PERSONAL LIBERTY AFTER

INDEPENDE
NCE
K.G. Kannabiran
Nehru described the advent of 15th August
as our “tryst with destiny” .
The Madras government released all its
prisoners on that day except A.K Gopalan.

He was produced before ADM Calicut on a

charge of sedition for stirring up the people
against his majesty.
However, A.K. Gopalan was released on Oct
12, 1947, only to be arrested on
December,17 under Preventive Detention
Law.
When Gopalan sent a petition from jail to
the Supreme Court, his detention was
brought under the Preventive Detention
Act, 1950.
The violation of Gopalan’s personal
liberty was described as a restriction of
his freedom of movements, which
violates Article 19.
Art. 21 was a blank cheque to the
executive
Art. 21 -
No person shall be deprived of his life or
personal liberty
except procedure established by the law .

What is the meaning of the expression

“procedure established by law” ?

It has been judicially interpreted as a

procedure which
Is reasonable, fair and just.
Judicial interpretation means interpretation
given by a
Ambedkar was also not also able to
assert his
Confidence in the judges who formed the
courts.

Article 15(A) was introduced, which is

now art. 22.
Which says :
Art. 22
Nobody can be held in detention for more than
24 hours without being produced before the
nearest magistrate. The person arrested has a
right to
 CONSTITUTION
A constitution is a political document
which gives
Legal discontent to a set of pre-existing
rights,
Secured politically by people’s struggle.
Rights have always been acquired, never
granted.

Preamble
We the people of India, having solemnly
resolved to
• Art. 13(2)
• The sate shall not make any law
which gives away or Abridges the
rights conferred by this Part and any
law made in Contravention of this
clause shall, to the extent of this
Contravention, be void.
Both the govt. and the court ignored the
value of the
Principles of governance set out in part IV
of the
Constitution.
Art. 37
The provisions contained in this part, while not
enforceable by any court, nevertheless it shall be
the
duty of the state to apply the principles
contained
therein, when making laws.
Art. 38
The state shall strive to promote the welfare of
the people
According to Anatole France
:

“Justice is the means by

which established injustices
are sanctioned”
Art. 352
The President can declare emergency
when he is
satisfied that a grave emergency exists
whereby
the security of India or any part of the
territory is
threatened by war or external
aggression or
“internal disturbance”
Art. 359
Suspension of the Enforcement of the Rights
Conferred by
Part III during Emergencies.

Articles that are suspended -

14 - Equality before Law
22 - Free speech, expression, freedom of
assembly and
Association
21 – Protection of Life and Personal Liberty
22 – Protection against arbitrary arrest and
Thus we find the court saying in Makhan
Singh:

The right to challenge the validity of

the Statue
On the ground that it contravenes the
fundamental
rights of the citizens has accrued to
the citizens of
this country only after and as a result
of the
Provisions of the Constitution itself…
Non-elected judges are chosen as the
persons to
uncover legislative intent. By what
mechanism do
they achieve this? There is no dearth
of instances to
demonstrate that the overtly social
purposes of
A people struggling against
oppressive forms of
governance will, in the process,
become well versed
in politics and the law. The first right
a people under
tyranny exercise is associational
freedom, which
alone gives them the capacity to
articulate their
EVERYTHING HAS BEEN
SAID ALREADY; BUT AS
NO ONE LISTENS, WE
ANDRE GIDE