The underlying fact that the Constitution of India is the longest written Constitution of any sovereign country in the world. Constitution declares India a sovereign, socialistic, secular, democratic, republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality and liberty, and endeavors to promote fraternity among them. The six fundamental rights namely Right to Freedom, Right to Equality, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural & Educational Rights and Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 226 & 32) were embodied in part III of the Constitution to provide civil rights to all the citizens of India and prevent them from the encroachment of society and also ensure their protection. Of these, Article 14, 19 & 21 are considered as ‘Golden Triangle’ of the Constitution of India.

Article 14 of the constitution states equality before law, which basically means that the state shall not deny any person equality before the law or equal protection of law within the territorial limits of India or prohibition on the grounds of race, caste, religion, sex or place of birth. Article 21 states that no person shall be deprived of his personal liberty except according to the procedures established by law. Article 19 gives the citizens the protection in respect to speech and expression. Other than freedom of speech & expression, the citizens are also granted a few more rights such as the freedom to assemble peacefully and without arms, form associations or unions, move freely throughout the territory of India, reside and settle in any part of the territory of India and practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

The basic reason as to why only these three Articles are named ‘golden triangle’ of the Indian constitution is because these rights are regarded as the basic principles for the smooth running of life for the citizens of the country. The golden triangle provides full protection to individuals from any encroachment upon their rights from the society and others as well[1]. Article 14 abolishes certain inhuman customary practices of the country and also envisage certain legal rights which basically states that law is same for every person. Article 14 keeps a check that no arbitrary action is taken by the government, with a simple concept that, equals should be treated equally and the unequal would have to be treated unequally only to ensure equality among all the citizens. Article 19 however, does not provide a person the freedom to do anything and everything as per their whims and fancies. There are certain restrictions attached viz; Security of the State, Friendly relation with foreign states, public order, Decency and morality, Contempt of court, defamation, Incitement of offenses. The Supreme Court, in the case of N.K. Bajpai v. UOI, held that right of advocates to practise is not only statutory but also a fundamental right under freedom of profession in 19(g)[2]. Article 21 covers the most sensitive area, i.e. protection and securing the life and liberty of a person. This is also the most violated provision of the Constitution. Article 21 also encompasses many other fundamental rights such as right to live with human dignity, right to healthy livelihood, right to health, a pollution-free environment. In the case of Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. UOI, the SC held that the right to life means right to live with dignity, free from any exploitation and discrimination.

CONCLUSION

The ‘Golden Triangle’ is very important to safeguard citizens’ basic human rights. As soon as the Judiciary realized that right to equality, right to freedom and right to life and personal liberty is the essential rights of the citizens, which should not be taken away in any scenario, the trinity of Article 14, 19, and 21 was formed[3]. It can be said that ‘golden triangle’ plays a very important role in the judiciary and affects the daily life a common citizen. Each Article is inter-related and where a person violates any one Article, other two Articles also come in the picture. According to me, the drafters of the Constitution made it in such a way that it neither makes any mandatory provisions regarding various rights for the citizens nor makes any citizen free from certain fundamental duties that must be followed by every citizen of the country.

[1] Sreeraj K.V. -The Golden Triangle Of The Indian Constitution, The Golden Triangle Of The Indian Constitution – iPleaders, visited on 27-07-2021 at 13:21hrs.

[2] Deepshikha-The Golden Triangle in the Indian Constitution: Article 14, 19, and 21, https://www.legalbites.in/golden-triangle-in-the-indian-constitution/, visited on 27-07-2021 at 14:11hrs.

[3] IBID.

Aishwarya Says:

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