LAW RELATING TO HUMAN RIGHTS

HEALTH AS A HUMAN RIGHT

Submitted By:

AnweshaTripathy

5th Year(10th Semester)

Section-A

Roll Number-724

Submitted To:

Dr. Vijay Kumar Vimal

Lecturer of Law, CNLU

Session: 2012-2017
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my greatest pleasure to be able to present this project of Law relating to human rights. I
found it very interesting to work on this project. I would like to thank Dr. Vijay Kumar
Vimal, Faculty of Human Rights Law, Chanakya National Law University for providing me
with such an interesting project topic, for his unmatched efforts in making learning an
enjoyable process, for his immense sincerity for the benefit of his students and for his
constant unconditional support and guidance.

I would also like to thank the university library staff for helping me in gathering data for the
project. Above all, I would like to thank my parents, elder sister and paternal aunt, who from
such a great distance have extended all possible moral and motivational support for me and
have always advised me to be honest in my approach towards my work.

I hope the project is upto the mark and is worthy of appreciation.

AnweshaTripathy

Chanakya National Law University, Patna

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Definition of Health and Human Rights and Their Relationship
3. Right to Health
4. Health Rights and other basic rights
5. Right to health of Specific Groups
6. Constitutional Mandates to the State in India
7. Right to Health: Indian Judicial Activism
8. Conclusion
Bibliograph

9.
 INTRODUCTION

What is the right to health? This preliminary issue is the subject of much debate. It stresses
the need for detailing meaningful definitions for health conditions. Most of the definitional
issues raised by researcher with regards to drowning apply to the definition of Health.
Although concerns with health and disease have been a major pre-occupation of humans
since antiquity, so, the use of the word health to describe human well being is relatively
recent. The word health was derived from the old English word hoelth, which meant a state
of being sound, and was generally used to infer a soundness of the body. 1 Prior to enigmatic
physician known as Hippocrates (c 460-377 BCE, or more appropriately, from around 5
BCE), health was perceived as a divine gift. Hippocrates was credited with the pioneering
shift from divine notions of health, and using observation as a basis for acquiring health
knowledge.

Health is a fundamental human right and a worldwide social goal Health is necessary for the
realization of basic human needs and to attain the status of a better quality of life. In 1977, the
30th World Health Assembly decided that the main social target of governments and World
Health Organization (WHO) in the coming decades should be " the attainment by all the
citizens of the world by the year 2000 of a level of health that will permit them to lead a
socially and economically productive life" (WHO 1979).

Such a declaration has led most of the governments in western countries to give much more
priority to their health care systems through higher allocation and better utilization of
resources in order to improve the quality of health care. Less developed countries are in the
process of improving it and some among them are yet to start India also has been attempting
towards this end. The major hindrances on its way could be attributed to inadequate
allocation of resources for the health sector, rapid population growth, inefficient use of the
resources allocated and above all lack of public consciousness about their own health status.
Health being a State subject in the Indian federal system, different states in the country have
been trying to meet the WHO health goal through mobilization of both internal and external
resources including the funds from foreign agencies Specifically, the state of Andhra Pradesh

1 Dolfman, Michael L., The Concept of Health: An Historic and Analytic

Examination, Journal of School Health, Published by American School
Health Association, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1973, Vol.
43, Pp. 491-497
has been in the forefront in this regard and somewhat successful in developing a better public
health care delivery system.

However, the achievement of the goal of "health for all" for the state is perhaps still a distant
dream. Here a major point that needs to be understood is that the country needs to give
emphasis on the rural health services where nearly 70% of total Indian Population still lives.
Despite repeated pronouncements by the policy makers about the need for rural emphasis,
health services provided to the people have continued to be urban oriented where a major
chunk of the resources allocated to the health sector are spent.
 DEFINITION OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE
RELATION BETWEEN THEM

Definition of Health

Different professional groups define the concept of health in different ways Medical
professionals define health in terms of illness, which, in turn is expressed in terms of mental
or physical disorders.

This concept of health is predominantly based on pathology and is concerned with the
presence or absence of disease and the stage of its invasiveness Some others define illness
through giving emphasis to the amount of pain suffered or the degree to which individuals are
restricted in undertaking their normal day to day activities For some, the maintenance of
health is also linked to social aspects such as unemployment and wealth. The broadest
definition of health appears to accept anything and everything that can affect health status the
most widely accepted definition of health given by World Health Organization is as follows

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely an
absence of disease or infirmity"2

Definition of Human Right

The fundamental rights that humans have by the fact of being human, and that are neither
created nor can be abrogated by any government.3

Supreme Court and High Court judges at many time emphasized about importance of Human
Right.

2 FRCH 1987, World Health Organisation

3 UDHR,1948
In Maneka Gandhi V Union of India,4 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 may be termed Human Rights.

However, dignity has never been precisely defined on the basis of consensus, but it accords
roughly with justice and good society.5 The world conference on Human Rights held in 1993
in Vienna stated in Declaration that all human rights derive from the dignity and worth
inherent in the human person, and that the human person is the central subject of the human
rights and fundamental freedoms.

Health as a Human Right

Article 25 of the UDHR emphasizes recognition of the right of all persons to an adequate
standard of living, including guarantees for health and well-being. It acknowledges the
relationship between health and well-being and its link with other rights, such as the right to
food and the right to housing, as well as medical and social services. It adopts a broad view
of the right to health as a human right, even though health is but one component of an
adequate standard of living.

In article 12 of the ICESCR, states parties recognize "the right of everyone to the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health." That article identifies some
of the measures the state should take "to achieve the full realization of this right."

Articles 23 and 24 of the CRC recognize the right to health for all children and identify
several steps for its realization. Similarly, CEDAW establishes the obligation to adopt
adequate measures to guarantee women access to health and medical care, with no
discrimination whatsoever, including access to family planning services. It also establishes
the commitment to guarantee adequate maternal and child health care (art. 12[2]).

It is important to clarify that reproductive rights and reproductive health are not the same.
Reproductive health is only a small component of reproductive rights. Further access to
reproductive health services is only one part of the right to reproductive health, just as access
to health services is only one aspect of the right to health. For women to have good

4 AIR 1978 SC 597

5 David P Forsythe, The Internationalization of Human Rights, P 1

reproductive health they have to have good general health and the physical, economic and
social conditions that make possible good health overall Numerous other instruments also
provide for the right to health.

Regional Standards
The Inter-American System

Article XI of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man establishes the right
to the preservation of health through sanitary and social measures (food, clothing, housing,
and medical care), while it conditions its implementation on the availability of public and
community resources.

Article 34 of the Organization of American States Charter stipulates, as among the goals for
contributing to the integral development of the person, access to knowledge of modern
medical science and to adequate urban conditions. The American Convention on Human
Rights alludes indirectly to the right to health when it refers in article 26 to the commitment
of states parties to take measures to guarantee "the full realization of the rights implicit in the
economic, social, educational, scientific, and cultural standards set forth in the Charter."

The Additional Protocol of San Salvador in article 10 explicitly sets forth the "right to health"
for all individuals. It lists six measures that should be taken by states parties to guarantee this
right, including the development of universal primary care networks. In addition, article 11
guarantees the right to a healthy environment. Nonetheless, the Protocol rules out the
possibility of submitting individual petitions before the supervisory organs of the Inter-
American system with respect to the right to health.

European System

Article 11 of the European Social Charter refers to the right to protection of health, for the
attainment of which it stipulates health promotion, education and disease prevention
activities. Paragraph 13 of the first Part guarantees access to social and medical assistance to
those without adequate resources. Similarly, article 3 of the Convention on Human Rights
and Biomedicine enshrines equal access to health care.

African System

Article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights enshrines the right to the
highest possible level of health, to which end "necessary measures" will be taken, while also
guaranteeing medical services in case of illness. The African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child also includes recognition of the right to health.

RIGHT TO HEALTH

Traditionally health was seen as falling within the private, rather than public, realm. Health
was also understood as the "absence of disease." The first laws containing health-related
provisions go back to the era of industrialization. The Moral Apprentices Act (1802) and
Public Health Act (1848) were adopted in the United Kingdom as a means of containing
social pressure arising from poor labor conditions. The 1843 Mexican Constitution included
references to the states responsibility for preserving public health.6
The evolution towards defining health as a social issue led to the founding of the World
Health Organization (WHO) in 1946. With the emergence of health as a public issue, the
conception of health changed. WHO developed and promulgated the understanding of health
as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity."7 It defined an integrated approach linking together all the factors related
to human well-being, including physical and social surroundings conducive to good health.

With the establishment of WHO, for the first time the right to health was recognized
internationally. The WHO Constitution affirms that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction
of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition." Over time, this recognition
was reiterated, in a wide array of formulations, in several international and regional human
rights instruments, which include:-

6 The first nation to formally incorporate guarantees for ESC rights was Mexico
(1917 Constitution), though no specific mention is made of the right to health.

7 Constitution of the World Health Organization, Basic Documents, Official

Document No. 240 (Washington, 1991).
 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 25)

American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (art. 33)

European Social Charter (art. 11)

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 12)

African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (art. 16)

Universal recognition of the right to health was further confirmed in the 1978 Declaration of
Alma-Ata on Primary Health Care, in which states pledged to progressively develop
comprehensive health care systems to ensure effective and equitable distribution of resources
for maintaining health. They reiterated their responsibility to provide for the health of their
populations, "which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social
measures."8 The Declaration develops the bases for implementing primary health care
systems, which have implications for the observance of the right. While this instrument is
not binding, it does represent a further commitment on the part of states in respect of the right
to health, and establishes the framework for an integrated policy aimed at securing its
enjoyment.

In the context of the Alma-Ata Conference, WHO designed the plan, Health for All by the
Year 2000,9 which consists of a series of goals and programs to achieve minimum levels of
health for all. Nonetheless, in a context in which health problems associated with poverty and
inequity continue to pose the main obstacles to attaining minimal levels of well-being for
most of the worlds population, the failure to achieve these goals points to the need to rework
strategies.

Promoting health, one of the fundamental aspects of primary health care, has been addressed
independently by four successive conferences, the first in Ottawa, Canada, in 1986 10 and the
most recent in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1997. The Declaration of Jakarta includes an updated

8 WHO, Declaration of Alma-Ata, International Conference on Primary Health

Care, Alma-Ata, USSR, 6-12 September 1978.

9 WHO, Global Strategy for Health for All by the Year 2000 (Geneva, 1981).
conceptualization of health and identifies the requirements for its attainment as we head into
the next century. These include "peace, housing, education, social security, social relations,
food, income, womens empowerment, a stable ecosystem, the sustainable use of resources,
social justice, respect for human rights, and equity. Above all else, poverty is the greatest
threat to health."11

Other relevant international initiatives in recent years related to health are the Program of
Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), which
encompassed three goals related to reducing infant and maternal mortality, and guaranteeing
universal access to reproductive health and family planning services; and the Platform of
Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), which adopted five
strategic objectives aimed at improving womens health worldwide.

Key aspects of the right to health

The right to health is an inclusive right. We frequently associate the right to health with
access to health care and the building of hospitals. This is correct, but the right to health
extends further. It includes a wide range of factors that can help us lead a healthy life. The
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the body responsible for monitoring the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, calls these the underlying
determinants of health. They include:

Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation;

Safe food;
Adequate nutrition and housing;
Healthy working and environmental conditions;
Health-related education and information;
Gender equality

Right to health holds within it freedoms, and those include the right to be free from non-
consensual medical treatment, such as medical experiments and research or forced
sterilization, and to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.

10First International Conference on Promotion of Health, which issued the

Declaration of Ottawa.

11 Jakarta Declaration on Health Promotion (1997).

The right to health contains entitlements. These entitlements include:

The right to a system of health protection providing equality of opportunity for

everyone to enjoy the highest attainable level of health;
The right to prevention, treatment and control of diseases;
Access to essential medicines;
Maternal, child and reproductive health;
Equal and timely access to basic health services;
The provision of health-related education and information;
Participation of the population in health-related decision making at the national and
community levels.

Non-Discrimination

Non-discrimination is a key principle in human rights and is crucial to the enjoyment of the
right to the highest attainable standard of health (see section on non-discrimination below).

All services, goods and facilities must be available, accessible, acceptable and of good
quality.

Functioning public health and health-care facilities, goods and services must be
available in sufficient quantity within a State.
They must be accessible physically (in safe reach for all sections of the population,
including children, adolescents, older persons, persons with disabilities and other
vulnerable groups) as well as financially and on the basis of non-discrimination.
Accessibility also implies the right to seek, receive and impart health-related
information in an accessible format (for all, including persons with disabilities), but
does not impair the right to have personal health data treated confidentially.
The facilities, goods and services should also respect medical ethics, and be gender-
sensitive and culturally appropriate. In other words, they should be medically and
culturally acceptable.
Finally, they must be scientifically and medically appropriate and of good quality.
This requires, in particular, trained health professionals, scientifically approved and
unexpired drugs and hospital equipment, adequate sanitation and safe drinking water.
 HEALTH RIGHTS AND OTHER BASIC RIGHTS

Human rights are interdependent, indivisible and interrelated. This means that violating the
right to health may often impair the enjoyment of other human rights, such as the rights to
education or work, and vice versa.

The importance given to the underlying determinants of health, that is, the factors and
conditions which protect and promote the right to health beyond health services, goods and
facilities, shows that the right to health is dependent on, and contributes to, the realization of
many other human rights. These include the rights to food, to water, to an adequate standard
of living, to adequate housing, to freedom from discrimination, to privacy, to access to
information, to participation, and the right to benefit from scientific progress and its
applications.

Links between the right to health and the right to water

Health is associated with the ingestion of or contact with unsafe water, lack of clean water
(linked to inadequate hygiene), lack of sanitation, and poor management of water resources
and systems, including in agriculture. Most diarrhoeal disease in the world is attributable to
unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. In 2002, diarrhoea attributable to these three factors
caused approximately 2.7 per cent of deaths (1.5 million) worldwide.

It is easy to see interdependence of rights in the context of poverty. For people living in
poverty, their health may be the only asset on which they can draw for the exercise of other
economic and social rights, such as the right to work or the right to education. Physical health
and mental health enable adults to work and children to learn, whereas ill health is a liability
to the individuals themselves and to those who must care for them. Conversely, individuals
right to health cannot be realized without realizing their other rights, the violations of which
are at the root of poverty, such as the rights to work, food, housing and education, and the
principle of non-discrimination.

How does the principle of non-discrimination apply to the right to health?

Discrimination means any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of various
grounds which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment
or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is linked to the marginalization of
specific population groups and is generally at the root of fundamental structural inequalities
in society. This, in turn, may make these groups more vulnerable to poverty and ill health.
Not surprisingly, traditionally discriminated and marginalized groups often bear a
disproportionate share of health problems.

For example, studies have shown that, in some societies, ethnic minority groups and
indigenous peoples enjoy fewer health services, receive less health information and are less
likely to have adequate housing and safe drinking water, and their children have a higher
mortality rate and suffer more severe malnutrition than the general population.

The impact of discrimination is compounded when an individual suffers double or multiple

discrimination, such as discrimination on the basis of sex and race or national origin or age.
For example, in many places indigenous women receive fewer health and reproductive
services and information, and are more vulnerable to physical and sexual violence than the
general population.

Non-discrimination and equality are fundamental human rights principles and critical
components of the right to health. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (Art. 2 (2)) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 2 (1)) identify
the following non-exhaustive grounds of discrimination: race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.
According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, other status may
include health status (e.g., HIV/AIDS) or sexual orientation. States have an obligation to
prohibit and eliminate discrimination on all grounds and ensure equality to all in relation to
access to health care and the underlying determinants of health. The International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Art. 5) also stresses that States
must prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination and guarantee the right of everyone to
public health and medical care.

Non-discrimination and equality further imply that States must recognize and provide for the
differences and specific needs of groups that generally face particular health challenges, such
as higher mortality rates or vulnerability to specific diseases. The obligation to ensure
nondiscrimination requires specific health standards to be applied to particular population
groups, such as women, children or persons with disabilities.

Positive measures of protection are particularly necessary when certain groups of persons
have continuously been discriminated against in the practice of States parties or by private
actors. Along the same lines, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has
made it clear that there is no justification for the lack of protection of vulnerable members of
society from health-related discrimination, be it in law or in fact. So even if times are hard,
vulnerable members of society must be protected, for instance through the adoption of
relatively low cost targeted programmes.

.
 RIGHT TO HEALTH OF SPECIFIC GROUPS

Some groups or individuals, such as children, women, persons with disabilities or persons
living with HIV/AIDS, face specific hurdles in relation to the right to health. These can result
from biological or socio-economic factors, discrimination and stigma, or, generally, a
combination of these. Considering health as a human right requires specific attention to
different individuals and groups of individuals in society, in particular those living in
vulnerable situations. Similarly, States should adopt positive measures to ensure that specific
individuals and groups are not discriminated against.
For instance, they should disaggregate their health laws and policies and tailor them to those
most in need of assistance rather than passively allowing seemingly neutral laws and policies
to benefit mainly the majority groups.
To illustrate what the standards related to the right to health mean in practice, this chapter
focuses on the following groups: women, children and adolescents, persons with disabilities,
migrants and persons living with HIV/AIDS.

WOMEN

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 12

1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women
in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access
to health-care services, including those related to family planning.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, States Parties shall ensure to
women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal
period, granting free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy
and lactation.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 10 (2)

Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after
childbirth. During such period working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with
adequate social security benefits.
Women are affected by many of the same health conditions as men, but women experience
them differently. The prevalence of poverty and economic dependence among women, their
experience of violence, gender bias in the health system and society at large, discrimination
on the grounds of race or other factors, the limited power many women have over their sexual
and reproductive lives and their lack of influence in decision-making are social realities
which have an adverse impact on their health. So women face particular health issues and
particular forms of discrimination, with some groups, including refugee or internally
displaced women, women in slums and suburban settings, indigenous and rural women,
women with disabilities or women living with HIV/AIDS facing multiple forms of
discrimination, barriers and marginalization in addition to gender discrimination.

Both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women require the elimination of
discrimination against women in health care as well as guarantees of equal access for women
and men to health-care services. Redressing discrimination in all its forms, including in the
provision of health care, and ensuring equality between men and women are fundamental
objectives of treating health as a human right. In this respect, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (art. 14) specifically calls upon
States to ensure that women in rural areas participate in and benefit from rural
development and have access to adequate health-care facilities,counselling and services
in family planning.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women further requires States
parties to ensure women have appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, childbirth
and the post-natal period, including family planning and emergency obstetric care. The
requirement for States to ensure safe motherhood and reduce maternal mortality and
morbidity is implicit here.

Sexual and reproductive health is also a key aspect of womens right to health. States should
enable women to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to
their sexuality, including their sexual and reproductive health, free from coercion, lack of
information, discrimination and violence. The Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development12 and the Beijing Platform for Action 13
highlighted the right of men and women to be informed and to have access to safe, effective,
affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, and the right of access
to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy
and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant.

Violence against women: a womens rights and right-to-health issue

Violence against women is a widespread cause of physical and psychological harm or

suffering among women, as well as a violation of their right to health. The Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women requires States to, among other things, enact
and enforce laws and policies that protect women and girls from violence and abuse and
provide for appropriate physical and mental health services. Health-care workers should also
be trained to detect and manage the health consequences of violence against women, while
female genital mutilation should be prohibited.14 States must exercise due diligence to
prevent, investigate and prosecute such violence whether it is perpetrated by State actors or
private persons. Survivors of any form of violence against women have the right to adequate
reparation and rehabilitation that cover their physical and mental health.

Children and adolescents

Children face particular health challenges related to the stage of their physical and mental
development, which makes them especially vulnerable to malnutrition and infectious
diseases, and, when they reach adolescence, to sexual, reproductive and mental health
problems. Most childhood deaths can be attributed to a few major causesacute respiratory

12 Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 513

September 1994 (United Nations publication, Sales N E.95.XIII.18).

13 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4
15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales N E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1.

14 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general

recommendations N 19 (1992) on violence against women and N 24 (1999) on women
and health.
infections, diarrhoea, measles, malaria and malnutritionor a combination of these. In this
regard both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child recognize the obligation on States to reduce infant and
child mortality, and to combat disease and malnutrition. In addition, a baby who has lost his
or her mother to pregnancy and childbirth complications has a higher risk of dying in early
childhood. Infants health is so closely linked to womens reproductive and sexual health that
the Convention on the Rights of the Child directs States to ensure access to essential health
services for the child and his/her family, including pre- and post-natal care for mothers.

Children are also increasingly at risk because of HIV infections occurring mostly through
mother-to-child transmission (a baby born to an HIVpositive mother has a 25 to 35 per cent
chance of becoming infected during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding). Accordingly,
States should take measures to prevent such transmission through, for instance: medical
protocols for HIV testing during pregnancy; information campaigns among women on these
forms of transmission; the provision of affordable drugs; and the provision of care and
treatment to HIV-infected women, their infants and families, including counselling and infant
feeding options.

Governments and health professionals should treat all children and adolescents in a non-
discriminatory manner. This means that they should pay particular attention to the needs and
rights of specific groups, such as children belonging to minorities or indigenous communities,
intersex children15 and, generally, young girls and adolescent girls, who in many contexts are
prevented from accessing a wide range of services, including health care. More specifically,
girls should have equal access to adequate nutrition, safe environments, and physical and
mental health services. Appropriate measures should be taken to abolish harmful traditional
practices that affect mostly girls health, such as female genital mutilation, early marriage,
and preferential feeding and care of boys.

Children who have experienced neglect, exploitation, abuse, torture or any other form of
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment also require specific protection by
States. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 39) stresses the responsibility of the
State for promoting childrens physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration.

15 Intersex children are born with internal and external sex organs that are
neither exclusively male nor exclusively female.
While adolescents are in general a healthy population group, they are prone to risky
behaviour, sexual violence and sexual exploitation. Adolescent girls are also vulnerable to
early and/or unwanted pregnancies. Adolescents right to health is therefore dependent on
health care that respects confidentiality and privacy and includes appropriate mental, sexual
and reproductive health services and information. Adolescents are, moreover, particularly
vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. In many regions of the
world, new HIV infections are heavily concentrated among young people (1524 years of
age).16 Effective prevention programmes should address sexual health and ensure equal
access to HIV-related information and preventive measures such as voluntary counselling and
testing, and affordable contraceptive methods and services.

Persons with disabilities

Even though more than 650 million people worldwide have a disability of one form or
another (two thirds of whom live in developing countries), most have long been neglected
and marginalized by the State and society. It is only in recent years that persons with
disabilities have brought about a paradigm shift in attitudes towards them. This has seen a
move away from regarding them as objects of charity and medical interventions towards
their empowerment as subjects of human rights, including but not limited to the right to
health.

The right to health of persons with disabilities cannot be achieved in isolation. It is closely
linked to non-discrimination and other principles of individual autonomy, participation and
social inclusion, respect for difference, accessibility, as well as equality of opportunity and
respect for the evolving capacities of children.17

Persons with disabilities face various challenges to the enjoyment of their right to health. For
example, persons with physical disabilities often have difficulties accessing health care,
especially in rural areas, slums and suburban settings; persons with psychosocial disabilities
may not have access to affordable treatment through the public health system; women with

16 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and World Health Organization,

AIDS epidemic update: December 2006, p. 9.

17 These and other principles are reflected in art. 3 of the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly in its resolution 61/106 of 13 December 2006.
disabilities may not receive gender-sensitive health services. Medical practitioners sometimes
treat persons with disabilities as objects of treatment rather than rights-holders and do not
always seek their free and informed consent when it comes to treatments. Such a situation is
not only degrading, it is a violation of human rights under the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities and unethical conduct on the part of the medical professional.

Persons with disabilities are also disproportionately susceptible to violence and abuse. They
are victims of physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse, neglect, and financial
exploitation, while women with disabilities are particularly exposed to forced sterilization
and sexual violence. Violence against persons with disabilities often occurs in a context of
systemic discrimination against them in which there is an imbalance of power. It is now
acknowledged that it is not the disability itself that may put people with disabilities at risk,
but the social conditions and barriers they face, such as stigma, dependency on others for
care, gender, poverty or financial dependency.

By way of illustration, one can note the neglect that persons with psychosocial or intellectual
disabilities suffer. In many cases, they are treated without their free and informed consenta
clear and serious violation of their right to health. They are, moreover, often locked up in
institutions simply on the basis of disability, which can have serious repercussions for their
enjoyment of the right to health and other rights.

In other cases, these disabilities are often neither diagnosed nor treated or accommodated for,
and their significance is generally overlooked. Adequate policies, programmes, laws and
resources are lackingfor instance, in 2001, most middle- and low-income countries devoted
less than 1 per cent of their health expenditures to mental health.18 As a result, mental health
care, including essential medication such as psychotropic drugs, is inaccessible or
unaffordable to many. Access to all types of health care for persons with psychosocial or
intellectual disabilities is complicated by the stigma and discrimination they suffer, contrary
to the obligation on States to provide access to health care on an equal basis.

The newly adopted Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires States to
promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities, including their right to health, and to
promote respect for their inherent dignity (art. 1). Article 25 further recognizes the right to
the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination for persons
with disabilities and elaborates upon measures States should take to ensure this right.
These measures include ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to and benefit
from those medical and social services needed specifically because of their disabilities,
including early identification and intervention, services designed to minimize and prevent
further disabilities as well as orthopaedic and rehabilitation services, which enable them to
become independent, prevent further disabilities and support their social integration. 18
Similarly, States must provide health services and centres as close as possible to peoples own
communities, including in rural areas.

Furthermore, the non-discrimination principle requires that persons with disabilities should
be provided with the same range, quality and standard of free or affordable health care and
programmes as provided to other persons, and States should prevent discriminatory denial
of health care or health services or food or fluids on the basis of disability (see generally
arts. 25 and 26 of the Convention).

Importantly, States must require health professionals to provide care of the same quality to
persons with disabilities as to others, including on the basis of free and informed consent. To
this end, States are required to train health professionals and to set ethical standards for public
and private health care. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 23) recognizes the
right of children with disabilities to special care and to effective access to health-care and
rehabilitation services.

Migrants

Migration has become a major political, social and economic phenomenon, with significant
human rights consequences. The International Organization for Migration estimates that,
today, there are nearly 200 million international migrants worldwide. According to the
International Labour Organization, 90 million of them are migrant workers. Although
migration has implications for the right to health in both home and host countries, the focus
here is on migrants in host countries. Their enjoyment of the right to health is often limited
merely because they are migrants, as well as owing to other factors such as discrimination,
language and cultural barriers, or their legal status. While they all face particular problems
linked to their specific status and situation (undocumented or irregular migrants and migrants

18 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment N 5

(1994) on people with disabilities, and arts. 25 (b) and 26 of the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
held in detention being particularly at risk),19 many migrants will face similar obstacles to
realizing their human rights, including their right to health.

States have explicitly stated before international human rights bodies or in national legislation
that they cannot or do not wish to provide the same level of protection to migrants as to their
own citizens. Accordingly, most countries have defined their health obligations towards non-
citizens in terms of essential care or emergency health care only. Since these concepts
mean different things in different countries, their interpretation is often left to individual
health-care staff. Practices and laws may therefore be discriminatory.

Major difficulties faced by migrantsparticularly undocumented migrantswith respect

to their right to health:

Migrants are generally inadequately covered by State health systems and are often unable to
afford health insurance. Migrant sex workers and undocumented migrants in particular have
little access to health and social services;

Migrants have difficulties accessing information on health matters and available services.
Often the information is not provided adequately by the State;

Undocumented migrants dare not access health care for fear that health providers may
denounce them to immigration authorities;

Female domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and violence;

Migrant workers often work in unsafe and unhealthy conditions;

Migrant workers may be more prone to risky sexual behaviour owing to their vulnerable
situation, far away from their families and their exclusion from major prevention and care
programmes on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Their situation is therefore
conducive to the rapid spread of these diseases;

Conditions in the centres where undocumented migrants are detained may also be
conducive to the spread of diseases;

19 Persons granted refugee status or internally displaced persons do not fall into the category of migrants.
See Specific groups and individuals: migrant workers (E/CN.4/2005/85).
 Trafficked persons are subject to physical violence and abuse, and face formidable hurdles
related to their right to reproductive health (sexually transmitted diseases, including infection
with HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions).

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families (art. 28) stipulates that all migrant workers and their families
have the right to emergency medical care for the preservation of their life or the avoidance of
irreparable harm to their health. Such care should be provided regardless of any irregularity
in their stay or employment. The Convention further protects migrant workers in the
workplace and stipulates that they shall enjoy treatment not less favourable than that which
applies to nationals of the State of employment in respect of conditions of work, including
safety and health (art. 25).

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in its general recommendation

N 30 (2004) on non-citizens, and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
in its general comment N 14 (2000) on the right to the highest attainable standard of health,
both stress that States parties should respect the right of non-citizens to an adequate standard
of physical and mental health by, inter alia, refraining from denying or limiting their access to
preventive, curative and palliative health services. The Special Rapporteur on Health has also
stressed that sick asylum-seekers or undocumented persons, as some of the most vulnerable
persons within a population, should not be denied their human right to medical care.

Finally, migrants right to health is closely related to and dependent on their working and
living conditions and legal status. In order to comprehensively address migrants health
issues, States should also take steps to realize their rights to, among other things, adequate
housing, safe and healthy working conditions, an adequate standard of living, food,
information, liberty and security of person, due process, and freedom from slavery and
compulsory labour.

Persons living with HIV/AIDS

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS in the past 25 years, making it one of the
most destructive pandemics in recent times. There are now about 33 million people living
with HIV/AIDS. Since emerging as a major health emergency, the epidemic has had a serious
and, in many places, devastating effect on human rights and development.
It is generally recognized that HIV/AIDS raises many human rights issues. Conversely,
protecting and promoting human rights are essential for preventing the transmission of HIV
and reducing the impact of AIDS on peoples lives. Many human rights are relevant to
HIV/AIDS, such as the right to freedom from discrimination, the right to life, equality before
the law, the right to privacy and the right to the highest attainable standard of health.

The links between the HIV/AIDS pandemic and poverty, stigma and discrimination,
including that based on gender and sexual orientation, are widely acknowledged. The
incidence and spread of HIV/AIDS are disproportionately high among certain populations,
including women,20 children, those living in poverty, indigenous peoples, migrants, men
having sex with men, male and female sex workers, refugees and internally displaced people,
and in certain regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa. The discrimination they suffer makes
them (more) vulnerable to HIV infection..

At the same time, the right to health of persons living with HIV/AIDS is undermined by
discrimination and stigma. For example, fear of being identified with HIV/AIDS may stop
people who suffer discrimination, such as sex workers or intravenous drug users, from
voluntarily seeking counselling, testing or treatment.

Halting and reversing global epidemics relies heavily on addressing discrimination and
stigma. Importantly, States should prohibit discrimination on the grounds of health status,
including actual or presumed HIV/AIDS status, and protect persons living with HIV/AIDS
from discrimination. State legislation, policies and programmes should include positive
measures to address factors that hinder the equal access of these vulnerable populations to
prevention, treatment and care, such as their economic status.

Universal access to care and treatment is also an important component of the right to health
for persons living with HIV/AIDS. Equally, it is important to ensure the availability of
medicines and strengthen HIV prevention by, for instance, providing condoms and HIV-
related information and education, and preventing mother-to-child transmission. The
International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights provide further guidance on
ensuring the rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS.21

Workmen

20 Women are today more vulnerable to infection than men. See Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS,
Report on the global AIDS epidemic (Geneva, 2006).
The importance of health promotion at the work place is increasingly recognized particularly
in larger organisations. Health promotion at workplace reduces absenteeism and can lead to
gain in productivity. The Supreme Court surveyed in CESC case various functions of the
State to protect safety and health of the workmen and emphasized the need to provide
medical care to the workmen to prevent disease and to improve general standards of health
consistent with human dignity and right to personality. It was held that medical care and
health facilities not only protect against sickness but also ensure stable manpower for
economic development. Facilities of health and medical care generate devotion and
dedication among the workers to give their best physically as well as mentally, to
productivity. It was held that the medical facilities are, therefore, part of social security and
like gilt-edged security; it would yield immediate returns to the employer in the form of
increased production and would reduce absenteeism. Just and favourable conditions of work
imply ensuring safe and healthy working conditions to the workmen. The periodic medical
treatment invigorates the health of workmen and harnesses their energy resources. Prevention
of occupational disabilities enthuses them to render efficient service which is a valuable asset
for greater productivity to the employer and national production to the State. Medical
facilities, therefore, is a fundamental human right to protect his health. It was held that health
insurance, while in service or after retirement was a fundamental right and even private
industries are enjoined to provide health insurance to workmen.

The expression life as held by the Supreme Court does not connote mere animal existence
or continued drudgery through life but has a much wider meaning which includes right to
livelihood, better standard of life, hygienic conditions in work place and leisure. Continued
treatment, while in service or after retirement is considered to be a moral, legal and
constitutional concomitant duty of the employer and the State. Right to health and medical
care is a fundamental right under Article 21 read with Articles 39 (c), 41 and 43 of the
Constitution to make the life of workman meaningful, held the Supreme Court in C E & R C
V. Union of India.22 The Court directed that the workers who suffered from asbestosis - an

21 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and Office on the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human
Rights: 2006 Consolidated Version (United Nations publication, Sales N E.06.XIV.4),
General Assembly resolution 60/1 of 16 September 2005 on the 2005 World Summit
Outcome and General Assembly resolution 60/224 of 23 December 2005.

22 AIR 1992 SC 2213

occupational health hazard, should be paid compensation by the concerned establishments.
All the asbestos industries were directed to maintain and keep maintaining healthy record of
every worker upto a minimum period of 40 years from the beginning of the employment or
15 years after retirement or cessation of employment whichever is later, to adopt the
Membrane Filter test to detect asbestos fibre, and to compulsorily insure health coverage to
every worker. The Union and the State governments were directed to review the standards of
permissible exposure limit value of fibre /cc in tune with the international standards reducing
the permissible content.23

23 Op.cit.
 CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE TO THE STATE

The obligation of the State to ensure the creation and the sustaining of conditions congenial
to good health is cast by the Constitutional directives contained in Articles 39(e) (f), 42 and
47 in part IV of the Constitution of India. 24 State has to direct its policy towards securing that
health and strength of workers, men and women, and the children are not put to health
hazards and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to
their age or strength (Article 39(e)) and 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 moral and material abandonment (Article 39(f)).
The State is required to make provision for just and humane conditions of work and for
maternity benefit (Article 42). It is the primary duty of the State to endeavour for raising of
the level of nutrition and standard of living of its people and improvement of public health
and to bring about prohibition of the consumption, except for medicinal purposes of
intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health (Article 47). Protection and
improvement of environment is also made one of the cardinal duties of the State (Article 48
A). The State legislature is (under entry 6 of the State List) contained in the Seventh Schedule
to the Constitution, empowered to make laws with respect to public health and sanitation,
hospitals and dispensaries. Both the Centre and the States have power to legislate in the
matters of social security and social insurance, medical professions, and, prevention of the
extension from one State to another of infections or contagious diseases or pests affecting
man, animals or plants, by entries 23, 26 and 29 respectively contained in the concurrent list
of the Seventh Schedule.

Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees protection of life and personal liberty by providing
that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the
procedure established by law. As a result of liberal interpretation of the words life and
liberty, Article 21 has now come to be invoked almost as a residuary right. Public interest
petitions have been founded on this provision for providing special treatment to children in
jail; against health hazards due to pollution; from harmful drugs; for redress against failure to

24 Part III, Constitution of India 1950

provide immediate medical aid to injured persons; against starvation deaths; inhuman
conditions in after-care home and on scores of other aspects which make life meaningful and
not a mere vegetative existence. A positive thrust is given to the nature and content of this
right by the Apex Court imposing a positive obligation upon the State to take effective steps
for ensuring to the individual a better enjoyment of his life. The Supreme Court has held that
the right to live with human dignity enshrined in Article 21 derives its life and breath from
the directive principles of State policy particularly Article 39(e) & (f), 41 and 42 and would
therefore include protection of health as envisaged in the directives.

The expanded meaning of right to life is wholly justified, for, without health of a person
being protected and his well-being being looked after, it would be impossible for him to
enjoy other fundamental rights such as rights to freedom of speech and expression, to move
freely throughout the territory of India, to practice any profession or carrying on any trade,
occupation or business, to form associations guaranteed by Article 19 in a positive manner.

Without a guarantee of health and well being most of these freedoms cannot be exercised
fully. To make other rights meaningful and effective right to a healthy life is the basis
underlying the constitutional guarantees. All that the courts have done is to provide redressal
by a meaningful and just interpretation to the right to life and commanding enforcement of
the duties of a welfare State. The Court itself being an authority and therefore State within
the meaning of Article 12 which definition is made applicable by Article 36 to part IV
containing the Directive Principles of State Policy, has to bear in mind these directives in its
decision making process.
 RIGHT TO HEALTH: JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

Health as stated earlier is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being. The term
health implies more than mere absence of sickness as held by the Supreme Court. The Apex
Court in India has played a significant role in realization of the right to health by recognising
the right as a part of the fundamental right to life and issuing suitable directions to the State
authorities for the discharge of their duties. The Court has recognised that maintenance of
health is a most imperative constitutional goal whose realisation requires interaction of many
social and economic factors.25

In this context the theory of the inter-relatedness between rights was famously articulated in
the Maneka Gandhi26 decision. This became the basis for the subsequent expansion of the
understanding of the protection of life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of
India. The Supreme Court of India further went on to adopt an approach of harmonization
between fundamental rights and directive principles in several cases. With regard to health, a
prominent decision was delivered in Parmanand Katara v. Union of India 27. In that case, the
court was confronted with a situation where hospitals were refusing to admit accident victims
and were directing them to specific hospitals designated to admit medico-legal cases. The
court ruled that while the medical authorities were free to draw up administrative rules to
tackle cases based on practical considerations, no medical authority could refuse immediate
medical attention to a patient in need. The court relied on various medical sources to
conclude that such a refusal amounted to a violation of universally accepted notions of
medical ethics. It observed that such measures violated the protection of life and liberty
guaranteed under Article 21 and hence created a right to emergency medical treatment28.

25 Justice R. K., Abichandani, High Court of Gujurat Report, Ahmedabad, 2004

26 AIR 1978 SC 597

27 AIR 1989 SC 2039

28 Commentary cited from: Arun Thiruvengadam, The Global Dialogue Among

Courts: Social Rights Jurisprudence Of The Supreme Court Of India from a
Comparative Perspective in C. Raj Kumar & K.
Another significant decision which strengthened the recognition of the right to health was
that in Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha29. In that case, it was ruled that the
provision of a medical service (whether diagnosis or treatment) in return for monetary
consideration amounted to a service for the purpose of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
The consequence of the same was that medical practitioners could be held liable under the act
for deficiency in service in addition to negligence. This ruling has gone a long way towards
protecting the interests of patients. However, medical services offered free of cost were
considered to be beyond the purview of the said Act. With regard to the access and
availability of medical facilities, the leading decision of the Supreme Court was given in

Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samiti v. State of West Bengal26.

The facts that led to the case were that a train accident victim was turned away from a
number of government-run hospitals in Calcutta, on the ground that they did not have
adequate facilities to treat him. The said accident victim was ultimately treated in a private
hospital but the delay in treatment had aggravated his injuries. The Court realized that such
situations routinely occurred all over the country on account of inadequate primary health
facilities. The Court issued notices to all State governments and directed them to undertake
measures to ensure the provision of minimal primary health facilities. When confronted with
the argument that the same was not possible on account of financial constraints and limited
personnel, the Court declared that lack of resources could not be cited as an excuse for non-
performance of a constitutionally mandated obligation. The Court set up an expert committee
to investigate the matter and endorsed the final report of the said committee. This report
contained a seven-point agenda addressing several issues such as the upgrading of facilities
all over the country and the establishment of a centralized communications system amongst
hospitals to ensure the adequacy and prompt availability of ambulance equipment and
personnel. Some commentators have argued that by recognizing a governmental obligation to
provide medical facilities, the Court has created a justiciable right to health.

The judgment of the Supreme Court in Nilbati Behra State of Orissa 30 case holds that in view
of the fundamental right to life (Article 21 of the Constitution) 31 the Government cannot
claim sovereign immunity for liability for the negligence of its employees.

29 AIR 1996 SC 550

30 AIR 1993 SC 1960

 The right to health and health care is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,
as a right to life and reach of which can move the Supreme Court on High Court through writ
petition. Practice of medicine is capable of rendering great service to the society provided due
care, sincerity, efficiency and skill are observed by doctors. When doctors performed their
duties towards the patient negligently in a Government hospital, the servants of the state
violated the fundamental right of the patient, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Medical profession has its own ethical parameters and code of conduct. Services of medical
establishments are more of purchasable commodities and the business altitude has given an
impetus to more and more malpractices and instances of neglect. But the question is, whether,
on the whole, branding the entire medical community as a delinquent community would serve
any purpose or will it cause damage to the patients. The answer is, no doubt, the later. It is not
that measures to check such dereliction are absent. Victims of medical negligence,
considering action against an erring doctor, have three options.

Compensatory mode - Seek financial compensation before the Consumer Disputes Redressal
Forum or before Civil Courts,
Punitive/Deterrent mode - Lodge a criminal complaint against the doctor,
Corrective/Deterrent mode - Complaint to the State Medical Council demanding that the
doctors license be revoked.
Jurisdiction of Civil Court was never disputed but its scope was limited for damages only. In
the recent times, professions are developing a tenancy to forget that the self-regulation which
is at the heart of their profession is a privilege and not a right and a profession obtains this
privilege in return for an implicit contract with society to provide good competent and
accountable service to the public. The self-regulator standards in the profession have shown a
decline and this can be attributed to the overwhelming impact of commercialization of the
sector. There are reports against doctors of exploitative medical practices, misuse of
diagnostic procedures, brokering deals for sale of human organs, etc.

It cannot be denied that black sheep have entered the profession and that the profession has
been unable to isolate them effectively. Two basic propositions laid down in law regarding
liability for negligence are: firstly, Breach of Duty to care and secondly, standard of care,
i.e. the practitioner must bring to his task a reasonable degree of skill, knowledge and

31 Bakshi, P.M., Right to Life and Personal Liberty, The Constitution of India,
Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2003
exercise a reasonable degree of care with caution. Supreme Court has made necessary
guidelines for protection in order to secure life and health of individuals which are elaborated
in the case presented in this study.

CONCLUSION

The main conclusions that can be drawn from the study are as follows:

1. Even though right to health is not specifically mentioned as a Fundamental right in the
Indian Constitution, the judiciary has read this right into Article 21 of the Constitution
dealing with right to life and personal liberty.

It means that certain components of the right to health are enforceable in the Indian context.
Coming specifically to accessibility, the Indian courts have dealt with this issue in all its
dimensions viz., Non discrimination, Physical accessibility, Economic accessibility and
Information accessibility.

2. In interpreting right to health, the courts have blurred the distinction between judicial
functions and administrative functions. In a traditional framework, an adjudicating body is
not expected to go into the measures adopted by the executive branch. Its function is confined
to see whether the measure adopted is a reasonable one and whether it is taken in good spirit.
In the select cases analyzed above, the Courts have gone into the micro management issues

3. The role of court as a facilitator in addressing issues of health is dynamic and timely. But
many a time the governments find it difficult to implement such decisions. Most of the time
what is prescribed as guidelines by the judiciary are in a way directions tending towards
policy making which is and should be confined to the powers of the State. Moreover, some of
the judicial decisions are reactions to some unfortunate extreme events and in their
enthusiasm to do justice, judiciary comes out with a number of policy prescriptions without
adequately knowing the ability of the state to implement such directions. Since this is the
case, the respective State Government may not be proactive in carrying forward the decision
in to implementation plans
4. The study of some of the cases clearly brings out the other extreme nature of governance.
In the pendency of some of the case which are studied, it is noted that the Governments
(Central and States) brings in policy changes and legal amendments and also appoints
commissions and notify such changes to the satisfaction of the Court.

5. Health being a State subject in the Constitution, the decision of the Supreme Court and
the respective High Court adds to multitude of other issues. Invariably what is being pleaded
by many states is the lack of financial and manpower resources to undertake massive health
schemes. To be fair most of the health schemes involves high expenditure and requires
competent people. The direction of the Supreme Court or in some cases respective High
Courts are very difficult to implement owing to the above factors.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Bakshi, P.M., The Constitution of India, Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt.
Ltd., 2005.

Jain, M.P., Indian Constitutional Law, Wadhwa and company, Nagpur, Fifth
Edition, 2005.

Basu, D.D. Commentary on the Constitution of India (5 th edn. Nagpur:

Wadhwa & Co., 1965).

Basu, D.D. Shorter Constitution of India, (13 th edn., Nagpur: Wadhwa

& Co., 2001).

Seervai, H.M. Constitutional Law of India Vol. I-III (4 th edn., New Delhi:
Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., 1993).

Shukla, V.N. Constitution Of India, (10th edn., M.P.Singh ed., Lucknow:

Eastern Book Company, 2001).

Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap, Constitutional Law of India, Vol. I-II, 2008 edition,
Universal Law Publishing Co.

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