Which of the following rights under the Constitution of India is/are Fundamental Right(s)? 1. Right to work 2. Right to privacy 3. Right to free and compulsory education in the age bracket of six to eighteen years Select the answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 and 2
- (b)2 and 3
- (c)2 only
- (d)3 only
Correct — C, 2 only. Of the three, only the Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right: in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) a nine-judge Supreme Court bench held it to be intrinsic to the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21. The Right to work is a Directive Principle of State Policy under Article 41, not a Fundamental Right. And the Right to free and compulsory education under Article 21A applies to children aged six to fourteen years — not 'six to eighteen' as statement 3 puts it — so statement 3 is incorrect as worded. Hence only statement 2 is right.
- (a)1 and 2 — It counts the Right to work as a Fundamental Right, but the Right to work is a Directive Principle (Article 41), which is non-justiciable, not a Fundamental Right.
- (b)2 and 3 — It accepts statement 3, but the constitutional Right to education (Article 21A) covers ages six to fourteen, not six to eighteen, so statement 3 is wrong as framed.
- (d)3 only — It rejects the Right to privacy and accepts the mis-worded education statement — the reverse of the true position, since privacy IS a Fundamental Right and the '6 to 18' wording is wrong.
Fundamental Rights are the justiciable rights in Part III of the Constitution (Articles 12-35), enforceable in court. Directive Principles (Part IV) are non-justiciable guidelines for the State. This question mixes one Directive Principle (right to work), one judicially-recognised Fundamental Right (privacy), and one real Fundamental Right stated with the wrong age range (education).
The trap is twofold: the 'right to work' sounds like a right but is only a Directive Principle, and the education statement is a genuine Fundamental Right sabotaged by a wrong age band. The safe anchors are Article 21A = ages 6-14, and the 2017 Puttaswamy ruling that made privacy a Fundamental Right under Article 21.
- Right to work is a Directive Principle under Article 41 (Part IV), not a Fundamental Right.
- Right to privacy was recognised as a Fundamental Right under Article 21 in K.S. Puttaswamy (2017).
- Right to education (Article 21A, added by the 86th Amendment, 2002) covers children aged 6 to 14 years.
- Fundamental Rights (Part III) are justiciable; Directive Principles (Part IV) are not directly enforceable in court.
- The Right to work is only a Directive Principle (Article 41), not a Fundamental Right.
- Article 21A guarantees free education for ages 6-14, not 6-18 — watch the age band in the statement.
Asked by testing whether a listed right sits in Part III (Fundamental Right) or Part IV (Directive Principle), often with a wrong detail slipped in.
'Right to Privacy' is protected under which Article of the Constitution of India?
- (a) Article 15
- (b) Article 19
- (c) Article 21
- (d) Article 29
Answer(c) Article 21 — the Right to Privacy is protected as part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty.
UPSC directly tests the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right under Article 21 - exactly statement 2 here.
Consider the following statements: 1. Free and compulsory education to the children of 6-14 years age group by the State was made a Fundamental Right by the 76th Amendment... 2. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan... 3. Education was included in the Concurrent List by the 42nd Amendment, 1976...
- (a) 1, 2 and 3
- (b) 1 and 2, only
- (c) 2 and 3, only
- (d) 1 and 3, only
Answer(c) 2 and 3 only — the education Fundamental Right came via the 86th (not 76th) Amendment, and it covers ages 6-14.
UPSC pins the Right to Education to the 6-14 age band - the same detail that makes the '6 to 18' wording in statement 3 wrong.
good quality elementary education conforming P as a fundamental right of all children Q the Right to Education Act (RTE) mandates R to the standards and norms specified in the Act S
- (a) Q S P R
- (b) R P S Q
- (c) R Q S P
- (d) S Q P R
Answer(b) R P S Q
A previous NDA GAT item on the Right to Education as a fundamental right of all children under the RTE framework - the same constitutional guarantee tested here.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Right to Education under Article 21A of the Constitution covers children of which age group?
- (a)3 to 6 years
- (b)6 to 14 years
- (c)6 to 18 years
- (d)birth to 14 years
Answer(b) 6 to 14 years — Article 21A guarantees free and compulsory education to children aged six to fourteen.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The 'Right to work' finds a place in the Constitution of India as a:
- (a)Fundamental Right under Article 19
- (b)Directive Principle under Article 41
- (c)Fundamental Duty under Article 51A
- (d)Preambular objective only
Answer(b) Directive Principle under Article 41 — it is a non-justiciable guideline, not a Fundamental Right.