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LL.B. (Three Years) Sem 4 Human Rights Law and Practice Apr 2025 Question Paper with Solutions

SPPU Solved Question Papers

Human Rights Law and Practice

Previous Year Question Paper with Solution

LL.B. (Three Years) · Sem 4

Apr 2025 Examination

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Mumbai

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First published on munotes.in on 5 November 2026.

Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.

Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.

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munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Savitribai Phule Pune University. It is not affiliated with Savitribai Phule Pune University, and is not endorsed by it.

The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.

The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Savitribai Phule Pune University at the Apr 2025 examination.

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Contents

The questions below are the paper as Savitribai Phule Pune University set it at the Apr 2025 examination, in the order it was set.

MarksPage

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The Paper as Set

The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the Apr 2025 examination, reproduced as Savitribai Phule Pune University set them, in the order it set them. Nothing has been reworded, added or left out. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.

Duration 3 hours  ·  Total marks 70  ·  13 questions answered

Instructions printed on the paper

  • N.B. (1) Answer any two questions from Part A. Each question in part A is for 15 Marks. (2) Answer any three questions from Part B. Each question in part B is for 10 Marks. (3) Answer any two questions from Part C as directed. Each question is for 5 Marks. (4) Figures to the right indicate full marks.

How to use this volume

Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.

Read the original question paper

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SECTION I

PART A

Answer any two · 30 Marks

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Q1)Explain in detail the Second-Generation Human rights with special reference to Part IV of the Indian Constitution.[15]

Answer

For full marks, cover: the three generations of human rights (Karel Vasak); what second-generation rights are, and their international sources (UDHR Articles 22 to 27, the ICESCR 1966); Part IV of the Constitution: the nature of Directive Principles (Article 37) and the main economic, social and cultural directives (Articles 38, 39, 39A, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48A); the relation between Parts III and IV (Champakam Dorairajan, Kesavananda Bharati, Minerva Mills); how the courts made Part IV rights enforceable through Article 21 (Francis Coralie Mullin, Olga Tellis, Bandhua Mukti Morcha, Paschim Banga, Unni Krishnan, Consumer Education and Research Centre); Article 21A; a table; a conclusion.

Introduction

Human rights are often grouped into three generations. The grouping follows the French jurist Karel Vasak (1977), who linked them to the three ideals of the French Revolution.

  1. First generation: liberty. Civil and political rights, such as life, liberty, speech and vote.
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  1. Second generation: equality. Economic, social and cultural rights, such as work, education, health and social security.
  2. Third generation: fraternity or solidarity. Collective rights, such as development, peace and a clean environment.

This answer deals with the second generation, and with its place in Part IV of the Indian Constitution.

1. What second-generation rights are

Second-generation rights are rights to the conditions of a decent life. They require the State to act: to provide schools, hospitals, work and social security. That is why they are called positive rights, as against the negative, "hands-off" character of civil liberties.

International sources.

  1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, Articles 22 to 27. They cover social security, work and fair pay, rest and leisure, an adequate standard of living, education, and cultural life.
  2. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ICESCR). It obliges States to realise these rights progressively, to the maximum of their available resources. India acceded to it in 1979.
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2. Part IV: the nature of Directive Principles

Part IV (Articles 36 to 51) contains the Directive Principles of State Policy. They were inspired by the Irish Constitution.

Article 37 sets out their nature. They shall not be enforceable by any court. But they are fundamental in the governance of the country, and it is the duty of the State to apply them in making laws.

So the Directive Principles are India's main text of second-generation rights, written as duties of the State rather than as enforceable rights.

3. The second-generation rights in Part IV

  1. Article 38: the State shall secure a social order in which social, economic and political justice informs all institutions. It shall strive to minimise inequalities in income. It shall also endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities (clause (2)).
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  1. Article 39: adequate means of livelihood for men and women equally (clause (a)). Distribution of material resources to subserve the common good (clause (b)). Preventing concentration of wealth (clause (c)). Equal pay for equal work (clause (d)). Protecting the health of workers and children (clause (e)). Opportunities for children to develop in freedom and dignity (clause (f)).
  2. Article 39A: equal justice and free legal aid.
  3. Article 41: the right to work, to education and to public assistance in unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement. This is within the limits of the State's economic capacity.
  4. Article 42: just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
  5. Article 43: a living wage and a decent standard of life for workers.
  6. Article 45: early childhood care and education for children below six.
  7. Article 46: promotion of the educational and economic interests of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and weaker sections.
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  1. Article 47: raising the level of nutrition and the standard of living, and improving public health.
  2. Article 48A: protection of the environment, forests and wildlife.

4. Parts III and IV: from conflict to harmony

  1. Early primacy of Part III. In State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, AIR 1951 SC 226, a caste-based admission order was struck down. The Supreme Court held that the Directive Principles, being unenforceable, cannot override a fundamental right.
  2. Balance. In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461, Sikri C.J. said Parts III and IV have to be balanced and harmonised, for only then can the dignity of the individual be achieved.
  3. Harmony as basic structure. In Minerva Mills Ltd v. Union of India, AIR 1980 SC 1789, the Court held that the harmony and balance between fundamental rights and directive principles is an essential feature of the basic structure.

5. Making Part IV enforceable through Article 21

The Supreme Court has read many Directive Principles into the right to life in Article 21, so that they can be enforced.

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  1. Dignity and necessities. In Francis Coralie Mullin v. Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi, 1981 AIR 746, the Court held that the right to life includes the right to live with human dignity. It includes the bare necessities of life: nutrition, clothing and shelter.
  2. Livelihood. In Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, AIR 1986 SC 180, pavement dwellers in Bombay faced eviction. The Court held that the right to livelihood is part of the right to life, so eviction needed a fair procedure.
  3. Labour. In Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India, AIR 1984 SC 802, labourers were working in stone quarries in Faridabad, Haryana, in inhuman conditions. The Court held bonded labour to be forced labour forbidden by Article 23, and required the State to identify, release and rehabilitate the labourers.
  4. Health. In Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1996 SC 2426, an injured man was turned away by several government hospitals. The Court held that Article 21 obliges the State to provide medical aid, and awarded compensation.
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  1. Workers' health. In Consumer Education and Research Centre v. Union of India, (1995) 3 SCC 42, the Court held that the right to health of workers in asbestos industries is part of the right to life.
  2. Education. In Unni Krishnan, J.P. v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1993 SC 2178, the Court held that every child has a fundamental right to free education up to fourteen. This right flows from Article 21 read with Article 45.

Parliament then added Article 21A in 2002, making free and compulsory education for children of six to fourteen a fundamental right. So a Directive Principle became a fundamental right.

6. Second-generation rights compared with first-generation

PointFirst generationSecond generation
IdealLibertyEquality
ExamplesLife, speech, religion, voteWork, education, health, social security
State's dutyMainly to refrainTo act and provide
International textICCPR 1966ICESCR 1966
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PointFirst generationSecond generation
Indian textPart III (enforceable, Article 32)Part IV (not enforceable, Article 37)
EnforcementImmediateProgressive, within resources (Article 41)

7. The gap that remains

Some second-generation rights are still not fully enforceable. The right to work in Article 41 depends on the State's economic capacity. A court cannot order the State to create a job for every person. So these rights are protected mainly through laws and schemes, and through the courts reading them into Article 21 case by case.

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Conclusion

Conclusion. Second-generation human rights are economic, social and cultural rights that need positive State action, drawn from the UDHR and the ICESCR. In India they live mainly in Part IV (Articles 38 to 48A). These include the right to work and education, a living wage, equal pay, maternity relief, nutrition, health and legal aid. Article 37 makes them unenforceable but fundamental in governance. After early primacy for Part III (Champakam Dorairajan), the courts harmonised the two Parts (Kesavananda Bharati, Minerva Mills). They then enforced many of these rights through Article 21: dignity, livelihood, health and education (Francis Coralie Mullin, Olga Tellis, Paschim Banga, Unni Krishnan). Education later became Article 21A.

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The rest of the answers

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