RIGHT TO EQUALITY-ALL VALUERS NEED TO KNOW

The Constitution says that the government shall not deny to any person in India equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws. It means that the laws apply in the same manner to all, regardless of a person’s status. This is called the rule of law. Rule of law is the foundation of any democracy. It means that no person is above the law. There cannot be any distinction between a political leader, government official and an ordinary citizen. Every citizen, from the Prime Minister to a small farmer in a remote village, is subjected to the same laws. No person can legally claim any special treatment or privilege just because he or she happens to be an important person. For example, a few years ago a former Prime Minister of the country faced a court case on charges of cheating. The court finally declared that he was not guilty. But as long as the case continued, he had to go to the court, give evidence and file papers, just like any other citizen. This basic position is further clarified in the Constitution by spelling out some implications of the Right to Equality. The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels, and cinema halls. Similarly, there shall be no restriction with regard to the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads, playgrounds and places of public resorts maintained by government or dedicated to the use of general public.

Under the Indian Constitution, Right to equality is divided under the following subheadings:

1. Equality before law (Article 14)
2. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, caste, race, sex or place of birth (Article 15)
3. Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment (Article 16)
4. Abolition of untouchability (Article 17)
5. Abolition of titles (Article 18)

1Under the Right to Equality, Article 14 provides a general application whereas Art. 15, Art. 16, Art. 17 and Art. 18 have a specific application. 

Right to equality under Article 14

The Right to equality is guaranteed under Article 14-18 to every citizen of India. Article 14 lays down the general principle of equality. It prohibits unreasonable discrimination between individuals. Article 15-18 lays down the specific applications of equality. Article 14 states that State shall not deny any person equality before the law or equal protection of laws. The main objective is to secure to all persons the equality of status and opportunity as referred to in the Preamble.

Equality before Law

Under equality before the law, the principle of like should be treated alike is followed. It means that the right to sue and be sued for the same cause of action should be the same for the people who are equals i.e. the people who are in similar circumstances and such right should be available to them without any discrimination on the basis of religion, sex, caste or any other such factor.

In the case of State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar, the court held that the term ‘equal protection of law’ is a natural consequence of the term ‘equality before law’ and thus it is very difficult to imagine a situation in which there has been a violation of equal protection of law is not a violation of equality before law. So, while they have different meanings, both the terms are interrelated.

Article 14 – Equality protection of the law

The guarantee of equal protection of laws is similar to one embodied in the 14^th amendment to the American constitution – Means that subjection to equal law, applying to all in the same circumstances. It only means that all persons similarly circumstance shall be treated alike, both the privileges conferred and liabilities imposed by the laws.

Meaning – Equal law should be applied to all the same situation, and there should be no discrimination between one person and another.

The words ‘ any person ‘ in Article 14 of the constitution denotes that the guarantee of the equal protection of laws is available to any person which includes any company or association or body of individuals, The protection Article 14 extents to both citizen and non – citizen and to natural persons as well as legal persons.

• Exceptions to the Rule of law – Equality is, however, not an absolute rule and there are number of exception.

1. ‘ Equality before the law ‘ ” powers of the private citizens are the same as the powers of the public officials.
2. The rule of law does not prevent certain classes of persons

• Member of armed forces are controlled by military laws, similarly.
• Medical practitioners are subjects to the regulations framed by the medical council of India.
• Article 361 of the Indian constitution affords an immunity to the president of India and the state Governors – Becouse Art. 361 Provides that the president or the Governor of state shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise and performance.
• Today ministers and other executive bodies are given every wide discretionary power by statute 4. Certain Members of society are governed by special rules in their professionals, i.e Lawyers, doctors, nurses, army etc.

The Right to Education is also the Right to equality: 

For equality at the societal level, every person has the right to get educated and there must be no discrimination against such right. It was widely enlightened in a few cases like Ajay Hasia v. Khalid Mujib, Court interfere in admission made by college authority arbitrarily and in an unreasonable manner. And court secures the right to education of students. Even the constitution itself allows the reservation for the betterment of backward, SC, and ST classes for maintaining equality in society.

Thus, by way of amendment and by judiciary interpretation, the Right to Equality becomes much wider and plays the utmost vital role in securing the fundamental rights of citizens.

Reasonable Classification of Right to Equality

Equality before the law and equal protection of laws means that equality is not a complete concept. It is not wise to treat un-equals be equally and equals should not be treated unequally in any manner. In this way, it is not merely possible to say that Article 14 mandates that all laws should be similarly applicable to every person. It is because all persons are not equal by position, nature, or any other circumstances which do not make them equal, and therefore, the mechanical application of equality will be not justified. Article 14 does not supplement equal treatment of every citizen without making any difference. It allows reasonable classification of the need for legislative and administrative decisions. Supreme Court in Virendra Krishna Mishra v. Union of India, held that if there is valid and reasonable classification then the right to equality cannot be denied.

1The right to equality is considered basic feature of the Indian Constitution and plays an important role in achieving social and economic justice in our society where upliftment of certain classes is considered necessary for our country to flourish. Its emphasis on the fundamental unity of individuals by providing equal opportunities and treatment to all. All other privileges and liberties follow from the right to equality. It provides every individual of the country with all the elements essential for the development of its personality.

Thus, courts that are considered the guardians of the Constitution make certain that the right to equality is construed in widest connotation so as to achieve the ends intended by the framers of the Constitution.