Dr. Aruna Sharma Column – It is very important to understand the basics of the Constitution. Dr Aruna Sharma’s column: It is very important to understand the basics of the Constitution Achi-News

Aruna Sharma Development Economist Practitioner and former Secretary in the Ministry of Steel

India got its constitution on 26 January 1950. Parliament has full power to make laws, including the power to amend the Constitution. The Supreme Court only interprets the provisions of the law and the Constitution.

However, there is also a proviso in it, which has come out very strongly in the case of Kesavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala Writ Petition (Civil) 135 of 1970 . It started as a matter of redistributing surplus land after the ceiling, when the Senedd passed the 24th, 25th and 29th amendments to limit the basic rights of citizens.

Also, the Senedd was given the right to amend any part of the Constitution, which reduced the powers of the judiciary. Then the Supreme Court of India had also underlined the basic-principle structure of the Constitution while limiting the power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution.

Why has it become important for us today to understand the basic structure of the Constitution? India is going through a period of turmoil. Where we have a young population on the one hand and on the other hand we have unemployment and our focus is not on inclusive development but on other trivial issues including amending the Constitution.

The basic structure of the Constitution mandates that fair elections be held first. The Constitution has seven basic structures: its supremacy, individual liberty, separation of powers, secularism, unity and sovereignty of India, federal structure and democratic-republican form of government.

The federal structure means that state governments have an important role in planning and developing plans for their state and cannot be controlled by the central government. They are also entitled to receive their share of the revenue collected by the Center in time. Whereas secularism means the equality of citizens’ rights without discrimination on the basis of religion. In the same way the Guiding Principles give the right to equality and privacy as an integral part of the right to life and personal liberty. The Puttuswamy Judgment reiterates that the right to privacy is protected as part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and the freedom guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.

In this case, a bench of nine judges unanimously reiterated the right to privacy as a fundamental right under the Constitution of India. The Court decided that the right to privacy is an integral part of the freedom guaranteed in the fundamental rights, and that it is an inherent aspect of dignity, autonomy and freedom.

This is the guiding factor for India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDPA) to ensure privacy. Controversial sections of the Act give government agencies the power to interfere with your personal data that has been objected to.

Similarly, it has been made clear in the Aadhaar Utilization Act that the number can be requested only when any assistance is sought from the government treasury, otherwise it cannot be requested for any other purpose without permission. The citizens of the country will have to understand all these nuances. This is why your WhatsApp etc is encrypted.

It is also important to understand some other important sections of the Constitution, which give effect to the fundamental rights and cannot be amended by Parliament under any circumstances after the Kesavananda Bharti case.

Provision for ‘judicial review’ has been made to protect the freedom of citizens. The Constitution is based on Article 14, which gives everyone the right to equality. Article 21 guarantees the right to life and liberty.

Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. All citizens must also understand that it is the government’s responsibility to provide opportunities for quality education and health and to build the economy to create sustainable employment. No government has the right to amend this structure of the Constitution. And the Preamble to the Constitution is also part of it.

Every citizen must understand that it is the government’s responsibility to provide opportunities for quality education and health and to create sustainable employment. No government has the right to amend this structure of the Constitution.
(This is the author’s own opinion)