B.Com. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 3 Constitutional Law I 2021 Mar (70 marks) Question Paper with Solutions

For full marks, cover: the text of article 21 and who it protects; how its scope grew from Gopalan to Maneka Gandhi; the scope of "life" (dignity, livelihood, health, environment, education, a safe workplace), each with a case; the scope of "personal liberty" (freedom from surveillance, travel abroad, privacy, choice of partner, the rights of an accused), each with a case; the limits; a summary table; a conclusion.

The provision

Article 21 says: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."

It protects every person, citizen or foreigner. It is a guarantee against the State. The Forty-fourth Amendment 1978 provided that it cannot be suspended even during an emergency.

The article is only one sentence long. Its scope has grown through the meaning the Supreme Court has given to two words, "life" and "personal liberty".

2. Livelihood. Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, AIR 1986 SC 180. Pavement dwellers in Bombay faced forcible eviction. The Court held that the right to life includes the right to livelihood, since no person can live without the means of living. Eviction could follow only after a fair procedure.

3. Health and emergency medical aid. Pt. Parmanand Katara v. Union of India, AIR 1989 SC 2039. An injured man died after a hospital refused to treat him and sent him elsewhere. The Court held that every doctor, government or private, must give immediate medical aid to preserve life.

4. A clean environment. Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, AIR 1991 SC 420. The Court held that the right to life includes the right to pollution-free water and air. A citizen may move the Court under article 32 to remove pollution.

5. Education. Unni Krishnan, J.P. v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1993 SC 2178. The Court held that the right to education flows from article 21. Every child has a right to free education up to the age of fourteen. This was later written into article 21A by the Eighty-sixth Amendment 2002.

4. Choice of partner. Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, AIR 2018 SC 4321. Section 377 of the Penal Code was struck down in so far as it punished consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex. The choice of a partner is part of personal liberty and dignity.

5. Rights of an accused. Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar, AIR 1979 SC 1360. Thousands of undertrials in Bihar had waited years for trial. The Court held that speedy trial is part of article 21. A later order in the same case, of 9 March 1979 (AIR 1979 SC 1369), added free legal aid.

Limits on the scope

1. Article 21 is not absolute. Life or liberty may be taken away by a fair, just and reasonable procedure established by law, such as a lawful trial and sentence.
2. The right to life does not include a right to die by suicide. This was held in Smt. Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab, AIR 1996 SC 946.
3. But dying with dignity is protected. Common Cause (A Regd. Society) v. Union of India, AIR 2018 SC 1665, allowed passive euthanasia and advance directives under strict safeguards.

Summary

Conclusion. Article 21 began as a narrow guarantee against arrest without legal authority. Since Maneka Gandhi, the Court has read "life" to mean a dignified life, with livelihood, health, education and a clean environment. It has read "personal liberty" to include travel, privacy, choice of partner and a fair trial. These rights may be limited only by a fair, just and reasonable procedure established by law. Today article 21 is the widest source of fundamental rights in the Constitution.