Fundamental Duties vs Fundamental Rights

Notes

Basis	Fundamental Rights	Fundamental Duties
Location	Part III (Art. 12-35)	Part IVA (Art. 51A)
Added	Original Constitution (1950)	42nd Amendment (1976); 11th by 86th (2002)
Source	US Bill of Rights	USSR Constitution
Nature	Claims of individuals against the State	Obligations of citizens towards the nation and society
Justiciability	Justiciable (Art. 32, 226)	Non-justiciable (no direct enforcement)
Who gets them	Citizens and, for several rights, all persons	Citizens only
Enforcement	Courts can strike down violating laws	Can be enforced only through legislation, no constitutional penalty
Suspension	Can be suspended in Emergency (except Art. 20, 21)	Not applicable
Number	Six groups of rights	11 duties

Relationship between rights and duties

Rights and duties are correlative: the enjoyment of a right by one citizen implies a duty on others (and the State) to respect it. Gandhi argued that the right to be deserved is the one that flows from duty well performed.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also recognises duties in Art. 29.
Courts have held that Fundamental Duties cannot be enforced directly but may be used to interpret ambiguous statutes, to test the reasonableness of restrictions on rights, and to uphold laws that give effect to a duty. Under Art. 51A(a), citizens must respect the Constitution; a law promoting a duty is regarded as reasonable under Art. 14 and 19.
AIIMS Students' Union (2001) and Ranganath Mishra v Union of India (2003) emphasised that Fundamental Rights and Duties are complementary and that citizens must exercise rights consistently with their duties.
Critics note that duties are vague, lack sanction, and were added during the Emergency; supporters say they instil civic responsibility and constitutional morality.
DPSP, FR and FD together form the constitutional framework: FR (individual freedom), DPSP (State obligations and social goals), FD (citizens' obligations).

Key Points

FR: Part III, justiciable, individual claims; FD: Part IVA, non-justiciable, citizen obligations.
FR from US; FD from USSR.
FD added in 1976; the 11th in 2002.
Courts use FD to interpret laws and test reasonableness of restrictions.
Rights and duties are correlative and complementary.

MCQs

Q1. The idea of Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution was borrowed from:

(a) USA

(b) USSR

(d) Japan

Ans: (b).

Q2. Which of the following statements about Fundamental Duties is correct?

(a) They are enforceable by writs

(b) They apply to citizens and foreigners

(d) They were part of the original Constitution

Ans: (c).

Q3. Which of the following is a key difference between Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties?

(a) Rights are in Part IVA, Duties in Part III

(b) Rights are justiciable, Duties are non-justiciable

(d) Rights were added in 1976

Ans: (b).