Article 21: Right to Life

Notes

Art. 21: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law." Available to all persons. The phrase "procedure established by law" is borrowed from the Japanese Constitution, in contrast with the American "due process of law".

Evolution

A.K. Gopalan v State of Madras (1950): narrow view. "Law" meant State-made law; the procedure need not be fair; Art. 21 was separate from Art. 19.
Maneka Gandhi v Union of India (1978): revolutionary. The procedure must be fair, just and reasonable, not arbitrary. Art. 14, 19 and 21 are inter-related (the "golden triangle"). In effect this brought in a form of due process.
ADM Jabalpur v Shivkant Shukla (1976): during the Emergency, the Court held Art. 21 could be suspended. This was overruled by Puttaswamy (2017); the 44th Amendment now bars suspension of Art. 20 and 21.

Key interpretations

Right to live with dignity: Francis Coralie Mullin (1981); life means more than animal existence.
Right to privacy: K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India (2017), a nine-judge bench, held privacy is a fundamental right under Art. 21 and Part III; overruled M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh to the extent they denied it. The Aadhaar verdict (2018) upheld the scheme with limits.
Death penalty: upheld in Bachan Singh (1980) only in the "rarest of rare" cases; Mithu v State of Punjab (1983) struck down mandatory death sentence (Sec. 303 IPC).
Right to die: Gian Kaur (1996) held the right to life does not include the right to die; suicide-abetment is punishable. Aruna Shanbaug (2011) allowed passive euthanasia; Common Cause (2018) recognised passive euthanasia and living wills.
Speedy trial and legal aid: Hussainara Khatoon (1979).
Compensation for violation: Rudul Sah (1983), Nilabati Behera (1993).
Sec. 377: Navtej Singh Johar (2018) decriminalised consensual same-sex relations.

Key Points

"Procedure established by law" (Japan); Maneka Gandhi made it fair, just and reasonable.
Art. 21 is the most expansive FR; it is a source of many unenumerated rights.
Privacy is a fundamental right (Puttaswamy, 2017, nine judges).
No right to die (Gian Kaur) but passive euthanasia allowed (Common Cause).
Cannot be suspended in an Emergency.

MCQs

Q1. The case that widened Art. 21 by requiring a fair, just and reasonable procedure is:
(a) A.K. Gopalan
(b) Maneka Gandhi v Union of India
(c) ADM Jabalpur
(d) Kharak Singh
Ans: (b). 1978.

Q2. Right to privacy was declared a fundamental right by a nine-judge bench in:
(a) Kesavananda Bharati
(b) Puttaswamy (2017)
(c) Minerva Mills
(d) Navtej Singh Johar
Ans: (b).

Q3. In which case did the Supreme Court hold that the right to life does not include the right to die?
(a) Aruna Shanbaug
(b) Common Cause
(c) Gian Kaur
(d) Bachan Singh
Ans: (c). 1996.