Article 21 - Right to Life and Personal Liberty

Article 21 is the most dynamic and expansive provision of the Indian Constitution. What began as a simple protection against arbitrary deprivation of life and liberty has evolved into a repository of numerous implied fundamental rights through creative judicial interpretation.

Text of Article 21: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."

Key Aspects:

1. Available to All Persons: Unlike some fundamental rights restricted to citizens, Article 21 protects both citizens and non-citizens.

2. Negative Right: Imposes a duty on the State not to deprive life or liberty arbitrarily.

3. Protection Against State: Applies only against State action, not private action.

Evolution Through Judicial Interpretation:

A.K. Gopalan (1950): Narrow interpretation - 'procedure established by law' means any procedure prescribed by valid law. No judicial review of the reasonableness of procedure.

Maneka Gandhi (1978): Revolutionary expansion: - Procedure must be fair, just, and reasonable - Article 21 read with Articles 14 and 19 - 'Life' includes right to live with dignity - Introduced substantive due process

Rights Read Into Article 21: - Right to live with dignity - Right to livelihood - Right to health and medical care - Right to education - Right to privacy (Puttaswamy, 2017) - Right to clean environment - Right to shelter - Right to speedy trial - Right against solitary confinement - Right to legal aid - Right against custodial violence - Right to sleep - Right to electricity - Right against handcuffing - Right to reputation

Article 21 is the only fundamental right that cannot be suspended even during Emergency (44th Amendment, 1978).