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

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

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.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) 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. 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. State of Uttar Pradesh (1996) read the right to shelter/housing into Article 21; again, not the right to education.

Concept: 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.

State PCS 2019 Q40 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2019 Q40 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer