Right to Equality_Lecture 1

The Constitution of India is wedded to the concept of equality. It is the ‘Basic Feature’ of the Constitution[1]. Liberty and equality are twin concepts which complement each other. The revolution of the French was an illustration of this proposition. In the Constitution of India, the framers didn’t only use these terms in the poetic preamble, but embodied this spirit in the functional aspects viz. Articles 14 to 18 in the Part-III. Similar provisions could be traced in the Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Article 14 combines the English doctrine of the rule of law with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. [2]

One of the main articles of the golden triangle of the constitution[3] is Article 14. This Article provides ‘any person’, irrespective of their citizenship of India, to be treated equally before the law and provided the same protection of law as to the other person. Article 14 is envisaged with two characters, that is one is positive and other is negative. On one hand the equality before law prohibits the state from any discrimination other than those based on Reasonable Classification, the equal protection of law provides a way for the Affirmative Actions by the state, and gives way to the concept of Equity. The Article 14 is the general provision (genus), while Articles 15 and 16 deal with it more specifically i.e. these are species[4].

[1] M. Nagraj V. Union of India (2007)

[2] Basheshar Nath v. CIT, (1959) Supp 1 SCR 528

[3] Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, (1982) 3 SCC 24 and T.R. Kothandaraman v. T.N. Water Supply & Drainage Board, (1994) 6 SCC 282.

[4] Naz Foundation V. Government of NCT of Delhi (2009)

[5] Kailas v. State of Maharashtra, (2011) 1 SCC 793.

[6] Munshi’s draft, Article III (1) and (10); Ambedkar’s draft, Article II (1)(3), Select Documents II, 4 (ii), pp. 74-5, 86.

[7] Minutes, March 29, 1947, Select Documents II, 4(iii), p. 132.

[8] Article 109, para. 1 of the Weimar Constitution provided: “All Germans are equal before the law.”

[9] The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1, of the US Constitution inter alia: “No state shall… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

[10] India's Constitution - The Framing of India's Constitution. Edited by B. Shiva Rao. - A Study.

As described by A.V. Dicey, in his word the concept of equality means “With us every official, from the Prime Minister down to a constable or a collector of taxes, is under the same responsibility for every act done without legal justification as any other citizen.”[1]

Right to equality is one of the basic and most important features of the Indian constitution. Article 14 envisages two concepts viz. positive concept and negative concept. The positive concept explains that the state must protect the citizens equally based on their situations and negative concept explains that there should be no discrimination in law.

In the famous case of State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas[2], a 7 bench-judge gave the concept of equality a direction stating that the intention was to actually give real equality. It was made clear that the government has the duty to eliminate inequalities in opportunities, which is negative in character. And the concept of positive character of Article 14 was discussed in the case of Indira Sawhney v. Union of India[3], which laid that to bring equality among the unequals and the way to that was by adopting positive measures. The discrimination should be allowed when classification is rational as unequals then can’t be treated unequally[4].

[1] Lectures Introductory to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, By Albert Venn Dicey. 8th Edition, 1915.

[2] (1976) 2 SCC 310. (This case would be dealt while learning the case of reservations in India)

[3] 1992 (Supp) 3 SCC 217.

[4] M Nagraj and Ors. v Union of India, AIR 2007 SC 71.