07,Feb 2024
Being an Indian is a great blessing for us as we are blessed with the largest written constitution in the entire world. While drafting our constitution our makers made sure that every Indian feels safe in the country and their rights are safeguarded. They made sure that there should be holistic development of India as a society. And to ensure it, they framed our constitution in such a way that citizens of India should have rights and immunity against any exploitation that can happen to them.
The Constitution of India consists of 448 Articles, 12 Schedules, and 25 parts that guide, protect, and empower the rights of every Indian. A right is defined as what a person is permitted to do by law and what the states are required to do in their favor. These rights apply equally to every citizen without any discrimination. Though there is a long list of rights and laws available for the citizens of the country still people are unaware of them. Here in this blog, we will be discussing the important rights and laws every Indian should know.
1 Right to Life:
According to Article 21 of theConstitution of India, every individual has the right to life and liberty that allows them to lead their life as per their choice. The article says, No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law.” The right to life is considered the most important right as well as is universally recognized and protected by international authorities as well. That means you can’t be refrained from leading your life with dignity by the state. For example, the right to marry a person of your choice falls under this category, i.e. your parents or anyone else can’t stop you from getting married legally (keeping in mind both the individuals are adults).
2 Right to Equality:
We live in a society where people from all religions, castes, creeds, and races live together. And to maintain harmony it is quite important to treat each and every citizen of India equally. To ensure this our constitution provides us the right to equality under Article 14. According to the article, The State shall not discriminate any person on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth”. In other words, it ensures the equality before law. For example, a school or an institution can’t refrain from admitting a child of a minority class citing the fact that the school is a Hindu-established institution.
3 Right to Information:
Under theRight to Information (RTI Act), every Indian citizen has the right to seek information regarding anything except the information concerned with national security. You can ask for information regarding government activities, policies, actions, and decisions from any public authority. Through this right, the government aims to promote transparency, accountability, and good governance and ensure the trust of the citizens of India.
In case you reach any public authority for any sort of information and the authorities do not revert back within thirty days then you can also reach the court and they have furnished the information sought by you. If the request made involves a petitioner’s life and liberty then the concerned authorities are required to furnish the information within 48 hours anyhow.
4 Right to Education:
Education is a basic right of every individual and providing education to a ward is his/her parent’s duty. But under some critical circumstances, it becomes quite difficult for parents to educate their children. Under Article 21(A) of the Indian Constitution, inserted after the 86th Constitutional Amendment the government is required to provide schooling to children. According to this article, State shall provide free and compulsory education to children of the age 6 to 14 years in a manner as the state may determine.”
TheRight to Education Actwas passed on August 4, 2009, which aimed to provide education to every child irrespective of their gender, caste, socioeconomic status, etc. So now on whenever you find any child who is unable to acquire an education, then you can approach any government official and ask for their admission to the government school.
5 Right to File an FIR:
It is often seen when someone has an accident or something unfortunate happens to them that is against the law, people hesitate to file the FIR. And if they go on to file it, sometimes police or other concerned authorities refuse to do so. Through this law, the state ensures that an individual can file an FIR at the police station and no police officer can decline to file the same. If any police officer is found to do so then under Section 166 of theIndian Penal Code he can be punished for a term up to one year, or with a fine, or both fine and punishment.
6 Right of Parents to be maintained by their Children:
We often see people avoiding their parents in their old age when they settle down in their lives. Even some refrains from providing financial assistance to them as well and puts them in old age homes. Being a parent if your children do not take care of you emotionally and financially then you can reach the court with sufficient proof against them. Under Section 125 of theCode of Criminal Procedure,the parents of an adult have the right to claim maintenance from them. The law applies to each and every individual who has aging or dependent parents /guardians (biological or adoptive father and mother, or stepfather or stepmother, whether they are senior citizens or not).
7 Equal pay for Equal work:
In today’s world, both men and women are working in all domains with equal participation. To promote gender equality and non-discrimination in the workplace our constitution under Article 39 provides us with the fundamental right to get equal pay for equal work. According to this right, the individuals who perform similar work, regardless of their gender, post, or any other factor involved, should receive equal remuneration.
If an employer violates the law and refuses to pay you on par with the other gender then being an employee you have the right to register a complaint in this regard against him with the relevant proofs.
8 Rights of a woman when arrested:
During an arrest police often put you under pressure and work as per their will, but you need to be calm and look for the rights you have. Sometimes when police come to arrest women at odd hours due to being unaware of your rights you just go with them which is wrong and is against the law. You should know that under Section 46 (4) of the CrPC, no woman can be arrested after sunset and before sunrise. But if there is a situation that can’t be avoided and a woman needs to be arrested before 6 AM and after 6 PM then the woman police officer can obtain the prior permission of the Judicial within whose jurisdiction the offense is committed or the arrest is to be made. Along with this keep in mind that a woman can be arrested only by a woman officer and not a male.
9 Rights under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961:
If you are a pregnant woman and your company fires you from your workplace then you can file an FIR against the company officials. Irrespective of whether the company is private or public, your employer is required to give you 84 days of paid maternity leave. TheMaternity Benefit Actwas passed in the year 1961 to protect women from being fired from an office during their maternity. As per this Act, if an employer fires a pregnant woman then he will be punished with a maximum of three years imprisonment.
10. Right against the cheque bounce:
Cheque bounce is a popular issue these days but its consequences are really stringent. According to Section 138 of theNegotiable Instruments Act, 1881, the cheque bounce is an infringement where a defaulter is subject to imprisonment extending to two years or fine up to double the amount of the cheque, or with both imprisonment and a fine. If any authority violates this right conferred to all the individuals then the victim can serve legal notice on the party responsible and can pursue criminal charges against him if the party does not pay him within 15 days of the legal notice.
11. Right to free legal aid:
It is not easy for every individual to seek legal advice, as lawyers charge a hefty amount for consultation. But getting free legal aid and advice is our fundamental right enshrined under Article 39A and a duty of the state as well under DPSP. It ensures that every individual, underprivileged or privileged receives justice, which is a basic feature of our constitution. In case you need legal assistance from a lawyer to represent you in the courtroom or to get legal aid, then you can approach them and ask for their help. Through this, our state ensures that no citizen is restricted from getting justice because of their financial situation or another obstacle.
12. Right to claim a Refund:
When we go shopping many times the shopkeeper sells us goods that do not fit the criteria meeting our expectations by falsifying the information about the product. In such cases usually the seller refuses to exchange or return the goods or products but you know you can claim a refund against it. Yes, under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986, consumers have the right to claim a refund in case he/she is not satisfied with the purchase. Therefore any statement saying 'No exchanges or refunds' on a bill or invoice is illegal and the consumers can file complaints against the defaulters.
References:
- https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/19-laws-and-rights-must-be-known-to-every-indian-1486368049-1
- https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-14072-right-to-legal-aid-a-fundamental-right-and-dpsp.html
- https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/1494?sam_handle=123456789/136
- https://www.toprankers.com/important-laws-that-every-one-should-know