DPSP–DI

RECTI
VEPRI
NCI
PLESOFSTATEPOLI
CY

Arti
cle36t
o51oft heConst i
tuti
onofI
ndiaembodiestheDi
recti
vePri
nciplesofStat
e
pol
icyandf
orthesewear eindebtedt
otheConsti
tuti
onofIr
eland.Theobjecti
veisto
est
abli
shasocialandeconomi cdemocr
acyinI
ndia.

Art
icl
e37r ev
ealsthat:
1.TheDir
ectivePri
ncipl
esarenotj
usti
ciabl
e
2.TheyareFundament alt
othegover
nanceoft hecountry
3.I
tshall
bet hedutyoftheStat
etoapplytheseDirect
ivePri
nci
pleswhi
l
efor
mul
ati
ng
pol
ici
esormaki nglawsforthegov
ernanceoftheSt at
e

Cl
assi
fi
cat
ionofDPs

1.Soci
ali
stPr
inci
ples

Arti
cle38–t hest at
eshal lendeav ourtofor mul atesuchsoci alsy stem whichwi l
l secure
social,economi candpol i
ticaljusti
cet oallinal lthespher esofl i
fe.
Ar t
icle39( a)-thest ateshal l t
rytoformul atei tspol icyinsuchamannersoast osecur e
adequat emeansofl ivel
ihoodf oralli
tscitizens.
Arti
cle39( b)-t heowner shipofmat eri
alresour ceswoul dbecont r ol
ledinsucha
mannersoast osub- servet hecommongood.Ar ticle
39(c)-t heeconomyoft hest atewi l
lbeadmi nister edinsuchamannersot hatweal t
h
maynoty etbeconcent ratedi naf ewhandsandt hemeansofpr oduct i
onmaynotbe
usedagai nstthepubl icinterest .
Arti
cle41-t heSt atewi l
l wor kwithinthelimi t
sofi tseconomi cv iabili
tyandpr ogress,
providet otheci tizenst her ighttowor k,ther ightt oeducat ionandgener alassistancei n
theev entofunempl oyment ,ol
dage, diseaseandot herdisabil
i
ties.
Arti
cle42-t hest atewi l
lmakepr ovi
sionsf ort hecr eationofjustandhumanecondi t
ions
ofwor k.Itwi l
lal soensur emat erni
tyreli
ef.
Arti
cle43-t hest atewi l
lensur eadequat ewages, goodl i
feandr estt othelabour ers.
Thest atewi llalsoendeav ourt omakeav ailablet ot helabourersv arioussocio-cultur
al
faci
lit
ies.

2.Li
ber
alPr
inci
ples

Articl
e44-TheSt ateshall endeavourt oformul ateandi mpl ementaUni f
orm Ci
vi
lCode
forallthepeopl el ivi
ngt hroughoutt heterrit
oryofI ndia.
Articl
e45-t heSt ateshal lendeav ourtopr ovideear l
ychi l
dhoodcar eandeducati
onfor
allthechildrenunt i
ltheycompl et
et heageofsi xy ears.
Articl
e47-t heSt ateshal lstri
vetor ai
sethel evel ofnut ri
ti
onandt hestandar
dofliv
ing.
Thus, itwil
l endeav ourtoi mpr oveupont heheal t
hoft hepeople.
Articl
e48-t heSt ateshal lstri
vetoor ganiseagr icultureandhusbandryonmoder nand
scientifi
clines.Itwi l
lalsot rytomai ntai
nandi mpr ov eupont hebr
eedoft heani
mals.
Articl
e50-t hest atewi l
l t
ryt oseparatethej udiciaryfrom theexecuti
veinthecaseof
publ i
cser vce.
i
3.Gandhi
anPr
inci
ples

Art
icle40-theStatewillst r
ivetoorganisePanchay atsinvil
lagesandwi llendowt hem
wit
hsuchpower swhichenabl ethem t
oactasuni tsofsel fgov ernment .
Art
icle43-thestateshall str
ivetodevelopthecot tagei ndustryinther uralareasboth,
onindivi
dualorcooperativebasis.
Art
icle47-thestatewillstriv
et obantheconsumpt ionofwi ne,otherintoxicatingdri
nks
andallsuchcommodi tieswhi char econsideredinjurioustoheal th.
Art
icle48suggeststhatt heSt at
ewi l
lbansl aughteringofcows, calv
esandot hermil
ch
cat
tle.

4.I
nter
nat
ional
pri
nci
ples

Art
icl
e51(a)-TheStatewil
lstr
ivet
opromoteint
ernati
onalpeaceandsecur i
ty.
Art
icl
e51(b)-TheStatewil
lstr
ivet
omaintai
njustandhonour abl
erelationsamong
var
iousst
atesi nt
hewor l
d.
Art
icl
e51(c)-TheStat
ewi l
lendeav
ourtopromoterespectforInt
ernationaltr
eati
es,
agr
eements, andl
aw.
Art
icl
e51(f)
-TheSt at
ewillst
ri
vetosett
lei
nter
nati
onaldisputesbyar bitr
ati
on.

‘
Fundament alization’ ofDi r
ect i
v ePr inciples
TheSupr emeCour thas, i
nanumberofj udgment s,referredt otheimpor tanceoft he
Di r
ectivePr i
nci ples.I thascal l
edt hesepr i
nci plest he“ consci ence”andt he“ cor e”oft he
Const it
ut ion.Thesepr i
nci pl esar et he“ goal s”t obeachi ev edbyPar tIIIofthe
Const it
ut ion.Theyar ei ntendedt oensur e“di stri
but ivejustice”forremov al of
i
nequal itiesanddi sabi li
tiesandt oachi ev eaf airdivisionofweal thamongstt he
member soft hesoci ety .TheSupr emeCour thel dthatt hecour t
scanl ookatt he
Di r
ectivePr i
nci plesf ort hepur poseofi nter pretat i
onoft hef undament alri
ght s.The
cour tswi lladoptt hati nter pr etat i
onwhi chmakest hef undament alri
ghtsmeani ngf ul
andef f
icaci ous.Thecour tshav et omakeev er yat t
emptt or econcil
et hefundament al
rightswi tht heDi rect ivePr inci plesr emember ingt hatt her easonwhyt heDi rective
Pr i
ncipleswer el ef tbyt hef oundi ngf at hersasnon- enforceabl ewast ogi vethe
Gov ernmentsuf ficientl at i
tudet oi mpl ementt hem.
Di r
ectivescont ainedi not herpar ts( I
mpor tant )
Besi dest hedi r ectiv escont ai nedi nPar tIV, ther ear ecer tainotherdirecti
vesaddr essed
tot hest atei not herpar toft heConst it
ut i
on.Thesedi rectivesar eal
sonon- j
udi cial.
Ther ear e:
1.Ar ti
cle350Aenj oinsev er yst ateandev er ylocal aut hor i
tywithinthestatet opr ov i
de
adequat ef aciliti
esf ori nst ruct ioni nt hemot hert ongueatt hebelongingt olingui sti
c
mi norit
ygr oups.
2.Ar ti
cle351enj oinst heuni ont opr omot et hespr eadofHi ndiandtodev elopi tsot hat
i
tmayser veasamedi um ofexpr essionofal ltheel ement soft hecomposi tecul tureof
India.
3.Ar ti
cle335enj oinst hatt hecl aimsoft hemember soft heSchedul edCast esand
Schedul edTr ibesshal lbet akeni nt oconsi der ation,consi stentlywiththemai ntenance
ofeffi
ciencyofadministrat
ion,int
hemaki ngofappoi nt
ment st
oserv i
cesandpostsi
n
connectionwiththeaffair
soft heunionorast at
e.Thought heDi
rectiv
escontai
nedin
Arti
cle335,305Aand351ar enotincludedinPar tIV,
courtshavegivensimil
arat
tent
ion
tothem ont heappli
cationofthepr i
nciplethatallpar
toftheConstit
utionshoul
dbe
readtogether.
Fundament al Right sv sDi r
ect i
v ePr i
nciples
Thedi rect i
vesdi fferfrom t hef undament alri
ghtsinPar tIIIoft heConst i
tutionorthe
ordi
nar ylawsoft hel and, t
hef ol l
owi ngway s:
1.Whi lethef undament al r
ightsconst it
ut eli
mi t
at i
onsuponst ateact i
on, thedi r
ectiv
e
pri
nciplesar ei nt henat ureofi nst rument sofinstructiont ot hegov ernmentoft hedayt o
achievecer tainendsbyt heiract i
ons.
2.Fundament al r
ightsar ej usticiable,butt hedirectivepr inci plesar enon- justici
able.
3.Thedi rectives, howev er,requi retobei mplantedbyl egisl at i
on, andsol ongast hereis
nolawcar r
y i
ngoutt hepol icylai ddowni naDi r
ect i
ves, nei thert hest atenori ndivi
dual
canv iolateanyexi stinglaworl egal r
ightundercol ouroff ol l
owi ngaDi rectives.
4.Thef undament al ri
ght slaydownt henegat i
veobl igationoft hest ate.Theyar e
prohibitiv
ei nchar acterandar e, i
nf act,inthenat ureofi nj unct ionsr equiringt hestate
nottodocer taint hi
ngs.Di rect i
v epr i
nciplesare, onthecont rary,affi
rmat ivedi r
ecti
ons
deali
ngwi t
ht heposi tiveobl igationsoft hestatet owar dst heci tizens..
5.Themai nobj ect i
veoff undament al r
ightsistoest abl ishpol i
ti
cal democr acy,by
guarant eeingequal it
y ,
li
ber ty,reli
giousf reedom andcul tural ri
ght sbutt heai m of
dir
ectivepr inci plesofst atepol icyist oest abli
shj ustsoci al andeconomi cor der.
6.Thecour tcannotdecl areanyl awasv oidont hegr oundt hati tcont r
av enest he
dir
ectives.

Relat i
veI mpor t
anceofDPSPandFRs
Dur i
ngt hefir
stsi xteeny ear soft heoper ationoft heConst i
tut ion, thedi rect i
veprinciples
wer econsi deredsubor di nat et othef undament al ri
ght s: thecour tsst r
uckdowna
numberofl awsenact edt oi mpl ementdi rect i
v epr i
ncipl esont hegr oundt hatt hey
violatedt hefundament al rights.Theconf licthasi tsr ooti nt hef actt hatf undament al
ri
ght sar eenforceabl ebyt hecour ts,whi let hedi rect i
vepr i
nci plesar enotso.Howev er,
thegov ernmentt ri
edt oov er comet hepr obl em byamendi ngt heConst itution.Whent he
Supr emeCour tlai ddowni nt heGol aknat hCaset hatt hef undament alri
ght scannotbe
abridgedt oimpl ementt hedi recti
v epr inciples, theGov er nmentt r i
edt oov ercomet he
l
imi tationin1971t hrought he24t hAmendmentwhi chgav ePar liamentt her i
ghtto
amendf undament al ri
ght s.Int hesamey ear ,the25t hAmendmentActi nser t
edAr ti
cle
31censur i
ngthatcer tainl awsmeantt oi mpl ementDi rect ivesi ncl auses39( b)and39
(c)wi llprevai
lev eni ft hesel awsv i
olatet her ight sgr ant edi nAr ticle14and19.An
attemptt oenhancet hescopeofAr ticl
e31( c)wasmadebyt he42ndAmendmentAct
whi chgav epri
macyt oanyoral lthedi rectivepr inci pl
esanddepr ivedt hecour tsofthe
ri
ghtt olookintosuchcases.Thi sat temptwasf oil
edbyt heSupr emeCour tmaj ori
ty
j
udgementi nMi ner v
aMi l
lsCasewhi chasser tedt hatsucht ot al excl usionofj udi
cial
reviewwoul dof fendt hebasi cst r
uct ureoft heConst itut i
on.Ont hewhol e,howev er
, the
conf li
ctbet weent heset wof eaturesoft heConst ituti
oni smeani nglessast heyare,in
realitycompl ement aryt oeachot her .Thecour tshav ei ncr easi ngl ybasedt heirjudgment
onahar moniousr eadi ngofPar tIIIandI Voft heConst itution.TheSupr emeCour t,
af ter
thej udgmenti nt heKesav anandaBhar aticase, hasadopt edt hev iewoft he
Fundament alRight sandDi rectivePr inciplesbei ngcompl ement ar yt o
eachot her,eachsuppl ement ingt heot her '
sr olei nai mi ngatt hesamegoal of
establ i
shingawel farest at e.
“Thejudicialapproachshoul dbedy namicratherthanstatic,pragmaticandnotpedanti
c
andel asti
cr at
herthanrigid.ThisCourtwhileacti
ngasasent i
nelont hequiviv
et o
protectfundament alr
ightsguar ant
eedt otheciti
zensoft hecount rymusttrytostri
kea
j
ustbal ancebet weenthef undament alr
ightsandt helar
gerandbr oaderint
erestsof
societysot hatwhensuchar ightcl
asheswi thalar geri
nterestofthecountryitmust
yiel
dt othelatter
.”–Supr emeCour tinKesav anandaBhar atijudgment

TheDoct r
ineofBasi cSt r
uctur
e(1973)Fr heKesav
om t anandacaseemer gedt hi
s
doctr
ine,whichsuggest edthattherecanbenol awinv iol
ati
onofthe" basicstructure"
oftheconstituti
on.Although,whatitexactl
ycomprisesofi ssubj
ecttosomedebat e,
usual
lythefol l
owingcomeundert hi
sdoct r
ine-Thesupr emacyoftheconst i
tuti
on.
Republi
cananddemocr ati
cform ofgovernment.Thesecularcharacterofthe
Constit
uti
on.Mai ntenanceofthesepar at
ionofpower s.Thefeder
al characterofthe
Constit
uti
on.

Crit
icism ofDPs
Canl eadto‘sit
uat i
onsofconfl
ict
’ betweent hecenterandthestates-
IfthePar l
iamentpassesalawt oenforceDPs, evenifiti
sbeyondt hefiscalr
eachof
thest atestoimpl ementthel
aws, f
ai l
uretodosowi l
lbesubjecttoar t256(stat
e
gov ernment saresupposedtoexer cisetheirexecuti
vepower si
naccor dancewiththe
l
awspassedbyt hePar l
i
ament)
.Ifthest atedoesnotf oll
ow256,thenbyar t365( i
fthe
statedoesnotf ollowthemandatesoft hePar li
ament,thenthePresidentcandeem t hi
s
tobea‘ breakdownofconst i
tut
ional machinery’
)

Soci
alvaluescombi
nedwi
thsent
imental
values–prevent
ionofcow-slaught
erand
al
coholconsumpti
oncombi
nedwit
hprinci
plesofsoci
alandeconomicjusti
ce(39b,
39c)
!

I
tissaidtheyi mbibethespi ritofFabiansoci ali
sm –whi chisnowlosingrelev
ance-
Theideasof5y earplans,set ti
ngupl argeanddi versi
fi
edpubl i
csectorand
national
izati
onofkeyi ndust ri
escamef rom er stwhileUSSR
Howev er,
unl i
keUSSR, Indiabecameademocr acywi t
haFabi anaim ofsocial
ism –
thatis–achi evesocial
ism t hroughev olution,notrevoluti
on( e.
g.Bol
shevikRevoluti
on
of1917)
AfterLi
ber al
izati
on,Privati
zation,Globalizati
on( LPG)in1991, l
eadi
ngtoar est
rict
ed
roleofpublicsector,t
hev er
yideaofsoci alism i
sundert hr eat

e.
g.Rightaf
teri
ndependence,weacqui
redlandfr
om t
hebi
glandl
ordsanddistr
ibut
ed
i
ttothelandl
essti
ll
ers–nowwedot heopposit
e–weacqui
relandfr
om poorfarmers
andhanditovert
obigcapit
ali
sts!

TheseareNon-justi
ci
able–thenhowcanthecour
tsmonit
ort
heiri
mplement at
ion.
Al
though,thecourt
s,especi
all
ysi
ncethe1990s,
hav
estar
tedgi
vingsi
gnif
icancetothe
DPsthrough‘j
udici
alacti
vi
sm’.
 Noproperclassif
icat
ioni
sdone–thesegr
egati
onintoSoci
ali
st,
Gandhi
an,
Liber
aland
I
nter
nati
onalprinci
pleswasnott
her
eintheConsti
tut
ion.

SomeDi rect
ivePri
nci
plesar
enotpr
act
icabl
e–st
ri
ctnat
ion-
widebanonalcohol
can
neverbepracti
cal
lyenf
orced.
Noment i
onofmethodstoimpl
ementt
hese–noti
mef r
ame,noprocess,
noagenci
es
prescr
ibed.

I
mpor
tanceofDPs

Laydownthef oundationofEconomicDemocr acy

Measuri
ngroadst ojudgetheachievementsoft heGov
t
Theyest
abli
shwel farestat
e
TheseareFundament alintheGovernanceofthecountr
y.
ThesePri
ncipl
essuppl ementFundament alr
ights
Guidi
ngPri
nciplesforcourts
Theybri
ngstabili
tyandcont i
nui
tyinStatepoli
cies