International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)

Volume 2, No. 8, August 2013

ISSN: 2319-4421

A Study on Basic Legal Rights of a Common Man - An Indian

Perspective
Asma Farooque, Sr. Assistant Professor, Integral University, Lucknow
Habibuddin, Assistant Professor, Integral University, Lucknow

ABSTRACT
The paper is trying to give an overview of Indian laws
which exist from times when British ruled till date. There
has been major and minor amendments in the existing
Indian laws, several new laws have also been made to
come to the aid of the common man and make their living
easier and comfortable. The paper simply tries to peep
into the old and new laws which are available to the aid of
a common man and can be used as a right when they are
in distress and in mid of nowhere. The study is based on
secondary data. The objective is to make every individual
aware of basic legal rights available to him. The author
has tried to cover the information regarding those rights
in the form of law which are used in the daily chores of
life, keeping in mind that their knowledge will make
managing his own affairs easy in personal or professional
life.

Keywords:
Amendments, rights, common man
People interpret things either on the basis of their basic
knowledge or on the basis of their area of expertise like
Scientists, Sociologists, Legal Jurists, Professionals and
students each have their own understanding and definition
of Law. For scientists Laws are the proved conclusions
of experiments undertaken, for sociologists Law is an
agent of social control confirming certain social behavior
and punishing other deviance while for the legal
fraternity Laws are stringent rules owing origin from
customs, precedents or legislations which upholds the
condition of justice in the society.
But it is ironical to know that , Yet again, to some law
and justice are synonyms- two sides of a same coin, the
cause and the effect. Law is the tool by which Justice is
preserved. And here arises the Question, For Whom? And
the answer lies in the saying Law exists on purpose of
Common Man.
The abstract terminology to be defined here is Common
Man. So who is a common man? A common man is what
you see in the mirror, it is any individual living in the
society coming from diverse economic background, race,
ethnicity, religion or even region. This individual is
provided with certain rights, which may be legal, social or

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even political, his only duty is respecting the rights

provided to others, his only insecurity is protecting his
own rights.
But at times this simple duty and insecurity can result in a
lifetime of fight. The same innocent soul who abides by
the law to protect himself and his loved ones can turn
vulnerable when wronged or cheated. However it must be
remembered that the law never cheats, it is the law maker
who at times bend, beat and worse breaks the rules to suit
his/her own selfish needs. Therefore the same common
man, who is the law-maker, is also the law abider and at
times the law breaker.
Thus the true vitality of law and justice should always be
evaluated in the context of their effectiveness in a
common mans world.
As soon as an individual is born he has some rights, these
rights are of different types like natural rights, moral
rights, legal rights, civil rights, positive rights, negative
rights are some of them to be mentioned. India is
considered as one of the youngest nations in world as 50%
of its population is less than 25 yrs. These youngsters will
play crucial roles in the coming years by working as
Lawyers, doctors, engineers, executives, managers,
diplomats, politicians etc. To survive in these tough times
all of us should at least know some basic rights, to make
survival easier. Its knowledge will not only prove
beneficial to us but to all those around us. As for every
Indian problem like cheating, forgery, mischief,
concealment of facts, harassment, assault and fraud has
become issues of common parlance. Corruption has
eroded every layer of our system. It has grown because
majority of our population is ignorant of law. Though the
literacy rate was 66% in 2006, but still 380 million people
in the country are illiterate. With the making of Acts like
Right To Information 2005, Consumer Protection Act
1986, Human Rights Act, Domestic Violence Act 1960
etc. It seems that Indian legislature is in fact one of the
most vivacious legislatures in the world but the irony is
that, still the common man is at cross roads. The reason is
quiet obvious the laws are passed and made by legislature
but the common man for whom it is made are still at
lurch, ignorant and totally unaware of all rights, liberties,
protection and defense available to them and their life.
Indian legislature caters to anticipate and make laws on all

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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)

Volume 2, No. 8, August 2013

ISSN: 2319-4421

possible issues and problems which may arise in near

future. Being a scholar of law this is my small effort to
make my countrymen aware of some common legal rights
available to them.

by words spoken or written or by signs causes harm to the

reputation of any person can be punished by the court.
The imputation should hurt the moral or intellectual
character in the society.

The most happening to come up is In the Right to

Information Act 2005 where every ordinary man has a
right to get any information from any public office. The
information should be in the form of record, memo, email, document, advice, press release, circular, order, log
book, report, paper, and sample data can be taken from the
concerned department. The department should be a
government department or a department aided or
controlled by a government. Information can be taken
from Lucknow Development Authority, electricity
department, roadways, Public Service Commission, Union
Public Service Commission, passport department, delivery
of gas cylinder, ration document etc. The process of
taking information is too simple an application has to be
written to the public information officer of the concerned
department along with the payment of nominal fees of Rs.
10 by check or demand draft. After passing of this Act a
public information officer (PIO) has been appointed in
every public office. The PIO is bound to provide
information within 30 days of the filing of the date of
application. In case of information concerning life and
liberty the information should be given within 48 hours.
This right to information is a fundamental right now and
nobody can deny it as far it is in the ambit of the Act.

According to CRPC 1973 if any person is arrested by

police he has a right to know the reasons of arrest and the
right to inform his friends or relatives about his arrest
within 24 hours (section 57). If he has no legal hands he
also has a right to get a lawyer at the expense of state to
defend his case.

One of the oldest Acts known to us is Indian penal code

1860 in the Indian legal fraternity which gives immense
rights to a common man. These are known as rights of
private defence. If any harm is caused by one person to
another for the protection of his own body, others body or
his property he would not be punished by law. But there is
a condition added with is right, that this right is available
only when he has no time or resource to take the help of
public authorities. Section 96-106 IPC gives the defense
to a common man. If somebody enters your house or
dwelling place to cause damage to your life, your friends
or relatives or to their property whether movable or
immovable you can defend yourself or others by causing
some harm to the offender. If the offender tries to cause
any of these offences like assault, grievous hurt, rape or
gratify unnatural lust, kidnapping or abduction or tries to
confine the person in four walls the victim can cause death
of the person to protect himself in case of the above
mentioned offences. A grievous hurt means a wound
which would take more than 20 days to heal up. The right
to cause harm to the offender is also available in IPC if the
offender tries to put the dwelling house on fire, or tries to
enter your house at night to cause robbery or dacoity. If
any person causes annoyance to others by doing any
obscene act by singing, reciting or uttering any obscene
song or word at public place he can be punished for 3
months with fine. Section 4 of IPC says that if any person

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Consumer Protection Act 1986 has also changed the

nature of marketing and selling world. It has made
consumer the king. Earlier when the goods were once
bought the buyer had no grievance redressal cell. Even if
the goods were defective or not working its replacement
was an impossible task. But with the passage of this Act
the consumers have got a platform to solve their entire
problem. It not only replaces the goods, repairs them,
provides compensation in case of losses. The Act not only
covers remedies for FMCG and durable goods but it also
has effect in even services like electricity, gas supply,
institutes, banks, telecom, negligence by hospitals and
doctors is also covered under this Act.
Next to be known is Indian constitution, which is
considered as one of the bulkiest constitution in the world.
Article 19 and Article 21 of the constitution gives
enormous rights to citizens as well as non-citizens. Article
19 gives six types of freedoms to citizens of India like
freedom of speech and expression, to form assembly, form
associations, of movement, to reside & settle in any part
of India. Article 21 says that no person shall be deprived
of his personal life and liberty except according to
procedure established by law. This means that every
citizen of India has a right to live his life freely and with
dignity. Any unauthorized intrusion in life of an
individual is violation of personal liberty. Article 20
safeguards persons accused of crimes against double
jeopardy. No person shall be punished and prosecuted for
the same offence more than once .Article 22 gives right to
the arrested person to be informed of grounds of his arrest,
the right to consult a lawyer, to be produced before
magistrate in 24 hrs.etc
We also have Specific Relief Act 1963 which gives us as
speedy redressal of problems in some very unusual
circumstances when the victim finds him/her helpless.
Section 5 & Sec 6 of Specific Relief Act 1963 says that if
any person is dispossessed without his consent of
immoveable property in an unlawful manner may by filing
a suit recover possession.Sec 5 provides for ejectment on
the basis of title (ownership) while Sec 6 gives remedy
without establishing title and the suit must be filed within
6 months of dispossession .Specific relief Act also gives
relief by passing injunctions. Injunction order can be there

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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)

Volume 2, No. 8, August 2013

taken by the plaintiff if he is not allowed to enjoy the

property he owns, when there is breach of patent right,
copyright, trade mark, continuing trespass, for breach of
easementary rights, wrongful exclusion from affairs of
partnership etc.
Indian legislature gives immense powers to citizens by
making various other Acts like Transfer of Property Act
1882, Negotiable Instrument Act 1881, civil Procedure
Code 1908, Easement Act 1882, Domestic Violence Act
2005, Cyber laws, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Specific
Relief Act, Indian Successions Act Personal laws etc.
The last two decades have witnessed a significant social
movement aimed at reforming the legal system. Massive
amounts of governmental and foundation aid have been
made ava11:tble to institutions, such as the police,
prisons, legal services and therapeutic and educational
agencies, to expand their capacities, broaden services, and
develop new alternatives for coping with disputes.
Whether all these actions actually lead to improvements
remains problematic, as more often than not the problems
tackled are rooted in the structure of society while the
elations build upon existing pillars of these structures.
Still, the problems are serious and efforts significant.

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ISSN: 2319-4421

The right exercise of any law depends upon a reasonable

level of education, sufficient information of the situation
"prevailing in the country and a critical appreciation of the
atmosphere. Perhaps the common-man has not yet got this
'advantage but it would be proper to take notice of the
situation now.
Though we have entered the knowledge era but lack of
legal knowledge among masses is still a sour truth. It is
the duty of the social thinkers, academicians, researchers,
government and the educated class to help in uplifting the
ignorant and the less knowledgeable ones to a better life
by teaching them their basic legal rights.

REFERENCES:
[1] A Guide to RTI A G Khan, The Milli Gazette
[2] Mercantile Law- N.D. Kapoor, Sultan Chand &
sons
[3] Bare Act of IPC, 1860
[4] Bare Act of CRPC
[5] Bare Act on Specific Relief Act, 1963
[6] Indian Constitution Bare Act
[7] www.indiankanoon.org
[8] www.legalservicesindia.com

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