INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT ROHTAK

Indian Legal Systems & Methods-2

GAURAV MISHRA
IPL01043

SECTION-A

Q1.
During India’s existence under the British dominion, there were several laws and acts passed by
the British administration. The Regulating Act of 1773 was viewed as a foundation stone set by
the East India Company to facilitate it's smooth running in the Indian Sub-Continent. Further, the
Indian Independence Act marked the end of British control in India which was given effect on 15
August 1947.
This step was believed to be the first step by the British to oversee the business of the East India
Company in India. The governor of Bengal was recognized as the governor-general. Warren
Hastings became the first governor-general of Bengal. The executive council of the
governor-general was constituted, which included 4 members and there existed no separate
legislative council.
Supreme Court was formed by the company in Fort William (Calcutta) as the supreme court in
1774. The act barred the servants of the corporation from receiving bribes or engaging in any
trading activity.
This act largely makes a line between the commercial and political activity of the company. The
court of directors was assigned the responsibility to decide on the commercial activities and the
board of control had to authorise the political affairs of the corporation. This act further lowered
the strength of the council to 3 members. The act placed Indian Affairs directly under the
supervision of the British Government. The Company’s dominion under India came to be known
as “The British possession in India”. Governor’s council was constituted in Bombay and Madras.
The Charter Legislation of 1813 dissolved the company’s monopoly which existed over the
Indian trade, after the enactment of this act, trading with India was open to all British subjects.

Charter Act of 1833 - The Governor-General of Bengal was promoted to the rank of
Governor-General of India. Lord William Bentick became the first Governor-General of India.
The Charter Act of 1833 was seen as the first step towards centralisation in British India. The
legislation took away the legislative powers of Bombay and Madras provinces and the central
legislature was placed in place. The Act brought an end to East India Company as a commercial
organisation and converted it into a completely administrative body.

Charter Act of 1853 - There was a separation brought in the Legislative and Executive powers
of the Governor-General’s council. 6 members composed of the central legislative council, out of
which 4 were selected by the temporary administration of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra. It
introduced open competition as a basis for recruitment of civil servants. Indian Civil Service
opened for everybody.

Government of India Act 1858 replaced the rule of corporation by the rule of crown. The
powers which were embodied on the British Crown were to be exercised by the secretary of state
of India. The secretary of State was further helped by 15 members. Lord Canning became the
first Viceroy of India.

Government of India Act 1913 act is generally known as Montague-Chelmsford Reforms. The
scheme of dual governance- Dyarchy was introduced. Under the Dyarchy system, the provisional
subjects were separated into two sections – Reserved and Transferred. The Governor was not
liable to the legislate council over the reserved issues. The act also introduced the Bicameral
legislature in the centre. The Legislative Assembly had a strength of 140 members and the
Legislative Council’s strength was 60 members. The act also brought direct elections.\sIndian
Independence Act of 1945 is believed to be the last act that was laid down in India under British
rule. It declared India as an independent and sovereign state. The act established accountable
governments both at the Centre and States. It granted dual duties to the Constituent Assembly
which were - Legislative and Constituent functions.

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Q3.
With great power comes great responsibility, popular line right?, but have you ever heard of
something akin to this, with rights come duties. But this wasn’t the thought of our constituent
assembly, they had given us tremendous rights, but they didn’t talk about our duties towards the
State, albeit they had talked about duties of the state in the form of Directive Principles of State
Policy.
In 1976, we got to know about fundamental duties when these were included by the 42nd
Amendment Act upon the proposal of the Swaran Singh Committee. The idea of Fundamental Duties
has been drawn from the Constitution of the USSR. Till then, Japan was only democratic state that
included the Duties of the citizen. It was the opinion of the socialist administration that both rights
and obligations are of equal importance.
The Indian constitution states the fundamental obligations in Part IV–A of the Indian constitution.
The Fundamental Duties are defined as all citizens' moral responsibility to contribute to the
promotion of patriotism and the preservation of India's unity. Individuals and the nation are both
influenced by the duties stipulated in Part IV–A of the Constitution.
Fundamental obligations are the essential norms that a citizen should adhere to freely as he owes the
same to the society and country. These are the ideals that should be implemented in the daily lives of
the population. Citizens are responsible for their basic conduct towards the society they live in. The
article explores the significance of Fundamental Duties under the Constitution of India.
In 1976, the Congress Party set up the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee to offer suggestions about
fundamental obligations. Government enacted the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976. Part
IV-A which consists of only one Article 51 A was added to the Constitution by 42nd Amendment,
1976. This Article stated the eleven primary tasks for the citizens. The Fundamental Duties of the
Indian Constitution are inspired by the Constitution of the USSR.

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Q4.

The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) has been incorporated from the Irish constitution
and enumerated in Part IV of the Indian Constitution. The purpose underpinning the DPSP is to
construct a ‘Welfare State’. In other words, the purpose behind the inclusion of DPSP is not
increasing political democracy rather, it’s about establishing social and economic democracy in
the state. These are some basic principles or instructions or guidelines for the government while
developing laws/policies of the country and in executing them.

According to Dr B R Ambedkar, these notions are ‘novel features’ of the Constitution. DPSP
works as a guideline for the state and should be taken into consideration before coming up with
some new policy or any law. But no one may compel the State to analyze and follow all that
which is mentioned in DPSP, as DPSP is not justiciable.
Article 36 of Part IV defines the term “State” as the one, that needs to keep in mind all the DPSP
before developing any policy or law for the country. The definition of “State” in part IV will be
the same as that in Part III unless the circumstances otherwise support a revision in it. In Article
37 the nature of DPSP has been defined. DPSPs are non-justiciable.
They were deemed non-justifiable noting that the State may not have enough resources to
implement all of them or it may even come up with some better and more progressive legislation.
It comprises of all the values which the State should follow and keep in mind while creating
policies and passing laws for the country.
The DPSPs are basically a collection of instructions and orders, which were issued under the
Government of India Act, 1935, to the Governors of the colonies of India.
It constitutes highly extensive economic, social and political rules or principles and tips for a
modern democratic State that aimed towards inculcating the ideals of justice, liberty, equality
and fraternity as mentioned in the preamble. The Preamble comprises of all the objectives that
need to be reached by the Constitution.
Adding DPSP was all about creating a “welfare state” that works for the individuals of the
country which was absent during the colonial era.

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SECTION-B

Q1.
Fundamental rights are the basic rights guaranteed to the residents of any country. These rights
ensure that the people of a country live a life of dignity and respect and that no one is deprived of
the basic elements of life. The fundamental rights were fashioned after the United Nations'
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was established in 1948, as well as other
succeeding treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The six domains of Fundamental Rights are Right to Freedom, Right to Equality, Right against
Exploitation, Right to Religious Freedom, Cultural and Educational Rights, and Right to
Constitutional Remedies. Part III of the Indian Constitution (Articles 12 to 35) covers these
Fundamental Rights. Untouchability, a long-standing affliction in Hindu society, has been
formally abolished.

Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution provide an effective framework for upholding these
rights. These rights will be useless if they are not effectively enforced. The judiciary guarantees
that these rights are enforced properly and expeditiously.
A person can sue the government for violation of their fundamental rights, but only if the
government sets some appropriate constraints in the interests of social control. The grounds for
establishing these restrictions on Fundamental Rights are expressed expressly in the Constitution,
and as a result, these rights can only be curtailed to the level that is stipulated.

In essence, these rights constitute constraints on the state's legislative and executive branches. No
law or executive action may be regarded legal if it infringes on a fundamental right. In this
perspective, the Constitution defines a zone of individual liberty and freedom from government
intrusion.

The Supreme Court's newest verdict, affecting fundamental rights, was The Secretary, Ministry
of Defense v. Babita Puniya & Ors. The Supreme Court ruled on the Permanent Commission's
necessity and the validity of the rules released in 2019. The administration stated that such
induction would cause management challenges, citing maternity and child care leave as
examples. All of those remarks, according to the court, are built on sex stereotypes about socially
recognised gender roles that discriminate against women. The court highlighted its point of view
by identifying some female officers in the Indian Army who have gotten honors for their service.
As a result, the Supreme Court decided that the state's action violated Article 14 of the
Constitution, and ordered that all women officials in the Short Service Commission be given
permanent commissions regardless of their service term.
This is a key judgment that permits the constitutional guarantee to women's equality and dignity
in all spheres to be implemented.

Arnab Goswami is the petitioner in this case. This case occurred against the background of the
Palghar lynching where three persons were massacred by a mob insight of police in Maharastra.
The petitioner via his news channel questioned the involvement of Indian National Congress
President, Sonia Gandhi in the tragedy. The petitioner moved to the Supreme Court under Article
32 for the protection of his journalistic fundamental right to the freedom of speech and
expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The court observed that the practice of
journalistic freedom is at the heart of speech and expression protected by Article 19(1)(a) and
India’s rights will be safe as long as journalists may speak truth to power without any danger of
reprisal. Since the right under Article 19 is not absolute, the court noted that such right is
answerable to the legal system formed with consideration to the principles of Article 19(2). (2).
(2). On the outline, it was held that the right of a journalist under Article 19(1)(a) is no higher
than the right of the citizen to speak and express.

​The three-judge panel of Supreme Court decided the constitutional validity of section 18A of the
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act,2018 in this
case. Section 18A of the Amendment Act stated that a preliminary enquiry is not required for
registration of FIR, approval is not essential for detaining a person under the Act and anticipatory
bail cannot be given for an offence committed under the Act. It was challenged on the basis that
the clause is directly opposed to the judgement issued under Dr Subhash Kashinath Mahajan v.
State of Maharashtra. It was further asserted that the absolute restriction on anticipatory bail
breaches the personal liberty provided under Article 21.

However, the Supreme Court through its majority ruling confirmed the constitutional validity of
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act,2018. By this,
they nullified the effect of Dr Subash Kashinath case. In fact, the 2018 Amendment Act was
deemed to be a discouraging factor in actions against SC and ST which enables such people to
live with the right to dignity protected under Article 21. Regarding anticipatory bail, it was held
that it is neither a statutory right nor a basic right under Article 21. The explanation offered is
that such positive discrimination is essential in order to offset the deplorable state of SC and ST
in the country.

Many major legal disputes have been fought in the realm of Fundamental Rights since the
Constitution's establishment, and as a result, a large body of noteworthy case law has emerged in
this area. Overall, the Supreme Court has determined that the Fundamental Rights Act should be
applied freely and liberally rather than narrowly. As the Supreme Court of India noted out in
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India.

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