LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING

COLLEGE
Latha Madhavan Nagar,Kidaripatti Madurai – 625301.

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

ENGINEERING

GE084– HUMAN RIGHS

IV Year - VII Semester

(2020 –2021 ODD)
Regulation 2017

PREPARED BY

N.PRIYADHARSHINI AP/EEE

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 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND PRACTICE

UNIT – I : CONCEPT

1. Historical Development and concept of Human Right

2. Human Right in India ancient, medieval and modern concept of rights

3. Human Right in Western tradition

4. Concept of natural law and natural rights

5. Human Right in legal tradition: International Law and National Law

6. UN and Human Rights

7. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1980) - individual and group rights

8. Covenant on political and Civil Rights (1966)

MEANING OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Human beings are rational beings. They by virtue of their being human possess certain basic, inherent
and inalienable rights which are commonly known as human rights. Human Rights are defined as all
those rights which are essential for the protection and maintenance of dignity of individuals and
create conditions in which every human being can develop his personality to the fullest extent. Human
rights become operative with the birth of an individual. These are moral claims which are inalienable
and inherent in all individuals by virtue of their humanity alone, irrespective of caste, colour, creed,
and place of birth, sex, cultural difference or any other consideration. Because of their immense
significance to human beings; human rights are also sometimes referred to as fundamental rights,
basic rights, inherent rights natural and birth rights. They are not created by any legislature
through legislation and are not subject to amendment.

DEFINITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Dr. Justice Durga Das Basu defines-

“Human rights are those minimal rights, which every individual must have against the State, or
other public authority, by virtue of his being a ‘member of human family’ irrespective of any
consideration.”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948, defines human rights as-
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“Rights derived from the inherent dignity of the human person.”

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 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Section 2 (1)(d) of the Protection of Human Rights Act,1993 defines "human rights" as-

"Human Rights are the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual
guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by Courts in
India".

CHARACTERISTICS AND NATURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Human Rights are Inalienable - Human rights are conferred on an individual due to the very
nature of his existence. They are inherent in all individuals irrespective of their caste, creed,
religion, sex and nationality. Human rights are conferred to an individual even after his death.
The different rituals in different religions bear testimony to this fact.

2. Human Rights are Essential and Necessary - In the absence of human rights, the moral,
physical, social and spiritual welfare of an individual is impossible. Human rights are also
essential as they provide suitable conditions for material and moral upliftment of the people.

3. Human Rights are in connection with human dignity – To treat another individual with
dignity irrespective of the fact that the person is a male or female, rich or poor etc. is
concerned with human dignity. For eg. In 1993, India has enacted a law that forbids the
practice of carrying human excreta. This law is called Employment of Manual Scavengers and
Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act.

4. Human Rights are Irrevocable - Human rights are irrevocable. They cannot be taken away by
any power or authority because these rights originate with the social nature of man in the
society of human beings and they belong to a person simply because he is a human being. As
such human rights have similarities to moral rights.

5. Human Rights are Necessary for the fulfillment of purpose of life - Human life has a
purpose. The term “human right” is applied to those conditions which are essential for the
fulfillment of this purpose. No government has the power to curtail or take away the rights
which are sacrosanct, inviolable and immutable.

6. Human Rights are Universal – Human rights are not a monopoly of any privileged class of
people. Human rights are universal in nature, without consideration and without exception.
The values such as divinity, dignity and equality which form the basis of these rights are
inherent in human nature.
7. Human Rights are never absolute – Man is a social animal and he lives in a civic society,
which always put certain restrictions on the enjoyment of his rights and freedoms. Human
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

rights as such are those limited powers or claims, which are contributory to the common good
and which are recognized and guaranteed by the State, through its laws to the individuals. As
such each right has certain limitations.

8. Human Rights are Dynamic - Human rights are not static, they are dynamic. Human rights go
on expanding with socio-eco-cultural and political developments within the State. Judges have
to interpret laws in such ways as are in tune with the changed social values. For eg. The right to
be cared for in sickness has now been extended to include free medical treatment in public
hospitals under the Public Health Scheme, free medical examinations in schools, and the
provisions for especially equipped schools for the physically handicapped.

9. Rights as limits to state power - Human rights imply that every individual has legitimate
claims upon his or her society for certain freedom and benefits. So human rights limit the
state’s power. These may be in the form of negative restrictions, on the powers of the State,
from violating the inalienable freedoms of the individuals, or in the nature of demands on the
State, i.e. positive obligations of the State. For eg. Six freedoms that are enumerated under the
right to liberty forbid the State from interfering with the individual.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Even though the origin of human rights is ancient, the international concern with human
rights may be said to be of comparatively recent origin. The United Nations Charter marks the advent
of systematic human rights protection within the International system.The idea of human rights is as
old as humanity, its systematic proclamation and declaration are more recent.

The origin of human rights can be traced back to the times of ancient Greeks. The fact
that human rights are recognized as natural rights of man is illustrated by a Greek play
“Antigone”. In this play, Sophocles describes that Antigone’s brother, while he was
rebelling against the king, was killed and his burial was prohibited by the King Creon. In
disobedience of the order Antigone buried her brother. When she was arrested for
violating the order she pleaded that she had acted in accordance with the ‘immutable,
unwritten laws of heaven’ which even the king could not
override.
The world’s first bill of human rights was discovered on a clay tablet dating back from the
reign of Cyrus the Great (555- 529 BC).

The documents which form the historical foundation of modern human rights jurisprudence
are the English Bill of Rights (1688), the American Declaration of Independence (1776) and the
French Declaration of Rights of Man (1789).The legal process in the universality of human rights
effectively commenced with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (UDHR).
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class – VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

In 539 B.C., the armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia, conquered the city of
Babylon. But it was his next actions that marked a major advance for man. He freed the slaves,
declared that all people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial equality.
These and other decrees were recorded on a baked-clay cylinder in the Akkadian language with
cuneiform script. Known today as the ‘Cyrus Cylinder’, this ancient record has now been recognized as
the world’s first charter of human rights. It is translated into all six official languages of the United
Nations and its provisions parallel the first four Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Spread of Human Rights - From Babylon, the idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece
and eventually Rome. There the concept of “natural law” arose, in observation of the fact that people
tended to follow certain unwritten laws in the course of life, and Roman law was based on rational
ideas derived from the nature of things.

Documents asserting individual rights, such as the Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Right
(1628), the US Constitution (1787), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
(1789), and the US Bill of Rights (1791) are the written precursors to many of today’s human rights
documents.

THE MAGNA CARTA (1215)

The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” was arguably the most significant early influence on the
extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today in the English-speaking
world.
In 1215, after King John of England violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which
England had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which enumerates what
later came to be thought of as human rights. Among them was the right of the church to be free from
governmental interference, the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be
protected from excessive taxes. It established the right of widows who owned property to choose not
to remarry, and established principles of due process and equality before the law. It also contained
provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct. Widely viewed as one of the most important
legal documents in the development of modern democracy, the Magna Carta was a crucial turning
point in the struggle to establish freedom.

THE PETITION OF RIGHT (1628)

The next recorded milestone in the development of human rights was the Petition of Right,
produced in 1628 by the English Parliament and sent to Charles I as a statement of civil liberties.
Refusal by Parliament to finance the king’s unpopular foreign policy had caused his government to
exact forced loans and to quarter troops in subjects’ houses as an economy measure. Arbitrary arrest
and imprisonment for opposing these policies had produced in Parliament a violent hostility to
Charles and to George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham.

The Petition of Right, initiated by Sir Edward Coke, was based upon earlier statutes and charters and
asserted four principles:
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

• No taxes may be levied without consent of Parliament,

• No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation of the right of habeas
corpus),
• No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry, and
• Martial law may not be used in time of peace.

UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF

INDEPENDENCE (1776)

On July 4, 1776, the United States Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. Its
primary author, Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Declaration as a formal explanation of why Congress had
voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the
American Revolutionary War, and as a statement announcing that the thirteen American Colonies
were no longer a part of the British Empire. Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in
several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadsheet that was widely distributed and read
to the public.

Philosophically, the Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the right of
revolution. These ideas became widely held by Americans and spread internationally as well,
influencing in particular the French Revolution.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA (1978) & BILL OF RIGHTS (1791)

Written during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, the Constitution of the United States of
America is the fundamental law of the US federal system of government and the landmark document
of the Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in use and defines the principal
organs of government and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens.

The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—came into effect on
December 15, 1791, limiting the powers of the federal government of the United States and protecting
the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors in American territory.

The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear
arms, the freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition. It also prohibits unreasonable search and
seizure, cruel and unusual punishment and compelled self-incrimination. Among the legal protections
it affords, the Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of
religion and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property
without due process of law. In federal criminal cases it requires indictment by a grand jury for any
capital offense, or infamous crime, guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial jury in the
district in which the crime occurred, and prohibits double jeopardy.
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF THE CITIZEN (1789)

In 1789, the people of France brought about the abolishment of the absolute monarchy and set
the stage for the establishment of the first French Republic. Just six weeks after the storming of the
Bastille, and barely three weeks after the abolition of feudalism, the Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly as the first step toward writing a
constitution for the Republic of France.

The Declaration proclaims that all citizens are to be guaranteed the rights of “liberty, property,
security, and resistance to oppression.” It argues that the need for law derives from the fact that “...the
exercise of the natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members of the
society the enjoyment of these same rights.” Thus, the Declaration sees law as an “expression of the
general will, “intended to promote this equality of rights and to forbid “only actions harmful to the
society.”

THE FIRST GENEVA CONVENTION (1864)

In 1864, sixteen European countries and several American

states attended a conference in Geneva, at the invitation of
the Swiss Federal Council, on the initiative of the Geneva
Committee. The diplomatic conference was held for the
purpose of adopting a convention for the
The main principles laid down in the Convention and maintained by the later Geneva
Conventions provided for the obligation to extend care without discrimination to wounded and sick
military personnel and respect for and marking of medical personnel transports and equipment with
the distinctive sign of the red cross on a white background.

HUMAN RIGHT IN INDIA- ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL AND MODERN CONCEPT OF RIGHTS

India got its independence in the year 1947, just a year before the United Declaration of
Human Rights was adopted. The founding fathers of Indian constitution were all aware that India’s
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

freedom struggle had taken place in the context of the demand for basic human rights. Yet economic
backwardness of the country would make it impossible to immediately satisfy all the aspirations of
people. So, they adopted a pragmatic approach. They described certain rights as “fundamental rights”
and laid down certain other rights as fundamental duties of a citizen were also enumerated.

The Supreme Court of India is the guarantor of the rights according to the Constitution. The
court takes into account fundamental duties while interpreting the constitutional right. Human
rights in India is an issue complicated by the country's large size, its tremendous diversity, its status as
a developing country and a sovereign, secular, democratic, republic.
All human rights are indivisible, whether they are civil and political rights, such as the right to
life, equality before the law and freedom of expression; economic, social and cultural rights, such as
the rights to work, social security and education, or collective rights, such as the rights to development
and self-determination, are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent. The improvement of one
right facilitates advancement of the others. Likewise, the deprivation of one right adversely affects the
others.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN INDIAN CONSTITUTION

The various civil and political human rights and also the economic, social and cultural human
rights have been guaranteed by the Constitution of India and re-christened as the “Fundamental
Rights”.

The provisions of Part III of the Constitution (Articles 12 – 35) enshrine the Fundamental
Rights, which are more elaborate than those of any other existing written constitutions dealing with
Fundamental Rights. The constitution as amended by Forty fourth Amendment Act, 1979, classifies
Fundamental Rights under the six categories. The fundamental rights are elaborated as follows:

Article 12 defines the “State” as-

State includes the Government and Parliament of India and the Government and the
Legislature of each of the States and all local or other authorities within the territory of India or
under the control of the Government of India.”

Article13 lays down certain restriction on violating fundamental right. The important significance of
this provision lies in the fact that it makes explicit provision for judicial review of legislative
enactments and executive actions as to their conformity with guaranteed fundamental rights.

RIGHT TO EQUALITY (ARTICLES 14 – 18)

Equality before law and equal protection of law (Article 14)

Article 14 consists of two parts namely equality before law and equal protection of the laws. Equality
before law means that no individual should be given any special privilege by the state. Equal
protection of the laws means the right to equal treatment in equal circumstances. Equality before the
law also means treating unequal unequally. For example, the Supreme Court has recommended that
the ‘creamy layer’ of the Other Backward Classes’ (OBC) should not be given the benefit of reservation.
 Prohibition of discrimination on ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
(Article15)
There are four aspects of this right mentioned in following Clauses of this Article.
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

1. Prohibition of discrimination [Article15, Clause (1)]- This article prohibits the state
from discrimination against any individual or group of individuals. The principle of
non–discrimination is based on equality and dignity.

2. Access to public places [Article15, Clause (2)]- This right provides that no citizen can
be denied access to public places, places of entertainment or the use of wells, tanks,
and roads that are maintained out of State funds.

3. Protective laws for women and children [Article15, Clause (3)]- A positive
discrimination for women and children is made in the Indian context. Thus provision
for reservation for women, free education for children etc. is provided.

4. Reservation for backward classes [Article15, Clause (4)]

The constitution recognizes the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other
Backward Classes as weaker sections of the population. It authorizes the state to make
special provisions for the advancement of these sections of the society.

 Equality of opportunity in matters of public Employment (Article16)

The aim of article 16 of Indian Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to all citizens in
employment offered by the state or its agencies. This article has five clauses

1. Equality of opportunity [Article 16, Clause (1)]- Wherein it is stated that equality of
opportunity should be given to all citizens in matters relating to employment or
appointment to any office under the state.

2. Prohibition of discrimination [Article 16, Clause (2)]

This clause prohibits discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste,
sex, descent, and place of birth, residence or any of them in respect of any employment
of the state.

3. Residential requirements [Article 16, Clause (3)]

It allows the Parliament to make laws that require residential (domicile)
requirements in a State for public employment or appointment.

4. Protective laws [Article 16, Clause (4)]

This Clause allows the Parliament to make protective laws for appointment of
backward classes of citizens who are not adequately represented in the services of the
state.

5. Preference to certain persons in religious institutions [Article 16, Clause (5)]

This clause prescribes that the Parliament can make laws which require only a
person professing a particular religion to be appointed in a body or institution of that
religion. For example, a Hindu can only be appointed as a priest in a Hindu temple.

Abolition of Untouchability (Article17)

This is a unique article that has been incorporated only in the Constitution of India.
Article 17 declares that not only Untouchability has been abolished but it also makes any
 practice and propagation of Untouchability in any form punishable in accordance with the law.

 Abolition of Titles (Article18)

 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class – V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

The Clause of the Article prohibits the State from conferring any title at all upon any
person. However the State is not prevented from awarding military distinctions, such as
Mahavir Chakra, Param Vir–Chakra etc. for honouring men for their acts of valour or academic
distinctions.

RIGHT TO FREEDOM (ARTICLES 19 – 22)

Article 19 (1), as amended by the Constitution (Forty Fourth)Amendment Act, 1979, guarantees
to all citizens the following six freedoms:

(a) Freedom of speech and expression

(b) Freedom of peaceful assembly
(c) Freedom of forming associations or unions
(d) Freedom of movement throughout the territory of India
(e) Freedom of residence and settlement in any part of the territory of India, and
(f) Freedom of profession, occupation, trade or business.

Article20- Protection in respect of conviction for offences

This right guarantees protection in respect of conviction for offences, to those accused of
crimes. There are three clauses to this article-

1. Protection against ex–post facto legislation – It means that a person cannot be punished
under such a law, for his actions which took place before the passage of the law.

2. Protection against double jeopardy – It says that no person shall be prosecuted and punished
for the same offence more than once.

3. Protection against self incrimination – This clause states that no person accused of an
offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

Article21- Protection of life and personal liberty

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution recognizes the right to life and personal liberty. It
provides that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure
established by law.”

Article22- Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases

The provisions of Article 22 are complimentary to those of Article 21. Article 22 has two parts;
the first part consisting of clauses (1) and (2), deals with persons, who are arrested under ordinary
criminal law and the various rights they are entitled to; and the second part consisting of the
remaining clauses (3) to (7), is concerned with persons, who are detained under a law of preventive
detention.
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

UNITED NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The United Nations (1945)

World War II had ranged from 1939 to 1945, and as the end drew near, cities throughout
Europe and Asia lay in smouldering ruins. Millions of people died, millions more were homeless or
starving. Russian forces were closing in on the remnants of German resistance in Germany’s bombed-
out capital of Berlin.
On October 24, 1945, in the aftermath of World War II, delegates from fifty countries met in
San Francisco full of optimism and hope, and with the purpose of saving future generations from the
devastation of international conflict. It was there when the United Nations came into being as an
intergovernmental organization. The goal of the United Nations Conference on International
Organization was to fashion an international body to promote peace and prevent future wars. The
ideals of the organization were stated in the preamble to its proposed charter: “We the people of the
United Nations are determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in
our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.” The Charter of the new United Nations
organization went into effect on October 24, 1945, a date that is celebrated each year as United
Nations Day.

The Charter of the United Nations established six principal bodies, including the General
Assembly, the Security Council, the International Court of Justice, and in relation to human rights,
an Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The UN Charter empowered ECOSOC to establish “commissions in economic and social fields
and for the promotion of human rights….” One of these was the United Nations Human Rights
Commission, which, under the chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt, saw to the creation of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Declaration was drafted by representatives of all regions of the world and encompassed
all legal traditions. Formally adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, it is the most
universal human rights document in existence, delineating the thirty fundamental rights that form the
basis for a democratic society.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

By 1948, the United Nations’ new Human Rights Commission had captured the world’s
attention. Under the dynamic chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt—President Franklin Roosevelt’s
widow, a human rights champion in her own and the United States delegate to the UN—the
Commission set out to draft the document that became the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Roosevelt, credited with its inspiration, referred to the Declaration as the international Magna Carta
for all mankind. It was adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.
The Member States of the United Nations pledged to work together to promote the thirty
Articles of human rights that, for the first time in history, had been assembled and codified into a
single document called “the universal declaration of human rights”. In consequence, many of these
rights, in various forms, are today a part of the constitutional laws of democratic nations.

LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE

Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

1. CLASSIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS

One classification used is the division between ‘classic’ and ‘social’ rights. ‘Classic rights’ are
often seen to require the non-intervention of the state (negative obligation), and ‘social rights’ as
requiring active intervention on the part of the state (positive obligations).

In other words, classic rights entail an obligation for the state to refrain from certain actions,
while social rights oblige it to provide certain guarantees. Lawyers often describe classic rights in
terms of a duty to achieve a given result (‘ obligation of result’) and social rights in terms of a duty to
provide the means (‘obligations of conduct’).

The evolution of international law, however, has lead to this distinction between ‘classic’ and
‘social’ rights becoming increasingly awkward. Classic rights such as civil and political rights often
require considerable investment by the state. The state does not merely have the obligation to respect
these rights, but must also guarantee that people can effectively enjoy them. Hence, the right to a fair
trial, for instance, requires well-trained judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police officers, as well as
administrative support. Another example is the organisation of elections, which also entails high costs.

On the other hand, most ‘social’ rights contain elements that require the state to abstain from
interfering with the individual’s exercise of the right. As several commentators note, the right to food
includes the right for everyone to procure their own food supply without interference; the right to
housing implies the right not to be a victim of forced eviction; the right to work encompasses the
individual’s right to choose his/her own work and also requires the state not to hinder a person from
working and to abstain from measures that would increase unemployment; the right to education
implies the freedom to establish and direct educational establishments; and the right to the highest
attainable standard of health implies the obligation not to interfere with the provision of health care.

2. CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

Civil rights

The term ‘civil rights’ is often used with reference to the rights set out in the first eighteen
articles of the UDHR, almost all of which are also set out as binding treaty norms in the ICCPR. From
this group, a further set of ‘physical integrity rights’ has been identified, which concern the right to life,
liberty and security of the person, and which offer protection from physical violence against the
person, torture and inhuman treatment, arbitrary arrest, detention, exile, slavery and servitude,
interference with one’s privacy and right of ownership, restriction of one’s freedom of movement, and
the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The difference between ‘basic rights’ and ‘physical
integrity rights’ lies in the fact that the former include economic and social rights, but do not include
rights such as protection of privacy and ownership.
 Another group of civil rights is referred to under the collective term ‘due process rights’. These
pertain, among other things, to the right to a public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal,
the ‘presumption of innocence’, freedom from double jeopardy and legal assistance.
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Political rights

In general, political rights are those set out in Articles 19 to 21 of UDHR and also codified in
the ICCPR. They include freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, the right to take
part in the government of one’s country and the right to vote and stand for election at genuine periodic
elections held by secret ballot.
Economic and social rights

The economic and social rights are listed in Articles 22 to 26 UDHR, and further developed
and set out as binding treaty norms in the ICESCR. These rights provide the conditions necessary for
prosperity and wellbeing. Economic rights refer, for example, to the right to property, the right to
work, which one freely chooses or accepts, the right to a fair wage, a reasonable limitation of working
hours, and trade union rights. Social rights are those rights necessary for an adequate standard of
living, including rights to health, shelter, food, social care, and the right to education (see Articles 6 to
14 ICESCR).
Cultural rights

The UDHR lists cultural rights in Articles 27 and 28- the right to participate freely in the
cultural life of the community, the right to share in scientific advancement and the right to the
protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic
production of which one is the author (see also Article 15 ICESCR and Article 27 ICCPR).

The alleged dichotomy between civil and political rights, and

economic, social and cultural rights

Traditionally it has been argued that there are fundamental differences between economic,
social and cultural rights, and civil and political rights. These two categories of rights have been seen
as two different concepts and their differences have been characterised as a dichotomy.

According to this view, civil and political rights are considered to be expressed in very precise
language, imposing merely negative obligations which do not require resources for their
implementation, and which therefore can be applied immediately. On the other hand, economic, social
and cultural rights are considered to be expressed in vague terms, imposing only positive obligations
conditional on the existence of resources and therefore involving a progressive realisation.

As a consequence of these alleged differences, it has been argued that civil and political rights
are justiciable whereas economic, social and cultural rights are not. In other words, this view holds
that only violations of civil and political rights can be adjudicated by judicial or similar bodies, while
economic, social and cultural rights are ‘by their nature’ non-justiciable.

Over the years, economic, social and cultural rights have been re-examined and their juridical
validity and applicability have been increasingly stressed. During the last decade, we have witnessed
the development of a large and growing body of case-law of domestic courts concerning economic,
social and cultural rights. This case-law, at the national and international level, suggests a potential
role for creative and sensitive decisions of judicial and quasi-judicial bodies with respect to these
rights.Many international forums have elaborated on the indivisibility and interdependency of human
rights. As stated in the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action: ‘All human rights are
universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated. The international community must
treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same
emphasis.’
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Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

The European Union (EU) and its member states have also made it clear on numerous
occasions that they subscribe to the view that both categories of human rights are of equal importance,
in the sense that an existence worthy of human dignity is only possible if both civil and political rights
and economic, social and cultural rights are enjoyed.
The adoption of the Optional Protocol on the 60th anniversary of the UDHR, on 10 December
2008, represents an historic advance for human rights. Firstly, economic, social and cultural rights -
historically demoted to an inferior status with limited protection - are now finally on an equal footing
with civil and political rights. Secondly, through an individual complaints procedure the meaning and
scope of these rights will become more precise, facilitating efforts to respect and guarantee their
enjoyment. Thirdly, the existence of a potential ‘remedy’ at the international level will provide an
incentive to individuals and groups to formulate some of their economic and social claims in terms of
rights. Finally, the possibility of an adverse ‘finding’ of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights will give economic, social and cultural rights salience in terms of the political concerns of
governments; which these rights largely lack at present.

3. FUNDAMENTAL AND BASIC RIGHTS

Fundamental rights are taken to mean such rights as the right to life and the inviolability of the
person. Within the UN, extensive standards have been developed which, particularly since the 1960s,
have been laid down in numerous conventions, declarations and resolutions, and which bring already
recognised rights and matters of policy which affect human development into the sphere of human
rights. Concern that a broad definition of human rights may lead to the notion of ‘violation of human
rights’ losing some of its significance has generated a need to distinguish a separate group within the
broad category of human rights. Increasingly, the terms ‘elementary’, ‘essential’, ‘core’ and
‘fundamental’ human rights are being used.
Another approach is to distinguish a number of ‘basic rights’, which should be given absolute
priority in national and international policy. These include all the rights which concern people’s
primary material and non-material needs. If these are not provided, no human being can lead a
dignified existence. Basic rights include the right to life, the right to a minimum level of security, the
inviolability of the person, freedom from slavery and servitude, and freedom from torture, unlawful
deprivation of liberty, discrimination and other acts which impinge on human dignity. They also
include freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as the right to suitable nutrition, clothing,
shelter and medical care, and other essentials crucial to physical and mental health.

4. OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS
Freedoms
Preconditions for a dignified human existence have often been described in terms of freedoms
(e.g., freedom of movement, freedom from torture and freedom from arbitrary arrest). United States
President Franklin D. Roosevelt summarised these preconditions in his famous ‘Four Freedoms
Speech’ to the United States Congress on 26 January 1941:
 Freedom of speech and expression;
 Freedom of belief (the right of every person to worship God in his own way);
 Freedom from want (economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy
peace-time life for its inhabitants); and
 Freedom from fear (world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a
thorough fashion that no nation would be able to commit an act of physical aggression
against any neighbour).
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Civil liberties
The concept of ‘civil liberties’ is commonly known, particularly in the United States, where the
American Civil Liberties Union (a non-governmental organisation) has been active since the 1920s.
Civil liberties refer primarily to those human rights which are laid down in the United States
Constitution: freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of association
and assembly, protection against interference with one’s privacy, protection against torture, the right
to a fair trial, and the rights of workers. This classification does not correspond to the distinction
between civil and political rights.

Individual and collective rights

Although the fundamental purpose of human rights is the protection and development of the
individual (individual rights), some of these rights are exercised by people in groups (collective
rights).

Freedom of association and assembly, freedom of religion and, more especially, the freedom to
form or join a trade union, fall into this category. The collective element is even more evident when
human rights are linked specifically to membership of a certain group, such as the right of members of
ethnic and cultural minorities to preserve their own language and culture. One must make a
distinction between two types of rights, which are usually called collective rights: individual rights
enjoyed in association with others, and the rights of a collective group.

The most notable example of a collective human right is the right to self-determination, which
is regarded as being vested in peoples rather than in individuals. The recognition of the right to self-
determination as a human right is grounded in the fact that it is seen as a necessary precondition for
the development of the individual. It is generally accepted that collective rights may not infringe on
universally accepted individual rights, such as the right to life and freedom from torture.

First, second and third generation rights

The division of human rights into three generations was first proposed by Karel Vasak at the
International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

His division follows the principles of Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité of the French Revolution.
First generation rights are related to liberty and refer fundamentally to civil and political
rights. The second generation rights are related to equality, including economic, social and
cultural rights. Third generation or ‘solidarity rights’ cover group and collective rights, which
include, inter alia, the right to development, the right to peace and the right to a clean
environment.

The only third generation right which so far has been given an official human rights status -
apart from the right to self-determination, which is of longer standing - is the right to development.
The Vienna Declaration confirms the right to development as a collective as well as an individual right,
individuals being regarded as the primary subjects of development. Recently, the right to development
has been given considerable attention in the activities of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Types of state duties imposed by all human rights

treaties: The tripartite typology
The early 1980s gave rise to a useful definition of the obligations imposed by human rights
treaties, which blurred the sharp dichotomy between economic, social and cultural rights, and civil
and political rights.

Specifically, in 1980, Henry Shue proposed that for every basic right (civil, political, economic,
social and cultural) there are three types of correlative obligations-
 ‘to avoid depriving’,
 ‘to protect from deprivation’ and
 ‘to aid the deprived.’

Since Shue’s proposal was published, the ‘tripartite typology’ has evolved and scholars have
developed typologies containing more than three levels. While there is no consensus on the precise
meaning of the different levels, the ‘tripartite typology’ presented by Shue is known today in more
concise terms as the obligations ‘to respect’, ‘to protect’, and ‘to fulfil’.

Obligations to respect: In general, this level of obligation requires the state to refrain from any
measure that may deprive individuals of the enjoyment of their rights or of the ability to satisfy those
rights by their own efforts.

Obligations to protect: This level of obligation requires the state to prevent violations of human rights
by third parties. The obligation to protect is normally taken to be a central function of states, which
have to prevent irreparable harm from being inflicted upon members of society. This requires states:
(a) to prevent violations of rights by any individual or non-state actor;
(b) to avoid and eliminate incentives to violate rights by third parties; and
(c) to provide access to legal remedies when violations have occurred in order to prevent further
deprivations.

Obligations to fulfil: This level of obligation requires the state to take measures to ensure, for persons
within its jurisdiction, opportunities to obtain satisfaction of the basic needs as recognised in human
rights instruments, which cannot be secured by personal efforts. Although this is the key state
obligation in relation to economic, social and cultural rights, the duty to fulfil also arises in respect to
civil and political rights. It is clear that enforcing, for instance, the prohibition of torture (which
requires, for example, police training and preventive measures), the right to a fair trial (which requires
investments in courts and judges), the right of free and fair elections or the right to legal assistance,
entails considerable cost.

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Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

On 10 December 1948, the General

Assembly of the United Nations adopted and
proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. The General Assembly called upon all
Member countries to publicize the text of the
Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated,
displayed, read and expounded principally in schools
and other educational institutions, without
distinction based on the political status of countries
or territories.” The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights is the cornerstone for modern day
human rights within the framework of the United Nations.

Contents of the UDHR

The general explanation of human rights states that civil, political and social rights belong to
human beings in order to preserve one’s dignity. The Declaration consists of thirty articles which have
been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national
constitutions, and other laws.
These 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees protection of
the person, of procedural law (claim of effective legal remedy), classical freedom rights such as
freedom of expression, as well as economical, social and cultural rights. These rights should apply
to all people irrespectively of their race, gender and nationality, as all people are born free and equal.

INTERNATIONAL BILL OF HUMAN RIGHTS

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL COVENANT

COVENANT ON CIVIL ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
AND POLITICAL RIGHTS CULTURAL RIGHTS
 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols.
In 1966, the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the
International Bill of Human Rights. In 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient
number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law.

PREAMBLE OF UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have
outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall
enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the
highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to

rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of
law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights
of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life
in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United
Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and
fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for
the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL

DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and
all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration
constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights
and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal
and
effective recognition
Article 1 Alland observance,
human beings areboth
bornamong the
free and peoples
equal of Member
in dignity States
and rights. themselves
They and w
are endowed
reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of
it among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

18
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Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Article 2 Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without
distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national
or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis
of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person
belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of
sovereignty.

Article 3 Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4 No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5 No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment.

Article 6 Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7 All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal
protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this
Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8 Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for
acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9 No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10 Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and
impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against
him.

Article 11
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty
according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not
constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed.
Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal
offence was committed.

Article 12 No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence, or to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the
protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14

19
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political
crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

20
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Article 15
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his
nationality.

Article 16
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the
right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during
marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by
society and the State.

Article 17
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right
includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and
observance.

Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely
chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be
expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall
be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization,
through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and
resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the
free development of his personality.

Article 23
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions
of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
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Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and
his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of
social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24 Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working
hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself
and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services,
and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or
other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether
born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and
fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional
education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all
on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the
strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall
further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the
arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any
scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28 Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and
freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his
personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as
are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights
and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the
general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles
of the United Nations.

Article 30 Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or
person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the
rights and freedoms set forth herein.
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Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS (ICCPR)

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a

multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966, and in
force from 23 March 1976.
It commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right
to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due
process and a fair trial. As of April 2014, the Covenant has 74 signatories and 168 parties.
The ICCPR is monitored by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (a separate body to
the United Nations Human Rights Council), which reviews regular reports of States parties on how the
rights are being implemented. States must report initially one year after acceding to the Covenant and
then whenever the Committee requests (usually every four years). The Committee normally meets in
Geneva and normally holds three sessions per year.
Genesis of ICCPR
The ICCPR has its roots in the same process that led to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. A "Declaration on the Essential Rights of Man" had been proposed at the 1945 San Francisco
Conference which led to the founding of the United Nations, and the Economic and Social Council was
given the task of drafting it.
Early in the process, the document was split into a declaration setting forth general
principles of human rights, and a convention or covenant containing binding commitments. The
former evolved into the UDHR and was adopted on 10 December 1948.
Drafting continued on the convention, but there remained significant differences between UN
members on the relative importance of negative Civil and Political versus positive Economic, Social and
Cultural rights. These eventually caused the convention to be split into two separate covenants, "one to
contain civil and political rights and the other to contain economic, social and cultural rights." The two
covenants were to contain as many similar provisions as possible, and be opened for signature
simultaneously. Each would also contain an article on the right of all peoples to self-determination.
The first document became the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights and the second the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The drafts were
presented to the UN General Assembly for discussion in 1954, and adopted in 1966. As a result of
diplomatic negotiations the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was
adopted shortly before the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

PREAMBLE OF INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND

POLITICAL RIGHTS
The States Parties to the present Covenant,

Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United
Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person,

Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of
free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom and freedom from fear and want can
only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political
rights, as well as his economic, social and cultural rights,

Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the United Nations to promote
universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and freedoms,

Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to the community to
which he belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the
rights recognized in the present Covenant,

Agree upon the following articles:

 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

RIGHT INDIAN CONSTITUTION COVENANT ON CIVIL &

POLITICAL RIGHT
Equality before Law Article14 Article14(1)

Prohibition of discrimination Article15 Article26

Equality of opportunity to Article16(1) Article25(a)

public service
Freedom of speech and Article19(1) (a) Article19(1)&(2)
expression
Right for peaceful assembly Article19 (1) (b) Article21

Right to freedom of Article19 (1) (a) Article22(1)

association
Right to move freely within Article19(1)(d)& (e) Article22(1)
the territory of a state
Protection in respect of Article 20(1) Article15 (1)
conviction for offences
Protection from prosecution Article20(2) Art .14(7)
and punishment
Not to be compelled to testify Article20(3) Article14(3) (g)
against himself
Right to life and liberty Article21 Article6(1) & 9 (1)

Protection against arrest and Article22 Article19 (2) (3)& (4)

detention in certain cases

Forced labour Article23 Article 8(3)

Freedom of conscience and Article25 Article18(1)

religion
Right to effective and Article32 Article3
remedies
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Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND PRACTICE

UNIT - II : CONVENTIONS

1. Convention on economic social and cultural Rights, 1966

2. Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women

3. Convention on the rights of the child

CONVENTION ON ECONOMIC SOCIAL

AND CULTURAL RIGHTS, 1966

The International Covenant on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights ( is a
multilateral treaty adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly on 16
December 1966, and in force from 3
January 1976.

It commits its parties to work toward the

granting of economic, social, and cultural
rights (ESCR) to the Non-self-governing
and Trust Territories and individuals,
including labour rights and the right to
health, the right to education, and the right
to an adequate standard of living. As of 2015, the Covenant had 163 parties.
The ICESCR is part of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries
and Peoples, International Bill of Human Rights, along with the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including the
latter's first and second Optional Protocols. The Covenant is monitored by the UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), together with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (1966), make up the International Bill of Human Rights. In accordance with the Universal
Declaration, the Covenants recognize that the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political
freedom and freedom from fear and want can be achieved only if conditions are created whereby
everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as his economic, social and cultural rights.

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 CIVIL AND POLITICAL ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND RATIONALE FOR CHALLENGING
RIGHTS (CPR) CULTURAL RIGHTS (ESCR) THE DISTINCTION

Objective is to ensure Objective is to ensure equality Freedom requires both types

freedom of rights, and
equality must be assured in both

Negative (freedom Positive (right to=droit Obligation to respect, protect, and

from=droit attribut) créance) fulfil apply to all rights.

Cost-free (individual Resources required (welfare) Requirement of resources is

freedom) dependent on the type of obligation
not on the type of right.

Justiciable Political or programmatic All rights eventually become

justiciable as better they are
defined

Immediate Progressive implementation Elements of immediate and

implementation progressive implementation apply
to all rights in varying degrees

Absolute, immutable Relative, responsive to changing All rights have a core of which the
conditions implementation is indispensible

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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW)

The Convention on the

elimination of all forms of
discrimination against
women (CEDAW) adopted
in 1979 by the UN General
Assembly, is often
described as an
international bill of rights
for women. Consisting of a
preamble and 30 Articles,
it defines what constitutes discrimination
against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end
discrimination against women in all forms, including:
 to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all
discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women;
 to establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective protection of women
against discrimination; and
 to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or
enterprises.
 The Convention provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through
ensuring women's equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life-
including the right to vote and to stand for election -- as well as education, health and
employment. States parties agree to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and
temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all their human rights and fundamental
freedoms.
 The Convention is the only human rights treaty which affirms the reproductive rights of
women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family
relations. It affirms women's rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality and the
nationality of their children. States parties also agree to take appropriate measures against all
forms of traffic in women and exploitation of women.

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Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND PRACTICE

UNIT – III : IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION

1. Impact and Implementation of International Human Rights Norms in India

2. Human rights norms reflected in fundamental rights in the Constitution

3. Directive principles: legislative and administrative implementation of international

human rights norms through judicial process

IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS IN INDIA

India happens to be one of the few countries in the world having a chequered history of
human rights movement. Though formidable antecedents of the protection and promotion of human
rights may be traced to the ancient literature and life of the people, the foundations of the
modern human rights movement seem to have been laid in India only during the course of the anti-
colonial struggle. In fact, in order to provide for a holistic critique of colonialism in the
country, the leaders of the national movement found it convenient to denounce the
British government in India for its utter disregard even to the basic human rights of the Indians while
trying to perpetuate the colonial rule in the country. Thus, the provision for the highest order of
human rights for the citizens of the country in the Constitution of independent India was
taken for granted as the reflection of the cherished vision of the founding fathers of the Constitution
since the times of the genesis of the national movement in the country.
In the post-independence times, despite having one of the most elaborate exhibition of the
fundamental human rights of the people, the operationalization of the human rights in the country
became quite problematic. Owing to certain inherent contradictions in the socio-economic system of
the country, a large number of people found themselves out of the reckoning to enjoy even the
basic human rights guaranteed to the citizens of India. Moreover, with the disappearance of the
euphoria attached to the attainment of the independence for the country, the stark realities of running
a democratic system of government in a heterogeneous country started having a telling effect on
the enjoyment of the human rights by the people. With claims and counter claims started being made
on the social status, economic resources and political positions of the country, the Indian state
began to find it in an utterly helpless position to accommodate the aspirations of all the sections of the
society.
Consequently, multiple types of violations of human rights appeared on the Indian
landscape. For instance, while the archaic and exploitative socio-economic system continued to permit
the exploitation of one section of society at the hands of the few, any radical move on the part of
the marginalized people to either seek their dues in the socio-economic and political life of the
country or claim preferential treatment by the government in order to ameliorate their conditions
met with stiff resistance not only by the vested interests of the society but also by the Indian state on
numerous occasions.
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Thus, over the years, the history of human rights movement in India has turned out to be a
chronicle of the civil society initiatives in securing for the marginalized, exploited and politically
persecuted people their due share and respectful place in socio-economic and political system of the
country even in the face vehement resistance of the vested sections of the society and the government.

Seeds of Human rights in Ancient India

The earliest fragments of the human rights, not only in India but probably in the world as
such, may arguably be found in the ancient Indian literary sources depicting the norms of the socio-
economic and political life of the people in ancient times. For instance, the Vedic literature expressively
proclaims the equality of all human beings and calls for the fostering of the sense of fraternity amongst
them all. Moreover, it reiterates the equal claims of the human beings on the basic life supporting
amenities like food, water, air and shelter and professes an egalitarian and fulfilling social order by
calling for the ideal of ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ across the board.
The essence of the human rights in the ancient times seems to lie in the timeless concept of
‘Dharma’ (righteousness) which denotes the loftiest ideal underpinning the whole notion of good
life for the people. As a perceptible expert clarifies, ‘The Vedas including the Upanishads (Shruti) were
the primordial source of ‘Dharma’, a compendious term for all human rights and duties, the
observance of which was regarded as essential for securing peace and happiness to individuals as well
as society. The Smritis and the Puranas were collections of the rules of Dharma including civil
rights and criminal liabilities (Vyavahara Dharma) as also Raj Dharma (Constitutional Law) which
were developed on the basis of fundamental ideals incorporated in the Vedas.’
An authoritative glimpse of the nature and functions of the human rights in ancient times is
also found in the monumental work of Kautilya, the Arthashashtra. Rooting his concept of rights and
duties in the notion of Dharma, Kautilya reiterated the civil and legal rights as propounded by the law
giver of ancient times, the Manu. Moreover, he also insightfully tried to supplement the civil and
legal rights of people with the formidable economic rights presumably in order to evolve
a comprehensive notion of the human rights of the common people.
Unfortunately, with the growing complexity of life on the one hand, and the degeneration
of the moral values of life, on the other, the pious ideals of the Varna System started getting
perverted into the cruel and inhuman caste system. Subsequently, during the middle-ages, with the
arrival of the Muslim rulers, newer elements seemed to have been introduced in the socio-
economic and political life of the country which impacted on the realization of the human rights by the
common people adversely. As a result, by the time of the British arrival in India, a vast mass of the
people were abjectly deprived of their human rights at the hands of the dominant sections of the
people. With no perceptible initiative forthcoming on the part of the government of the day to
restore the human rights of the common people, the responsibility for the same appeared to have
fallen on the social reformers and the enlightened individuals to strive for the promising or favourable
circumstances in which the common people are able to enjoy their human rights freely and
adequately.

Genesis of Human Rights Movement in India

In modern times, the genesis of the human rights movement in India may be traced to the
colonial period. The long years of throttling and dehumanizing colonial rule has ensured that the
majority of Indians remain oblivious to the ideas of human rights, respect for common people and
enjoyment of a dignified life by all even as late as 1820’s. However, for obvious reasons of their
own, two sets of people started to rekindle the urge for human rights amongst the people impliedly, if
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not directly, via media of asking for social reforms in the Indian society on the one hand, and adoption
of a more liberal attitude by the colonial government towards the issues dear to Indians like the
freedom of press etc., on the other. While the first set of people consisted of those having sincere
concern for the indigenously conceptualized social reforms in India so as to secure the human and
livelihood rights for the hitherto marginalized sections of the society, the second category of people
included a number of Indians as well as the Westerners who looked upon the British government
to bring about the necessary positive transformations in the society and the polity of the country.
The pioneering efforts leading to the eventual germination of the human rights movement in
India appeared to have come from the relentless social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy. Having strong
critical faculties right from his childhood, Rammohan Roy’s powerful training in the Indian scriptures
on the one hand, and his deep erudition of English moral and political literature on the
other, ingrained in him a unique blend of critique and creation on almost everything theoretician and
anti-liberal in Indian society and polity.
Consequently, Ram Mohan Roy became one of the bitterest critics of the
redundant religious rituals demeaning the human rights of all the people in general, and those of the
women in particular. Advancing a well-reasoned plea for the abolition of the cruel and inhuman
practices like Sati, he presented a comprehensive outline of reforms to revolutionize the conditions of
women in India. He decried the general environment of violence against the rights of women and
called for eradicating all such social practices like polygamy, child marriage, devadasi system
etc., which appeared to have denigrating effect on the dignity and respect of women.
Moreover, providing creative solutions to the problems facing women in India, he advocated a number
of progressive measures like widow remarriage, equal rights of women to property and fixation of a
ripe age of marriage for women. Though most of such ideas of Rammohan Roy seemed to be much
ahead of his time and, therefore, could not bear fruit so soon, two positive outcomes of his efforts
remain remarkable. One, with the support of the humanist Governor-Generals like William
Bentick, he indeed succeeded in stamping out the most heinous crimes against humanity in terms
of the abolition of the Sati system by 1823. Two, irrespective of the successes or failures of his
efforts, he was able to arouse the passions of other humanist elements in the Indian society who
picked up from where he left and, thus, kept the flame of the struggle for human rights alighted
throughout since then in the country.
Besides waging a sustained struggle for the rights of women, Rammohan Roy also strived
hard for the protection of the civil and political right of the Indians. Hence, despite holding the colonial
rule in India in high esteem, he did not hesitate to take on the British government at least on two
occasions when he found the moves of the government infringing upon the civil and political rights of
the natives.
First, in 1823, when the British attempted to curb the freedom of Press in the country by
putting unreasonable restrictions on it, Rammohan Roy happened to be one of the most vocal
opponents of such a move and called for freeing of the Press from all draconian and unreasonable
regulations passed by the colonial government.
Second, the move on the part of the British Parliament to introduce certain discriminatory and
illogical provisions in the Indian judicial system aimed at compromising the civil liberties of
the Indians also earned the intense rage of Rammohan Roy.
Opposing the insertion of a clause by the Jury Act of 1827 which envisaged that ‘natives, either
Hindu or Muslims, are subject to judicial trial by Christians, either European or native, while Christians
are exempted from being tried either by a Hindu or Muslim juror,’ he campaigned forcefully against
it. Not only that, he submitted a petition against this piece of legislation, signed by both Hindus and
Muslims, in the two houses of the British Parliament arguing for the abandonment of such a
discriminatory legislation. In nutshell, it may be argued that the idea of human rights movement in
India appears to have found its genesis in the thoughts and actions of Rammohan Roy. His passion for
the protection and promotion of human rights of various sections of society, in particular

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women, probably inadvertently began a wave upon which the subsequent movements for human
rights may have been built up in India.

HUMAN RIGHTS ELEMENTS IN SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENTS

As argued earlier, the genesis and growth of human rights movement in India seem to be
trapped in the various socio-religious reform movements championed by the great social
reformers from time to time. Indeed, the exhibition of concern for the human rights of individuals
by the leaders of the national movement came quite late. Civil liberties of individuals, within the
concern of India’s liberation struggle, manifested itself as late as in the 1930’s when Nehru started
the Civil Liberties Union to provide legal aid to the freedom fighters accused of treason. The Congress
Party, only at its Karachi session of 1931, passed the first resolution demanding civil liberties and
equal rights for citizens. Therefore, in order to have an unbroken sequence of growth of human rights
movement in India, it is important to critically grasp the human rights elements in the socio-religious
reform movements waged in the country during the late second half of the nineteenth and the early
first half of the twentieth century.
In the sphere of socio-religious reform movements, Bengal happens to be the pioneering
state. Drawing upon the lead given by the torch-bearers of European Renaissance in India like
William Carey and Joshua Marshman, the social reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy and Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar waged relentless struggle for upliftment in the social status of certain
sections like women. They not only tried to protect the human rights of these people by calling for the
abolition of inhuman social and religious practices that unleashed untold miseries on
them, they also tried to persevere for the protection of their human rights by empowering
them through the medium of education and generating awareness amongst them for their rights and
responsibilities in society. The social reformers in Bengal received immense support and help from a
number of western social reformers and educationists such as David Hare, Sister Nivedita and
Darezio, as also certain humanist British officials like Governor-General Lord William Bentick in
getting their efforts eventually bearing fruit.
While in Bengal the social reform movements drew their intellectual inspiration from the
European Renaissance, in Maharashtra, they appeared predominantly, if not exclusively, out of an
indigenous awakening amongst the people having a vision for the amelioration of the
miserable condition of the masses. For instance, though remaining quite active in the affairs of the
Indian National Congress, Justice M.G. Ranade founded the Indian Social Conference in 1887 precisely
for the purpose of working towards the realization of a dignified and respectful life for the
socially disadvantaged sections of society by eradicating the socio-religious practices violating the
human rights of such people. The routine understanding of the problems facing people by Justice
Ranade induced him to conceptualize such conditions of life for the people where the enjoyment of
civil and political rights is supplemented by the adequate availability of the social, economic and
cultural rights to the people. Another formidable social reform movement in Maharashtra, having
deep-rooted implications for the growth of human rights movement in the country, was launched by
Jyotiba Phule under the patronage of ‘Satyasodhak Samaj’ to seek the protection and promotion of
the human rights of the people belonging to the oppressed castes.
Early leads for the growth of human rights movement in India also came from the various
socio-religious reform movements initiated in various parts of the south India. The prominent
amongst such movements appears to be the movement launched by Sri Narayan Guru
for sanskritizing the norms and customs of the Irava community in Travancore. Yet, numerous other
socio-religious movements were also launched in different parts of the region which sought to either
protect or promote the socio-religious rights of the hitherto marginalized sections of society
belonging to lower castes.
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The other socio-religious reform movements having pointers for the growth of human rights
movement in the country included the ones spearheaded by Arya Samaj of Swami Dayanand
Saraswati, the Ramakrishana Mission of Swami Vivekanand and the Aligarh School founded by
Syed Ahmad Khan. These were basically religious reform movements having repercussions on the
social standing of the people as well. Thus, while the first two movements worked hard to reform the
Hindu society, the last one was aimed at bringing about some sort of awakening amongst the Muslim
society. The impact of these movements was remarkable in bringing about a perceptible social
awakening amongst the masses as a result of which they became vigilant warriors of demanding basic
liberties from the colonial rulers.

Human rights movement during the freedom struggle

The long span of anti-colonial movement in India, in a way, may be argued to be some sort
of human rights movement keeping in mind the demand of the Indians for bestowing of basic civil and
political rights to the common people of India as the short term perspective and the complete
independence for the country as the long term vision of the nationalist leaders.
The human rights movement during the phase of nationalist struggle appears to have
taken shape only during the decade of 1930’s. The biggest momentum in this direction came in the
form of the Congress adopting a comprehensive resolution on the theme of ‘Fundamental
Rights and duties and Economic and social Change’ in 1931 at its Karachi session. The passage of
this resolution was seemingly the culmination of a series of subtle moves made the Congress to seek
the civil and political rights for the native people. For instance, while the Constitution of India
Bill drafted by it in 1895 called for guaranteeing certain specified civil and political rights as the
fundamental rights of the people in any future Constitution for India, the Madras session of the
Congress adopted a resolution calling for the inclusion of a Declaration of Fundamental Rights in the
future Constitutional arrangement for the country. Moreover, the various committees like the Nehru
Committee, in their reports categorically ingrained certain civil and political rights in the discourse of
freedom struggle in the country.
However, the institutional beginning in this regard is arguably made by the setting up of the
Indian Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) in 1934 at the behest of mainly Nehru to ensure legal
assistance to those freedom fighters who remained undefended while facing trial under the charges of
treason. Functioning in a very limited and rudimentary fashion, the major activities of the
ICLU remained confined to ‘gathering information about violations of civil liberties, particularly
regarding the conditions of prisoners and people in detention, police brutality, proscriptions on
literature and restrictions on the press.’ Nonetheless, the foundation of the ICLU marked the
formal and distinct initiation of the human rights movement in the country.
Unfortunately, the institutional experiment of civil rights movement by way of the ICLU started
facing rough weather from various quarters. Though the initial euphoria created by the setting up of
the ICLU led to the formation of a number of civil liberty unions like the Bombay Civil Liberties
Union, the Madras Civil Liberties Union and the Punjab Civil Liberties Union, such enthusiasm
remained only ephemeral. The real challenge to these unions came with the inauguration of Congress
led provincial governments in 1937 under the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935.
An analysis of the development of human rights movement during the phase of nationalist
movement in India reveals two interesting features having a powerful influence on the march of
the movement in the post-independence times.
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Firstly, despite having a very rich and ancient tradition of the enjoyment of some sort of human
rights, the nationalist leaders in the country appeared more prone to look at the
western, more particularly the British liberal traditions of human rights to argue for the same to be
given to the native people by the colonial rulers. Consequently, the entire discourse of human rights
during the freedom struggle boiled down to only the civil and political rights, as in the case of the
western countries, to the marginalization, if not total exclusion, of the social and economic rights of the
people which might have gone to create a more socially egalitarian and economically equitable order
in the post independent times.
Secondly, and more importantly, the concern of the many, if not all, of the nationalist leaders for the
human rights of the people seemed to be more cosmetic than deep rooted. In other words, arguing for
the human rights of the people as one of the intellectual high points from which to browbeat the
colonial rulers as an overall package of their anti-colonial strategy, the leaders very conveniently
forgot the struggles waged and the promises made for guaranteeing certain basic fundamental
rights to the people once they come to power in the country. The empirical evidences to substantiate
the dismal record of the leaders on the front of the protection and promotion human rights are galore
right from the establishment of first Congress led ministries in the provinces in 1937 through
the interim government of Jawaharlal Nehru till the functioning of various democratically elected
governments even in the post independent times.

HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT INDIA

The functional narrative of human rights movement in the post independent times presents a
story of belied promises on the one hand, and the emergence of a powerful civil society initiative
to keep the flames of human rights movement alight despite all odds, on the other. The portents of the
future shape of human rights in independent India became obvious with the context in which the
Constituent Assembly set on to fine-tune the provisions on fundamental rights of the people.
The foundational fetters of the Constituent Assembly, including the historical factors
conditioning its origin like the limited social base, vortex of partition and associated clamouring
amongst various princely states for independence, etc. went a long way in determining the broad
contours of thinking of the Assembly on the issue of fundamental rights. Hence, despite the liberal
moorings of the members of the Constituent Assembly, the circumstantial dynamics constricted the
deliberations of the Assembly so much so that it could not resolve on anything other than a
strong governmental apparatus even at the cost of the basic human rights of the people. The agenda of
nation building, national security and the unity and integrity of the nation was so overbearing in the
minds of the framers of the Constitution that they could not rise above the routine offerings to
the people by way of the fundamental rights. What was however heartening was that not only
draconian provisions like those of ‘preventive detention’ were introduced, even the routine
fundamental rights were placed so much of ‘reasonable restrictions’ that any government would have
find a reasonable cause to put restrictions on the enjoyment of such rights.
While the Constitution making
India, an international event of profound significance took place in December 1948 when the United Nation

Though the adoption of the UDHR had its own political underpinnings, reflecting the existing
reality of the time in terms of ensuing cold war, it gave new impetus to the human rights movement in
the newly independent countries like India. The Declaration, in a very subtle manner, morally, if not
materially, impressed upon most of the countries to have a comprehensive framework of human
rights for people in their constitutions on the pattern presented in the UDHR. Consequently, almost all
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

the countries, including those not very anxious to have human rights as defining feature of their
political system, found it somewhat compelling to not only sign the UDHR but also make matching
arrangement in their own laws or constitutions to reflect the ethos of the Declaration. In such
propitious circumstances, the task of the Constitution makers in India became more daunting
keeping in mind the requirements of the UDHR on the one hand, and the imperatives of the national
unity and integrity on the other.
As the final product, the Constitution of India incorporates a number of valuable provisions
having profound implications for the human rights movement in the country. The three important
sections where director indirect references have been made with regard to the rights of the people are
the Preamble, the Fundamental rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
Indeed, though the Preamble articulates the holistic vision of the founders of the Constitution
on certain vital aspects of the political system of the country, the subtle reference to the various
rights and freedoms of the citizens at the very outset clearly indicates the salience which the framers
apparently sought to dovetail in the Constitution. However, when it came to providing for the specific
rights to the people, the Constitution makers thought of making a clear distinction between the
first and the second generation of human rights, owing to the prevailing socio-economic conditions in
the country. Hence, given the firm decision of the framers to have the democratic system of
governance in the country, it was obvious that elaborate provisions are made for the guaranteeing to
the citizens certain fundamental rights, mainly in the nature of civil and political rights, in order to
giver functional vibrancy to democracy in India.
Thus, as given in Part III of the Constitution, there exists six sets of fundamental rights i.e.
right to equality, right to freedom, right against exploitation, right to religious freedom, cultural
and educational rights and the right to constitutional remedies. As against these justiciable
rights for the enjoyment of which the citizens are also entitled to go to court, the second generation of
human rights are envisaged in Part IV of the Constitution in the nature of directive principles which
are to remain critical in the formulation of governmental policies and programmes on the condition of
the availability of resources and social awareness amongst the people.
Despite having elaborate provisions on political and civil rights of the
people, the operationalization of such provisions started exposing the inherent structural as well
as concomitant functional deformities of the human rights from the very beginning. Structurally, for
instance, the loftier provisions on the freedoms given to the people appeared to be severely
constrained by the draconian provisions such as preventive detention. Functionally, the first
two decades of the working of the Constitution was marked by the predominance of the
Congress party in the political system of the county on the hand, and the gradual emergence of
local and regional voices of dissent which started questioning the functional efficacy of the democratic
institutions in the country. In response to growing aspersions being cast on the human rights record of
the government, two pronged strategy seemed to be evolved by the government.
First, most of the issues of micro human rights violations, say, in cases of the displacement of
the people in the wake of the establishment of heavy industries and big multipurpose projects, were
sought to be brushed aside in the name of nation building and bringing about a turnaround in the
socio-economic life of the people. But when the inherent fallacy of such an emotive bogey failed to
convinced the proponents of human rights of the citizens, the government started showing its
true colours by taking repressive actions against those agitating for the human rights of the common
man. Consequently, two kinds of reactions seemed to forthcoming in face of the growing violations of
the human rights of the people at the hands of the government. The radicals, who would not retain
their faith in the efficacy and effectiveness of the democratic constitution to bring about any
substantive transformations in the socio-economic and political life of the common people, floated a
violent mode of struggle in the form of Naxalite movement. However, the moderate elements amongst
the crusaders for the human rights opted for the democratic and peaceful method of setting up civil
liberties groups in order to raise the issues of human rights violations. Consequently, the groups such
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as Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) and Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties
Committee (APCLC) were set up in 1972 and 1974 respectively, though in course of time, their
functional domain remained confined to identification, investigation, documentation and in certain
cases campaign against cases of the violations of human rights.
Arguably, the most formidable assault on the human rights of the people came in the wake of
the imposition of national emergency in the country by the government of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in June
1975. With most of democratic institutions and liberal laws in the country under suspension, the
brutality of the governmental machinery resulted into one of the most comprehensive and flagrant
violations of the human rights of the people in the history of India. However, the unbridled and
revengeful repression actions of the government paved the way for the emergence of equally
determined and democratic associations in various parts of the country to take up the cudgels on
behalf of those whose human rights were violated during the 1975-77. Under the leadership of certain
die hard democrats, the bodies like the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and the People’s
Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) became the leading organizations putting up a brave and
effective front to defend the human rights of the people in the face of growing wrath of the state
machinery against the human rights of one and all. In fact, the span of two years of emergency led to a
natural proliferation of numerous human rights groups in various parts of India with the common
agenda of fighting for the protection of the human rights of the people in the face of the violations
being carried out by the state agencies. Thus, while Bombay witnessed the setting up of the Committee
for the Protection of Democratic Rights, Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights was
established in Punjab. Even amongst the marginalized sections of society like the tribals, the urge for
protecting the human rights led to the foundation of formidable bodies like Banavasi Panchayat in
West Bengal to fight for the cause of human rights.
Significantly, the strengthening of human rights movement in India owes, in main, to the
untiring efforts of numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as public spirited
individuals working in diverse spheres of public life. Indeed, the proliferation in the number of human
rights NGOs is a tribute to the vitality of civil society in India which is able to stem the tide of
repression and marginalization of certain sections of society for partisan, and in some cases pernicious
considerations. It’s the result of the ceaseless efforts of these organizations that the human rights
movement in India has not only solid ground but also achieving newer milestones in the field of
protection and promotion of the human rights in the country. Moreover, these organizations and
individuals are now turning their attention to those spheres of life which hitherto remained out of
focus of the human rights crusaders. For instance, the human rights movement has gradually
encompassed the spheres like social and cultural rights, environmental degradation, rights of
women and other marginalized sections of society, in addition to working in the field of civil and
political rights of the people with renewed vigour, giving a sort of al inclusive character to the human
rights movement in the country.
A unique dimension of the human rights movement in India appears to be its diversification
into hitherto unchartered domains due mainly to the felt needs of time. In other words, as and
when, some public minded person noticed the violations of some rights of the people, he or she
volunteered to take up the cudgels on behalf of the victims. The pioneering role in this regard has
been played by Sundarlal Bahuguna who launchedthe Chikpo Movement in the hills of Garhwal during
1980s for the protection and promotion of the inherent rights of the natives in the forest resources of
the region. The movement not only thwarted the sinister government backed designs of the
unscrupulous merchants to infringe upon the rights of the natives, it also brought about an electrifying
consciousness in the minds of the people to be ever vigilant for the protection and enjoyment of their
rights. The example set by the Chipko Movement later gave inspiration to other crusaders like Medha
Patkar to begin the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Aruna Roy to start the campaign for the Right to
Information to the people, B.D. Sharma to fight for the cause of the rights of the tribals of Bastar
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region. The cumulative impact of all such movements has resulted into broadening of the domain and
deepening of the ethos of human rights movement in the country.
A plausible product of the human rights movement, which has also added a new vigour in the
movement, seems to be the emergence of the concept of ‘Public Interest Litigation’ (PIL). It evolved
in the wake of a petition filed in the Supreme Court by the Delhi chapter of People’s Union for
Democratic Rights on behalf of the unorganized workers hired by the private contractor, demanding
the implementation of the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, by the government. The decision of
the Supreme Court in this case afforded some sort of legal sanctity to the efforts of the human
rights groups in fighting for the cause of the protection and promotion of the rights of the helpless and
vulnerable sections of society. Moreover, it has motivated a number of people seeking judicial
recourse to set the things right for the rights of the people. For instance, the efforts of H.D. Shouri
through his NGO ‘Common Cause’ to protect the rights of the consumers, and the attempts by Lawyer
M.C. Mehta and the NGO ‘Centre for Science and Environment’ (CSE) to get solutions to the
environmental problems of Delhi are illustrative of the utility of PIL as a formidable instrument in the
hands of the individual and organizations to get the rights of people protected.
Another remarkable highpoint in the efforts of the human rights organizations came when the
government of India decided to set up the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in
1993. Interestingly, though a number of statutory commission and institutions existed for the
protection and promotion of the rights of certain sections of society like Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes, it was realized that such bodies neither have the mindset nor logistical support to
effectively protect the rights of even their target groups.

Moreover, the necessity was felt for some sort of dedicated national as well as provincial bodies that
can comprehensively look into the issues of protection and promotion of human rights of all sections
of society with adequate powers and administrative support system. Consequently, setting up of the
NHRC came as a welcome step for the cause of human rights in the country. However, showing its
propensity to play to the gallery, the government also constituted a number of other commissions like
National Commission for Women, the National Commission for Minorities, and the National
Commission for Safai Karamcharis etc. with the declared purpose of protecting and promoting the
human rights of these sections of society. Yet, the functioning of these bodies for over a decade
leaves much to be desired on the functional efficacy and effectiveness of these bodies, including the
NHRC.
The functioning of human rights movement in independent India provides a mixed bag of
results on a closer scrutiny. There is not much to be surprised that the violations of the human rights
of the people would remain a blot on political system even in the democratic countries like India. What
was surprising were the intensity and scale of such violations during the two years of emergency
during 1975-77. However, with the untiring efforts of the human rights groups, some degree of
lost space in the realm of human rights was recovered even during the decade of 1970s itself. Yet, the
newer forces and events that not only strengthened but also gave new vitality to the human rights
movement in the country came during the decade of 1980s and 1990s when both governmental as
well as non governmental efforts made sure that the discourse of human rights movement gets a new
narrative in India.
Issues and Challenges of Human Rights Movement

The onward march of the human rights movement in India carries its own share of issues and
challenges that remain critical in shaping the future course of action for the same. The newer aspects
of the movement seem to emanate from two interrelated underlining features of the human
rights movement getting prominence from the decade of 1990s. First, with the deepening of
democracy on the one hand, and concomitant intrusion of state/individual actors into the
hitherto untouched areas like commercial ventures in the coastal areas, rising level of environmental
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Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

pollution in the metro cities, acquisition of land for industrial development form the unwilling farmers
etc. have provided the propitious circumstances for the proliferation of human rights groups in most
of the areas. Second, the growing professionalization of the human rights movement with the advent
of numerous non-governmental organizations has raised doubts about the pious objectives with which
the human rights movement was started in the country even before the dawn of independence.
As a result of the complex and rapid churning taking place in the socio-economic and political
sphere of public life, a number of dislocations are introduced in the lives of the people. With ostensible
purpose of providing support to the distressed people, the so called human rights bodies are
proliferating in almost all walks of public life. Thus, the question of the legitimate domain of the
human rights bodies becomes apparent. For example, with the rising threat of terrorism to all the
people, the security agencies find themselves in the dilemma of either taking stern action against the
perpetrators of such crime which would, to some extent, entails restrictions on the enjoyment of the
rights of the people, or just remain silent spectator to the spectre of crimes against humanity being
perpetrated by the terrorist groups. In nutshell, the human rights movement has to respond to the
charge that the human rights groups are oversensitive to the acts of violations by the state
agencies but turns a blind eye to the heinous crimes being committed by the terrorist organizations.
Another challenge having a deep impact on the working of the human rights groups in the
country pertains to the adequacy of organizational structure and functional professionalism needed
for the efficient and effective performance of their functions. With the rapid rise in the number of
human rights bodies, sometimes happening to be one man army itself, it becomes pertinent to look
into the issues of organizational structure and functional vibrancy of these bodies. For instance, there
appears need for some sort of basic infrastructural facilities and functional skill enhancement for the
human rights bodies so that they are able to discharge their functions of acting as watchdog for the
protection and promotion of human rights of the people effectively.
In the contemporary times, a subtle threat to the sanctity and respect to the human rights
bodies seems to have come from the growing cases of corruption and misappropriation of funds by
few such bodies. Though, undoubtedly, most of the human rights organizations in the country grew
out of the missionary zeal of their founders to work selflessly and sometimes even by spending money
from one’s own pocket, it is alleged that the same things no longer remain true to the mushrooming
number of human rights NGOs. Today, a number of human rights bodies have been charged with
coming into existence to provide a lucrative career option to its founder. Moreover, having remained
into existence for a few years as crusaders for the cause of human rights, many of such bodies turn into
money minting machine for their custodians, keeping in mind the huge amount of money coming in
the form of grants and financial assistance to these NGOs. Hence, it is of utmost importance that the
human rights NGOs remain rooted to the missionary spirit of the old times rather than turning out to
be career option and money minting machine for their promoters.
The human rights movement also faces the challenge of taking a balanced view of the things in
cases where the vital interests of society at large seem to be at stake in face of the opposition being
mounted by the miniscule people. This assertion becomes not truer in other cases as in the cases
of socio-economic development of a particular region or sections of people. For instance, the
opposition to a number of projects like Singur in West Bengal, no doubt, emanate from the callousness
of the government to look into the issues of the displaced people seeking adequate compensation and
rehabilitation. However, the resistance to such projects by the human rights groups should focus
only upon the redressal of the genuine grievances of the people by the government as well as
the promoters of the projects. Having secured the protection of the legitimate grievances of the
people, the human rights groups need to afford space to the government to effect substantial economic
gains for the people of region and outside as well.
 Finally, with the installation of a number of governmental agencies like the National Human
Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commissions, the National Commissions for
Women, Minorities etc, for the ostensible purpose of promoting and protecting the human rights of
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Class – V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

their targeted people, the human rights movement in the country is likely to face the challenge
of retaining their credibility as well as exposing the dysfunctionalities of these bodies. It will be quite
obvious now that the cases of violations of human rights would be reported to these bodies. After
investigation and assessment of facts, the commissions are likely to give their verdict on the
matters which on certain occasions are likely to be against the complainant or the victim. In such
cases, the human rights bodies would need to exercise extra caution in highlight the other part of the
story because the verdict of the governmental commission is also likely to carry credibility in the eyes
of the people. Therefore, in order to keep their credibility intact, the human rights NGOs must put forth
their case with irrefutable evidence and keeping the public good in mind. However, this must not
dissuade these NGOs to become a passive recipient of the verdicts given by one or the other
governmental commission. If they find that the governmental machinery seems to have failed to
address the issues of the violations of the human rights adequately, they must carry out their own
investigations and put before the public the real facts and issues of the case. Thus, in the form of the
governmental agencies, the human rights bodies have found a sort of competitor in espousing the
cause of promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE

CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

The constitution of India is known as one of the most right-based Constitutions in the
world. It was drafted around the same time when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the
United Nations came into force (1948). Indian constitution provides the spirit of human rights in its
preamble and the sections on Fundamental rights and Directive Principle of State Policy.
Individual partly and wholly expects that he/she should be provided the good environment for
his/her overall development. Rights provide that environment. Rights have been defined as those
claims of an individual that are necessary for the development of his/her ownself and recognized by
state or society. Some of the rights provided by the state and enshrined in the constitution are known
as fundamental rights. Fundamental rights are those rights that are enforceable through the court of
law.
The Indian constitution is based on the theory that guided India’s struggle against British
colonialism, which was marked by the violation of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights of
the people. Therefore, after independence the framers of the constitution provided some fundamental
rights to the citizens which are enshrined in the part III of the constitution. These fundamental rights
are defined as basic human freedom for a proper and harmonious development of personality of every
Indian citizen. These fundamental rights apply to all Indian citizens, irrespective of
caste, creed, colour, sex, race or place of birth. They are also enforceable by the
courts, subject to certain restrictions. The rights have their origins in many sources including
England’s Bill of Rights, the United States Bill of Rights and France’s declaration of the Rights of Man.

India’s Independence Movements, Human Rights

and the Constituent Assembly
The development of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human rights in India was inspired
by England's Bill of Rights (1689), the United States Bill of Rights (approved on September 17, 1787, final
approval on December 15, 1791) and France's Declaration of the Rights of Man (created during
the revolution of 1789, and ratified on August 26, 1789).
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The Rowlatt Act of 1919 provided extensive powers to the British government. It allowed the
officials to indefinite arrest, detention of individuals and armed them with warrant-less searches and
seizures. It also restricted people for public gathering and censored the media. Therefore,
the extensive powers given to theofficials resulted into the gross violation of Human rights of
masses. In response to this the public opposition grew and there was a widespread demand of
guaranteed civil liberties and limitations on the powers of government. Prior to this Act, there were
Vernacular Press Act of 1878, Indian Council Act, 1892, Indian Council Act 1909 etc, which faced
political and public opposition. The regime of Lord Curzen (1892-1909) was marked by the
violation of basic human rights of individuals. Thus it can be said that the leaders of freedom
movement were not only fighting for the independence but they were also fighting for the basic human
rights of Indian masses.
Another major development during that period was the Nehru Commission Report of 1928
(with Motilal Nehru as its Chairman). It proposed constitutional reforms for India. It apart from
demanding a dominion status for India and elections under universal suffrage laid emphasis on the
rights deemed fundamental, representation for religious and ethnic minorities and suggested to limit
the power of government. It also proposed to protect the fundamental rights of the people, which were
denied most frequently by the colonial administration.
In 1931, the Indian National Congress approved several resolutions committing itself to the
protection of fundamental civil rights and economic-social rights for example, the minimum wage and
the abolition of untouchability and serfdom. The Karachi Resolution adopted by Congress was also a
landmark as it demanded to include the economic freedom with political freedom to end the
exploitation of the people and lastly the Sapru Committee recommended the political and civil
rights, equality of liberty and security, freedom to practice a religion, worship etc to the people. When
India achieved independence on 15 August 1947, the task of framing a constitution was undertaken by
the Constituent Assembly. It consisted of elected representatives with Rajendra Prasad as its
President. While members of Congress composed of a large majority, some persons from diverse
political backgrounds were appointed with a responsibility to frame the constitution and national
laws. Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar became the chairperson of the drafting committee, while Jawaharlal
Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became chairpersons of committees and sub-committees
responsible for different subjects. A notable development during that period took place on 10
December 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and called upon all member states to adopt these rights in their respective
constitutions, this development has a significant impact on the Constitution of India.
The Fundamental Rights were included in the Ist Draft Constitution (February 1948), the
IInd Draft Constitution (17 October 1948) and the IIIrd and final Draft Constitution (26
November 1949), being prepared by the Drafting Committee.
Human Rights and the Constitution of India
The Constitution as said above provides some Fundamental Rights to its citizens. The
Fundamental Rights are included in Part III of the Constitution (Articles 12-35), these rights
were finalized by a committee of the Constituent Assembly headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

NATURE OF RIGHTS
These rights have not been defined in the Constitution. But it is agreed that they are described
as fundamental because they are superior to ordinary laws; they can be altered only through
constitutional amendment. Furthermore they are vital for the full development of the human
personality, promoting an individual’s dignity and welfare.
These rights unlike other justifiable rights are protected by the constitutional remedy by
way of an application direct to the Supreme Court under Article 32, which is itself included in Part III.
The Fundamental Rights are not absolute; they can be subject to certain restrictions. While some of
these restrictions are spelt out by the Constitution, other restrictions may be imposed by the
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Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

government. However,the reasonableness of such restrictions is to be decided upon by the

courts. Thus a balance is stuck between individual liberty and social control. The Fundamental Rights
can be suspended during emergency. The rights are available against the State and not against private
parties.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN INDIA
The Fundamental Rights included in the Indian constitution are guaranteed to all Indian
citizens. These civil liberties take primacy over any other law of the land. They include individual
rights common to most liberal democracies, such as equality before the law, freedom of speech and
expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of religion, and the right to
constitutional remedies for the protection of civil rights such as habeas corpus. In addition, the
Fundamental Rights for Indians are aimed to topple the inequities of past social practices. They abolish
the practice of untouchability; prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or
place of birth; and prohibit traffic in human beings and forced labour. They even protect cultural and
educational rights of minorities by ensuring them to preserve their distinctive languages and
establish and administer their own education institutions.
There are six fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Right to equality is
included in Articles 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the Constitution. It is the principal foundation of all
other rights and liberties.
Article 14 describes that all citizens of India shall be equally protected by the laws of the
country.
Article 15 of the constitution provides that no individual shall be discriminated on the basis of
caste, colour, language etc. However, the State may make any special provision for women, children,
and for socially or educationally backward class or scheduled castes or scheduled tribes.
Article 16 of the constitution defines that the State cannot discriminate against anyone in the
matters of employment However, there are some exceptions, the parliament has the right to enact
law/s describing that certain jobs can only be filled by the applicant/s who are domiciled in the area
for the post that require knowledge and the language of the locality or the area. The state may also
reserve posts for members of educationally and economically backward classes, scheduled castes and
tribes for their adequate representation in the jobs.
Article 17 abolishes the practice of untouchability. Article 18 of the constitution prohibits
state from conferring any titles. This means that the citizen of India cannot accept titles from a foreign
state. But Military and academic distinctions can be conferred on the citizens of India and also the
awards of Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan cannot be used by the recipient as a title.

Except the right to equality, the Constitution of India

provides the right to freedom, given in articles 19, 20, 21
and 22.
Freedom of speech and expression (it includes the freedom of press), freedom of assemble
peacefully without arms, freedom to form associations or unions, freedom to move freely throughout
the territory of India, freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India, freedom to
practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business are some of the
freedoms which are provided to Indian citizen.
However, at the same time these freedoms can be restricted in the interests of public
order, morality and the sovereignty and integrity of India. Freedom of speech and
expression, generally interpreted to include freedom of the press, can be limited "in the interests of the
sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign
States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

These writs are habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari. This right can
be suspended by the central government in case of a national or state emergency is declared.
Except this there was a provision for right to property under Articles 19 and 31. Article 19
guaranteed to all citizens the right to acquire, hold and dispose off property. Article 31
provided that "no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law. The
44th constitutional amendment act of 1978 deleted the right to property from the list of
fundamental rights. A new article (Article 300 A) was introduced which says that ‘no person shall
be deprived of his property save by authority of law’. Therefore, if a legislature makes a law that
deprives a person of his property, there would be no obligation on the part of the State to pay anything
as compensation. The aggrieved person shall have no right to move the court under Article 32. Thus,
the right to property is no longer a fundamental right, but a constitutional right.
Rights simply mean the freedom which is necessary for the individual good and at the same
time for the good of the community. The fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of
India have been incorporated into the Fundamental Law of the Land and are enforceable in a court of
law. However, this does not mean that they are absolute or that they are immune from Constitutional
amendment.
Critical Analysis of the Fundamental Rights in India
These rights have been criticized for a number of reasons. There is criticism of the provisions
of preventive detention and suspension of Fundamental Rights in times of Emergency. The provisions
of acts like MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) and NSA (National Security Act) are criticized
as a means of attacking the fundamental rights. These acts sanction excessive powers to fight the
internal, cross-border terrorism and political violence, but do not safeguards the civil rights. The
phrases like "security of State", "public order" and "morality" have a wider implications. The meaning
of phrases like "reasonable restrictions" and "the interest of public order" have not been explicitly
defined in the constitution, and this ambiguity leads to unnecessary litigation. The freedom to
assemble peacefully and without arms is also criticized due to use of force by police (in
some instances) to break up the meetings. The fundamental rights does not include freedom of
press in the right to freedom, which is necessary for formulating public opinion and to make freedom
of expression more legitimate.
Some critiques feel that the rights benefit only a few in the country, mainly the rich. The
Constitution makes no difference between the rich and the poor, but in practice the poor are unable to
demand or fight for their rights, as they do not have the money to go to court. The rich with the
capacity to go court are able to stand up for their rights. Besides, many of these rights obstruct
progressive legislation in the interest of socio-economic development. If one subscribes to the idea of a
democratic polity, one cannot quite agree with the idea of removing the rights to facilitate social
welfare. The Fundamental Rights chapter does check State tyranny which could ensue in the name of
social welfare measures. The right way is to empower the disadvantaged sections of the
population with free legal aid and educate all people about their rights (as well as duties).
Fundamental Rights are basic to a democratic polity, and, with all the shortcomings of their
enunciation in the Indian Constitution, their inclusion in the Constitution has protected the basic
human rights of the individual well.

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

Part IV of the Constitution (Article 36-51) contains the Directive Principles of State
Policy. Finalized by the Sapru Committee, these Directives are in nature of directions to the
legislative and executive wings of the government to be observed while formulating laws and
policies. Most of them aim at the establishment of economic and social democracy which is pledged for
in the preamble.
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND PRACTICE

UNIT –IV DISADVANTAGED GROUPS

1. Human Rights and disadvantaged Groups – women, prisoners, child, Dalits, Aid victims
and Minorities

2. Enforcement of Human Right in India

Disadvantaged or the Marginalized groups refer to those categories of people in a society

who remain in a state of deprivation and subjugation for centuries as a result of which they are
not able to attain a position of parity with the other sections of society in contemporary times.
Denied of their equal share in the social, economic and political rights, privileges and resources
of the country for obvious reasons over the years, such groups continue to remain in a vulnerable
position even after country gains independence and marches ahead on the path of progress and
development. In India, for instance, such groups of people included the vulnerable sections of the
society like dalits, adivasis, women, minorities, unorganized workers etc.

The discourse of human rights for such groups of people differs from the discourse of
human rights for other sections of society for at least two reasons.
First, owing to their long drawn social, economic and political deprivation, these groups become some
sort of marginalized lot in the society in comparison to the mainstream sections as a result of which the
notion, standards and exercise of the general human rights do not remain valid and meaningful for such
groups.
Second, each of the marginalized groups carries certain distinct physiological, social, economic, cultural,
religious and related traits which distinguish them from the rest of the people in society whose obvious
result is that the norms of human rights for latter could not be applied uniformly to the former.
Hence, a discussion on the issue of the human rights of the marginalized groups becomes an
exercise in diagnosing the ills and evaluating the remedies in action for the time being with a view to
evolve a holistic perspective on the human rights of these groups.

DALITS
Dalits or the Scheduled Castes have been the largest marginalized section of the Indian society.
Indeed, Caste has remained as one of the predominant paradigms of the Indian social system.
Emerging out as the perverted off-shoot of the classical and puratan varna-system of the ancient times,
it has introduced a variety of cleavages in the Indian society which in the course of time turned out to
be the most cruel and inhuman traits of glorious Indian civilization.
For the last many centuries, the Indian society if fragmented into hundreds of castes and sub-
castes neatly ordered into a hierarchical pyramidal form.
Broadly, three distinct levels of hierarchy in the caste system can be discerned:
a) the so-called forward castes people occupying not only the superior echelon of the social
hierarchy but also the power, privileges and false ego,
b) the middle order of the caste system consists of those people who own a part of the parameters of
position and distinguished by their profession and vocational acumen. This category of people is
generally termed as other backward castes (OBCs).
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

c) The lowest rung of the social order is occupied by the people who have neither social status nor
economic powers and properties.

Known as dalits, in the contemporary political discourses and badly bereft of necessary
resources and rights, these people have been suffering from various despised social stigmas like
slavery, indenture and the curse of untouchability.

CHALLENGES IN ABOLISHING
THE CASTE- BASED STIGMAS

Ensuring the enjoyment of human rights for the vulnerable groups of people continues to be
the biggest challenge for the Indian democratic ethos. Various disadvantages faced by these people
are, though, common to both the OBCs and the dalits, it is the latter that has been at the receiving end
of the inequitable Indian social order.
Owing to the pollution and purity praxis, the Indian social set-up permitted the recognition
and acceptance of untouchability which is probably the greatest crime against the humanity. Efforts to
overcome the curse of untouchability were precious little till independence. Things started changing as
a result of the strong reservations expressed by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar whose pressure
was so strong that the constitution makers had to enshrine its prevention under the chapter of the
fundamental rights. Article 17 of the Constitution declared that untouchability is abolished and its
practice in any form is prohibited. It gave a clear mandate to the state to eliminate the practice of
untouchability with all the forces at its command and with ruthless will.
Despite of the Article 17 coming into practice with the inauguration of the Constitution on 26
January 1950, no serious attempts were made to translate the spirit of the Constitution into practice.
However, with the enactment of the Untouchability (Offences) Act, in 1955, the things were assumed
to look up. But in spite of certain merits in arresting the practice of untouchability, it failed to make a
significant impact on the society due to certain inherent constraints and deficiencies. Hence in order to
make an improvement over this legislation, a parliamentary committee was appointed to look into the
matter.
Based on the recommendations of this committee, the Parliament, in 1974, effected major
changes in the principal Act which was redesigned as the ‘Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955’. A little
later, the Parliament enacted one more piece of legislation to include certain additional issues not
covered under the previous Act. The new Act, known as the ‘Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989’, has gone a long way in protecting the human rights of these
people. This Act was further strengthened with the passage of the SC and ST (Prevention of
Atrocities) Rules, 1995.
Among others, the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 and the National
Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993, are the major enactments to provide for a holistic
approach to ameliorate the conditions of the people to ensure the basic human rights to them.
In the face of these legal guarantees, one could naturally expect the demolition of the monolith
growth of the monster of untouchability. However, the result has not been as expected due to the lack
of awareness among the people about these legislations.
Without awareness, neither the victims get relief nor the oppressors stop victimizing the
hapless people. In view of the plethora of legal enactments and the subsequent administrative
measures, a large section of the people sitting in the urban areas tends to assume that the practice of
untouchability has ceased to exist. But the social realities come to the fore when one goes to the grass
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Class –V II SEM. Subject – Human Rights

root level of the Indian society. Direct or indirect practice of untouchability, more so in rural areas, can
be encountered in the spheres of entry into hotels, temples and religious processions, drawing
drinking water from tank, tap or other sources, social mixing, economic activities etc. The females of
these castes are often subjected to eve-teasing and the males are normally forced to act as the bonded
labour.
WOMEN AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Women’s human right is a revolutionary notion. This radical renovation of humanity and the
corollary insistence that women’s rights are human rights have profound transformative potential.
The incorporation of women’s perspectives and lives into human rights standards and practices forces
recognition of the dismal failure of counties worldwide to accord women the human dignity and
respect that they deserve simply as human beings. A women’s human rights framework equips women
with a way to define and analyze and articulate their experiences of violence, degradation and
marginality.

HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK FOR WOMEN

In the late eighties and early nineties, women in diverse countries took up the human rights
framework and began developing the analytic and political tool that together constitute the ideas and
practices of women’s human rights. Taking up the human rights framework has involved a double shift
in thinking about human rights and talking about women’s lives. In other words, it has entailed
examining the human rights framework through a gender perspective and describing women’s lives
through a human rights framework.
In looking at the human rights framework from women’s perspectives, women have shown
how current human rights definitions and practices fail to account for the ways in which already
recognized human rights abuses often affect women differently because of their gender and their
vulnerability. This approach acknowledges the importance of the existing concepts and activities, but
also points out that there are dimensions within these received definitions that are gender specific and
that need to be addressed if the mechanism, programs and the human rights framework itself is to
include and reflect the experiences of the female half of the world’s populations. When people utilize
the human rights framework to articulate the vast array; of human rights abuses that women face,
they bring clarifying analyses and powerful tools to bear on the women’s experiences. This strategy
has been pivotal in efforts to draw attention to human rights that are specific to women and that
heretofore have been seen as women’s rights but not recognized as human rights.

ISSUES IN HUMAN RIGHTS FOR WOMEN

The genealogy of the women’s human rights originates with a need to articulate and
collaborate around broad and similar concerns about the status of women in the civil and political
realm of the women’s life. By the dawning of the early nineties, it was unanimously recognized that
more important and basic, than the issues of status and prestige, are the issues pertaining to the
personal possessions like and body of the women. Their personal possessions were subjected to the
insidious endeavours of the people in general , most profound and universal reflection of which has
seen in the whole range of violence’s against women as well as a negation of the reproductive rights to
the women exclusively.
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

In contemporary times, violence against women has emerged as the cardinal issue to epitomize
the human rights of the women. This is so because violence against women takes a dismaying variety
of forms, ranging from domestic abuse and rape to child marriages and female circumcision, all of
which constitute the most fundamental violations of the human rights. The ambit of the violence
against women is amplified in Article 2 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against
women as follows:
1. Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs in the family including battering; sexual
abuse of female children in the household; dowry-related violence; marital rape; female genital
mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women; non-spousal violence; and
violence related to exploitation.
2. Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs within the general community
including rape; sexual abuse; sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational
institutions and elsewhere; trafficking in women; and forced prostitution; and
3. Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the state, wherever
it occurs.

In addition to these, violence against women consists also of all forms of gender biases in the
administration of justice and of any conflicts arising between the rights of women and the harmful
effects of certain traditional or customary practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism. Any
comprehensive endeavour to safeguard the women’s human rights must have at its centre the pre-
condition of eliminating all forms of violence against women.

POSITION IN INDIA
The pursuits of women’s emancipation in India may be traced back to the nineteenth century
when various socio-religious reforms organizations persuaded and joined hands with the colonial
rulers to get the prevalent heinous practices pertaining to women declared illegal on the one hand and
ingrain in the social psyche the values of women’s empowerment and well being, on the other. After
independence, the state, backed by the constitutional mandate, emerged as an important sphere for
grasping the contentious issues concerning women. The major determinants of the role of state in
relation to women included constitutional provisions, legislations and the dynamics of public policy,
though the efforts of the non-governmental organizations and international agencies are no
insignificant.
The Constitution of India does not provide for elaborate and specific provisions pertaining to
the issues of women. The general principles embodied under the rubric of the right to equality apply
to women also as any discrimination only on the basis of sex is absolutely forbidden.
Article 15(3) suggests State action in the interest of women and children. Rather specific
provisions regarding women are placed in the Directive Principles of State Policy which includes
maternity benefits, health and moral well-being of the mother and the child, equity provisions like
equal pay for equal work for both men and women and a common civil code. However, even after
more than fifty years of independence, a number of these provisions have remained only in the
constitution.
The deficiency of the constitutional provisions regarding women was sought to be made up
through a string of legislations. Though law has never been considered an adequate means of
transforming social structures, institutions and attitudes, it is still considered an indispensable method
of social engineering. Hence, the state, also under pressure from the women’s organizations, has
brought about several legislations on the women’s issues like dowry prohibition, child marriage
restraint, equal remuneration, the indecent representation of women and pre-natal diagnostic
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

techniques etc. Two important pending bills relate to reservation of seats for women in the higher
elected bodies.
Though the constitutional-legal framework affirms and promotes the principles of equity and
equality of women and takes care of their special needs, the practical shape to the doctrinal
pronouncements has been accorded through the successive five –year plans. Till the fifth five-year
plan, the governmental approach was to provide welfare measures for the women.
The sixth plan for the first time shifted this welfares approach to the development one with
the focus being on health, education and employment. The seventh plan broke new grounds with
‘beneficiary–oriented programmes’ which extended direct benefits to women. The eighth plan shifted
the thrust from development to empowerment. The ninth plan committed itself to empowering
women as agents of social change and development to enable them to exercise their rights both within
and outside the home as equal partners with men.
The tenth plan refers to the need to gender sensitize the various organs of the government and
proposes to continue with the strategy of women empowerment as agents of social change and
development with a threefold strategy of-
(i) social empowerment
(ii) economic empowerment with adoption of the concept of Gender Budgeting and Auditing,
and
(iii) gender justice to end gender discrimination and to allow women enjoy freedom on par
with men in all spheres of life.
In the wake of the renewed efforts, originating from both the governmental and non-
governmental quarters aimed at women empowerment came with attitudinal changes in policy and
perspective resulting into legal reforms, remedial measures at the level of public policy and
institutional arrangement along with greater focus on socio-economic problems.
Consequently, the National Commission for Women was set up in 1992 to act as the nodal
agency to look after the general well-being of the w omen including the protection of women’s
human rights. It has been given a comprehensive mandate to tackle the issues like economic
empowerment through transfer of technology and vocational training and wage equality: political
empowerment through representation in the legislative and decision-making bodies from the grass
roots level to parliament; legal issues such as the need for the review of laws, speedy justice, custodial
justice, redressal of grievances and the need for sensitization of the police and the judiciary; health and
social issues such as tackling female foeticide and infanticide, trafficking in women and children; the
problem of SC and ST women; the plight of the widows, specially in religious places; women victims of
domestic violence and improving the status of women in India, among others.
The performance of the Indian government on the issue of protection and promotion of human
rights of the women betrays the high sounding promises made in policy pronouncements and
programme formulations. The increasing incidents of violence and crime against women bear
testimony to the stark reality of the wide gap between the theory and practice. The way out, definitely,
seems to be a holistic approach to the problem leading to attitudinal change in policy and perspective
which in turn should lead to legal reforms, remedial measures at the level of public policy and
institutional arrangement along with a greater focus on socio-economic problems faced by the
women.

HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE MINORITIES

Minorities are defined as groups of people numerically inferior to the rest of the
population of a state, whose members being citizens of the state possess ethnic, religious or
linguistic characteristics differing from those of the rest of the population and show, if only
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implicitly, a sense of solidarity, directed towards preserving their culture, traditions, religion or
language.
Thus in Indian context, religious minorities are found in the form of various non-Hindu
religious groups, ethnic minorities are found in the states of Assam West Bengal etc. and linguistic
minorities are found in various states in relative context, i.e. Hindi speaking people being linguistic
minority in the states like Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir as well as various southern states of the
country on the one hand and non-Hindi speaking people become linguistic minority in Hindi-belt
states on the other.
Conceptually, the most important right of members of a minority group is right to equality,
through which it is ascertained that ethnic, religious or linguistic differences cannot form the basis for
discrimination against minorities. At the same time, members of minority groups need special rights to
enable them to preserve and develop their ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics. In other
words, these people should be entitled to enjoy their own culture, practice their own religion and use
their own language.

Statutory provisions for minorities

For the promotion and protection of the human rights of the minorities, an elaborate provision
has been made in the Constitution of India.
At the very outset, Article 14 of the Constitution declares that “the state shall not deny to any
person equality before law or equal protection of laws within the territory of India” , thereby
preventing discriminatory practices to be followed by the state. Not content with a more general
declaration of the right to equality and fully conscious of the types of discrimination prevalent in the
country, the framers of the constitution went a step further in Article 15 to propound that the state
shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth
or any of them. Further, Article 16, equality of opportunity in matters of public employment has been
ensured. In addition to the various provisions to ensure right to equality, the basic civil and political
rights have been provided to the minorities under Article 19 to 22.
However, the framers of the Constitution were not satisfied with such provisions alone and
under Article 25 to 28, provided for the most generous rights to religious minorities in order to infuse
a sense of complete confidence in them. While Article 25 provides that all persons are equally entitled
to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion, Article 26
goes a step further to guarantee the freedom to manage the religious affairs and institutions. Article
27 enshrines an additional protection to religious activity by exempting funds appropriated towards
the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion from the payment of taxes. Article 28
prohibits religious instruction in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds, to
provide a secular orientation to the polity.
Ethnic and linguistic minorities are bestowed with distinct set of cultural and educational
rights under Articles 29 and 30 of the constitution. Section (1) of Article 29 guarantees the right of
any section of the citizen residing in any part of the country having a distinct language, script or
cultures of its own, to conserve the same. Further, section (2) of the same Article prohibits any
discrimination based only on religion, race, caste, language or any of them in the matter of admission
to state of state-aided educational institutions. Section (1) of Article 30 provides that all minorities,
whether based on religion or language shall have the right to establish and administer educational
institutions of their choice. According to section (2) of the said Article, the state shall not, in granting
aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational institutions on the ground that it
is under the management of a minority, whether based on language or religion. Thus, we find that
when provisions under Article 29 and 30 are considered along with other provisions in the chapter
on fundamental rights and elsewhere in the constitution, safeguarding the rights of religious, linguistic
and ethnic minorities, it becomes clear that the purpose of these provisions is to reassure the
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minorities that certain special interests of theirs which they cherish as fundamental to their life, are
safe under the constitution.

LAW PROTECTING CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

The children of our country are the most underprivileged in our society. The poverty in our
country is of such great magnitude that children from underprivileged section of the society are forced
to work resulting in child labour. According to National Sample Survey, the number of child workers
have increased manifold in the society. Further the condition in which a child is forced to work is no
better than that of slavery. The government of India have enacted the following thirteen Acts to
provide legal protection to all children-
1. The Child Marriage Restraints Act, 1929.
2. The Children Act, 1933.
3. The Employment of Children Act, 1938.
4. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
5. The Factories Act, 1951.
6. The Plantation Labour Act, 1951.
7. The Indian Factories Act and Mines Act, 1952.
8. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
9. The Apprentices Act, 1961.
10. The Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
11. The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Condition of Employment) Act, 1966.
12. The Shops and Establishments Acts, 1969 (Statewise)
13. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulations) Act, 1986.
Of these, the 1986 law is the most important one, wherein the Act lists occupations and
processes in which employment of children is prohibited. Few of the hazardous occupations where
a child cannot be employed are as domestic servants, workers in dhabas, restaurants, hotels,
motels, teashops, resorts, spas or other recreational centres. Further the working hours for a child
are also specified. It states that a child can work to six hours, including an interval of at least one
hour and children are not permitted to work between 7 P.M. to 8 P.M.

ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHT IN INDIA

India has been one of the oldest civilizations in the world having a chequered history of the
existence of some sort of human right precepts and values to secure a dignified and contended life for
the people. Though at a certain point of time in her history a rupture occurred in this rich tradition
resulting in the snatching away of the human rights of few sections of people in the society, the sense
of appreciation for the ideals and values of human rights as the primary foundation stone for the
modern and democratic life for the people remained intact amongst the national leaders of the
country. As a result, even during the course of the freedom struggle, the
national leadership never failed to emphasize the bestowing of basic human rights on all the people
of the country irrespective of any distinction in the form of fundamental rights once the country
becomes independent. Hence, in the post-independence times, the Constitution of India became the
chief instrument for the national leaders to redeem their pledge of securing for the people the basic
human rights through the provisions like the fundamental rights and the directive principles of state
policy, along with the others. Moreover, stipulations were also made with the futuristic vision to
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

enable the government to enact law for the constitution of certain bodies and institutions for the
purpose of protecting and promoting the human right in the country.

Human rights laws in India

Conceptually, human rights laws in almost all parts of the world are relatively recent
phenomenon. Given the philosophical roots of the human rights being traced back to the sixteenth
century social contract theory which evolved the idea of natural rights of the people as being
ordained by birth without any positivist intervention on that count, the initial take on human
right considered it to be a notion existing even in the absence of any positivist law being framed on the
subject. However, with the growing complexity of life on the one hand, and varying understanding of
the concept of human rights by various countries and people on the other, sometimes even to the
detriment of the notion of human rights itself, arguments were advanced for the clear-cut stipulations
of the idea of human rights through the means of constitutional and statutory provisions. Following
the lead given by the United Nations mandated Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, 1948, various countries in the world have strived to make elaborate provisions for the
enjoyment of the human rights by their people through the constitution and other statutory
enactments.
The inauguration of a liberal democratic political system in the country after independence
ensured that India becomes one of the foremost countries in the world to have an elaborate system of
human rights laws. The body of human rights laws in the country could be conveniently categorized
into two segments: Constitutional and statutory laws.
The constitutional laws pertaining to the human rights are spelt out in varying measures in the
chapters and provisions dealing with the preamble to the Constitution, the fundamental rights, and the
directive principles of state policy. The statutory laws on human rights are provided for in the form of
various enactments to ensure the social and economic justice to the marginalized sections of the
society like women, children, disabled people, weaker sections of society etc. Important among such
enactments include the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 etc. Apart from these, the
corpus of human rights laws in India also consist of the numerous international
covenants, conventions, treaties signed, ratified and acceded to by the government of
India. Such international legal documents not only include the general documents like the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also various target-specific legal frameworks aimed at
protecting the human rights of the specified groups of people like women, children,
disabled, minorities, refugees
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Prisoners and the Human Rights

The Supreme Court of India in the recent past has been very vigilant against
encroachments upon the Human Rights of the prisoners. In this area an attempt is made to explain
the some of the provisions of the rights of prisoners under the International and National arenas and
also as interpreted by the Supreme Court of India by invoking the Fundamental Rights.
As Article 21 of the Constitution of India provides that “No person shall be deprived of his life
and Personal Liberty except according to procedure established by law”. The right to life and Personal
Liberty is the back bone of the Human Rights in India. Through its positive approach and activism, the
Indian judiciary has served as an institution for providing effective remedy against the violations of
Human Rights.
By giving a liberal and comprehensive meaning to “life and personal liberty,” the courts have
formulated and have established plethora of rights. The court gave a very narrow and concrete
meaning to the Fundamental Rights enshrined in Article 21.
In A.K.Gopalan’s Case, the court had taken the view that each Article dealt with separate rights
and there was no relation with each other i.e. they were mutually exclusive. But this view has been
held to be wrong in Maneka Gandhi case and held that they are not mutually exclusive but form a
single scheme in the Constitution, that they are all parts of an integrated scheme in the Constitution. In
the instant case, the court stated that “the ambit of Personal Liberty by Article 21 of the Constitution is
wide and comprehensive. It embraces both substantive rights to Personal Liberty and the procedure
prescribed for their deprivation” and also opined that the procedures prescribed by law must be fair,
just and reasonable.
The Supreme Court of India has considerably widened the scope of Article 21 and has held that
its protection will be available for safeguarding the fundamental rights of the prisoners and for
effecting prison reforms. The Supreme Court by its progressive interpretation made Article 21, which
guarantees the Right to Life and personal liberty, the reservoir of prisoner rights. Under the seventh
schedule of the Constitution of the India, the prison administration, police and law and order are to be
administered by the respective states. The states have generally given low priority to prison
administration. In fact, some of the decisions of the Supreme Court on prison administration have
served as eye–openers for the administrators and directed the states to modernize prison
administration.
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Rights against Solitary Confinement and bar fetters

The courts have strong view against solitary confinement and held that imposition of solitary
confinement is highly degrading and dehumanizing effect on the prisoners. The courts have taken the
view that it could be imposed only in exceptional cases where the convict was of such a dangerous
character that he must be segregated from the other prisoners. The Supreme Court in Sunil Batra
Case considered the validity of solitary confinement.
The Constitutional validity of solitary confinement prescribed under section 30(2) of the
Prisons Act, 1894 was considered. Section 30(2) of the Act provides the solitary confinement when
prisoner is under sentence of death, while section 56 of the said Act permits the use of bar fetters for
the safe custody of the prisoners.

The Supreme Court has reacted strongly against putting bar fetters to the prisoners. The
court observed that continuously keeping a prisoner in fetters day and night reduced the prisoner
from human being to an animal and such treatment was so cruel and unusual that the use of bar fetters
was against the spirit of the Constitution of India. On the question of the validity of the use of bar
fetters, the court in Sunil Batra Case observed that subjecting a prisoner to bar fetters for an unusually
long period, without due regard to the safety of the prisoner and the security of the prisoner would
violate basic Human Dignity and is hence impermissible under the Constitution of India. The court while
approving section 56 of the Prisons Act and declared that bar fetters can be used subject to the
following procedural safeguards:
a. It must be absolutely necessary to use fetters;
b. The reasons for doing so must be recorded;
c. The basic condition of dangerousness must be well–grounded;
d. Principles of natural justice must be observed;
e. The fetters must be removed at the earliest opportunity;
f. There must a daily review of the absolute need for bar fetters;
g. Continuance of bar fetters beyond a day is subject to the direction of a District Magistrate or
session judge.

Rights against Hand Cuffing

In Prem Shanker v. Delhi Administration, the Supreme Court added yet another projectile in
its armoury to be used against the war for prison reform and prisoners rights. In the instant case the
question raised was whether hand–cuffing is constitutionally valid or not? The Supreme Court
discussed in depth the hand cuffing jurisprudence. It is the case placed before the court by way of
Public Interest Litigation urging the court to pronounce upon the Constitution validity of the “hand
cuffing culture” in the light of Article 21 of the Constitution. In the instant case, the court banned the
routine hand cuffing of a prisoners as a Constitutional mandate and declared the distinction between
classes of prisoner as obsolete. The court also opined that “hand cuffing is prima-facie inhuman and,
therefore, unreasonable, is over harsh and at the first flush, arbitrary.
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Rights against Inhuman Treatment of Prisoners

In D.K.Basu v. State of West Bengal

Supreme Court laid down detailed guidelines as preventive measures as follows.
a) The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee
should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations. The
particulars of all such police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be
recorded in a register.
b) That the police officer carrying out the arrest of the arrestee shall prepare a memo of arrest at
the time of arrest and such memo shall be attested by at least one witness, who may either be a
member of the family of arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is
made. It shall also be countersigned by the arrestee and shall contain the time and date of arrest.
c) A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station or
interrogation centre or other lock – up shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other
person known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed as soon as practicable that
he has been arrested and is being detained at the particular place unless the attesting witness of
the memo of arrest is himself such a friend or relative of the arrestee.
d) The time, place of arrest and venue of custody of an arrestee must be notified by the police where
the next friend or relative of the arrestee lives outside the district or town through legal aid
organizations in the district and the police station of the area concerned telegraphically within a
period of 8 to 12 hours after the arrest.
e) The person arrested must be aware of this right to have someone informed of his arrest or
detention as soon as he is put under arrest or is detained.
f) An entry must be made in the diary at the place of detention regarding the arrest of the person
which shall also disclose the name of the next friend of the person who has been informed of the
arrest and the names and particulars of the police officials in whose custody the arrestee is.
g) The arrestee should, where he so requests, be also examined at the time of his arrest and major
and minor injuries, if any present on his/her body, must be recorded at that time. “Inspection
Memo” must be signed both by the arrestee and the police officer affecting the arrest and its copy
provided to the arrestee.
h) The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by a trained doctor every 48 hours
during his detention in custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by
Director, Health Services of the State or Union Territory concerned. Director, Health Services
should prepare such a panel for all tehsils and districts as well.
i) Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above should be sent to the
area Magistrate for his/her record.
j) The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation though not throughout
the interrogation.
k) A police control room should be provided at all district and state head quarters, where
information regarding the arrest and the place of custody of the arrestee shall be communicated
by the officer causing the arrest within 12 hours of effecting the arrest and at the police control
room it should be displayed on a conspicuous notice board.
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

RIGHT TO LEGAL

The main object of the Free Legal Aid scheme is to provide means by which the principle of
equality before law on which the edifice of our legal system is based. It also means financial Aid
provided to a person in matter of legal disputes. In the absence of Free Legal Aid to the poor and
needy, Fundamental Rights and Human Freedoms guaranteed by the respective Constitution and
International Human Rights covenants have no value.
Though, the original draft of the Constitution of India does not expressly provide the Right to
Legal Aid, but the judiciary has shown its favour towards poor prisoners because of their poverty and
are not in a position to engage the lawyer of their own choice. The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 has
included Free Legal Aid as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy under Article 39A in the
Constitution.

RIGHT TO SPEEDY TRIAL

The speedy trial of offences is one of the basic objectives of the criminal justice delivery
system. Once the cognizance of the accusation is taken by the court then the trial has to be conducted
expeditiously so as to punish the guilty and to absolve the innocent. Everyone is presumed to be
innocent until the guilty is proved. So, the quality or innocence of the accused has to be determined as
quickly as possible. It is incumbent on the court to see that no guilty person escapes, it is still more
its duty to see that justice is not delayed and the accused persons are not indefinitely harassed. It
is pertinent to mention that “delay in trial by itself constitute denial of justice” which is said to be
“justice delayed is justice denied”. It is absolutely necessary that the persons accused of offences
should be speedily tried so that in cases where the bail is refused, the accused persons have not to
remain in jail longer than is absolutely necessary.

Article 21 should be properly reflected in the provisions of the code. For this purpose in A.R.
Antulay v. R.S. Nayak the Supreme Court has laid down following propositions which will go a long
way to protect the Human Rights of the prisoners.
The concerns underlying the right to speedy trial from the point of view of the accused are:
a. The period of remand and pre–conviction detention should be as short as possible. In other
words, the accused shall not be subjected to unnecessary or unduly long detention point of his
conviction.
b. The worry, anxiety, expense and disturbance to his vocation and peace resulting from an
unduly prolonged investigation, in query or trial shall be minimal; and.
c. Undue delay may result in impairment of the ability of the accused to defend himself whether
on account of death, disappearance or non–availability of witnesses or otherwise.

COMPENSATORY JURISPRUDENCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

A significant contribution of judicial activism in the post Maneka Gandhi period has been the
development of compensatory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the High Courts under Articles
32 and 226 of the Constitution. The scope of writ jurisdiction has also been expanded to uphold
the Human Dignity and other Fundamental Human Rights. Consequent upon the expansion of
writ
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

jurisdiction, the Compensation as a mode of redressel of violation of Human Rights gained

importance. The Supreme Court made a departure from the ordinary civil law, where the right to
claim compensation is only through a civil suit instituted by the aggrieved party before the court of
first instance.
Currently, the writ jurisdiction of higher judiciary and the original jurisdiction of the civil court
regarding the award of compensation invoked upon infraction of Human Rights are based upon distinct
Constitutional and legal principles. The development of the remedy of monetary compensation as to
Constitutional and civil law remedies for violation of Human Rights is analysed through the judicial
pronouncements expanding their respective nature, extent and limitations.

MONETARY COMPENSATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS

It is internationally recognized principle that right to compensation is not alien to the concept
of enforcement of guaranteed right. The development of the remedy of monetary compensation for the
enforcement of Human Rights may be discussed with reference to writ jurisdiction of the higher
judiciary and the ordinary original jurisdiction of the civil court.
Compensation through writs is a recent development and an extension of the prerogatives
of the Supreme Court and High Courts in the field of Constitutional remedies. Even though, there
was much criticism on the payment of compensation under Article 32 of the Constitution, because this
Article as such itself does not expressly empowers the courts to award such relief. It is important to
mention here that the seed of compensation for the violation of the rights implicit in Article 21 is first
sowed in Veena Sethi v. State of Bihar and Khatri v. State of Bihar.

The decision of the Supreme Court in Rudul Shah case made it clear that, through the exercise
of writ jurisdiction, the Supreme Court or the High Courts have powers to award compensation for the
violation of Fundamental Rights and this decision has been followed in a number of decisions by the
Supreme Court and the High court in the similar situations of violation of the Right to Life and liberty
of a person.
In Nilabeti Behara v. state of Orissa and others, the Supreme Court struck down the doctrine
of sovereign immunity in the arena of public law. This is the case of the custodial death of a person.

Nature of the Constitutional Remedy

A perusal of the above judicial panorama in the foregoing discussion makes it clear that, at
present, the power to grant compensation through the writs is an established remedy. Compensation
has been awarded by the Supreme Court by referring to its different concept like “Exemplary costs”,
“palliative measures”, “solarium” or “exemplary damages”.

On the basis of the above discussion it can be inferred that the development of Constitutional
remedy affords an effective remedy in the form of monetary compensation on infraction of Human
Rights.

CHILD LABOUR AND HUMAN RIGHTS

 The evil of employment of children in agriculture and industrial sectors in India is a product of
economic, social and among others, inadequate legislative measures. The founding fathers of the
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

Constitution, being aware of the likely exploitation by different profit makers for their personal gain
specifically prohibited employment of children in certain employment. Article 24 of the Constitution
deals with the Child Labour directly, where as Articles 15(3), 21A, 39 (e), 39 (f) and 47 deal with
Child Labour indirectly.
Article 24 of the Constitution prohibits the employment of children below the age of fourteen
years in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. Article 15(3) of the
Constitution enables the State to make special provisions for the welfare of children.

 The directive principle of State policy contained in Article 38 (e) directs the state to safeguard
the tender age of children from entering into jobs unsuited to their age and strength forced by
economic necessity.
 Article 38(f) imposes a duty on the state to secure facilities for the healthy development of
children, and to protect childhood and youth against exploitation as well as moral and material
abandonment.
 Whereas Article 21 A directs the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of 6 to 14 years.
 Article 47 imposes a duty upon the state to raise the levels of nutrition and standard of living
of its people and improve public health.

The government of India has enacted various welfare legislation for the working children from
time to time. The basic aim of the legislation is to prohibit the employment of children in certain
employments and regulate the conduct of the employers of child workers in such a way that, these
poor innocent children are not exploited any more. The protective provisions of the enactments do not
cover children employed in smaller establishment. However, the Government of India enacted the
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 which prohibits the employment of children in
hazardous work and also regulates the conditions of work in certain other employment where the
employment is not prohibited. The Act has many provisions to be welcomed, but at the same time, it
has lacunas and its own limitations.

BONDED LABOUR AND HUMAN

This is unfortunate that even after so many years of independence and more, certain
obnoxious practices like caste system, untouchability, bonded labour and forced labour continue in the
Indian Society. They are now been questioned and challenged by the present day society in the
changed context of the social order in the welfare society, where rational and sophisticated thinking,
human dignity, liberty and equality are considered more important than ever before.
In India, the bonded labour system continues to be the most pernicious form of human
bondage. Under such system a worker continues to serve his master in consideration of debt obtained
by him or his ancestors. Bonded labour can be intergenerational or child bondage or loyalty bondage
or bondage through land allotment. Most of these labourers come from lowest strata of the society
such as the untouchables, Adivasis, or agricultural laborers. Bonded labour became a mere play thing
in the hands of few privileged persons. Attempts have been made both at National and International
Level from time to time to eradicate forced labour. Every International instrument dealing with the
Human Rights has prohibited the use of Forced or Compulsory Labour.
 The Constitution of India guarantees Fundamental Rights against exploitation. Article 23
of the Constitution of India prohibits “Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms
of forced labour”. The contravention of this Constitutional provision is made an offence punishable in
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Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN (NCW)

In our country there is largely a patriarchal structure of a society. In this set up, women have
been considered as inferior and given a secondary status. They have been subject to various legal and
social discriminations. There is a need to remove such inequalities and to make a provision for solving
her problems.
‘The need was felt for structure to uphold the rights and implement the provisions of beneficial
legislations, in an organized and institutionalized manner’. So with this view National Commission for
Women (NCW), was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under new Act 1990.

Purpose of the NCW is –

 To review constitutional & legal safeguards for women
 To recommend remedial legislative measures
 To facilitate redressal of grievances &
 To advice government on all policy matter affecting women.

In keeping with its mandate, the Commission initiated various steps to improve the status of
women and worked for their economic empowerment. During the visits to the states it received a
large number of complaints. The commission acted suo-moto in several cases to provide speedy
justice.
It took up the issue of child marriage, sponsored legal awareness programmes, Parivarik
Mahila Lok Adalats and reviewed laws such as Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, PNDT Act 1994, Indian
Penal Code 1860 and the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 It organized
workshops/consultations, constituted expert committees on economic empowerment of women, for
gender awareness and took up publicity campaign against female foeticide, violence against women,
etc.

The commission shall consist of:

1) A Chairperson, committed to the cause of women, to be nominated by the Central Government.
2) Five Members to be nominated by the Central Government from amongst persons of ability,
integrity and standing who have had experience in law or legislation, trade unionism, management of

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 LATHA MATHAVAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Latha Mathavan Nagar, Kiddaripatti, Alagarkoil, Madurai – 625301.

Class –VII SEM. Subject – Human Rights

an industry potential of women, women’s voluntary organisations (including women activist),

administration, economic development, health, education or social welfare;

Provided that at least one Member each shall be from amongst persons belonging to the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively;
3) A Member-Secretary to be nominated by the Central Government who shall be:-
i. an expert in the field of management, organisational structure or sociological movement, or
ii. an officer who is a member of a civil service of the Union or of an all-India service or holds a
civil post under the Union with appropriate experience.

Tenure- Section 4(1)

The Chairperson and every member shall hold office for such period, not exceeding three
years, as may be specified by the Central Government in this behalf.

Functions of NCW:-
The commission shall perform all or any of the following functions, namely:-

a) Investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the
Constitution and other laws;
b) present to the Central Government, annually and at such other times as the Commission may
deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguard;
c) make such reports recommendations for the effective implementation of those safeguards for
improving the conditions of women by the Union or any state;
d) review, from time to time, the exiting provisions of the Constitution and other laws affecting
women and recommend amendments thereto so as to suggest remedial legislative measures to
meet any lacunae, inadequacies or shortcomings in such legislations;
e) take up cases of violation of the provisions of the Constitution and of other laws relating to
women with the appropriate authorities;
f) look into complaints and take suo moto notice of matters relating to:-
g) deprivation of women's rights; non-implementation of laws enacted to provide protection to
women and also to achieve the objective of equality and development;
h) non-compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or instructions aimed at mitigating hardships
and ensuring welfare and providing relief to women, and take up the issues arising out of such
matters with appropriate authorities;
i) call for special studies or investigations into specific problems or situations arising out of
discrimination and atrocities against women and identify the constraints so as to recommend
strategies for their removal;
j) undertake promotional and educational research so as to suggest ways of ensuring due
representation of women in all spheres and identify factors responsible for impeding their
advancement participate and advice on the planning process of socioeconomic development
of women;
k) evaluate the progress of the development of women under the Union and any State;
l) inspect or cause to inspected a jail, remand home, women’s institution or other place of
custody where women are kept as prisoners or otherwise and take up with the concerned
authorities for remedial action, if found necessary;
m) fund litigation involving issues affecting a large body of women;
n) make periodical reports to the Government on any matter pertaining to women and in

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 particular various difficulties under which women toil;
o) Any other matter which may be referred to it by Central Government.

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