Importance of fundamental duties

Gist of important judgments related to Fundamental duties

1. IMPORTANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Dr. Uday Shankar SUBMITTED BY Pankaj Tyagi 14IP60022     RAJIV GANDHI SCHOOL OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW IIT KHARAGPUR

2. Content Origin of Fundamental Duties Fundamental Duties Utility of Fundamental Duties  Judgements on Fundamental Duties Conclusion

3. Origin of Fundamental Duties Even before the inclusion of Article 51A, Hedge J. in Chandra Bhawan v State of Mysore (1969) 3 SCC 84 held that ‘[ i ]t is a fallacy to think that under our Constitution there are only rights and no duties. Provisions of Part IV enable the legislatures and the Government to impose various duties on the citizens.’ During the national emergency Indira Gandhi constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of Sardar Swaran Singh to study the question of amending the constitution in the light of past experiences.

4. Fundamental Duties In India The Fundamental Duties of citizens were added to the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, upon the recommendations of the Sardar   Swaran Singh Committee that was constituted by the government earlier that year. Originally ten in number, the Fundamental Duties were increased to eleven by the 86th Amendment in 2002, which added a duty on every parent or guardian to ensure that their child or ward was provided opportunities for education between the ages of six and fourteen years

5. Utility of Fundamental Duties However, like the Directive Principles, these are: Non-justifiable, without any legal sanction in case of their violation or non-compliance. There is reference to such duties in international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 51A brings the Indian Constitution into conformity with these treaties

6. Judgments on Fundamental Duties Cases Cited Judicial Pronouncements M.C.Mehta (2) V. Union of India (1983) under article 51A (g) it is the duty of the central government Dr. Dasarathi vs. State of Andhra Pradesh(1985) under article 51A (j) of the Constitution, we all owe a duty to ourselves AIIMS Student Union vs. AIIMS ( 2001) Fundamental duties, as defined in Article 51A, are not made enforceable by a writ of court just as the fundamental rights are, but it cannot be lost sight of that duties in Part IVA - Article 51A are prefixed by the same word fundamental which was prefixed by the founding fathers of the Constitution to rights in Part III. 

7. Judgments continue… Cases Cited Judicial Pronouncements Rangnath Misra vs. Union of India & Others (2003) It is the obligation of the Government of India to educate the citizens in the matter of fundamental duties Government of India vs. George Philip (2007) The courts should not pass orders which instead of achieving underlying spirit and object of part IV A of the Constitution has tendency to negate or destroy the same

8. Justice Verma Committee Recommendations Duty to Vote at elections, actively participate in the democratic process of governance and Tax Payment. Spread Awareness about Fundamental duties Right of Minorities and fellow citizens respected. Duty of industrial organizations to provide education to children of their employees. .

9. Conclusions On the basis of different judicial interpretation it can be conclude that Fundamental duties are not only for the citizens of the country but these duties also applicable on the state. Fundamental duties are enforceable when they supplement the reading of Fundamental Rights, but independent enforceability is not there.

10. CONT … 3. In particular, no democratic polity can ever succeed where the citizens are not willing to be active participants in the process of governance by assuming responsibilities and discharging citizenship duties and coming forward to give their best to the country. 4. The true Importance of Fundamental duties can only be realise when the enforceability in its implementation and awareness will takes place through a suitable legislation.

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