If any person refuses admission to any person to any Hospital, Dispensary or Educational Institution on the ground of untouchability then under which Section of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 195

Question

If any person refuses admission to any person to any Hospital, Dispensary or Educational Institution on the ground of untouchability then under which Section of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 he shall be punishable ?

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Section 5. Section 5 of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 punishes a person who, on the ground of 'untouchability', refuses admission to any person to a hospital, dispensary, educational institution or hostel maintained for the benefit of the public (or discriminates against such a person after admission). Refusing hospital or school admission on this ground is therefore a Section 5 offence.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Section 4 punishes enforcing social disabilities — barring access to shops, public restaurants, hotels, wells, tanks, roads, public transport, professions, etc. It does not cover refusing admission to hospitals or educational institutions, which is separately dealt with in Section 5.  (c) Section 6 punishes refusing to sell goods or render services to a person on the ground of untouchability — a commercial refusal, not denial of institutional admission.  (d) Section 7 is the residual clause for other offences arising out of untouchability (obstructing the exercise of rights, molestation, boycott, etc.), not the specific act of refusing hospital or educational admission.

Concept: The PCR Act, 1955 lists graded, sphere-wise offences. Section 3 covers religious disabilities, Section 4 general social/public disabilities, Section 5 refusal of admission to hospitals and educational institutions, Section 6 refusal to sell goods or render services, and Section 7 a catch-all for other untouchability offences. Each denial of access on the ground of untouchability is slotted into its own section.

State PCS 2019 Q77 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2019 Q77 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer