FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

INTRODUCTION

As an Indian resident, certain rights and obligations are given to us. Each resident should maintain the laws and play out his/her legal obligations or duties or commitments. An individual should consistently know about his/her Fundamental Duties. There are in total 11 Fundamental Duties which are laid down in the Constitution of India.

On the suggestions of the Swaran Singh Committee, the fundamental duties were included by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 in our Indian Constitution. The Fundamental Duties were initially 10 in numbers yet in 2002, the 86th Amendment was increased to 11.

Neither there is a direct provision in the Constitution for the implementation or enforcement of these duties nor there is not any sanction to prevent infringement of these duties. These duties are Obligatory in nature.

An individual should regard and respect the Fundamental Rights and Duties similarly if the court comes to realize that an individual who needs his right to be enforced is careless about his/her obligations or duties then the court won't be lenient in his case.

Any ambiguous rule can be interpreted with the assistance of fundamental duties. The court can consider the law sensible if it offers an impact on any of the fundamental duties. so the court can save such law from being announced as void or unconstitutional

The Fundamental Duties are taken from the Constitution of Russia. The expansion of fundamental duties in our constitution has carried our constitution aligned with Article 29(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with different provisions of the modern constitution of different Nations.

ARTICLE 51 A OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

Article - 51A is given in Part-IV-A of the Indian Constitution which deals with Fundamental Duties. Fundamental Duties was added to the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. A code of 11 fundamental duties was given to the Citizens of India. Article 51-A states that it is the duty of each citizen of the country:

1. To give respect to the Supreme Law of the Land that is The Constitution, it's goals, ideals and institutions, the National Flag and National Anthem–Ideals like freedom, equity, equality, fraternity and institutions like Legislature, executive and the judiciary must be respected by all the citizens of the nation. No individual should go through any such practice which disregards the soul of the Constitution and should maintain its pride and honor. If any individual does not give respect to the National Anthem or the National Flag then it will be a failure as a Citizen of a Sovereign country.

2. The respectable and noble ideas or thoughts that motivate the national struggle to gain freedom, one should cherish them–Every citizen must appreciate and admire and value the noble ideas that inspired the battle for independence. These ideas main focus on making an equitable or just society, a united country with freedom, equality, nonviolence, fraternity, and world peace. A citizen must stay committed to these ideas.

3. One must protect and maintain the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India–This is one of the important fundamental duty that each citizen of the country should perform. A united country is not possible if the unity of the nation is endangered or Jeopardized. Sovereignty lies with the people of India. Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution put reasonable limitations on the right to freedom of speech and expression to defend the interest and integrity of India.

4. One should respect the nation and render national service or help when called upon–Every citizen should guard and defend the nation against the enemies. All the citizens apart from the individuals who are in the military, naval force must be prepared to take up arms to protect themselves and the country at whatever point of time the need arises.

5. One should promote harmony and peace and also the spirit of fraternity among the citizens of India, transcending religious, linguistic, local, or sectional diversities and to renounce practices that are derogatory to the pride and dignity of the women. The presence of one flag and single citizenship reflects the spirit of fraternity and guides the citizen to leave behind all the distinctions or differences and focus on collective activity in all spheres.

6. One should preserve and value the legacy and heritage of our composite culture–India's way of life is perhaps the richest heritages of the earth. In this way, each citizen must secure the heritage and give it to future generations.

7. One should ensure and protect and improve the natural environment including lakes, forests, wildlife, forests, rivers, and a citizen should have sympathy or compassion for living creatures Under Article 48A this duty is given as a provision under the constitution also. The natural environment is significant and important for every single nation. So every single citizen should make efforts to protect it.

8. One should build up the scientific temperament and humanism and also the soul of inquiry and reform For his/her development or improvement an individual needs to gain from the encounters and experiences of others and develop in this quickly evolving environment. So one should consistently attempt to have a scientific temperament to adjust to this dynamic environment.

9. One should consistently defend public property and abjure Due to pointless instances of violence that happens in a nation that preaches for nonviolence, a lot of damage has just been done to the public property. Thus, it is the duty or obligation of each citizen to secure the public property.

10. One should consistently strive towards excellence in all sphere of life and for the collective activity so the country proceeds with its endeavor and accomplishments or achievements To guarantee that our nation ascends or rises to a more significant level of achievement, it is the essential duty of each citizen to accomplish the work that is given to him/her with excellence. This will lead the nation towards the highest possible level of excellence.

11. One should consistently give the opportunity of education to his child or ward between the age of six to fourteen years–Free and compulsory education must be given to the child who belongs to 6 to 14 years old and this must be guaranteed by the guardians or parents of such child. This was given by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.[1]

CHARACTERISTICS OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

1. Both moral and civic obligations have been set down under the fundamental duties, similar to, "the Indian citizens should not only value the noble ideas or thoughts that lead to the freedom struggle however they should likewise respect the Constitution, the National Flag, and National Anthem".

2. Fundamental rights can be applied to outsiders additionally however the fundamental duties are just confined to the citizens of India.

3. The Fundamental Duties are not enforceable in nature. No legal sanction can be implemented by the legislature if there should be an occurrence of their infringement.

4. These duties are likewise identified with Hindu traditions or mythology like offering appreciation to the nation or promoting the spirit of fraternity.

CASE LAWS

1. In Ramlila Maidan Incident[2], the court held that fundamental is utilized in two separate senses in the Constitution of India. When this word is utilized for rights then it implies that these rights are extremely important and any law which will violate the fundamental rights will be proclaimed as void. Yet, when this word is utilized for the duties then it is utilized in a normative sense as it set certain objectives before the state which the state should attempt to accomplish.

2. The Unnikrishnan Judgement[3]It was held that all the citizens who are below the age of 14 years reserve a right to free and mandatory education. due to increasing public demand for education, the government worked making education the fundamental right. In 2002, an amendment was embedded in Article 51A. Article 51(k) was included after Article 51(j) which expressed that it is a fundamental duty of each citizen who is a parent or a guardian to allow freeing and necessary education to a child who is between 6 years to 14 years old.

3. In Aruna Roy versus Union of India[4], the court maintained the legitimacy of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education which was challenged on the ground that it violated Article 28 of the Indian Constitution and it was anti-secular since it accommodated value development education identifying with the basics of all the religions. The court observed that the NCFSF doesn't refer to anything related to giving religious guidance or instruction which is prohibited under Article 28 and education neither violated Article 28 nor the idea of secularism.

4. In M.C.Mehta versus Union of India[5], the Supreme Court held that all the educations institutions must organize teaching lessons for a minimum of one hour a week on the improvement and protection or preservation of the natural environment and it is the obligation or duty of the Union government under Article 51 A (g) to introduce this in all the educational institutions. The Union Government should distribute books free of cost on the subject related to the environment and also raise awareness among people towards a clean environment. The government should also organize to keep the locality and the city minimum once a year.

5. In Charu Khurana versus Union of India[6] the Supreme Court held that the State should accommodate opportunities instead of curtailing it. The court likewise said that the obligation of the citizen has additionally been extended out to the collective obligation of the state.

6. Javed versus State of Haryana[7] held that the fundamental rights must be perused with fundamental duties which are given in Article 51A of the Indian Constitution and with the directive principles of state policy that are given in Part IV of the Constitution. They can't be read separately or in isolation.

ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

The Fundamental Duties guides the citizen and also guides the legislative and executive actions of elected or non-chose establishments, organizations, and municipal bodies. Duties are possibly observed by the citizens when either it is made obligatory by the law or under the impact of role models. So this makes it important to make reasonable enactment at whatever point it is significant for the citizens to observe the duties or obligations. These duties should be made operational only when the directions have been given by the legislature and judiciary and still there is an infringement of fundamental duties. If the current laws are insufficient and they can't enforce the necessary discipline then the legislative vacuum should be filled.

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The legitimate utility of fundamental duties and directive principles is the same. Fundamental Duties are addressed to the citizens through Directive principles address to the state and there is no sanction in case of their infringement. If an individual couldn't care about his/her fundamental duties then he/she doesn't deserve the fundamental rights. These obligations are not legally enforceable yet any act which is done by a citizen that is disregarding or violating the fundamental duties then it would be considered as a reasonable restriction on the significant Fundamental Rights.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

1. These are negative as they prevent or prohibit the state from doing specific things.

1. They are positive as they require the state to do specific things.

2. They are enforceable in the Court of Law.

2.They are unenforceable in a court of law

3. Legal Sanctions

3.Moral and Political Sanctions

4. The aim is to establish political democracy in the Country.

4.Aim is to establish social and economic democracy in the country.

5. There are 6 Fundamental Rights

5.There are 11 Fundamental Duties

6. It is mentioned under Part 3 of the Constitution of India.

6.It is mentioned under Part 4 of the Constitution.

CONCLUSION

The non-enforceability of the fundamental duties won't influence its significance. Fundamental Duties are a significant part of a democratic state since it permits individuals to make the most of their privileges as well as reminds them to play out their obligations which they have towards the country. The word fundamental which is connected to the duties makes them most significant and in this manner, it is required that they are to be followed by everybody. Several Duties or obligations have additionally been set up as a different law and are made enforceable by the law however this doesn't decrease the value of other duties that are given in Article 51A. It isn't just the duties of the government to give everything in the Constitution, individuals should likewise be conscious about their function in society. Even duties like payment of taxes, right to cast a vote must be performed by every single citizen of the country. These duties teach a feeling of social duty in everybody. While interpreting the fundamental rights these fundamental duties are constantly considered.

Rights and duties are correlative. The fundamental duties fill in as a steady suggestion to each citizen while the Constitution explicitly conferred on them certain fundamental rights. Certain fundamental standards of democratic conduct and democratic behavior must be observed by the citizens.

Authur - GAURAV PUROHIT

AMITY UNIVERSITY RAJASTHAN

5TH SEMESTER

REFERENCES

· https://blog.ipleaders.in/fundamental-duties-2/.

· https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/fundamental-duties/

· https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Rights,_Directive_Principles_and_Fundamental_Duties_of_India#:~:text=The%20Fundamental%20Duties'%20are%20defined,concern%20individuals%20and%20the%20nation.

[1] Article 51-A of the Constitution of India. 2. Re-Ramlila Maidan Incident Dt vs Home Secretary And Ors (2012) 5 SCC 123. [3] Unni Krishnan, J.P., And Ors. vs State Of Andhra Pradesh And Ors. 1993 SCR (1) 594. [4] Ms. Aruna Roy And Others vs Union Of India (2002) 7 SCC 368. [5] M.C. Mehta vs Union Of India And Ors AIR 1999 SC 1501. [6] Charu Khurana vs. Union of India, (2015) 1 SCC 192. [7] Javed vs. the State of Haryana, (2003) 8 SCC 369.