Legal

Literacy
Project
Work

Submitted By: Akanksha Choudhary

Course: B.A, LL.B (Hons.)

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Enrollment No.: A11911114142

Semester: 5th

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Institute: Amity Law School, Centre II

CONTENT

1) Acknowledgement .... Page 4

2) Fundamental Rights ... Page 5-6
3) Right to Education as Fundamental Rights.. Page 6-13

5) BibliographyPage 19

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4) Freedom of Expressions as Fundamental Rights ..Page 14-18

Acknowledgement

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it

would not have been possible without the kind
support and help of many individuals. I would like
to extend my sincere thanks to all of them.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my

parents & college mates for their kind co-

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I am highly indebted to Ms Ritika Behl for their

guidance and constant supervision as well as for
providing necessary information regarding the
project & also for their support in completing the
project.

operation and encouragement which help me in

completion of this project.
I would like to express my special gratitude and
thanks to persons for giving me such attention
and time.
My thanks and appreciations also go to my
colleague in developing the project and people
who have willingly helped me out with their
abilities.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
The Part III of the Constitution of India gives a detailed description on a charter of rights
called the Fundamental Rights'. These fundamental rights guarantee civil freedom to all
the citizens of India to allow them to live in peace and harmony. These are the basic rights
that every Indian citizen has the right to enjoy, irrespective of their caste, creed and
religion, place of birth, race, color or gender. These fundamental rights include Right to
Equality, Right to Freedom, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Education Rights,
Right against Exploitation, Right to Constitutional Remedies, etc. Anyone guilty of the
non-compliance to such Fundamental rights will be punished as mentioned in the Indian
Penal Code, subject to the verdict of the judiciary. Fundamental rights for Indians aim at
narrowing down the inequalities of pre-independence social practices, especially the
abolition of untouchability. They also guarantee the protection of cultural and educational
rights of some religious minorities by granting them the liberty to conserve their
languages and educational institutions.

1. Right to Equality, means equality before law, ruling out any prejudice on the
basis of race, religion, caste, creed, gender or place of birth. This right also means

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There are six fundamental rights documented by the Constitution, such as:

an equality of opportunity with respect to employment, abolition of untouchability

and also abolition of titles.
2. Right to freedom includes a gamut of rights such as right to speech and
expression, right to assemble peacefully or to form association, right to move
freely throughout the territory of India, right to life and liberty, right to reside and
settle in any part of India and so on.
3. Right to Freedom Of Religion is another important fundamental right that
explains the essence of freedom of conscience and profession, freedom to run
religious affairs and freedom to give religious instructions in certain institutions.
4. Right against Exploitation talks about the banning of forced labor and
prohibition of employment of children in perilous jobs.
5. Cultural and Educational Rights of our constitution explains the preservation
of language and culture of minorities and right of minorities to establish
educational institutions.
6. Right to Constitutional Remedy deals with the right to move the courts for
issuance of writs & explains the writs of: Habeas corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition,
Quo Warranto, Certiorari. This right also lays down the privileges in respect of the
National Commission on Minorities, the National Commission on Women, the
National Commission on Scheduled Castes, etc.

RIGHT TO EDUCATION AS FUNDAMENTAL

RIGHTS
Education is the most potent mechanism for the advancement of human
beings. It enlarges, enriches and improves the individual's image of the
future. A man without education is no more than an animal.

The significance of education was very well explained in case of Brown

V Board of Education, in following words: "It is the very foundation of
good citizenship. Today, it is principal instrument in awakening the child

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Education emancipates the human beings and leads to liberation from

ignorance. According to Pestalozzi, education is a constant process of
development of innate powers of man which are natural, harmonious and
progressive. It is said that in the Twenty First Century, 'a nation's ability
to convert knowledge into wealth and social good through the process of
innovation is going to determine its future,' accordingly twenty first
century is termed as century of knowledg.

to cultural value, in preparing him for later professional training and in

helping him to adjust normally to his environment. "It is said that child is
the future of nation.
The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article
21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory
education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a
Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act,
2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under
Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary
education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which
satisfies certain essential norms and standards.
Article 21- A and the RTE Act came into effect on 1 April 2010. The title
of the RTE Act incorporates the words free and compulsory. Free
education means that no child, other than a child who has been admitted
by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the appropriate
Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses
which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary
education. Compulsory education casts an obligation on the appropriate
Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission,
attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the
6-14 age group. With this, India has moved forward to a rights based
framework that casts a legal obligation on the Central and State
Governments to implement this fundamental child right as enshrined in
the Article 21A of the Constitution, in accordance with the provisions of
the RTE Act.
i.

Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion

of elementary education in a neighbourhood school.

ii.

It clarifies that compulsory education means obligation of the

appropriate government to provide free elementary education and
ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of
elementary education to every child in the six to fourteen age
group. Free means that no child shall be liable to pay any kind of
fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from
pursuing and completing elementary education.

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The RTE Act provides for the:

iii.

It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an

age appropriate class.

iv.

It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate

Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and
compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other
responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.

v.

It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to Pupil
Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, schoolworking days, teacher-working hours.

vi.

It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the

specified pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather
than just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus
ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings.
It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for noneducational work, other than decennial census, elections to local
authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.

vii.

It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e.

teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.

viii.

It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b)

screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee;
(d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without
recognition,

It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values

enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round
development of the child, building on the childs knowledge, potentiality
and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a
system of child friendly and child centred learning.

Article 21A: The Right to Education inserted in constitution via 86th

amendment act.

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At present, there are five articles in the constitution of India which have
Children as their special focus. These articles are Article 21A, 24, 39 &
45 and 51A (k). Thus special provisions for children find place in our
constitution in Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles as well as
Fundamental Duties.

Article 24: No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work
in any factory or mine or engaged in hazardous employment.
Article 39 (f): The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards
securing (f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to
develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and
that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against
moral and material abandonment.
Article 45: The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten
years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and
compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of
fourteen years.
Article 51-A (k): who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for
education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six
and fourteen years.

The changes in constitution by 86th amendment Act. The 86th

Amendment Act 2002 had made the following changes in our
constitution:
Change in Fundamental Rights:
A new article 21A was inserted below the Article 21 which made Right to
Education a Fundamental Right for children in the range of 6-14 years.
This article reads: The State shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such
manner as the State may, by law, determine
Change in DPSP:

Change in Fundamental Duties:

Article 51A was also amended and after clause (J), the clause (k) was
added which says: who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities

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Article 45 which originally stated: The State shall endeavour to provide,

within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution,
for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the
age of fourteen years. Was substituted as The State shall endeavor to
provide early childhood care and education for all children until they
complete the age of six years.

for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of
six and fourteen years.
As per the above amendments, the 86th Amendment Act came up with
the following:
It made Right to Education a Fundamental Right for Children from Age
6-14. It made education for all children below 6 years a Directive
Principle for State Policy (DPSP). It made the opportunities for education
to child a Fundamental duty of the parents of the children. Thus, we see
that Right to Education is acquired by a child when he / she attains the
age of 6 years. The day this 86th Amendment Act was passed, a huge
crowd of 70,000 people gathered at the capital and demanding that
education be made a fundamental right also for children up to six years of
age.
Background to RTE
o The 1986 National Policy of Education DID NOT make the education
compulsory.
o The first official document on the education right of children was
Ramamurti Committee Report in 1990 which reviewed the National
Education Policy 1986. This committee mentioned that not paying
attention to the right to education was the most fundamental problem of
our education system. Ramamurti Committee also noted that the time
has come to recognize Right to Education as a fundamental right of
the Indian Citizens.
o In 1991, a book by Myron Wiener titled. The Child and State in India:
Child labour & Education in comparative perspective noted states
failure to eradicate child labour and enforce compulsory education.

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o In 1992, India became signatory to the UN Convention on Rights of the

Child. Article 28 of this Convention asks the states to recognize right
of education for every child and make primary education compulsory.
At that time, it was not in line with the constitutions provision in article
51(c) which says: State shall endeavour to foster respect for
international law and treaty obligations. (DPSP)

o In 1993, Supreme Court gave its landmark judgment in the

Unnikrishnan JP vs State of Andhra Pradesh & Others. In this case, SC
held that Education is a Fundamental right flowing from Article 21.
o In 1994, The United Front Government set up Saikia Committee to
examine the proposal of making right to free and compulsory education.
o In 1997, the Saikia Committee Reported that Constitution of India
should be amended to make the right to free education up to 14 years of
age a compulsory right. It also recommended making an explicit
fundamental duty of every parent to provide opportunities for
elementary education.
o In 1997, the United Front Government introduced 83rd Amendment
Bill, 1997 which encompassed insertion of article 21A & omitting
article 45 of the Constitution. This amendment bill had an additional
financial memorandum that outlined the costs that would go into
making education for children in the six to 14 age groups a fundamental
right for a 10-year period.
o Tapas Majumdar Committee was set up by the NDA Government in
1999 to look into the financial implications of operationalising the 83rd
Amendment Bill introduced by the United Front government in 1997,
seeking to make the right to free and compulsory education up to the
age of 14 a fundamental right. The 83rd Amendment Bill was renamed
the 93rd Amendment Bill and significant changes were incorporated in
it. The tapas majumadar committee recommended that even children
belonging to the poorest sections of society must receive education that
was comparable in quality with the best. It did not advocate low-cost
alternatives.
o The 93rd Amendment Bill was discussed and passed By Lok Sabha on
27 November 2001 and Rajya Sabha on 14th May 2002. The date of the
bill was to be amended from 2001 to 2002 so it again went to Lok
Sabha.

o In pursuance with article 21A, which says that The State shall provide
free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to
fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine and
Constitution 86th amendment act, it was now up to the state (means

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o After ratification by the President, it became Constitution 86th

Amendment Act.

central government) to determine how and in which manner the Free &
compulsory education is to be provided.
o The 86th amendment provided for a follow-up legislation, which
culminated in Right to Education Bill 2005, Right to Education Bill
2008 and finally Right to Education Act 2009.
Right to Education Act: Main Features
Education as Fundamental Right:
i.

Every Child of the age group of 6-14 years shall have right to free
and compulsory Education.

ii.

No child is liable to pay any kind of fee/ capitation fee/ charges. A

collection of capitation fee invites a fine up to 10 times the amount
collected.

Children from Disadvantaged Group:

This right provides that child belonging to disadvantage group means a
child who
a) Belongs to SC & ST
b) Socially backward class.
c) Geographical, Linguistic, Gender or such other matters.
The Right to Education Act 2009 did not initially talk about Physically
disabled children. To enable such provisions, the Right of Children to
Free & Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill 2010 was introduced in
the Rajya Sabha on April 16, 2010. This bill was later referred to a
standing committee on Human Resource Development. The bill was
passed in both the houses of the parliament by May 2012 thus expanding
the definition of Child belonging to disadvantaged group. Now this
group shall also include the children with disability. Disability means
blind, leprosy cured, hearing impaired, locomotor disabled and mentally
ill. It also includes autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation & multiple
disabilities. These children have the same right as of other children.
Please note that Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18
years of age is laid down under a separate legislation- the Persons with
Disabilities Act. A number of other provisions regarding improvement of

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d) Is differentially abled.

school infrastructure, teacher-student ratio and faculty are made in the

Act.
Teachers:
This act provides that the states will ensure that no non-teaching work is
given to the teachers. The act recommends quality teachers and mandates
that untrained teachers will have to upgrade themselves in 5 years.
Schools:
The act has listed minimum infrastructure requirements as a part of the
schools and mandates the states to ensure that schools have these
requirements. The schools which dont conform to the quality standards
as mentioned in the act, will upgrade themselves in 3 years or face
derecognition.
Reservation: The act mandates 25% reservation for disadvantage
sections of the society as defined by the act.
Management Committees: The act mandates that parents are to
constitute the 75% members in the management committees. The School
management committees are to have 50% women members. Screening:
This act makes the screening of students / parents unlawful. It invites fine
up to ` 25000 in the first instance and double in every successive
violations.
Examinations: No child can be put through any exam, not even class V
& Class VIII board examinations. Number of Teachers: The act mandates
number of teachers as follows: (please note that in newspapers, different
news have written different ratios. The following list is reproduced from
the official document)
Class I to Class V
Up to 60 children: 2 teachers (Pupil Teacher Ratio: 30:1)
61 to 90 children: 3 teachers (Pupil Teacher Ratio: 30:1)
90 to 120: 4 teachers (Pupil Teacher Ratio: 30:1)
121-200: 5 teachers (minimum Pupil Teacher Ratio: 40:1)
One teacher per class each for 1. Science and math 2. Social Studies 3.
Languages.

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Class VI to Class VIII

One teacher for 35 children

If there are more than 100 children then 1. A full time teacher 2. Part time
instructors for Art, Health and Physical Education, Work Education.
Corporal punishment:
The Right to Education Act 2009 makes corporal punishment unlawful.
Private Teaching / Tuitions:
Clause 28, Chapter 28 of the act mandates that no teacher shall engage
himself / herself in private teaching.
Monitoring:
The act states that National & State Commissions for protection of Child
rights would monitor the effective implementation of measures in this act
and inquire into complaints.
National Advisory Council:
The act provides that the central Government shall constitute a National
Advisory Council of maximum 15 members which shall advise the
central government on implementation of the various provisions of the
act.
RTE Implementation Issues: Share of Burden

Consequently, the Anil Bordia Committee was set up by the HRD

ministry in 2009-10 to harmonise the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the
RTE. The Anil Bordia committee was asked to study the funds
requirement and funding initially estimated that Rs 171,000 crores would
be required in the next five years to implement the Act. This committee
argued for a higher financial burden for the centre. The committee said
that said that sharing ratio of 55:45 (for the current year) and 50:50 (in
2011-12) would be unfavourable to the states as they would have to
practically double their allocation.

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The Right to Education Act has made state and local bodies accountable
for its implementation by 2013. Right from the day one of its enactment,
the states have been clamouring that these bodies do not have the
financial capacity to cover all the schools needed for universal education.
Thus it was clear that the central government (which collects most of the
revenue) will be required to subsidize the states.

However, in April 2010 the central government agreed to share the

funding for implementing the law in the ratio of 65 to 35 between the
centre and the states, and a ratio of 90 to 10 for the north-eastern states.
However, later, this figure was upgraded to Rs. 231,000 crores. When the
24,000 crore awarded by the Finance Commission is also taken into
account, the centres share effectively works out to 68% while that of the
states 32%.
A report on the status of implementation of the Act was released by the
Ministry of Human Resource Development on the one year anniversary
of the Act. The report admits that 8.1 million children in the age group 614 remain out of school and theres a shortage of 508,000 teachers
country-wide.
A RTE Forum report representing the leading education networks in the
country, however, challenging the findings pointing out that several key
legal commitments are falling behind the schedule. The Supreme Court of
India has also intervened to demand implementation of the Act in the
Northeast. It has also provided the legal basis for ensuring pay parity
between teachers in government and government aided school

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSIONS AS FUNDAMENTAL

RIGHTS
Article 19 is the most important and key article which embodies the basic
freedoms. Article 19(1) provides that all citizens shall have the right(originally 7, now 6)
to freedom of speech and expression;
to assemble peaceably and without arms;
to form associations or unions;
to move freely throughout the territory of India;

omitted by 44thamendment act. (it was right to acquire, hold and

dispose of property)

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to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;

 to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or

business.
However, Freedom of speech and expression is not absolute. As of now,
there are 8 restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression. These
are in respect of the sovereignty and integrity of the country. These 8
restrictions were:
1. Security of the state
2. Friendly relations with foreign states
3. Public Order
4. Decency or morality
5. Contempt of Court
6. Defamation
7. Incitement to offence
8. Sovereignty and integrity of India.
These 8 restrictions were embodied in their current form in the
constitution First Amendment Bill 1951, this was necessitated by Romesh
Thapar v. State of Madras (1950). In this case the entry and circulation of
the English journal Cross Road, printed and published in Bombay, was
banned by the Government of Madras. The Supreme court held in this
case that, unless a law restricting the freedom of speech and expression
were directed solely against the undermining of the security of the state or
its overthrow, the law could not be held a reasonable restriction though it
sought to impose a restraint for the maintenance of public order.

The freedom of speech under Article 19(1) (a) includes the right to
express ones views and opinions at any issue through any medium, e.g.
by words of mouth, writing, printing, picture, film, movie etc. It thus
includes the freedom of communication and the right to propagate or
publish opinion. But this right is subject to reasonable restrictions being
imposed under Article 19(2). Free expression cannot be equated or
confused with a license to make unfounded and irresponsible allegations
against the judiciary.

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When a proclamation of emergency is made under article 352, article 19

itself remains suspended.

 Article 19 of the constitution provides freedom of speech which is the

right to express ones opinion freely without any fear through oral /
written / electronic/ broadcasting / press.
The Constitution does not make any special / specific reference to the
Freedom of Press. The protagonists of the free Press called it a serious
lapse of the Drafting committee. However, the freedom of expression
includes freedom of press. Dr. Ambedkar in this context had said on
speaking behalf of the Drafting Committee that the press had no special
rights which are not to be given to an individual or a citizen. Dr.
Ambedkar further said that the editors or managers of press are all
citizens of the country and when they chose to write in newspapers they
are merely expressing their right of expression.
So, the word expression covers the Press. In modern times it covers the
blogs and websites too.
Some landmark Supreme Court Judgments regarding the Freedom
of Expression:
Romesh Thapar v. State of Madras, (1950): Freedom of speech and of
the press laid at the foundation of all democratic organizations, for
without free political discussion no public education, so essential for the
proper functioning of the process of popular government, is possible.
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978): Freedom of speech and
expression has no geographical limitation and it carries with it the right of
a citizen to gather information and to exchange thought with others not
only in India but abroad also.
Prabha Dutt v. Union of India (1982): Supreme Court directed the
Superintendent of Tihar Jail to allow representatives of a few newspapers
to interview Ranga and Billa, the death sentence convicts, as they wanted
to be interviewed.

Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting v. Cricket

Association of Bengal (Cricket Association) (1995): Every citizen
has a fundamental right to impart as well as receive information through

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Indian Express v. Union of India (1985): Press plays a very significant

role in the democratic machinery. The courts have duty to uphold the
freedom of press and invalidate all laws and administrative actions that
abridge that freedom.

the electronic media. It ruled that frequencies or airwaves are public

property, and that the government enjoys no monopoly over broadcasting.
Court ordered the government to take immediate steps to set up an
independent and autonomous public authority to regulate frequencies.
Freedom of speech and expression (Article 19 .1 & 19.2) played an
important role in this decision.
Union of India v. Assn. for Democratic Reforms (2002): One-sided
information, disinformation, misinformation and non-information, all
equally create an uninformed citizenry which makes democracy a farce.
Freedom of speech and expression includes right to impart and receive
information which includes freedom to hold opinions.
Indian law does not expressly refer to commercial and artistic speech.
However, Indian Law is developing and the Supreme Court has ruled that
commercial speech cannot be denied the protection of Article 19(1)(a)
of the Constitution. The Court has held that commercial speech is a part
of the right of freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed by our
Constitution. The citizens of India have the right to receive commercial
speech and they also have the right to read and listen to the same. This
protection is available to the speaker as well as the recipient.[iv] Freedom
of Speech and Expression also includes artistic speech as it includes the
right to paint, sign, dance, write poetry, literature and is covered by
Article 19(1)(a) because the common basic characteristic of all these
activities is freedom of speech and expression.

In a democracy, freedom of speech & expression opens up channels of

free discussion of issues. Freedom of speech plays a crucial role in the
formation of public opinion on social, economic & political matters. It
embraces within its scope the freedom of propagation and interchange of
ideas, dissemination of information which would help formation of ones
opinion & view point & debates on matters of public concern. So long as
the expression is confined to nationalism, patriotism & love for the
motherland, the use of National flag by the way of expression of those
sentiments would be a Fundamental Right.

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Freedom of Speech is the bulwark of democratic government. This

freedom is essential for the proper functioning of the democratic process.
The freedom of speech and liberty is regarded as the first condition of
liberty. It occupies a preferred position in the hierarchy liberties giving
succour and protection to all other liberties. It is the mother of all
liberties.

This aspect of the right to freedom of speech and expression extending

the concept of citizenship to include socio-political participation of a
person is critical in the process of determining the scope of right to life of
a citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution. It is important to note that
the scope of the freedom of speech and expression in Article 19(1)(a) of
the Constitution has been expanded to include the right to receive and
disseminate information. It includes the right to communicate and
circulate information through any medium including print media, audio,
television broadcast or electronic media.
The judiciary has time and again opined that the right to receive
information is another facet of the right to freedom of speech and
expression and the right to communicate and receive information without
interference is a crucial aspect of this right. This is because, a person
cannot form an informed opinion or make an informed choice and
effectively participate socially, politically or culturally without receipt of
adequate information. The Supreme Court in State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj
Narain31 has held that Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution guarantees the
freedom of speech and expression to all citizens in addition to protecting
the rights of the citizens to know the right to receive information
regarding matters of public concern.

WEBSITES:

2. http://www.kkhsou.in/main/polscience/fundamental_rights.
html

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1. http://www.iloveindia.com/constitution-ofindia/fundamental-rights.html

3. http://www.lawctopus.com/academike/freedom-of-speechand-expression/
4. http://www.gktoday.in/right-to-education-in-india/
5. http://mhrd.gov.in/school-education

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6. http://www.gktoday.in/article-19-of-constitution-of-indiaand-freedom-of-speech/