M
LAXMIKANT
H
Indian Polity
7 Edition
th
Amit Varidhi Kilhor
Fundamental
Duties
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Though the rights and duties of the citizens are
correlative and inseparable, the original constitution
contained only the fundamental rights and not the
fundamental duties. In other words, the framers of
the Constitution did not feel it necessary to
incorporate the fundamental duties of the citizens in
the Constitution.
However, they incorporated the duties of the State in
the Constitution in the form of Directive Principles of
State Polity.
Later in 1976, the fundamental duties of citizens
were added in the Constitution. In 2002, one more
Fundamental Duty was added.
The Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution arc
inspired by the Constitution of erstwhile USSR.
•Notably, none of the Constitutions of
major democratic countries like USA,
Canada, France, Germany, Australia and so
on specifically contain a-list of duties of
citizens. Japanese Constitution is, perhaps,
the only democratic Constitution in world
which contains a list of duties of citizens.
•The socialist countries, on the contrary,
gave equal importance to the fundamental
rights and duties of their citizens. Hence,
the Constitution of erstwhile USSR
declared that the citizen's exercise of their
rights and freedoms was inseparable from
the performance of their duties and
obligations.
•SWARAN SINGH COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONS
•In 1976, the Congress Party set up the Sardar
Swaran Singh Committee to make
recommendations about fundamental duties,
the need and necessity of which was felt during
the operation of the internal emergency (1975-
1977).
•The committee recommended the inclusion of
a separate chapter on fundamental duties in
the Constitution. It stressed that the citizens
should become conscious that in addition to
the enjoyment of rights, they also have certain
duties to perform as well.
•The Congress Government at Centre accepted
these recommendations and enacted the 42nd
Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976.
•This amendment added a new part, namely, Part
IVA to the Constitution. This new part consists of
only one Article, that is, Article 51A which for the
first time specified a code of ten fundamental
duties of the citizens. The ruling Congress party
declared the non-inclusion of fundamental duties
in the Constitution as a historical mistake and
claimed that what the framers of the Constitution
failed to do was being done now.
•Though the Swaran Singh Committee suggested
the incorporation of eight fundamental Duties in
the Constitution, the 42nd Constitutional
Amendment Act (1976) included ten Fundamental
Duties.
•Interestingly, certain recommendations of the
Committee were not accepted by the Congress
Party and hence, not incorporated in the
Constitution. These include:
1. The Parliament may provide for the imposition
of such penalty or punishment as may be
considered appropriate for any non-
compliance with or refusal to observe any of
the duties.
2. No law imposing such penalty or punishment
shall be called in question in any court on the
ground of infringement of any of Fundamental
Rights or on the ground of repugnancy to any
other provision of the Constitution.
3. Duty to pay taxes should also be a
Fundamental Duty of the citizens.
LIST OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
According to Article 51A, it shall be the duty of
every citizen of India:
(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its
ideals and institutions, the National Flag and
the National An them;
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals that
inspired the national struggle for freedom;
(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity
and integrity of India;
(d) to defend the country and render national
service when called upon to do SO
(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of
common brotherhood amongst all the
people of India transcending religious,
linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to
renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of
women;
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of the
country's composite culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment
including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have
compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop scientific temper, humanism and the
spirit of inquiry and reform ;
(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure
violence;
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of
individual and collective activity so that the nation
constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and
achievement; and
(k) to provide opportunities for education to
his/her child or ward between the age of six
and fourteen years. This duty was added by
the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.
FEATURES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
Following points can be noted with regard to
the characteristics of the Fundamental Duties:
1. Some of them are moral duties while others
are civic duties. for instance, cherishing noble
ideals of freedom struggle is a moral precept
and respecting the Constitution, National Flag
and National Anthem is a civic duty.
2. They refer to such values which have been a part
of the Indian tradition, mythology, religions and
practices. In other words, they essentially contain
just a codification of tasks integral to the Indian way
of life.
3. Unlike some of the Fundamental Rights which
extend to all persons whether citizens or foreigners ,
the Fundamental Duties are confined to citizens only
and do not extend to foreigners.
4. Like the Directive Principles, the fundamental
duties are also non-justiciable. The Constitution
does not provide for their direct enforcement by the
courts. Moreover, there is no legal sanction against
their violation. However, the Parliament is free to
enforce them by suitable legislation.
CRITICISM OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
The Fundamental Duties mentioned in Part IVA of
the Constitution have been criticised on the
following grounds:
1. The list of duties is not exhaustive as it does not
cover other important duties like casting vote,
paying taxes, family planning and so on. In fact,
duty to pay taxes was recommended by the
Swaran Singh Committee.
2. Some of the duties are vague, ambiguous and
difficult to be understood by the common man.
For example, different interpretations can be
given to the phrases like 'noble ideals',
'composite culture', 'scientific temper' and so on,
3. They have been described by the critics as a code of
moral precepts due to their non-justiciable character.
Interestingly, the Swaran Singh Committee had
suggested for penalty or punishment for the non-
performance of Fundamental Duties.
4. Their inclusion in the Constitution was described by
the critics as superfluous. This is because the duties
included in the Constitution as fundamental would be
performed by the people even though they were not
incorporated in the Constitution.
5. The critics said that the inclusion of fundamental
duties as an appendage to Part IV of the Constitution
has reduced their value and significance. They should
have been added after Part III so as to keep them on
par with Fundamental Rights.
SIGNIFICANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
In spite of criticisms and opposition, the fundamental
duties are considered significant from the following
viewpoints:
1. They serve as a reminder to the citizens that while
enjoying their rights, they should also be conscious of
duties they owe to their country, their society and to
their fellow citizens.
2. They serve as a warning against the anti-national and
antisocial activities like burning the national flag,
destroying public property and so on.
3. They serve as a source of inspiration for the citizens
and promote a sense of discipline and commitment
among them. They create a feeling that the citizens
are not mere spectators but active participants in the
realisation of national goals
4. They help the courts in examining and determining the
constitutional validity of a law. In Mohan Kumar
Singhania case (1991), the Supreme Court held that
Article 51A (fundamental duties) can be used to interpret
ambigious laws in order to determine their
constitutionality.
Further, in Ramlila Maidan Incident case (2012), the
court observed that a common thread runs through
Parts III, IV and IVA of the constitution.
One Part enumerates the fundamental rights, the second
declares the fundamental principles of governance and
the third lays down the fundamental duties of the
citizens. While interpreting any of these provisions, it
shall always be advisable to examine the scope and
impact of such interpretation on all the three
constitutional aspects emerging from these Parts.
5. They are enforceable by law. Hence, the Parliament
can provide for the imposition of appropriate penalty
or punishment for failure to fulfil any of them.
H.R. Gokhale, the then Law Minister, gave the
following reason for incorporating the fundamental
duties in the Constitution after twenty-six years of its
inauguration : 'In post-independent India, particularly
on the eve of emergency in June 1975, a section of
the people showed no anxiety to fulfil their
fundamental obligations of respecting the established
legal order ..... the provisions of chapter on
fundamental duties would have a sobering effect on
these restless spirits who have had a host of anti-
national subversive and unconstitutional agitations in
the past.
Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, justified the
inclusion of fundamental duties in the Constitution
and argued that their inclusion would help to
strengthen democracy. She said, 'the moral value of
fundamental duties would be not to smoother rights
but to establish a democratic balance by making the
people conscious of their duties equally as they are
conscious of their rights.
The Opposition in the Parliament strongly opposed
the inclusion of fundamental duties in the
Constitution by the Congress government. However,
the new Janata Government headed by Morarji Desai
in the post-emergency period did not annul the
Fundamental Duties. Notably, the new government
sought to undo many changes introduced in the
Constitution by the
42nd Amendment Act (1976) through the 43rd
Amendment Act (1977) and the 44th
Amendment Act (1978). This shows that there
was an eventual consensus on the necessity and
desirability of including the Fundamental Duties
in the Constitution. This is more clear with the
addition of one more Fundamental Duty in 2002
by the 86th Amendment Act.
VERMA COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS
The Verma Committee on Fundamental Duties of
the Citizens (1999) identified the existence of
legal provisions for the implementation of so me
of the Fundamental Duties. They are mentioned
below:
1. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour
Act (1971) prevents disrespect to the
Constitution of India , the National Flag and
the National Anthem.
2. The various criminal laws in force provide for
punishments for encouraging enmity between
different sections of people on grounds of
language, race, place of birth, religion and so
on.
3. The Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955)
provides for punishments for offences related
to caste and religion.
4. The Indian Penal Code (WC) declares the
imputations and assertions prejudicial to
national integration as punishable offences.
5. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of
1967 provides for the declaration of a communal
organisation as an unlawful association.
6. The Representation of People Act (1951)
provides for the disqualification of members of
the Parliament or a state legislature for indulging
in corrupt practice, that is, soliciting votes on the
ground of religion or promoting enmity between
different sections of people on grounds of caste,
race, language, religion and so on.
7. The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 prohibits
trade in rare and endangered species.
8. The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980
checks indiscriminate deforestation and
diversion of forest land for non-forest
purposes.
•(a) to abide by the
Constitution and
respect its ideals
and institutions, the
National Flag and
the National
Anthem;
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act (1971) prevents disrespect to the
Constitution of India, the National Flag and the National Anthem.
•(b) to cherish
and follow the
noble ideals
that inspired
the national
struggle for
freedom;
•(c) to uphold
and protect the
sovereignty,
unity and
integrity of
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) declares the
imputations and assertions prejudicial to
national integration as punishable offences.
India;
•(d) to defend
the country and
render national
service when
called upon to
do so;
• (e) to promote harmony and the
spirit of common brotherhood
amongst all the people of India
transcending religious, linguistic
and regional or sectional
diversities and to renounce
practices derogatory to the dignity
of women;
If the members of the Parliament or the state legislature indulge in any corrupt
practices like asking votes in the name of religion then they will be held liable
under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
•(f) to value and
preserve the
rich heritage of
the country’s
composite
culture;
•(g) to protect and
improve the natural
environment
including forests,
lakes, rivers and
wildlife and to have
The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 prohibits trade in rare and
compassion for living
endangered species.
The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 checks indiscriminate creatures;
deforestation and diversion of forest land for nonforest purposes.
•(h) to develop
scientific
temper,
humanism and
the spirit of
inquiry and
reform;
•(i) to safeguard
public property
and to abjure
violence;
•(j) to strive towards
excellence in all
spheres of individual
and collective activity
so that the nation
constantly rises to
higher levels of
endeavour and
achievement; and
•(k) to provide
opportunities for
education to his child
or ward between the
age of six and fourteen
years. This duty was
added by the 86th
Constitutional
The Right of Children to Free and
Amendment Act, 2002
Compulsory Education Act or Right to
Education Act
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amitkilhor
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