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This Article is couched in a negative form and enjoins the State not to deprive any person not
necessarily only a citizen, of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure
established by law.
Article 21 secures two rights:
(i)
(ii)
In case of Francis Coralie v. Union Territory of Delhivi, the Supreme Court observed that the
right to life includes the right to live with human dignity and all that goes along with it, namely
the bare necessities of life such as adequate nutrition, clothing, and shelter and facilities for
reading, writing, and expressing oneself in diverse forms, freely moving about, mixing and
commingling with fellow human beings, of course the magnitude and economic development of
the country, but it must in any view of the matter, include the right to the basic necessities of life
and also the right to carry on such functions and activities to constitute the bare minimum
necessities of the human life.
Again in the case of Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administrationvii, the Supreme Court observed that the
right to life included the right to lead a healthy life so as to enjoy all faculties of the human
body in their prime conditions. It would even include the right to protection of a persons
tradition, culture, heritage and all that gives meaning to a mans life. It includes the right to live
in peace, to sleep in peace and the right to repose and health.
The expanded scope of Article 21 has been explained further in the case of Unni Krishnan v.
State of A.P.viii In the case the court provided the list of some of the rights covered under Article
21. Some of them are listed below:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
(xi)
(xii)
Through various judgments the Court also included many of the non-justifiable Directive
Principles embodied under part IV of the Constitution. Some of them are:
(a) Right to pollution free water and air
(b) Protection of under-trial
(c) Right of every child to a full development
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importantly the Court also held that the rightful claim of an individual to determine to which he
wishes to share himself with others and control over the time, place and circumstances to
communicate with others.
In R. Rajagopal v. State of Tamil Naduxiv, the Supreme Court has asserted in recent times the
right to privacy has acquired constitutional Status; it is implicit in the right to life and liberty
guaranteed to the citizens by Article 21.
Right to go Abroad
In the year 1967 the court for the first time in the case of Satwant Singh v. Assistant Passport
Officer, New Delhixv held that right to travel abroad contained in by the expression personal
liberty within the meaning of Article 21. Later in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of Indiaxvi, it was
held that a procedure established by law was required in depriving a person of his personal
liberty which included the right to travel abroad. The procedure mentioned herein should not be
arbitrary, unfair or unreasonable.
Right against Illegal Detention
The Supreme Court in the case of Joginder Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh xvii laid down the
guidelines governing arrest of a person during investigation:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Further in the D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal,xviii the Supreme Court laid down detailed
guidelines to be followed by the central and state investigating agencies in all cases of arrest and
detention till legal provisions are made in that behalf as preventive measures and held that any
form of torture or cruel inhuman or degrading treatment, whether it occurs during interrogation,
investigation or otherwise, falls within the ambit of Article 21.
Thus the principles of natural justice are firmly grounded in Article 21 of the Constitution. With
the introduction of concept of substantive and procedural due process in Article 21, all that
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fairness which is included in the principles of natural justice can be read into Art. 21. Though the
sun of Article 21 would never set completely in a democratic set up like India but this article
would live in all its sublimit for eternity to serve the people of India whenever and whatever they
would be in distress relating to anything having to do with their lives and personal liberties.
i Nick Robinson, Expanding Judiciaries: India and the Rise of the Good Governance Court (2009) 8
Washington University Global Studies Law Review. Also see Albert H. Y. Chen, Pathways of Western
Liberal Constitutional Development in Asia: A Comparative Study of Five Major Nations (2010) 8
International Journal of Constitutional Law 849, 855: The Indian Constitution was designed not only
to establish political structures and declare fundamental rights and freedoms but also to bring about
social reform. cited in McDonald Douglas, The Meaning of Life:Socio-Economic Rights under Article
21of the Indian Constitution
ii H. R. Khanna, Making of Indias Constitution (2nd ed, 2008) 87
iii CERC v Union of India AIR 1995 SC 922.
iv AIR 1963 SC 1295
v MP Jain, THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, LexisNexis Butterworths WadhwaNagpur, Gurgaon,
2010
vi AIR 1981 SC 746
vii AIR 1978 SC 1675
viii AIR 2178, 1993 SCR (1) 594
ix Vidhan Maheshwari, Article 21 of The Constitution of India - The Expanding Horizons
x AIR 1950 SC 27
xi Vijay Jaiwal, Right to Life and Personal Liberty in Indian Constitution posted in Indian Constitution on
September 3, 2013
xii AIR 1978 SC 597
xiii AIR 2008 Mad. 244
xiv AIR 1995 SC 264
xv AIR 1967 SC 1836