Right against ExploitationExploitation (Articles 23 & 24)

Article 23 – Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour

Article 23(1): Traffic in human beings and the beggar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and
any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with the law.

Article 23(2): Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for public purposes,
and in imposing such service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste
or class or any of them.

 Exploitation implies the misuse of others’ services by force and/or labour without payment.
 There were many marginalized communities in India who were forced to engage in manual and agricultural labour
without any payment.
 Labour without payment is known as begar.
 Article 23 forbids any form of exploitation.
 Also, one cannot be forced to engage in labour against his/her will even if remuneration is given.
 Forced labour is forbidden by the Constitution. It is considered forced labour if the less-than-minimum wage is paid.
 This article also makes ‘bonded labour’ unconstitutional.
 Bonded labour is when a person is forced to offer services out of a loan/debt that cannot be repaid.
 The Constitution makes coercion of any kind unconstitutional. Thus, forcing landless persons into labour and forcing
helpless women into prostitution is unconstitutional.
 The Article also makes trafficking unconstitutional.
 Trafficking involves the buying and selling of men and women for illegal and immoral activities.
 Even though the Constitution does not explicitly ban ‘slavery’, Article 23 has a wide scope because of the inclusion
of the terms ‘forced labour’ and ‘traffic’.
 Article 23 protects citizens not only against the State but also from private citizens.
 The State is obliged to protect citizens from these evils by taking punitive action against perpetrators of these acts
(which are considered crimes), and also take positive actions to abolish these evils from society.
 Under Article 35 of the Constitution, the Parliament is authorized to enact laws to punish acts prohibited by Article
23.
 Clause 2 implies that compulsory services for public purposes (such as conscription to the armed forces) are not
unconstitutional.
 Laws passed by the Parliament in pursuance of Article 23:
 Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956
 Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

Article 24 – Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.

Article 24 says that “No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine
or engaged in any other hazardous employment.”

 This Article forbids the employment of children below the age of 14 in any hazardous industry or factories or mines,
without exception.
 However, the employment of children in non-hazardous work is allowed.
Laws that were passed in pursuance of Article 24 in India.

The Factories Act, 1948

This was the first act passed after independence to set a minimum age limit for the employment of children in
factories. The Act set a minimum age of 14 years. In 1954, this Act was amended to provide that children below
the age of 17 could not be employed at night.

The Mines Act of 1952

This Act prohibits the employment of people under the age of 18 years in mines.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

This was a landmark law enacted to curb the menace of child labour prevalent in India. It described where and
how children could be employed and where and how this was forbidden. This Act designates a child as a person
who has not completed his/her 14th year of age. The 1986 Act prohibits the employment of children in 13
occupations and 57 processes.

Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

This Act completely forbids the employment of children below 14 years of age. It also bans the employment of
people between the ages of 14 and 18 in hazardous occupations and processes. Punishments to violators of this
law were made stricter by this amendment act. This Act allows children to be employed in certain family
occupations and also as artists.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017

The government notified the above Rules in 2017 to provide a broad and specific framework for prevention,
prohibition, rescue, and rehabilitation of child and adolescent workers. The Rules clarified on issues concerning
the employment of family enterprises and also provides safeguards for artists in that the working hours and
conditions are specified.

Right to Freedom of Religion

Article 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and

propagation of religion)
Article 25 guarantees the freedom of conscience, the freedom to profess, practice, and
propagate religion to all citizens.
  The above-mentioned freedoms are subject to public order, health, and morality.
 This article also gives a provision that the State can make laws:
 That regulates and restricts any financial, economic, political, or other secular activity
associated with any religious practice.
 That provides for the social welfare and reform or opening up of Hindu religious
institutions of a public character to all sections and classes of Hindus. Under this
provision, Hindus are construed as including the people professing the Sikh, Jain, or
Buddhist religions, and Hindu institutions shall also be construed accordingly.
 People of the Sikh faith wearing & carrying the kirpan shall be considered included in the
profession of the Sikh religion.

Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs)

This Article provides that every religious denomination has the following rights, subject to
morality, health, and public order.

1. The right to form and maintain institutions for religious and charitable intents.
2. The right to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion.
3. The right to acquire the immovable and movable property.
4. The right to administer such property according to the law.

Article 27 (Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular

religion)
According to Article 27 of the Constitution, there can be no taxes, the proceeds of which are
directly used for the promotion and/or maintenance of any particular religion/religious
denomination.

Article 28 (Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious

worship in certain educational institutions)
This article permits educational institutions that are maintained by religious groups to
disseminate religious instruction.

 This provides that no religious instruction shall be provided in State-run educational institutions.
 Educational institutions administered by the State but that were established under any endowment
or trust which requires that religious instruction shall be imparted in such institutions are exempt
from the above clause (that no religious instruction shall be provided).
 Any person who attends any educational institution recognized by the State or receiving State aid
shall not be required to participate in any religious instruction that may be imparted in such
institution, or also attend any religious worship in such institutions unless he/she has given
consent for the same. In the case of minors, the guardians should have given consent for the same.
 Cultural and Educational Rights

Article 29 – Protection of Interests of Minorities

This article is intended to protect the interests of minority groups.

Article 29(1): This provides any section of the citizens residing in India having a distinct
culture, language, or script, the right to conserve their culture, language and script.

Article 29(2): The State shall not deny admission into educational institutes maintained by it
or those that receive aid from it to any person based only on race, religion, caste, language, or
any of them.

Article 30 – Right of Minorities to Establish and Administer

Educational Institutions
This right is given to minorities to form and govern their own educational institutions. Article
30 is also called the “Charter of Education Rights”.

Article 30(1): All religious and linguistic minorities have the right to establish and
administer educational institutions of their choice. (Read about Minority Protection in
India in the linked article.)

Article 30(2): The State shall not, when granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate
against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a
minority, whether based on religion or language.

Right to Property

 The Supreme Court observed that when the incident took place in 1967, the Right
to Property was still a Fundamental Right under Article 31.
 Article 31(2) had mentioned that only after due compensation was paid to the person by the
Government, the Government would get the right to take over private property and use it only for
public purposes.
 Article 31(1) of the Constitution had made it clear that private property could not be taken by the
Government through an executive order but only through the authority of law.
 The above laws were preventing the Government from carrying out public infrastructure projects
and other agrarian reforms as people started approaching the courts during the land acquisition by
the Government.
 Hence there was an amendment to the Constitution of India in 1978.
 It was the 44th amendment of the Constitution of India which declared that the Right to Property
will no longer be a Fundamental Right.
 Article 31 and Article 19(1)(f) was completely removed from Part III – Fundamental Rights of
Constitution with the help of the 44th Amendment.
 The Supreme Court reminded the State Government that the State had to follow the authority of
law and due procedure of law before taking the private property of a person. This needs to be done
as per provisions mentioned in Article 300A.