Beyond The Procedure: The Birth Of Article 21 And Its Evolution
- IJLLR Journal
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
Hitaishi Subhash Sawant, B.A.LL.B., KES Shri. Jayantilal H. Patel Law College
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights...
- Eleanor Roosevelt
ABSTRACT
The citizens of India get the fundamental Right to Life and Personal Liberty from Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This is one of the most important rights enshrined in the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court is majorly seen as the protector of the fundamental rights. The Supreme Court and High Courts are empowered under Article 32 and 226 respectively to look into the cases where the fundamental rights are being violated. Article 21 has undergone significant transition from narrow interpretation of the phrase, ‘procedure established by law’ in the A.K. Gopalan case (1950) to its widest interpretation in the Maneka Gandhi case (1978), giving a new view to look at Article 21.
This paper studies the legislature debate regarding the thoughts and amendments before adopting Article 21 in the Constitution of India. Further, it studies how through landmark judgements Article 21 has evolved with time and rising issues. It studies, how judiciary interpreted the article and added various essential elements of life, i.e., right to live with human dignity, against sexual harassment at workplace, privacy, clean environment, right to sleep and to die with dignity.
Keywords: Constitution of India, Article 21, Right to life and personal liberty, Fundamental rights, Elements.
