Welcome to the first in a series Know Your Rights blogs. The first blog in the series attempts to make clear distinctions between the three types of rights in the Indian legal system in the hope that it will be easier to discuss and classify your rights and their provisions in the upcoming blogs in the Know Your Rights series.
To begin with, think of your rights in a hierarchy. Your Fundamental Rights are inalienable and the most important ones. Fundamental Rights are followed by Constitutional Rights in the middle and Statutory Rights at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Fundamental Rights
The Indian Constitution recognises six Fundamental Rights (originally seven) in Part III of the Constitution (Article 12-32). These are inalienable rights, i.e. the State cannot deny your Fundamental Rights on any ground. Also, these are applicable to everyone (citizen or foreign) within the land of Indian Jurisdiction. The last of these six rights, i.e. Right to Constitutional Remedies, theoretically, provides anyone with a right to directly approach the Supreme Court for cases of violation of their fundamental rights.
Constitutional Rights
These refer to your rights that are mentioned within the Indian Constitution but in articles other than under Part III. These include your Right to Property (originally, the seventh Fundamental Right), Right to Education and a lot more. These rights are justiciable but not inalienable and are applicable only if you are a citizen of India.
Statutory Rights
Statutory Rights are those that emanate from a piece of legislation (central or state’). For instance, if you are living in Delhi, you have a right to be served a prior notice before your landlord can vacate you. It is your right that emanates from a state legislation piece called the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (Section 14). For instances of violation of Statutory Rights, you may approach the local authorities or follow the procedures as mentioned in the legislation.
There are also another set of rights that are not enforceable by a court of law, i.e., you cannot approach judiciary in case of violation of these rights. Right to Work and Right to Public Assistance are examples of such rights and these are mentioned in the Directive Principles under Part IV of the Indian Constitution. Article 37 under the Directive Principles makes clear the non-justiciable characteristics of these rights, stating the following:
“The provisions contained in this Part shall not be enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws.”
We hope you find it helpful. Stay tuned for more Know Your Rights blogs.
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