From Article 21 To Urban Reality: Is India's Right To Shelter Enforceable Today?
Chirag, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, Karnataka
Anna Mary Boby, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, Karnataka
ABSTRACT
There is no explicit right to shelter guaranteed in the Constitution of India. However, the Supreme Court has increasingly interpreted shelter as an important aspect of life and dignity and included it under Article 21 of the Constitution since Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation. Through various cases from Olga Tellis to Chameli Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, constitutional law in India has gone beyond viewing life merely as physical life. The recent dilemma concerns development initiatives that require the relocation of those who have established homes. While smart cities, development, and redevelopments could make urban areas better to live in, they could also displace disadvantaged communities without adequate rehabilitation measures. This is what happened in the recent incidents in Bengaluru, Prayagraj and Bhubaneswar. Two landmark decisions that took place recently and which deal with the issue of demolition are, In Re: Directions in the Matter of Demolition of Structures in 2024 and Zulfiquar Haider v. State of Uttar Pradesh in 2025. In this essay, one may say that the Right to Shelter is indeed enforceable but not an absolute right of occupation. Protection against arbitrary eviction and destruction of homes, procedural propriety, respect for human dignity, and where the actions of the State would lead to displacement, consideration of rehabilitation would be the important aspects of the enforceable right. The article would argue for an urban development approach where infrastructure development would still be allowed to go ahead but subject to constitutional scrutiny.
Keywords: Article 21, Right to Shelter, Urban Development, Smart Cities, Demolition, Rehabilitation, Forced Eviction, Constitutional Rights.
