The right to privacy was declared a fundamental right under Article 21 in which case?
- A.K. S. Puttaswamy versus Union of India
- B.Kharak Singh versus State of Uttar Pradesh
- C.M. P. Sharma versus Satish Chandra
- D.Govind versus State of Madhya Pradesh
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, K. S. Puttaswamy versus Union of India, decided in 2017 by a bench of nine judges who held unanimously that the right to privacy is intrinsic to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and runs through the freedoms in Part III. The judgment also laid down that a law invading privacy must have legal backing, serve a legitimate State aim and be proportionate. Option B is wrong because Kharak Singh, 1962, struck down one surveillance regulation but refused to treat privacy as a fundamental right. Option C is wrong because M. P. Sharma, 1954, dealt with search and seizure and also denied a constitutional right to privacy; both these holdings were overruled in Puttaswamy. Option D is wrong because Govind, 1975, only recognised a limited interest in privacy that could be restricted by a compelling State interest. Exams often set Kharak Singh as the trap, so link privacy with the year 2017 and nine judges.
Read the full article: Article 21: Right to Life, Case Laws and Exam Facts
Practice Questions
View allWhich expression is actually used in Article 21 of the Constitution of India?
- A.Due process of law
- B.Procedure established by law
- C.Equal protection of the laws
- D.Reasonable restrictions imposed by law
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Article 21 says that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law, an expression the Constituent Assembly borrowed from the Japanese Constitution.
Read the full explanation →In which case did the Supreme Court hold that the procedure under Article 21 must be fair, just and reasonable, and not arbitrary?
- A.A. K. Gopalan versus State of Madras
- B.Maneka Gandhi versus Union of India
- C.ADM Jabalpur versus Shivkant Shukla
- D.Kharak Singh versus State of Uttar Pradesh
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A seven-judge bench held that a procedure which takes away life or personal liberty must be fair, just and reasonable, gave personal liberty the widest amplitude, and tied Articles 14, 19 and 21 together as the golden triangle.
Read the full explanation →Article 21A, which makes elementary education a fundamental right, was inserted by which Constitutional Amendment?
- A.42nd Amendment, 1976
- B.44th Amendment, 1978
- C.86th Amendment, 2002
- D.93rd Amendment, 2005
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It inserted Article 21A, which directs the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years, recast Article 45 to cover early childhood care and education below six years, and added clause k to Article 51A, making it a fundamental duty…
Read the full explanation →The doctrine that the death sentence should be imposed only in the rarest of rare cases was laid down in which case?
- A.Jagmohan Singh versus State of Uttar Pradesh, 1973
- B.Bachan Singh versus State of Punjab, 1980
- C.Machhi Singh versus State of Punjab, 1983
- D.Mithu versus State of Punjab, 1983
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A Constitution Bench upheld the death penalty as consistent with Article 21 but held that it may be awarded only in the rarest of rare cases, where the alternative of life imprisonment is unquestionably foreclosed, and that courts must weigh aggravating against mitigating circumstances.
Read the full explanation →Under Article 359, the enforcement of which pair of fundamental rights cannot be suspended during a national emergency?
- A.Articles 19 and 21
- B.Articles 20 and 21
- C.Articles 14 and 21
- D.Articles 21 and 22
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Article 359 lets the President suspend the right to move any court for the enforcement of fundamental rights while a national emergency is in force, but the 44th Amendment Act, 1978, passed after the experience of the 1975 Emergency, placed Article 20, on protection against conviction for offences, and Article…
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