Dignity As A Living Constitutional Value Under Article 21: From Animal Existence To Meaningful Human Life
- IJLLR Journal
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Yash Jaiswal, LL.M., Amity Law School, Amity University Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Axita Shrivastava, Associate Professor, Amity Law School, Amity University Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
ABSTRACT
The idea of human dignity holds a leading position in the contemporary constitutional jurisprudence and forms a value basis of the protection of fundamental rights. The concept of dignity in the Indian constitutional system has been mainly formulated by the interpretation of Article 21 that upholds the right to life and personal liberty. This provision has over the years been broadened by the Supreme Court of India by progressive judicial interpretation to go beyond being a procedural protection to become a general guarantee of dignified human existence.
This paper will discuss how the law of dignity has developed under article 21 and discusses the different facets of the doctrine that have been developed by the judicial rulings. It investigates the ways in which the judiciary has found some of the rights that are fundamental to human dignity such as the right to livelihood, health, shelter, education, privacy, and reputation. Such landmark cases as “Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, Francis Coralie Mullin v. Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi and Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India” demonstrate how the judiciary has been providing an interpretation of the right to life to encompass conditions that help one to live with dignity. The paper also talks about the contribution of “judicial activism” and “public interest litigation” in enhancing the dignity jurisprudence and also looks at the practical issues that limit the effective performance of the rights under dignity-based jurisprudence. Socio- Economic inequalities, gaps in implementation, custodial violence, and new challenges associated with the online privacy remain challenges to the effectiveness of the constitutional protection.
Lastly, the paper postulates that dignity needs to be re-established under a sound constitutional process to guarantee doctrinal comprehension and better institutional collaboration. Constitutional vision of human dignity can be realized more substantially by incorporating judicial interpretation and legislative intervention and good governance. The research concludes that human dignity is a leading principle of the constitution that interprets the main rights and strengthens the commitment of democracy to justice, liberty, and equality.
Keywords: Human Dignity, Article 21, Right to Life, Constitutional Jurisprudence, Fundamental Rights, Judicial Interpretation, Privacy, Livelihood, Constitutional Law, India.
