Directive Principles

of StatePolicy
► The Sapru Committee in 1945 suggested two
categories of individual rights.

► One being justiciable and the other being

non-justiciable rights. The justiciable rights,
as we know, are the Fundamental rights

► whereas the non-justiciable ones are the

Directive Principles of State Policy.
► Part IV ,Articles 36-51
► Borrowed it from the Irish Constitution -
which had copied it from the Spanish
Constitution
► Dr Ambedkar described this as the “novel
features” of the Indian Constitution
► Granville Austin has called Directive
Principles and Fundamental Rights as the
“Conscience of the Constitution”
Features of Directive
Principles
► DPSP are ideals which are meant to be kept in mind
by the state when it formulates policies and enacts
laws.
► They are an ‘instrument of instructions’ to the State
► They seek to establish economic and social
democracy in the country.
► They embody the concept of a Welfare State
► DPSPs are ideals which are not legally enforceable
by the courts for their violation.
► These principles are fundamental in the governance
of the country
Directive Principles of State Policy – Classification

► Indian Constitution has not originally classified

DPSPs but on the basis of their content and
direction, they can be classified into
► Socialistic Principles-They are the principles
that aim at providing social and economic justice
and set the path towards the welfare state
❖ Article 38 Promote the welfare of the people by
securing a social order through justice—social,
economic and political—and to minimise
inequalities in income, status, facilities and
opportunities
► Article 39- Secure citizens:
► Right to adequate means of livelihood for all citizens
► Equitable distribution of material resources of the
community for the common good
► Prevention of concentration of wealth and means of
production
► Equal pay for equal work for men and women
► Preservation of the health and strength of workers
and children against forcible abuse
► Opportunities for the healthy development of children
► Article 39 A Promote equal justice and free legal aid to
the poor
► Article 41 in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness
and disablement, secure citizens:
► Right to work
► Right to education
► Right to public assistance,
► Article 42 Make provision for just and humane conditions
of work and maternity relief
► Article 43 Secure a living wage, a decent standard of
living and social and cultural opportunities for all workers
► Article 43 A Take steps to secure the
participation of workers in the
management of industries
► Article 47 Raise the level of nutrition and
the standard of living of people and to
improve public health
► Gandhian Principles-These principles are based on
Gandhian ideology used to represent the programme of
reconstruction enunciated by Gandhi during the national
movement.
► They direct the state to
► Article 40 Organise village panchayats and endow them
with necessary powers and authority to enable them to
function as units of self-government
► Article 43 Promote cottage industries on an individual or
co-operation basis in rural areas
► Article 43 B Promote voluntary formation, autonomous
functioning, democratic control and professional
management of co-operative societies
► Article 46 Promote the educational and
economic interests of SCs, STs, and other
weaker sections of the society and to protect
them from social injustice and exploitation
► Article 47 Prohibit the consumption of
intoxicating drinks and drugs which are
injurious to health
► Article 48 Prohibit the slaughter of cows,
calves and other milch and draught cattle
and to improve their breeds
► Liberal-Intellectual Principles These
principles reflect the ideology of liberalism.
Under various articles, they direct the state to
► Article 44 Secure for all citizens a uniform
civil code throughout the country
► Article 45 Provide early childhood care and
education for all children until they complete
the age of six years
► Article 48 Organise agriculture and animal
husbandry on modern and scientific lines
► Article 49 Protect monuments, places and objects of
artistic or historic interest which are declared to be of
national importance
► Article 50 Separate the judiciary from the executive
in the public services of the State
► Article 51 Promote international peace and security
and maintain just and honourable relations between
nations
Foster respect for international law and treaty
obligations
Encourage settlement of international disputes by
arbitration
New Directives added by
various Amendments
► 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 added four new
Directive Principles in the list:
► Article 39 to secure opportunities for the healthy
development of children
► Article 39 A to promote equal justice and to provide
free legal aid to the poor
► Article 43 A To take steps to secure the
participation of workers in the management of
industries
► Article 48 A To protect and improve the
environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife
► 44th Amendment Act of 1978 under Article 38 added a
new directive which requires the State to minimise
inequalities in income, status, facilities and
opportunities.
► 86th Amendment Act of 2002 changed the subject-
matter of Article 45 , the amended directive requires the
State to provide early childhood care and education for
all children from 0 -6 years (elementary education a
fundamental right under Article 21A)
► 97th Amendment Act of 2011 Article 43 B It requires
the state to promote voluntary formation, autonomous
functioning, democratic control and professional
management of co-operative societies.
Distinguish between Fundamental
Rights and Directive Principles
► Fundamental Rights DPSP

Part III Articles 12-35

Part IV Articles 36-51
These are negative as they These are positive as they
prohibit the state from doing requires the state to do certain
certain things. things
These are justiciable, that
is they are legally These are non justiciable i.e.
enforceable by the courts in they are not enforceable by the
the case of their violation. courts for their violation.

They aim at establishing They aim at establishing social

political democracy in the and economic democracy in
country. the country.
 These have legal and political
and moral sanctions.
These have legal
sanctions
They require legislation for their
They do not require any implementation. They are not
legislation for their automatically enforced
implementation. They are
automatically enforced
The court can not declare a law
Any law violating the violating any of the directive
Fundamental Rights can be principles as unconstitutional and
declared as invalid. However, they can uphold
unconstitutional and the validity of a law on the ground
invalid by the Courts that it was enacted to give effect to
a directive
Criticism of Directive Principles of State Policy

► It has no legal force

► It is illogically arranged
► It is conservative in nature
► It may produce constitutional conflict between
Parliament and the Judiciary
Implementation of Directive
Principles
► Land Reforms Acts
► Fixing of minimum wages for people engaged in
different employments
► Maternity benefit Act
► Welfare schemes for weaker sections
► Panchayati Raj
► Khadi and Village Industries Boards, small scale
industries board,Handloom Board etc
► MANREGA
► Wildlife protection Act
► National Commission for SC ,ST, Backward
classes ,Women
► Protection of Historical Monuments etc
Conflict between Fundamental Rights and DPSPs?

► It can also be seen as an conflict between the powers of

Parliament and Supreme Court
► Power of Parliament to make a law to implement the
Socialistic guidelines present in the Directive Principles
► and the power of Judicial Review enjoyed by Supreme
Court to strike down a law as unconstitutional if it
infringes or violates the Fundamental Rights
 Landmark Judgements

► Champakam Dorairajan Case (1951)

► Supreme Court ruled that in any case of conflict

between Fundamental Rights and DPSPs, the provisions
of the former would prevail. DPSPs were regarded to
run as a subsidiary to Fundamental Rights. SC also ruled
that Parliament can amend Fundamental Rights through
constitutional amendment act to implement DPSPs.
► Result: Parliament made the First Amendment Act
(1951), the Fourth Amendment Act (1955) and the
Seventeenth Amendment Act (1964) to implement some
of the Directives.
Golaknath Case (1967)

► Supreme Court ruled that Parliament cannot

amend Fundamental Rights to implement
Directive Principles of State Policy.

► Result: Parliament enacted the 24th

Amendment Act 1971 & 25th Amendment
Act 1971 declaring that it has the power to
abridge or take away any of the
Fundamental Rights by enacting
Constitutional Amendment Acts.
► 25th Amendment Act inserted a new Article 31C
containing two provisions:
► No law which seeks to implement the socialistic
Directive Principles specified in Article 39 (b) and (c)
shall be void on the ground of contravention of the
Fundamental Rights conferred by Article 14 (equality
before law and equal protection of laws), Article 19
(protection of six rights in respect of speech,
assembly, movement, etc) or Article 31 (right to
property).
► No law containing a declaration for giving effect to
such policy shall be questioned in any court on the
ground that it does not give effect to such a policy.
► Kesavananda Bharti Case (1973)
► Supreme Court ruled out the second provision of Article
31C added by the 25th Amendment Act during
Golaknath Case of 1967. It termed the provision
‘unconstitutional.’ However, it held the first provision
of Article 31C constitutional and valid.
► Result: Through the 42nd amendment Act, Parliament
extended the scope of the first provision of Article 31C.
► It accorded the position of legal primacy and
supremacy to the Directive Principles over the
Fundamental Rights conferred by Articles 14, 19 and 31.
► Minerva Mills Case (1980)
► Supreme Court held the extension of Article 31C made by
the 42nd amendment act unconstitutional and invalid.
► It made DPSP subordinate to Fundamental Rights. Supreme
Court also held that ‘the Indian Constitution is founded on
the bedrock of the balance between the Fundamental
Rights and the Directive Principles.’
► Supreme Court’s rulings following the case were:
► Fundamental Rights and DPSPs constitute the core of the
commitment to social revolution.
► The harmony and balance between
Fundamental Rights and Directive
Principles of State Policy is an essential
feature of the basic structure of the
Constitution.
► The goals set out by the Directive
Principles have to be achieved without
the abrogation of the means provided by
the Fundamental Rights.
► Conclusion: Today, Fundamental Rights enjoy
supremacy over the Directive Principles. Yet, Directive
Principles can be implemented. The Parliament can
amend the Fundamental Rights for implementing the
Directive Principles, so long as the amendment does not
damage or destroy the basic structure of the
Constitution.