Right to Freedom – [Articles19 – 22]

Right to Freedom (Articles 19 – 22): Right to Freedom is guaranteed by the Indian constitution. The Right To Freedom safegurds a person’s the right to live and work freely, without any interference from the state. The Right To Freedom is it ensures that all people are treated equally under the constitution and will have the equal rights in the state. It also protects the citizens from being arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. The article includes freedom to live a life full of dignity, freedom of speech as well as expression, freedom to form associations and many more such freedoms. The right to freedom is mentioned in the following articles – Articles 19, 20, 21, 21A and 22 of the Constitution of India.

Right to Freedom

​​The right to freedom given in the Indian constitution allows all Indian citizens to live as well as work freely in the Indian territory. This right also protects individuals against arbitrary actions the state can sometimes take.

​​The different freedoms the right to freedom are not absolute and the state can pose several restrictions on them. There are various grounds on which the state imposes the restrictions. Public order, and national security morality are the sum of the grounds for restrictions imposed on the right to freedom. Although the right to assemble peacefully is a fundamental right it can be suspended in the areas where prohibitory orders are deployed.

​​Some other important rights are also given under the right to freedom in our Indian constitution. These include the right to speech and expression, assembly, association, equality etc. Various other rights are also mentioned in the Indian constitution. These rights are important to offer human dignity to everyone and promote a just society. These include the right to religion, education and also the right to work. There are some economic rights also in the constitution like the right to carry any type of trade or business which is not illegal by the state and the property right.

Fundamental Rights

​​There are 6 fundamental rights given in our Indian constitution. These rights are mandatory for the proper functioning of Indian democracy. The right to freedom gives the citizens freedom regarding speech and expression, freedom regarding personal liberty, etc. Every citizen of India needs to know the scope of this fundamental right and if there are any exceptions.

Right to Freedom

Article	Brief Description
a. Article 19	Protection of rights concerning freedom of: The Right To Freedom of speech and expression: It gives the citizens the right to express their views freely without fear the state regulations. The Right To Freedom of assembly: This includes the right to conduct the peaceful protests and demonstrations without fear of arrest or violence. The Right To Freedom of association: This gives the right to the citizens to join or not join any political or social organization which is a personal choice. The Right To Freedom of movement: This includes the right to move freely within India. The Right To Freedom of residence: This includes the right to live in any part of India. The Right To Freedom from discrimination: This includes the right to equality before the law. That means, it provides the right to protection against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste and sex as clarified by Article 15.
b. Article 20	Protection with respect to conviction for offences. The article provides for the protection in respect of conviction for any offences. Individual cannot be punished for actions that were not considered wrong when they did them, and they cannot receive penalties that are greater than what the law allowed at the time of the action.
c. Article 21	Right to life and personal liberty. It means, an Indian Citizen can reside and live in the any part of the country.
d. Article 21 A	Right to elementary education. Article 21A guarantees the right to education for children aged 6–14. The article was added in 2002 by the 86th Amendment to the Constitution.
e. Article 22	Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. Any individual who is detained must be told why they have been arrested. Additionally, they cannot be deprived of the right to seek advice from a lawyer.

Article 19

Article 19 has 6 freedoms in it. These are :

1. Freedom of speech and expression – The state offers freedom of speech and expression to each and every person of India. However, the state can still impose some restrictions on it when it comes to security and sovereignty of our nation, integrity, public order and maintaining relations with other Nations.

2. Freedom to assemble – The state allows people to assemble peacefully without any sort of arms. Yet, the above given restrictions can still be imposed in case of already mentioned circumstances.

3. Freedom to form associations/unions/cooperatives – As already mentioned circumstances, the state can impose d restrictions on the fundamental right as well. This article allows workers to form trade unions making it a fundamental right.

a. The Police Force (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1966 does not allow members of the police Force 2 form Trade unions.

b. As per the constitution the Parliament can pass a law that restrict army and intelligence personal and people working in communication sector the right to form political Association.

4. Freedom to move freely – An Indian citizen can move without any restrictions throughout the territory of India. Yet, restrictions can be put on this freedom also regarding publbic order, security and protecting the rights and interests of the schedule tribes.

5. Freedom of residence – Indian citizens can have residence in any part of Indian territory. Restrictions can be imposed on this freedom as well on the above mentioned grounds.

6. Freedom of profession – Each and every citizen can pursue profession or occupation or trade of their choice. The only condition that applies should not be illegal or Immoral in our country. The state can form loss specifying specific professional and Technical qualifications needed for some particular occupation or trade.

Article 20

​​This article deals with conviction for offences of citizens. There are three types of protection under this article. These are:

a. Retrospective criminal legislation – The other name for this is ex post facto criminal legislation. Here, any person will not be convicted for an act done before the time it was considered an offence.

i. In simple words, criminal legislation is never given in a retrospective effect.

ii. This immunity is not used when it comes to preventive detention and does not include trial.

iii. Any person will not be given more punishment then already prescribed under the law for the committed offence.

b. Double jeopardy – This means no one can be convicted for a single offence more than one time.

c. Prohibition games to self incrimination – This means no one can be compelled by the state to be a witness against himself.

​Article 21

Article 21 says the state cannot deprived anyone of his or her life as well as personal liberty except according to the procedure already established by the law. The article has a very wide scope. That’s why it has undergone several changes during the last decades.

i. According to the Supreme Court of India right to life means everyone has right to a dignified life.

ii. This is considered the most important fundamental right because without life all the other fundamental rights would have no meaning.

iii. This is the article that make some difference between police and a constitutional state.

Article 21 A

​The Parliament added Article 21A in the sixth Constitutional Amendment in the year 2002. This article was added in the constitution with this amendment. It says that the state should offer free as well as compulsory education to all the Indian children. The children hair ranges from the ages 6 – 14.

​​Article 22

Article 22 concerns itself with the protection against arrest and also detention in specific cases.

i. This article covers citizens as well as non citizens of the country.

ii. This provision has specific procedural safety measures for people in arrest cases.

iii. This article is considered after arrest of a person. This article in no way means right against detention as well as arrest.

iv. The motive of this article is to prevent everyone from arbitrary arrest and also detention.

v. The article provide the below given safeguards:

a. Article 22 (1): Everyone who is in the custody should be informed by he is arrested. Moreover, he has the right to consult an advocate which cannot be denied.

b. Article 22 (2): Anyone who is arrested has to produced in front of the judicial magistrate during a time span of 24 hours.

c. Article 22 (3): No arrested person can be kept in the custody for over the time period specified by the judicial magistrate.

​ Above mentioned safeguards are not given to enemy aliens and anyone who is arrested under preventive detention laws.

Preventive Detention

​​There are two types of preventive detention are:

1. Punitive detention as a punishment for a criminal offence. It occurs after an offence is actually committed, or an attempt has been made towards the commission of that crime.

2. Preventive detention means detention after someone is arrested. It is detention without any trial. The aim of this is to prevent suspected people from committing a crime. In simpler words, it means people can be detained solely on the grounds of suspicion. Whoever is arrested under preventive detention is governed according to preventive detention laws. The aim of preventive detention is to prevent people from committing crimes that can be thread full security of the nation or public order. There are several acts which govern preventive detention in India.

​​Article 22 of our Indian constitution governs provisions related to preventive detention. This article protects anyone and everyone who is detained or arrested. This means that this article has no rule to play until and unless someone or a group is arrested or imprisoned. The article comes into the picture only after arrest of the person or the group. It is important to mention that Article 21 and Article 22 works hand in hand in this situation.

Significance of the Right to Freedom

​​The Indian Constitution gives many types of rights. However the fundamental rights are the most important rights enshrined in our Indian constitution. Right to freedom is our fundamental rights. This is the most important and basic right to all the human beings. The state does not interfere with the living and working of an individual due to this right.

The significance of this right is that it insurance everyone gets equal treatment and opportunities without any sort of discrimination. As given the right to freedom nobody can be detained or imprisoned arbitrarily.

Conclusion

​​Every human needs the right to freedom to live their life according to them. Right to freedom has freedom of speech, assembly and religion. Right to education for children is also part of right to freedom. This is the newest addition in the right to freedom. Students are at the centre then it comes to protecting this right as they are usually well aware of the happenings around them. They can also raise they voice if they need some sort of change in the working of their governments. That’s why student should be encourage to know more about the rights given in our constitution.

FAQs- Right to Freedom (Articles 19 – 22)

​1. Define the ‘Right to freedom’.

Right to Freedom is guaranteed by the Indian constitution. It is one of the most important fundamental rights in our constitution. This article contains everything you need to know about the right to freedom. The article includes freedom to live a life full of dignity, freedom of speech as well as expression, freedom to form associations and many more such freedoms. The right to freedom is mentioned in the following articles – Articles 19, 20, 21, 21A and 22 of the Constitution of India.

2. What all is included in the Right to Freedom?

The Right to freedom in our Indian constitution, includes the right to speech and expression, assembly, association, equality etc. Various other rights are also mentioned in the Indian constitution. These rights are important to offer human dignity to everyone and promote a just society. These include the right to religion, education and also the right to work. There are some economic rights also in the constitution like the right to carry any type of trade or business which is not illegal by the state and the property right.

3. What are the different types of freedom?

​The different types of freedom are freedom of assembly freedom of association, freedom of choice and freedom of speech .

4. How is the Right to Freedom significant?

The Indian Constitution gives many types of rights. However the fundamental rights are the most important rights enshrined in our Indian constitution. Right to freedom is our fundamental rights. This is the most important and basic right to all the human beings. The state does not interfere with the living and working of an individual due to this right. This right signifies that it ensures everyone gets equal treatment and opportunities without any sort of discrimination. As given the right to freedom nobody can be detained or imprisoned arbitrarily.

5. Define ‘Preventive Detention’.

Preventive detention means detention after someone is arrested. It is detention without any trial. The aim of this is to prevent suspected people from committing a crime. In simpler words, it means people can be detained solely on the grounds of suspicion. Whoever is arrested under preventive detention is governed according to preventive detention laws. The aim of preventive detention is to prevent people from committing crimes that can be thread full security of the nation or public order. There are several acts which govern preventive detention in India. Article 22 of our Indian constitution governs provisions related to preventive detention.