All 6 Fundamental Rights of the Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights in Part III: the right to equality, the right to freedom, the right against exploitation, the right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, and the right to constitutional remedies. These are set out across Articles 12 to 35. Some apply to every person on Indian soil, others only to citizens, and all of them can be enforced directly in court.

Right to Equality (Articles 14 to 18)

Article 14 guarantees two things that sound similar but do different work. Equality before the law prevents the State from singling anyone out for unfavorable treatment. Equal protection of the laws requires that people in similar circumstances be treated alike.¹

Article 15 bars the State from discriminating against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. The bar extends to access to shops, restaurants, hotels, wells, tanks, bathing ghats, and public places maintained with State funds. The same article allows the State to make special provisions for women, children, socially and educationally backward classes, and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.¹

Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment. No citizen can be denied a government job on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, or residence. The State may still reserve positions for backward classes it considers underrepresented.¹

Article 17 abolishes untouchability in all its forms and makes practicing it a punishable offense. Article 18 abolishes titles other than military and academic distinctions, and prevents Indian citizens from accepting titles from foreign governments without the President’s consent.¹

Right to Freedom (Articles 19 to 22)

Article 19 guarantees six freedoms to every citizen: speech and expression, peaceful assembly without arms, association, movement throughout India, residence anywhere in India, and the practice of any profession, occupation, trade, or business.¹

None of these freedoms is absolute. Clauses (2) through (6) of Article 19 let the State impose reasonable restrictions on grounds that include the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign countries, public order, decency and morality, contempt of court, defamation, and incitement to an offense. The word “reasonable” matters: a restriction that is disproportionate or arbitrary can be struck down by the courts.

Article 20 protects anyone facing criminal prosecution. No one can be convicted for an act that was not an offense when it was committed. No one can be punished more severely than the law allowed at the time. No one can be prosecuted and punished for the same offense twice. And no accused person can be compelled to testify against themselves.²

Article 21 says no person can be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. In Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978), the Supreme Court held that this procedure must itself be fair, just, and reasonable. Since then, courts have read a wide range of rights into Article 21, including livelihood, health, shelter, clean environment, and legal aid. In K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), a nine-judge bench unanimously recognized the right to privacy as part of Article 21.²

Article 21A, inserted by the 86th Amendment in 2002, requires the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children between six and fourteen years of age.²

Article 22 sets out what happens after an arrest. The person must be told the reasons for the arrest and cannot be denied the right to consult a lawyer. They must be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours. For preventive detention, the initial period is capped at three months unless an Advisory Board of High Court judges finds cause to extend it.²

Right Against Exploitation (Articles 23 and 24)

Article 23 prohibits trafficking in human beings and all forms of forced labor, including begar (unpaid compulsory labor). It runs against both the State and private individuals, which is unusual within Part III. The State may still require compulsory service for public purposes, provided it does not discriminate on grounds of religion, race, caste, or class.³

Article 24 bars the employment of children under 14 in factories, mines, or any hazardous work. The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, as amended, gives this ban its statutory teeth by listing the occupations and processes where child labor is prohibited and setting conditions for adolescent workers.⁴

Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25 to 28)

Article 25 gives every person the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion. It is subject to public order, morality, and health. The State may regulate economic, financial, or political activities tied to religious practice.¹

Article 26 lets every religious denomination manage its own affairs in matters of religion, set up institutions for religious and charitable purposes, and own and administer property. Article 27 prevents the State from compelling anyone to pay taxes earmarked to promote a particular religion. Article 28 bars religious instruction in educational institutions wholly funded by the State; institutions that receive only partial State aid, or that were established under a trust requiring religious instruction, can still offer it, but no student can be required to attend without consent.¹

Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29 and 30)

Article 29 protects the identity of minority groups. Any section of citizens with a distinct language, script, or culture has the right to preserve it. No citizen can be denied admission to a State-maintained or State-aided educational institution only on grounds of religion, race, caste, or language.⁵

Article 30 gives religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The State cannot discriminate against these institutions in the grant of aid simply because a minority runs them. When the State acquires property of such an institution, the compensation must not effectively destroy the minority’s right to run it.⁵

Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32)

The other five rights would be paper promises without a way to enforce them. Article 32 supplies that route by guaranteeing the right to move the Supreme Court directly for enforcement of any fundamental right. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar called this the “heart and soul” of the Constitution. The Supreme Court cannot refuse to hear such a petition; the right to approach it is itself a fundamental right.⁵

Article 32(2) empowers the Supreme Court to issue five writs:⁵

Habeas corpus, meaning “produce the body,” orders whoever is detaining a person to bring them before the court and justify the detention. Without a lawful basis, the person goes free.
Mandamus is a command directed at a public official or body that has failed to perform a legal duty, compelling action.
Prohibition is issued to a lower court or tribunal to stop proceedings that exceed its jurisdiction, while the matter is still pending.
Certiorari is issued after a lower court or tribunal has already passed an order; the higher court reviews and quashes the order if it was made without authority or in violation of law.
Quo warranto, meaning “by what authority,” challenges a person’s right to hold a public office and requires them to show the legal basis for their appointment.

High Courts have the same power under Article 226, and with a wider scope: they can issue these writs for enforcement of fundamental rights and for any other purpose. In practice, most writ petitions start there.

Who These Rights Protect

Not every fundamental right is available to everyone on Indian territory. The Constitution draws a line between rights reserved for citizens and rights available to all persons, including foreign nationals.

Available only to Indian citizens:

Article 15: protection against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth
Article 16: equal opportunity in public employment
Article 19: the six freedoms
Article 29: protection of minority language, script, and culture
Article 30: minority right to establish educational institutions

Available to all persons, citizen or not: equality before the law (Article 14), protections in criminal proceedings (Article 20), life and personal liberty (Article 21), education for children (Article 21A), safeguards against arbitrary arrest (Article 22), protection from exploitation (Articles 23 and 24), and the religious freedoms in Articles 25 to 28.¹

When These Rights Can Be Limited or Suspended

Fundamental rights operate within limits set by the Constitution itself. Three provisions matter here.

Article 33 lets Parliament restrict or take away fundamental rights for members of the armed forces, police and paramilitary forces charged with maintaining public order, intelligence personnel, and staff of telecommunications systems connected to these organizations. This power belongs to Parliament alone; state legislatures cannot use it. In practice, the Army Act and Air Force Act use this authority to restrict military personnel’s freedom of speech, assembly, and association.⁶

Article 358 operates automatically during a national emergency declared on grounds of war or external aggression. The six freedoms under Article 19 are suspended for the duration, and neither legislation nor executive action during that period can be challenged for violating Article 19. Article 19 revives when the emergency ends. This automatic suspension does not apply when the emergency is declared on the ground of armed rebellion.⁷

Article 359 lets the President suspend the right to move a court for enforcement of specified fundamental rights during any national emergency. The 44th Amendment in 1978 placed a firm limit on that power: the rights under Articles 20 and 21 can never be suspended, even during an emergency. Protection against retrospective criminal laws, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and the right to life and personal liberty always remain enforceable. The same amendment replaced “internal disturbance” with “armed rebellion” as a ground for declaring an emergency, tightening the conditions under which emergency powers can be invoked.⁸

What Happened to the Right to Property

The right to property is often listed as a fundamental right in older sources, and this trips people up. When the Constitution was adopted, it was a fundamental right under Articles 19(1)(f) and 31. The 44th Amendment in 1978 removed both provisions from Part III.⁸

In their place, Article 300A was inserted in Part XII. It says no person can be deprived of property except by authority of law.⁹ Property remains a constitutional right but is no longer a fundamental right, so it cannot be enforced by a writ petition to the Supreme Court under Article 32. The remedy now lies through ordinary legal proceedings or High Court jurisdiction under Article 226. That is why the Constitution today guarantees six fundamental rights rather than the original seven.

1
Ministry of External Affairs. The Constitution of India – Part III
2
India Code. The Constitution of India
3
Constitution of India. Part III – Fundamental Rights
4
India Code. The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
5
India Code. The Constitution of India
6
Constitution of India. Article 33 – Power of Parliament to Modify the Rights Conferred by This Part in Their Application to Forces, Etc.
7
Ministry of External Affairs. The Constitution of India – Part XVIII Emergency Provisions
8
India Code. The Constitution (Forty-Fourth Amendment) Act, 1978
9
Indian Kanoon. Article 300A in Constitution of India