Democratic Rights Test - 9

Habeus corpus is a writ under which a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention. If any section of people is agitating for separation of a part of the country, habeus corpus and freedom of speech can be suspended.

The Parliament is the supreme legislature in the country. The Fundamental rights are no doubts essential for the development of the individual but they can be curtailed or restricted by the parliament on reasonable grounds itself provided by the constitution.

The Right to Information Act passed in 2005 provided a ray of hope for common people as it promised transparency and accountability in governance and captured the imagination of masses soon. The law has a potential to be a crucial catalyst in challenging the power equation between the common masses and the ruling classes besides curtailing corruption. The object to create this Act was to serve a larger public interest to question the age-old hierarchical traditional system of governance and to strengthen foundation for a true participatory democracy.

Article 25 to 28 of the Constitution of India guarantees the right of Freedom of religion.

1. Article 25: Freedom of conscience and freedom to profess practice and propagate any religion.
2. Article 26: Freedom to manage religious affairs.
3. Article 27: Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion.
4. Article 28: Freedom to attend religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions.

In India, freedom of the press is implied from the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Art. 19(1) (a). There is no specific provision ensuring freedom of the press as such. 

The idea of Fundamental Rights was taken from America i.e. U.S. along with important features like Written Constitution, Executive head of state known as President and his being the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces ideas etc.

Right to Information is an Act of the Parliament of India to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen of India may request information from a public authority which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days.

It is necessary to maintain and preserve freedom of speech and expression in a democracy, so also it is necessary to place some restrictions on this freedom for the maintenance of social order because no freedom can be absolute or completely unrestricted. Accordingly, under Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India, the State may make a law imposing “reasonable restrictions” on the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression “in the interest of” the public on the following grounds: Clause (2) of Article 19 of the Indian constitution contains the grounds on which restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression can be imposed. To maintain the sovereignty and integrity of a state is the prime duty of government. Taking into it into account, freedom of speech and expression can be restricted so as not to permit anyone to challenge sovereignty or to permit anyone to preach something which will result in threat to integrity of the country. freedom of speech and expression cannot confer a right to incite people to commit offense. The word ‘offense’ is defined as any act or omission made punishable by law for the time being in force. Hence, Option A is correct. The rest of the clauses are in the favour of national interest, and not related to freedom of speech, hence, incorrect. 

Fundamental Rights is a charter of rights contained in Part III of Constitution of India. It guarantees civil liberties such that all Indians can lead their lives in peace and harmony as citizens of India. These include individual rights common to most liberal democracies, such as equality before law, freedom of speech and expression, religious and cultural freedom and peaceful assembly, freedom to practice religion, and the right to constitutional remedies for the protection of civil rights by means of writs such as habeas corpus.