 (1) guaranteed the property the property right A property could
not be taken by executive order or rule or by law.
Article 31 (2)
This article was amended four times originally it read as follows:
“A movable or immovable property belonging to an individual should not be
taken as possession or acquired for public purposes except by providing for
compensation under a law”.
The 44th amendment introduced two changes it read “A property should not
be compulsorily acquired or requisitioned for a public purpose except by
providing compensation”.
The 44th amendment introduced a new clause remembered as 31 (2) (A). It
read “if there is no transfer of ownership or possession then it is not
compulsory acquisition and hence compensation needs to be paid.
Even after 44th amendment, the controversy in article 31 (2) (A) was not
settled. The adequacy of compensation under 44th amendment was
questioned.
After 45th amendment the word ‘compensation’ was replaced by the word
amount. It introduced a new article 31 (C). It reads that the acquisition of
property for public purpose under article 31 (C).

RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES (ARTICLE 32)

Under the Indian constitution, the Supreme Court and high court empowered
to issue writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights enriched in part III of
the constitution.
Under article 32 of Indian constitution the Supreme Court can issue writ.
The following are the provisions regarding the writ jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court.
1. A person can file a writ petition in the Supreme Court directly without
approaching the high court.
2. The Supreme Court is empowered to issue writs for infringement of
fundamental rights under part III of the constitution. Thus the Supreme
Court is the guarantor of fundamental rights.
 3. The Supreme Court has power to issue directions or orders or writs for
the enforcement of the fundamental rights.
4. Article 32 can never be suspended. The writ jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court is permanent and never can be suspended.
5. The writ jurisdiction of Supreme Court is narrow because it is confined
to fundamental rights.
Writ jurisdiction of high court
• Article 32 – the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court does not in any
way affect the writ jurisdiction of the high court under article 26. Every
high court has the power of issuing writs to any persons or authority
including government within its jurisdiction.
• The power of high court to issue writs does not in any way interfere
with the writ jurisdiction of Supreme Court.
• The writ jurisdiction of high court is discretionary in regard to
constitutional rights.
Sometimes writs are refused on the following reasons.
 If there is an adequate alternative remedy.
 If there is delay.
 If the conduct of the petition is tainted with illegality.
 In the interest of justice the writ may not be granted.
 If the petition involves a dispute over a question of fact.
 The complained infringement of a right must be an existing legal right.
 Regarding a common grievance an association can file a writ petition.

RIGHT TO CONTRACT
According to section 2(h) Indian Contract Act “an agreement
enforceable by law is contract”
According to Sir Fredric Pollock “Every agreement and promise at law
is contract”
According to section 2(e) of the Indian Contract Act “Every promise
and every set of promises forming the consideration for each other is an
agreement”.

Essential of valid contract:

 There should be an agreement between two parties.
 An agreement arises when one party makes proposals of offers and
other party accepts the offer.
 The parties to the agreement should be competent to contract.
 There should be lawful consideration and lawful object in respect of the
agreement.
 There should be free consent of the parties when they enter into the
agreement.
 The agreement must not be one which has been declared to be void.
 RIGHT TO VOTE AND CONTEST IN ELECTION:
The election commission is responsible to direct and control elections.
The election commission shall consist of the Chief election commissioner and
such other elections commissioners as the President may fix from time to
time.
The election commissioner and regional commissioners cannot be removed
from office during their tenure except on the recommendation of the chief
election commissions.
It was also held that
• The Election commission could be a multimember body. It is a
permanent body with a chief election commissioner.
• The Election commissioner ranks below Chief election commissioner
and the Regional commissioner ranks below the election
commissioner.
• The chief election commissioner is not superior (i.e.) election
commissioner and regional election commissioner have a say in
decision making.
The election performs the following functions.
1. The superintendence, detection and control of the preparation of the
electoral rolls for all elections to parliaments for all election to
parliament, state and the offices of President and Vice-President.
2. Appointment of Election tribunals for decoding doubts and disputes
arising out of election to parliament.
3. The conduct of the elections.
4. Advising the President and the Government on the question of
disqualification of any member of parliament or a state legislature.
There shall be one general electoral bill for every territory constituency and
no person shall be ineligible for inclusion in and such roll on grounds of any
religion, caste, sex.
The elections to the parliament and state legislature are to be held on the
basis of adult suffrage.
The following are the essential to fulfill by a person to be entitled to register
as a voter:
 He must be an Indian citizen.
 He must not less than eighteen year of age.
 He should not be unsound.
 He should not be disqualified on the ground of non residency, crime,
corrupt illegal practice.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION
The Right to Information is derived from our fundamental right of expression
under Article 19 of the Constitution of India. Article 19 (1) says that every
citizen has freedom of speech and expression.
It came into force on the 12th October, 2005 (120th day of its enactment on
15th June, 2005). Some provisions have come into force with immediate
effect. RTI Act not applicable to Intelligence and Security Organization.
The Act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and
Kashmir.
Right to information is defined under Section 2(j) as: "right to information"
means the right to information accessible under this.
Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes
the right to
(i) inspection of work, documents, records;
(ii) taking notes, extracts, or certified copies of documents or records.
(iii) taking certified samples of material;
(iv) obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies. tapes, video
cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such
information is stored in a computer or in any other device; ‘ Information can
be demanded from all Public authorities, i.e. all Govt. bodies and
organizations substantially financed by Government including NGOs.

Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) is the head of all the information

officers. The State Information Commission will be selected by the State
Government through a Gazette notification. It will have one State Chief
Information Commissioner (SCIC) and not more than 10 State Information
Commissioners (SIC) to be appointed by the Governor.

At the end of year CIC is required to present a report which contains:

(a) The number of requests made to each public authority;
(b) The number of decisions where applicants were not given permission to
access to the documents which they request, the provisions of the Act under
which these decisions were made and the number of times such provisions
were filed;
(c) Details of disciplinary action taken against any officer in respect of the
administration of the Act; (d) the amount of charges collected by each public
authority under the Act

PIO shall deal with requests from persons seeking information.

Following information is not disclosed:

• information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity
of India, the security, “strategic, scientific or economic" interests of the State, relation
with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence;
• information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any
court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute
contempt of court;
• information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or
the State Legislature;
• information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or
intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the
competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is
satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such
information; information including commercial confidence, trade
secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the
competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is
satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such
information;
information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is
satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
information received in confidence from foreign Government;
information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or
identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or
security purposes;
information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution
of offenders;
cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and
other officers;