The scope of the Article 21 of the Constitution was expanded to include Right to Education, because of the decision of Supreme Court in the case
- (a)Unnikrishnan v/s Andhra Pradesh
- (b)Govind v/s State of Madhya Pradesh
- (c)Parmanand Katara v/s Union of India
- (d)Chameli Singh v/s State of Uttar Pradesh
Correct — A, Unni Krishnan, J.P. v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1993). Here the Supreme Court held that the right to education for children flows directly from the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21, read with the Directive Principle in Article 45. This reading — that education is implicit in Article 21 — is exactly what 'expanded the scope of Article 21'. It later prompted Parliament to add Article 21A (free and compulsory education for ages 6–14) through the 86th Amendment, 2002.
- (b)Govind v/s State of Madhya Pradesh — Govind v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1975) developed the right to privacy as a facet of Article 21 — not the right to education.
- (c)Parmanand Katara v/s Union of India — Parmanand Katara v. Union of India (1989) established the right to emergency medical care — that a doctor must treat an accident/emergency victim — under Article 21; it is not about education.
- (d)Chameli Singh v/s State of Uttar Pradesh — Chameli Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1996) read the right to shelter/housing into Article 21; again, not the right to education.
Article 21 ('protection of life and personal liberty') has been expansively interpreted by the Supreme Court to include many unenumerated rights — privacy, shelter, health, livelihood, a clean environment and education. The Unni Krishnan (1993) judgment is the landmark that located the right to education within Article 21, building on the earlier Mohini Jain case. The 86th Amendment (2002) later made it an express Fundamental Right through Article 21A.
All four options are genuine Article-21 'expansion' cases, so the question tests which right each case created. Match case to right: Unni Krishnan → education, Govind → privacy, Parmanand Katara → emergency medical aid, Chameli Singh → shelter.
- Unni Krishnan v. State of A.P. (1993): right to education flows from Article 21, read with Article 45
- 86th Amendment Act, 2002 added Article 21A — free and compulsory education for ages 6–14
- It led to the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009
- Article 21 has judicially absorbed rights to privacy, shelter, health and a clean environment
- Article 45 (DPSP): State to provide free & compulsory education
- Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka (1992): education part of the right to life
- Unni Krishnan v. State of A.P. (1993): right to education read into Article 21
- 86th Amendment, 2002: inserts Article 21A (ages 6–14)
- Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009
The Unni Krishnan (1993) ruling read the Right to Education into Article 21; the 86th Amendment later made it explicit as Article 21A.
- Matching the wrong landmark case to the right (privacy/shelter/medical aid instead of education)
- Confusing the judicial reading (Unni Krishnan, 1993) with the constitutional amendment (86th, 2002)
Both MPPSC and UPSC test 'case ↔ right' and 'which amendment created Article 21A'; lock Unni Krishnan → education, and the 86th Amendment → Article 21A.
The 93rd Constitutional Amendment Bill deals with the
- (a) continuation of reservation for backward classes in government employment
- (b) free and compulsory education for all children between the age of 6 and 14 years
- (c) reservation of 30 per cent posts for women in government recruitments
- (d) allocation of a greater number of parliamentary seats for recently created States
Answer(b) free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14 — the Bill that became the 86th Amendment (Article 21A).
Same concept — the constitutional route to the Right to Education. The Bill here became the 86th Amendment (Article 21A), the express successor to the Article-21 right that Unni Krishnan first recognised.
Which Constitutional Amendment included the Right to Education in the Fundamental Rights?
- (a) First Constitutional Amendment
- (b) Forty-second Constitutional Amendment
- (c) Forty-fourth Constitutional Amendment
- (d) Eighty-sixth Constitutional Amendment
Answer(d) Eighty-sixth Constitutional Amendment
MPPSC's direct companion — the amendment (86th) that turned the Article-21 right to education, first recognised in Unni Krishnan, into an express Fundamental Right (Article 21A).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Article 21A, making elementary education a Fundamental Right, was inserted by which amendment?
- (a)42nd Amendment
- (b)44th Amendment
- (c)86th Amendment
- (d)93rd Amendment
Answer(c) 86th Amendment, 2002.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which right did the Supreme Court read into Article 21 in Chameli Singh v. State of U.P.?
- (a)Right to education
- (b)Right to shelter
- (c)Right to privacy
- (d)Right to emergency medical care
Answer(b) Right to shelter.