Article 19 of Indian Constitution
- Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
(1)All citizens shall have the right-
(a) to freedom of speech and expression;
(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
(c) to form associations or unions or co-operative societies;
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(f) sub-clause (f) shall be omitted;
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;and
(g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
(2) Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with Foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.
(3) Nothing in sub-clause (b) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause.
(4)Nothing in sub-clause (c) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order or morality, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause.
(5)Nothing in sub-clauses (d) and (e) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevents the State from making any law imposing, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub-clauses either in the interests of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribe.
(6)Nothing in sub-clause (g) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the general public, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause, and, in particular, nothing in the said sub-clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it relates to, or prevent the State from making any law relating to,-
(i)the professional or technical qualifications necessary for practising any profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business, or
(ii)the carrying on by the State, or by a corporation owned or controlled by the State, of any trade, business, industry or service, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens or otherwise.
Article 19 (1) of the Indian Constitution
a) to freedom of speech and expression;
b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
c) to form associations or unions;
d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;
g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business
The Grounds on Which This Freedom Can Be Restricted
1. security of the State,
2. friendly relations with foreign States
3. public order,
4. decency and morality,
5. contempt of court,
6.defamation,
7. incitement to an offence, and
8. Sovereignty and integrity of India.
Right to Information and Article 19
The Right to Information regarding the functioning of public institutions is a fundamental right as enshrined in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court has declared in a plethora of cases that the most important value for the functioning of a healthy and well informed democracy is transparency. But neither the Fundamental Rights nor the Right to Information have been provided in absolute terms. Right to know about affairs of Government is not absolute, secrecy can be legitimately claimed in respect of transactions with repercussions on public security.
Recently Electoral Bond Scheme was scraped by Supreme Court as it was violating the Right to Information provided under Article 19(1)(a) of our Constitution.
Case Laws:
1. Right of LGBT Community in Navtej Singh Johar vs. UOI:
Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India (UOI) refers to a landmark legal case in India related to the decriminalization of homosexuality. The case is commonly known as the Navtej Singh Johar case because Navtej Singh Johar, a dancer and a member of the LGBT community, was one of the petitioners challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. It was held that section 377 IPC violates Article 19(1)(a).
2. Right to Circulate: In Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras:
The Supreme Court held that right to free speech and expression include the right not only to publish but also to circulate information and opinion. Circulation is the lifeline of freedom. Without right to circulate, the right to free speech and expression would have little meaning. The freedom of circulation has been held to be essential as the freedom of publication.
3. Right to Circulate: Sakal Papers (P) Ltd. v. Union of India: The supreme court held that state could not make laws which directly affect the circulation of a newspaper for that would amount to violation of the freedom of speech. The right under article 19 (1) (a) extends not only to the matter which the citizen is entitled to circulate but also to the volume of circulation.
4. Right to Silence: Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala: This case is also known as national anthem and freedom of silence case. In this present case three children were expelled from the school for not singing the national anthem although they respectfully stood when the others were singing the national anthem. They approach the H.C. of Kerala against the said order but H.C. upheld the expulsion valid by imposing the fundamental duty. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that the students did not commit any offence under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Also, held that freedom of speech and expression also include the right to silence itself.
5. Telephone tapping case: People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) v. Union of India, public interest litigation (PIL) was filed under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution by PUCL, against the frequent cases of telephone tapping. The validity of Section 5(2) of The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 was challenged. It was observed that “occurrence of public emergency” and “in the interest of public safety”, if any of these two conditions are not present, the government has no right to exercise its power under the said section.Telephone tapping, therefore, violates Article 19(1) (a) unless it comes within the grounds of reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2).
6. Freedom of Press: Indian Express Newspapers v. Union of India: the Court, observed that, Article 19 of the Indian Constitution does not use the phrase “freedom of press” in its language, but it is contained within Article 19(1) (a).
7. Mahesh Bhatt v. Union of India: the Delhi High Court struck down certain Rules framed under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2003, as ultra vires , and as violative of Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian constitution. This Act impose a blanket ban on the depiction of smoking in films. The court upheld the right of the film maker and to artist to use his medium of project life.
8. Freedom of Press: Bennet Coleman and Co. v. Union of India: the validity of the Newsprint Control order was challenged. The Order fixed the maximum number of pages which a newspaper could publish, and this was said to be violative of Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution. The government raised the contention that fixing the newsprint would help in the growth of small newspapers as well as prevent monopoly in the trade. The Court held the newsprint policy to be an unreasonable restriction, and observed that the policy abridged the petitioner’s right of freedom of speech and expression. Hence, any restriction on the number of pages or fixation of page level of a newspaper invalid and violative of Article 19(1) (a).
9. Right to Fly National Flag: Naveen Jindal v. Union of India: the respondent was stopped from flying the National Flag at the top of his factory. Before the High Court, he contended that no law could prohibit the flying of the National Flag by Indian citizens. Flying of National Flag with respect and dignity being a fundamental right, the Flag Code which contains only executive instructions of the Government of India and, thus, being not a law, cannot be considered to have imposed reasonable restrictions in respect thereof within the meaning of Clause (2) of Article 19 of the Constitution of India. The Apex Court held that right to fly the National Flag is a fundamental right but subject to restrictions.
10. Trade in Liquor: Trade in liquor can be completely prohibited by State, Fundamental right provided under Article 19(1)(a) is not absolute. The State is empowered to restrict or prohibit trade which are injurious to health and welfare of the public. The citizen cannot claim fundamental right to trade or carry on business in such activities.
11. Freedom of Speech of Judicial Officers: S.B. Narasimha Prakash v State of Karnatake: Whether Judicial Officers can be prohibited from writing or publishing legal works during the tenure of the office. The Court in this case permit a judicial officer to publish a commentary on the Karnataka Rent Control Act and was not illegal.
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