Chapter-7

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

“DPSPs are not justifiable in court of law, but they are justiciable in court of peoples”
BASICS AND BACKGROUND
▪ Part IV, spanning from Art. 36 - 51 of constitution.
▪ Non-justiciable nature on recommendations of Tej Bahadur committee Report
▪ Borrowed from Ireland - Irish constitution (1937).
▪ Positive Connotation - Establishes social and economic democracy.
▪ Promote concept of “Welfare State” and “Inclusive Growth.”
▪ Precursors of “Panchayat Raj Institution” (Art. 40- Village Panchayat)
▪ “Fundamental in governance” and apply in policy makings - Art. 37
▪ “Novel features” and “Soul of constitution” of constitution - B.R Ambedkar
▪ DPSP is the "Conscience of constitution” - Granville Austin
▪ Constitutional instructions to - Legislature, executive and administrative of state.
▪ Enabling in nature - Enables government for comprehensive programme of social and economic justice unlike FR.
▪ Non-justiciable, Non-self-executory, non-enforceable by court of law.
▪ Government can implement provisions of DPSP by legislative actions.
▪ “Instruments of instruction” resembles in GOI 1935.

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INFLUENCES ON CONSTITUTION MAKERS BEHIND SANCTIONS OF DPSPs
▪ Idea of Instruments of instruction from GoI 1935.
▪ Division of Rights of an individual into two categories – Jjusticiable (FR) and Non-justiciable (DPSPs) -
Recommended by B.N. Rau (Constitutional Advisor)
▪ Irish constitution
▪ Socialistic and Gandhian philosophies
▪ Sapru committee Report 1944 - Division of Justiciable and Non- justiciable rights.
▪ To fill the vacuum created by Fundamental rights (part III)- Restrictive nature.

OBJECT AND PURPOSE BEHIND THE DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

▪ The founding fathers were aware of the drawbacks; the country had been suffering from such as poverty
unemployment, lack of education, social, economic, and political backwardness.
▪ They, in order to eradicate these evils, set forth in the very preamble, the ideals and objectives to be achieved.
The intention of the constitution framers was to establish in India a democracy political, economic and social.
▪ To achieve this cherished goal, the framers were unanimous to secure to the people practically all the prevailing
political social and economic rights. These rights were broadly speaking divided into two categories.
o Political and Civil Rights
o Social and Economic Rights
▪ The Political and Civil rights which were in opinion, with the reach of the individual were provisional as
fundamental rights and the latter being considered beyond individual’s reach under the prevailing circumstances,
were titled as Directive Principles of State Policy.

NATURE OF DPSPs
▪ Admixture and healthy blend of Socialist, Gandhian and Liberal principles.
▪ Fundamental guidelines in governance of country.
▪ They are fundamental principles as opposed to FR.
▪ Non justiciable, Non self-executory, non-enforceable by court of law.

REASONS FOR NON-JUSTICIABILITY OF DPSPs

Justiciable nature of rights entails that citizen can move to the courts for enforcement of the particular right. Fundamental
rights have justiciable nature. However, DPSPs kept as non-justiciable in nature attributed to following reasons -

▪ Administrative and financial limitations at that time.

▪ Some principles have moral connotations.
▪ Inadequacy of Social development (Art. 40)
▪ Presence of vast diversity, illiteracy, poverty and backwardness in the country.

RELEVANCE OF NON-JUSTICIABLE NATURE OF DPSPs IN PRESENT CONTEXT

▪ DPSPs are very broad in their content and spirit.
▪ Different states have varying and limited resources to fulfill the aspirations of the citizens and mandates of
constitution.
▪ DPSPs are complementary to the fundamental rights. So, although DPSPs are non-justiciable in nature, they fulfill
their goals in greater way.

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 ▪ However, states are also taking proactive legislative and executive measures to fulfill the goals enshrined in the
DPSPs and ensuring the vision of welfare state.

CLASSIFICATION OF DPSPs
▪ Directive Principles are not classified in constitution as per their underlying philosophies.
▪ However, they can be classified into - socialistic, Gandhian and liberal-intellectual.
▪ Socialistic principles –These principles contemplate the ideology of socialism and lay down the framework of a
democratic socialist state. The concept envisages providing social and economic justice, so that state should
achieve the optimum norms of welfare state.
▪ Gandhian Principles – These principles reflect the programme of reconstruction enunciated by Gandhi during
the national movement. In order to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of Gandhi, some of his ideas were included
in DPSP.
▪ Liberal- Intellectual principles - These principles inclined towards the ideology of liberalism.

Socialistic principles Gandhian principles Liberal- Intellectual principles

Art. 38 - State to secure a social order for Art. 40- Organisation of village Art. 44- Uniform civil code for the
the promotion of welfare of the people panchayats. This provision was citizens.
(Added by 44th CAA 1978) precursor of Panchayat Raj
e.g. Nationalisation of life insurance institution in India.
(1956), the nationalisation of fourteen e.g. 73rd and 74th CAA 1992
leading commercial banks (1969).
Art. 39 - Certain principles of policy to be Art. 43- (Second part only)- To Art. 45- Provision for early
followed by the state. Art. 39 (b) and (c) promote cottage industries on an childhood care and education to
are exceptions to Art. 14 and 19. individual or co- operation basis in children below the age of six
rural areas. years.(42nd CAA 1976 changed
e.g. Khadi and Village Industries subject matter of Art 45 and
Commission (KVIC), National added Art.21A to FR)
Small Industries Corporation. e.g. Right to education act 2009
Art. 39 A- Equal justice and free legal aid. Art. 43 B- Promotion of co- Art. 48- (Part two only)- To
(Added by 42nd CAA 1976) operative societies. (Added by 97th organize agriculture and animal
e.g. Legal Services Authorities Act (1987) CAA 2011) husbandry on modern and scientific
e.g. Multi-State cooperative lines.
societies act 2002. e.g. providing improved
agricultural inputs, seeds, fertilisers
and irrigation facilities.
Art. 41 - Right to work, education and Art.46- Promotion of educational Art. 48A-Protection and
public assistance in certain cases. and economic interests of SC, ST improvement of environment and
e.g. National Rural Employment and other weaker sections safeguarding of forests and wildlife.
Guarantee Programme (2006), (Remember Harijan) (Added by 42nd CAA 1976)
Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana. e.g. Protection of Civil Rights Act in e.g. Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
1976 and the Scheduled Castes and and the Forest (Conservation) Act
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of 1980, Air act, Water act.
Atrocities) Act 1989, NCSC,
NCST, National Commission for
Backward Classes (NCBC), 10%
reservation to the Economically
Weaker Sections (EWSs).

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 Art. 42- Provision for just and humane Art. 47 (Second part only)- To Art.49- Protection of monuments
conditions of work and maternity relief. prohibit the consumption of and places and objects of national
e.g. maternity benefits act and Equal intoxicating drinks and drugs which importance.
Remuneration Act are injurious to health e.g. Ancient and Historical
e.g. FSSAI regulation, Narcotics Monument and Archaeological
and psychotropic substances act Sites and Remains Act (1951),
1985. formation of Archaeological Survey
of India (ASI).
Art. 43 (First part only)- Living wage Art. 48 (Part one only)- Art. 50- Separation of judiciary
for workers. (Living wage includes Organisation of agriculture and from executive.
education, health and insurance etc.) animal husbandry by state. e.g. Criminal Procedure Code
e.g. Minimum wages act e.g. providing improved agricultural (1973)
inputs, seeds, fertilisers and
irrigation facilities, Laws to prohibit
the slaughter of cows
Art. 43A- Participation of workers in Art.51- Promotion of international
management of industries.(Added by peace and security
42nd CAA 1976) e.g. policy of non-alignment and
E.g. Industrial disputes act,1947 panchsheel to promote international
peace and security.
Art. 47 (First part only) - Duty of the
State to raise the level of nutrition,
standard of living and improve public
health.
e.g. Primary health centres, special
programmes to eradicate various diseases,
ICDS, Mid-Day Meal schemes.

CRITICISM OF PART-IV
▪ Non-Justiciable in nature - Non-enforceable by court of law
▪ Some principles are reactionary - subject to interpretation (E.g. cow slaughter)
▪ Unsystematic enumerations and lots of overlapping.
▪ Lack of clarity led to different interpretations by different govt. according to prevailing circumstances.
▪ Non-accountability of government for non-implementation of DPSP.
▪ Directives are not arranged in a logical manner based on a consistent philosophy- Jennings.
▪ Part IV of the Constitution expresses “Fabian Socialism without the socialism” which is less relevant in
contemporary world.
▪ Directives are like “a veritable dustbin of sentiments”- T.T. Krishnamachari.
▪ Directives are “Manifesto of aims and aspirations” - K C Wheare
▪ “A cheque on a bank, payable only when the resources of the bank permit”- K.T Shah.

Article 39 (b) and 39 (c)

▪ Article 39(b) - The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing: that the ownership and control of
the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.
▪ Article 39(c) - The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing: that the operation of the economic
system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment.

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 DPSPs COULD INVOKE CONFLICT IN FOLLOWING WAYS:
▪ Governor could reserve the bill of state on the pretext of violation of provisions of the DPSPs.
▪ President and Union Council of ministers on reservation of the bill or giving directions.
▪ Union and State governments - Over implementation of provisions.
▪ Could invoke conflict on giving directions to the states for implementation of provisions. However, non-
implementation and non-observance could result into imposition of President's rule.
▪ Directions from centre to the state could also strain the fiscal position of the state which have lesser economic
resources for implementation of schemes an programmes to give practical shape to DPSP.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN FR AND DPSP

▪ Both are borrowed features of constitution.
▪ Both are directed to achieve inclusive and equitable growth of nation.
▪ Both are backed by broader constitutional provisions.
▪ Both are critical for strengthening democratic setup in India.
▪ Both acts as guiding light for judiciary to determine the constitutionality of act or order.
▪ The genesis and objectives underlying part III and part IV have common desideratum in responding to the social
consciousness rest with the constitution making force.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS DPSPs

FR borrowed from constitution of USA DPSPs borrowed from constitution of Ireland.
Covered in Part III spanning Art. 12 - 35 Covered in Part IV spanning Art. 36 - 51
Justiciable and legally enforceable by the courts of law. Non-justiciable and not legally enforceable by the courts.

Negative connotation- Prohibit the state from doing Positive connotation - Enables the state to do certain
certain things. things.
Entails establishing political democracy in the country. Entails establishing social and economic democracy in
the country.
Driving force - Legal sanctions. Driving force - Moral and political sanctions.
Focus - Welfare of the individual. personal and Focus - welfare of the community; societarian and
individualistic in spirit. socialistic in spirit.
Automatically enforced- Legislation not require for Automatically not enforced- Legislation require for
enforcement. (Exception-Art.17) enforcement of provisions.
Violation of FR could amount to invalidation of any law Violative of any of the Directive Principles not amount to
by Judiciary. Such law becomes null and void. invalidation of such law. Moreover, judiciary can uphold
the validity of a law on the ground that it was enacted to
give effect to a directive

DISTINCTION BETWEEN FR AND DPSP

CONFLICT BETWEEN FR AND DPSP - PRIMACY FOR FR or DPSP?
▪ Champakam Dorairajan Case (1952)- Court asserted that all Fundamental Rights are superior over DPSP. FR
can be amended to give effect to DPSP.

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▪ Kerala Education Bill (1957)- Supreme Court had propounded the Doctrine of Harmonious Construction to
avoid a situation of conflict while enforcing DPSPs and the FR.
▪ Golak Nath Case (1967)- Court asserted that FR cannot be abridged or diluted. FR are sacrosanct and absolute in
nature.
▪ Kesavananda Bharathi Case (1973)- Court asserted that Parliament can amend any part of constitution, subject to
Basic Structure of the Constitution. This led to evolution of Doctrine of Basic Structure of the Constitution.
▪ Minerva Mill Case (1980)- Court asserted that a law made Parliament by under Article 31C would be protected
only if it is made to implement directives in Art 39(b) and 39 (c) and not any other DPSPs.

EXCEPTIONS TO DPSPs (GOLAKHNATH CASE 1967)

▪ Laws giving effect to Art 39(b) and (c) of DPSPs should not be declared as unconstitutional and void on ground
of violation or contravention of Art 14 and 19.
▪ Any such law which gives effect to provisions of Art 39(b) and (c) of DPSPs shall not be questioned in a court of
law.
▪ NOTE - Art.39 (b) and (c) can be given precedence over Art.14 (Right to Equality), Art.19 (Freedom of Speech
and Expression) and not all the Directive Principles.

DIRECTIVE OUTSIDE DPSPs

▪ Art. 335- Claims of SCs and STs to services in consistently with the maintenance of efficiency.
▪ Art. 350-A - Instruction in mother tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic
minority groups.
▪ Art. 351 - Development of the Hindi Language by Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language and to
develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India.

IMPORTANCE OF DPSP FOR CITIZEN

▪ Helps citizen to assess the work done and policies implemented by incumbent government.
▪ Ensures welfare of the citizens in particular and society at large.
▪ Ensures inclusive, equitable growth and helps in reducing inequality among citizens.
▪ Provides framework for enactment of various legislations which benefits citizens in various ways. E.g.
MGNREGA, Panchayati raj system, Maternity Benefit Act.
▪ It ensures progressive development and fulfilment of aspirations of the citizens.

SIGNIFICANCE OF DPSP
▪ Helps courts as Guiding Light in determining and examining constitutional validity of act/rules/regulation.
▪ Symbolizes idea of welfare state and amplifies social and economic justice as entailed in Preamble.
▪ They impose a moral obligation on the state authorities for their application, however, public opinion is real force
behind them.
▪ Serves as moral precepts for - Legislature, executive and administrative of state
▪ They serve as Common Minimum Programme for every government irrespective of their manifestos and political
ideologies.

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 ▪ The Directives are the life-giving provisions of the Constitution. They constitute the stuff of the Constitution and
its philosophy of social justice. - L. M Singhvi
▪ Directives lay down that the goal of Indian polity is ‘economic democracy’ as distinguished from ‘political
democracy’ (Fundamental rights) - B.R. Ambedkar
▪ Provides stability and continuity in policies despite change in governments.
▪ Supplements and complements Fundamental Rights (Part III).
▪ Serves as benchmarks and yardstick for peoples to gauge performance of govt.
▪ DPSPs are intended to be a guide, friend and philosopher of ruling party in legislative and executive acts.
▪ Serves as important tool for opposition parties to ensure accountability of executive and exercise influence and
control over the government.

MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT 2017

▪ The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 had received Presidential assent on 27 March 2017 after being
passed by the Parliament. The Act has made amendments to the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961.
▪ This act has bearing upon Art. 42 in DPSP - Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
Aim – To regulate the employment of women during the period of child birth. It has amended the provisions
related to the duration and applicability of maternity leave, and other facilities.

MAJOR CHANGES IN MATERNITY BENEFITS ACT 1961

▪ The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 has increased the duration of paid maternity leave available for
women employees to 26 weeks from 12 weeks.
▪ However, for those women who are expecting after having
2 children, the duration of the leave remains unaltered at
12 weeks.
▪ The paid maternity leave can be availed 8 weeks before the
expected date of delivery. Before the amendment, it was 6
weeks.
▪ The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 has
extended the benefits applicable to the adoptive and
commissioning mothers and provides that woman who
adopts a child will be given 12 weeks of maternity leave
from the date of adoption.
▪ The Act has introduced an enabling provision relating to
“work from home” that can be exercised after the expiry
of 26 weeks leave period.
▪ The amended Act has mandated crèche facility for every
establishment employing 50 or more employees. The
women employees should be permitted to visit the facility 4
times during the day.
▪ The amended act makes it compulsory for the employers to educate women about the maternity benefits
available to them at the time of their appointment.
▪ The act is applicable to all those women employed in factories, mines and shops or commercial establishments
employing 10 or more employees.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AMENDMENT
▪ The amended act has raised the maternity benefits from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. This is significant and is in line
with the recommendation of the World Health Organisation which says that children must be exclusively
breastfed by the mother for the first 24 weeks.
▪ The extension in the maternity leave will help in improving survival rates of children and healthy development
of both mother and child.
▪ This will also reduce the instances of women dropping out of the labour force due to absence of adequate
maternity leave.

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▪ The amended act also falls in line with international best practices such as the Maternity Protection
Convention, 2000 (No 183) which calls for at least 14 weeks of mandatory maternity benefit.
▪ Another significant feature is the introduction of 12 weeks of maternity benefits to the adopting and
commissioned mothers.
▪ The amended provisions have placed India third worldwide only behind Canada and Norway globally in the
amount of maternity benefits being made available to the women workers.

CRITICISMS/DRAWBACKS
▪ The increase in the maternity leave could also have adverse impact on the job opportunities for women.
▪ The requirement of full payment of wages during maternity leave could increase costs for employers and could
result in increased preference for hiring male workers.
▪ Moreover, various provisions of the amended act lack clarity. For instance, there is no clarity in the act regarding
the time period up to which the crèche facility could be extended to the employee and also regarding the aspect
of availability, frequency and extent of nursing breaks.
▪ The provisions regarding the applicability of the Act to the unorganised sector also remain unclear. The
provisions did not clarify whether the act is applicable to the women employees in those enterprises having less
than 10 employees. This is disturbing as over 90% of the working women are employed in unorganised sector
in India.

WAY FORWARD
▪ Increasing maternity benefit is a welcome step but the government should devise some mechanism to ensure that
competitiveness of the private sector is not affected.
▪ The government should try to bring about uniformity in labour laws about maternity benefits. The acts like
Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, All India Services (Leave) Rules, 1955, Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules,
1972, Factories Act, 1948, and the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008 have differences in coverage,
benefits and financing. All these laws must be amalgamated to uniformly disseminate the benefits across various
sectors in India.
▪ Amendments are silent on provisions regarding paternity benefits. At present, paternity benefits are permitted
in government jobs as a part of leave rules and in private organizations as a matter of internal policy. In this regard,
ILO has recognised men’s right to parenthood.
▪ Expediting implementation of labour code to reduce complexity and simplification of the regulation.

MGNREGA
▪ The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, earlier known as the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act was passed on 7th September 2005 to augment employment generation and social security in
India.
▪ It covers all districts of India except the ones with 100% urban population.
▪ This act envisage to give shape to Art. 41 (DPSP) - Right to work, education and public assistance in certain cases.
▪ Recently, Finance Minister announced on March 26th, 2020, the workers under the MGNREGA would get a hike
of Rs. 2000 each on an average. This announcement was made as an initiative towards the loss caused by the
Covid-19 outbreak.

MGNREGA BACKGROUND
▪ In 1991, the P.V Narasimha Rao government proposed a pilot scheme for generating employment in rural areas
with the following goals:
o Employment Generation for agricultural labour during the lean season.
o Infrastructure Development
o Enhanced Food Security
▪ This scheme was called the Employment Assurance Scheme which later evolved and shaped into the MGNREGA
after the merger with the Food for Work Programme in the early 2000s.

OBJECTIVES OF MGNREGA:
• Provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural unskilled labour
• Increase economic security

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 • Decrease migration of labour from rural to urban areas
▪ MGNREGA differentiates itself from earlier welfare schemes by taking a grassroot - driven approach to
employment generation.
▪ The programmes under the act are demand driven and provide legal provisions for appeal in case, work is not
provided or payments are delayed.
▪ The scheme is funded by the central government which bears the full cost of unskilled labour and 75% of the
cost of material for works undertaken under this law.
▪ The central and state governments audit the works undertaken under this act through annual reports prepared
by CEGC (Central Employment Guarantee Council) and the SEGC (State Employment Guarantee Councils).
▪ These reports have to be presented by the incumbent government in the legislature.

A FEW SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE:

▪ It gives a significant amount of control to the Gram Panchayats for managing public works, thus strengthening
Panchayati Raj Institutions.
▪ Gram Sabha’s are free to accept or reject recommendations from Intermediate and District Panchayats.
▪ It incorporates accountability in its operational guidelines and ensures compliance and transparency at all levels.

CATEGORY OF WORK INCLUDED AS PER SCHEDULE-1, MGNREGA

▪ Union Rural Development Ministry has notified works under MGNREGA, majority of which are related to
agricultural and allied activities, besides the works that will facilitate rural sanitation projects in a major way.
▪ The works have been divided into 10 broad categories like Watershed, irrigation and Flood management works,
Agricultural and Livestock related works, Fisheries and works in coastal areas and the Rural Drinking water
and sanitation related works.
• Category A: Public works relating to natural resources management
• Category B: Community assets or individual assets
• Category C: Common infrastructure including for NRLM compliant self-help groups

ISSUES WITH MGNREGA

▪ Non revision of payment and based upon CPI-AL indicator (based upon 1980s data)
▪ Wages varies across state to state, lacks uniformity. In some states its even less than minimum wages act.
▪ Lack of regular social audit by independent auditors/agency.
▪ Payments are long pending plagued with corruption.
▪ Quality of assets created not enough durable to sustain.
▪ Poor monitoring and evaluation mechanism to assure quality of work and proper implementation of scheme.
▪ Issue of fake and proxy beneficiary.

WAY FORWARD
▪ Conducting regular and independent audit of the scheme.
▪ Revising payments time to time along with contemporary inflationary trends.
▪ Enhancing durability and sustainability of the assets.
▪ Enhancing monitoring with technology driven solutions such as – drones, satellites, geofencing and geotagging.
▪ Clearance of payment on regular basis.

CONCLUSION
▪ Ever since the scheme was implemented, the number of jobs has increased by 240% in the past 10 years.
▪ The scheme has been successful in enhancing economic empowerment in rural India and helping overcome the
exploitation of labour.
▪ The scheme has also diminished wage volatility and the gender pay gap in labour.
LIQUOR PROHIBITION – CRITICAL ANALYSIS

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Prohibition

▪ Prohibition is the illegality of the manufacturing, storage in

barrels or bottles, transportation, sale, possession, and
consumption of alcohol including alcoholic beverages, or a
period of time during which such illegality was enforced.
▪ In India, Alcohol consumption has always been
overshadowed by a sense of moral judgment that has
driven the demands for prohibition.
▪ Consequently, policies related to the consumption of alcohol
are generally shaped by this moral ambiguity rather than a
comprehensive liquor policy.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
▪ In the aftermath of Independence, the Indian government did not impose a centralized regulation regarding
alcohol consumption.
▪ Under 7th schedule it is a subject of state list (entry 51) - “Alcohol for human consumption” a subject matter of
states. This provides states the power to make laws and charge duties on alcoholic liquors for human
consumption.
▪ Art. 47 under DPSP directs the states to take measures to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living
and to improve public health.
▪ Art. 47 directs that the state shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal
purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.
▪ Most liquor ban policies are justified on the basis of this article.

PROHIBITION IN INDIA
▪ At the moment, complete prohibition is enforced in the states of Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland, and the union
territory of Lakshadweep.
▪ In Gujarat, prohibition is implemented since its formation in 1960.
▪ In Nagaland, Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act (NLTP) banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in 1989.
▪ Bihar government has put a complete prohibition of alcohol in the state in 2016
▪ Gujarat and Bihar are the states that prescribe death penalty for manufacturers, suppliers and sellers of hooch in
cases of death due to spurious liquor consumption.
▪ Kerala currently allows alcohol to be served in three star hotels and above, bars and airports.
▪ In 2014, congress government in Kerala advocate for total prohibition in phased manner.
▪ But, ban was eased when left government came in power in 2016 citing loss in revenue and tourism Industry.
▪ In Manipur there is a partial ban in a few districts.
▪ Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Mizoram are states that have experimented with partial or complete
ban on liquor.
▪ In 2016, Supreme Court banned the sale of all liquor within 500m of highways to counter drunken driving.
▪ However, SC later clarified that high way liquor ban imposed by it is not applicable to licensed bars and beverages
outlets within municipal area.

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF PROHIBITION

▪ To reduce crime and corruption - ADRI report on prohibition in Bihar noted there was a 66.6% dip in cases of
kidnapping for ransom, followed by 28.3% dip in murder cases and 2.3% in dacoity.
▪ To reduce the state’s expenditure otherwise spend on public health and law & order.
▪ To improve health and hygiene - ADRI report finds an impressive rise in sale of honey (380%), cheeses (200%),
butter milk (40%), flavoured milk (28.4%) and lassi (19.7%)
▪ To bring positive impact on women and families - ADRI report observed that 58% women feel they were given
more respect and played a better role in making household decisions
▪ Prohibition helps money to get directed towards health and education in family. It paves way for development -
ADRI study on Prohibition in Bihar pointed out that 19% of households acquired new assets from the money they
earlier splurged on alcohol.

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 ▪ In India, the common mass is generally occasional drinker. Curtailing alcohol supply will in hand curtail their
drinking behaviour.
▪ According to NCRB data, 15 people die every day – or one every 96 minutes – from the effects of drinking alcohol.
▪ Many accidents are fuelled by alcohol.
▪ Many a times it leads to sexual harassment of women and robberies.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST PROHIBITION

▪ Revenue from excise meant for welfare schemes to vulnerable sections is reduced.
▪ Prohibition is contrary to fundamental right of freedom of choice and right to privacy as well.
▪ It is against the customary culture and tradition of many societies.
▪ It impacted the tourism and hospitality industry.
▪ It may lead to loss of business & investment opportunities from the states - Carlsberg which had agreed to setup
breweries plant in Patna had to relocate owing to Bihar liquor prohibition law.
▪ It causes unemployment and adversely affects livelihoods of many.
▪ Instead of decreasing corruption, prohibition became a basis for corruption and black marketing in public life.
▪ The problem of adulterated and methanol related consumption of liquor increases.
▪ It may lead to consumption of other unregulated drinks and drugs like taadi and mahua.
▪ An additional expenditure in terms of investment in the personnel required to implement prohibition.

ASPECTS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED WHILE FRAMING A LIQUOR POLICY

▪ The principal reason why many prohibition strategy
fail is because they seem to be based on the simplistic
assumption that cutting off the supply impacts
effective demand for alcohol.
▪ Increase legal age of drinking and bring about
uniformity in the same across all the states.
▪ Ban marketing and advertisement of all kinds so as
to contain its reach and spread.
▪ De-addiction and rehabilitation centers should be
made easily and widely accessible and be fully
functional before any decision on prohibition is taken.
▪ A stronger rule to monitor the use of methanol and
frame policies that award a severe penalty for its
diversion towards uses other than those for which it
was acquired. Governments could consider linking de-addiction centers with primary health centers in rural
areas.
▪ Invest in creating better awareness among citizens about the negative impact of alcohol consumption.
▪ Document good practices tried and tested by NGOs and other institutions for managing alcohol problems not
only within the country but also outside the country.
▪ Community based approach should be adopted to tackle the problem of alcoholism.
▪ A pragmatic approach that accepts drinking as part of the social culture and aims to regulate it is likely to be
a more effective stance rather than taking a moralistic or emotional view that views drinking as the purveyor of all
evils.

BAN ON LIQUOR VENDORS ON HIGHWAYS

▪ In December 2016, the Supreme Court banned States and UTs from granting licences for the sale of liquor along
National and State highways across the country.
▪ The judgment ordered that the prohibition on sale of liquor alongside highways would extend to stretches of such
highways that fall within limits of municipal corporations, city towns and local authorities.
▪ It also ordered that no shop for sale of liquor should be visible from the National and State highways and noted
that the visibility is the first temptation.
▪ Neither should they be directly accessible from the highways nor should they be situated within a distance of 500
metres from the outer edge of the highways or service lanes.
▪ It gave the Chief Secretaries and the State police chiefs a month’s time to chalk out a plan for enforcement of the
judgment.

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▪ India being a signatory to the Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety, it is imperative that policy guidelines are
framed to control road accidents. Also, the excise policies of Indian states and UTs should be amended to conform
to the spirit of Art. 47 & Art. 21 of the Constitution of India.
COURT’S RATIONALE BEHIND MOVE
▪ SC noted that drunken driving was the main culprit behind a large number of road accidents in the country - 400
deaths take place every day on Indian roads due to accidents.
▪ The judgment is a result of the deep concern the court had expressed recently on the 1.5 lakh fatalities annually in
road accidents and about 15,000-16,000 deaths were caused because of driving under the influence of alcohol.
▪ The court said revenue generation could not be a “valid reason” for a state or a UTs to give licence for liquor
shops on highways.

UNIFORM CIVIL CODE (UCC) – CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND WAY AHEAD

Uniform Civil Code seeks to replace personal laws based on
the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in Goa has a common civil code called Portuguese
India with a common set of rules governing every citizen. civil code 1867, whereby:

CONTEXT - Recently, the Supreme Court in a case concerning ▪ A Muslim man whose marriage is registered
the question of whether succession and inheritance of a Goa
domicile is governed by the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867 or the in the State cannot practice polygamy.
Indian Succession Act of 1925, held that:- ▪ A married couple share property equally,
▪ The Constitution in Art. 44 requires the State to strive to pre-nuptial agreements are the order of the
secure for its citizens a Uniform Civil Code(UCC)
throughout India, but till date, no action has been taken in day and assets are divided equally between
this regard. the man and woman on divorce.
▪ Hindu personal laws were codified in the year 1956.
However, there has been no attempt to frame a Uniform
Civil Code applicable to all citizens of the country.
▪ Despite exhortations of this Court in the case of Shah Bano in 1985, the government has done nothing to bring the
Uniform Civil Code.
▪ The Supreme Court hailed the State of Goa as a “shining example” where “uniform civil code” is applicable to
all, regardless of religion except while protecting certain limited rights.

STATUS OF PERSONAL LAW IN INDIA

▪ Personal law subjects like marriage, divorce, inheritance come under Concurrent list.
▪ Hindu personal laws have been by and large secularized and modernized by statutory enactments.
▪ Hindu personal laws (that apply also to the Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists) have been codified by the Parliament in
1956.
▪ This Code Bill has been split into four parts:
1. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
2. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956
3. The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956
4. The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956
▪ On the other hand, Muslim personal laws are still primarily unmodified and traditional in their content and
approach.
▪ The Shariat law of 1937 governs the personal matters of all Indian Muslims in India.
▪ It clearly states that in matters of personal disputes, the State shall not interfere and a religious authority would
pass a declaration based on his interpretations of the Quran and the Hadith.
▪ Apart from it, Christians and Jews are also governed by different personal laws.

NEED FOR A UNIFORM CIVIL CODE IN INDIA

▪ Different personal laws promote communalism and it leads to discrimination between people of different religions
and between the two sexes.
▪ UCC will provide women with the right to equality and justice in courts of law-irrespective of their religion in
matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, maintenance, custody of children, inheritance rights, adoption, etc.

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 ▪ The Supreme Court for the first time directed the Parliament to frame a UCC in the year 1985 in the case of
Mohammad Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum , popularly known as the Shah Bano case.
▪ However, government overturned the Shah Bano case decision by way of Muslim Women (Right to Protection
on Divorce) Act, 1986 which curtailed the right of a Muslim woman for maintenance under Section 125 of the
Code of criminal Procedure.
▪ The Supreme Court in Shayara Bano case (2017) had declared the practise of Triple Talaq (talaq-e-biddat) as
unconstitutional and void.

CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH UCC

1. Constitutional challenges
▪ Freedom of religion gets into conflict with the right to equality.
o Art. 25 - lays down an individual’s fundamental right to religion.
o Art. 26(b) - upholds the right of each religious denomination or any section thereof to “manage its own affairs
in matters of religion”
o Art. 29 - defines the right to conserve distinctive culture.
o These rights gets into conflict with the equality before law enshrined under Art. 14 and 15.
▪ Moreover, an individual’s freedom of religion under Art. 25 is subject to “public order, health, morality”.
▪ In 2018, a report by the Law Commission of India stated that the UCC is “neither necessary nor desirable at
this stage” in the country.
▪ The Commission also said “secularism cannot contradict the plurality” prevalent in the country.
2. Social-political challenges
▪ In the name of uniformity, the minorities fears that the culture of the majority is being imposed over them.
▪ Given vast cultural diversity in India, bringing uniformity among all such people will be a huge challenge.
▪ Patriarchal mindset of Indian society poses a big challenge in implementation of UCC.

MERITS OF UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

1. National Integration
• A unified code is imperative, both for the protection of the vulnerable sections in Indian society (women and
religious minorities) and for the promotion of national unity and solidarity.
2. Simplification of laws
• Presence of so many laws creates confusion, complexity and inconsistencies in the adjudication of personal
matters, at times leading to delayed justice or no justice.
• UCC will eliminate this overlapping of laws.
3. Simplification of Indian legal system:
• UCC will lead to reduction in litigation emanating from multiple personal laws.
4. Establishing a secular society:
• UCC will de-link law from religion which is a very desirable objective to achieve in a secular and socialist
pattern of society.
• Moreover, it fulfils constitutional mandates under Art. 44 of DPSP.
5. Gender justice:
• The rights of women are usually limited under the patriarchal discourse through religious laws.
• UCC will liberate women from patriarchal domination and provide them with right to equality and
liberty.
• In the long term, UCC would lead to the defeat of the communal and the divisionist forces.

WAY FORWARD
▪ The social transformation from diverse civil code to uniformity shall be gradual and progressive. Therefore, the
government must adopt a “Piecemeal” approach.
▪ Government must emulate Goa practice of a common civil code, which has been the law since 1867, when the
state was under the Portuguese colonial rule.
▪ Moreover, when constitution espouses the cause of UCC in its Art. 44, it shouldn’t be misconstrued to be a
“common law” -
▪ The word uniform here means that all communities must be governed by uniform principles of gender justice and
human justice.
▪ It will mean modernization and humanization of each personal law.

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▪ It would mean, not a common law, but different personal laws based on principles of equality, liberty and
justice.
▪ Government has to take steps towards increasing the awareness among the public, especially minorities, about the
importance of having a UCC.
▪ The UCC must carve a balance between the protection of fundamental rights and religious dogmas of
individuals.

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