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Difficulty: MediumFundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and Fundamental Duties

Evaluate the following statements concerning the constitutional scope of Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy in India:

Statement I: A law enacted by Parliament to give effect to the Directive Principles specified in Article 39(b) and Article 39(c) cannot be declared void on the ground that it infringes upon Article 14 or Article 19.
Statement II: All Fundamental Rights under Part III of the Constitution are automatically suspended immediately upon the proclamation of a National Emergency on any ground.

Which of the following evaluations is correct?

  1. Statement I is correct, but Statement II is incorrect.Answer
  2. B
    Statement I is incorrect, but Statement II is correct.
  3. C
    Both Statement I and Statement II are correct.
  4. D
    Both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect.

Answer

Statement I is correct, but Statement II is incorrect.
The evaluation stating that Statement I is correct, but Statement II is incorrect is right. Article 31C insulates laws giving effect to Article 39(b) and (c) from challenges based on Article 14 and Article 19. On the other hand, a National Emergency does not automatically suspend all Part III rights; Article 19 suspends automatically only during an external emergency under Article 358, whereas rights under Articles 20 and 21 remain enforceable at all times.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze Statement I regarding Article 31C and its protection of Directive Principles.
Article 31C (introduced by the 25th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971) explicitly provides that no law giving effect to the Directive Principles contained in Article 39(b) and Article 39(c) shall be deemed void for inconsistent application with Article 14 (Equality before Law) or Article 19 (Six Freedoms). The Supreme Court upheld this provision in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973). Thus, Statement I is correct.
Establishing the constitutional precedence of Article 39(b) and (c) over Articles 14 and 19 under Article 31C.
2
Analyze Statement II regarding the suspension of Fundamental Rights during a National Emergency.
Under Article 358, only Article 19 is automatically suspended, and that too only when a National Emergency is declared on the grounds of war or external aggression (external emergency), not armed rebellion. Other Fundamental Rights (excluding Articles 20 and 21) can only be suspended by a specific Presidential Order under Article 359. Rights under Articles 20 and 21 can never be suspended. Thus, Statement II is incorrect.
Distinguishing between automatic suspension under Article 358 and executive suspension by order under Article 359.
3
Combine the evaluations to select the proper option.
Statement I is correct and Statement II is incorrect.
Matching the derived evaluation with the choices provided.

Key Concept

Interplay between Fundamental Rights (Part III) and Directive Principles (Part IV) under Article 31C, alongside the emergency suspension mechanisms of Articles 358 and 359.
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Topics

Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and Fundamental Duties

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