What are exceptions to fundamental rights?
Q. Which of the following are considered exceptions to Fundamental Rights?
1) 31A
2) 31B
3) 31C- Published on 21 Feb 17a. 1, 3
b. 1, 2
c. 2, 3
d. All of the above
ANSWER: All of the above
- Article 31A - Saving of Laws Providing for Acquisition of Estates, etc. (Added by the 1st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1951 and amended by 4th, 17th and 44th Amendments).
- Article 31A saves five categories of laws from being challenged and invalidated on the ground of contravention of the fundamental rights conferred by Article 14 and Article 19.
They are related to agricultural land reforms, industry and commerce and include the following -
1. Acquisition of estates and related rights by the State;
2. Taking over the management of properties by the State;
3. Amalgamation of corporations;
4. Extinguishment or modification of rights of directors or shareholders of corporations; and
5. Extinguishment or modification of mining leases.
- Article 31A does not immunize a state law from judicial review unless it has been reserved for the president’s consideration and has received his assent.
- This Article also provides for the payment of compensation at market value when the state acquires the land held by a person under his personal cultivation and the land is within the statutory ceiling limit.
- Article 31B - Validation of Certain Acts and Regulations (Article 31B and 9th Schedule added by 1st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1951).
- Article 31B saves the acts and regulations included in the 9th Schedule from being challenged and invalidated on the ground of contravention of any of the fundamental rights.
- Scope of Article 31B is wider than Article 31A.
- Article 31B immunizes any law included in the 9th Schedule from all the fundamental rights and not just 5 categories in Article 31A.
- However, in January 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that there could not be any blanket immunity from judicial review of laws included in the 9th Schedule.
- The court held that judicial review is a ‘basic feature’ of the constitution and laws placed under the Ninth Schedule after April 24, 1973, are open to challenge in court if they violated fundamentals rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 or the ‘basic structure’ of the constitution.
- It was on April 24, 1973, that the Supreme Court first propounded the doctrine of ‘basic structure’ or ‘basic features’ of the constitution in its landmark verdict in the Kesavananda Bharati Case.
- Originally (in 1951), the 9th Schedule contained only 13 acts and regulations but at present (in 2013) their number is 282.
- Article 31C - Saving of Laws Giving Effect to Certain Directive Principles
Article 31C, as inserted by the 25th Amendment Act of 1971, contained the following two provisions :
(a) No law that seeks to implement the socialistic directive principles specified in Article 39(b) or (c) shall be void on the ground of contravention of the fundamental rights conferred by Article 14 or Article 19.
(b) No law containing a declaration that it is for giving effect to such policy shall be questioned in any court on the ground that it does not give effect to such a policy.
In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court declared the above 2nd provision of Article 31C as unconstitutional and invalid on the ground that judicial review is a basic feature of the Constitution and hence, cannot be taken away.
However, the above 1st provision of Article 31C was held to be constitutional and valid.
The 42nd Amendment Act (1976) extended the scope of the above 1stprovision of Article 31C by including within its protection any law to implement any of the directive principles specified in Par tIV of the Constitution and not merely in Article 39 (b) or (c).
However, this extension was declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Minerva Mills case (1980).
