Directive Principles of State Policies

(Part IV  – Article 36-51)

• Source – Irish constitution
• The framers of the Constitution borrowed this idea from the Irish Constitution of 1937, which had copied it from the Spanish Constitution.
• Ambedkar described Directive Principles of State Policies (DPSP) as NOVEL features.
• Article 36 to 51 of the Constitution of India embodies the Directive Principles of State policy. The objective is to establish a social and economic democracy in India.
• DPSP and Fundamental rights are -philosophy, soul and conscience of the constitution.
• They are essential  for  Governance,  they  are not subordinate  to  Fundamental 
• They were incorporated in our Constitution in order to provide economic justice and to avoid concentration of wealth in the hands of a few people.

• Article 37 reveals that:
  1. The Directive Principles are not justiciable
  2. They are Fundamental to the governance of the country
  3. It shall be the ethical responsibility of the State to apply these Directive Principles while formulating policies or making laws for the governance of the State

Features of Directive Principles of State Policies

• • These are the Constitutional instruction to state in legislative, executive and administrative matters.
  • Resembles the instrument of instruction of GOI act, 1935.
  • Aimed to establish Economic and social democracy.
  • Embody the concept of a ‘welfare state’.
  • They aim at realising the high ideals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as outlined in the Preamble to the Constitution.
  • Non-justiciable in nature, that is, they are not legally enforceable by the courts for their violation.
  • Fundamental in the governance of the country.
  • Help the courts in examining and determining the constitutional validity of law.

Classification of Directive Principles of State Policies

(Not mentioned in constitution)

The Constitution does not contain any classification of Directive Principles. However, on the basis of their content and direction, they can be classified into three categories –

Socialist Principles

• • Reflects the ideology of socialism.
  • They set down the framework of a democratic socialist state, aim at providing social and economic justice, and set the path towards welfare state.

Article 38 – to promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order permeated by social, economic and political justice and to minimise inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities.

Article 39 – To secure

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. the right to adequate means of livelihood for all citizens;
            2. the equitable distribution of material resources of the community for the common good;
            3. prevention of concentration of wealth and means of production;
            4. equal pay for equal work for men and women;
            5. preservation of the health and strength of workers and children against forcible abuse; and
            6. opportunities for healthy development of children

Article 39 A – to promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor.

Article 41 – the State will work within the limits of its economic viability and progress, provide to the citizens the right to work, the right to education and general assistance in the event of unemployment, old age, disease and other disabilities.

Article 42 – To make provisions for the creation of just and humane conditions of work. It will also ensure maternity relief.

Article 43 – to ensure adequate wages, good life and rest to the labourers. The state will also endeavour to make available to the labourers various socio-cultural facilities.

Article 47 – To raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of people and to improve public health

Liberal Principles

• • Principles which reflects the ideology of Liberalism.

Article 44 – to formulate and implement a Uniform Civil Code for all the people living throughout the territory of India.

Article 45 – to provide early childhood care and education for all the children until they complete the age of six years.

Article 47 – to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living. Thus, it will endeavour to improve upon the health of the people.

Article 48 – the State shall strive to organise agriculture and husbandry on modern and scientific lines.

Article 48 A – to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife.

Article 49 – to protect monuments, places and objects of artistic or historic interest which are declared to be of national importance. 

Article 50 – to separate the judiciary from the executive in the case of public service.

Gandhian Principles

• • Based on Gandhian ideology.
  • They represent the programme of reconstruction pronounced by Gandhi during the national movement.

Article 40 – to organise Panchayats in villages and will endow them with such powers which enable them to act as units of self-government.

Article 43 – to develop the cottage industry in the rural areas both, on individual or cooperative basis.

Article 43 B – to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control, and professional management of co-operative societies. 

Article 46 – to promote the educational and economic interests of SCs, STs and other weaker sections of the society and to protect them from social injustice and exploitation. 

Article 47 – to prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health.

Article 48 – suggests that the State will ban slaughtering of cows, calves and other milch cattle and to improve their breeds.

International principles

Article 51(a) – to promote international peace and security.

Article 51(b) – to maintain just and honourable relations among various states in the world.

Article 51(c) – to promote respect for International treaties, agreements, and law.

Article 51(f) – to settle international disputes by arbitration. 

 

DPSP added by Constitutional Amendment Acts

42^nd Constitutional Amendment Act added

Article 39 – To provide adequate meals and livelihood.

Article 39 A – To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor.

Article 43 A – To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industry.

Article 48 A – To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife.

44^th Constitutional Amendment Act added

Article 38 – state to secure social order for the promotion of welfare. Necessitated the state to abate inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities.

86^th Constitutional Amendment Act added

Changed subject  matter  of Article  45 – provision  for  early childhood  care  and  education  of  children  below  6 years. The 86th Amendment Act of 2002 made the elementary education a fundamental right under Article 21 A and modified the subject-matter of Article 45. The 86th Amendment Act necessitated the state to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.

97^th Constitutional Amendment Act added

Article 43B – Cooperative societies. It necessitated the state to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of co-operative societies.  

Directive Principles outside – Part – IV

Besides the directives contained in Part IV, there are certain other directives addressed to the state in other part of the Constitution. These directives are also non-judicial. There are:

Article 335 – Claims of members of SCs STS shall be taken consideration without compromising efficiency of administration in Public employment, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the union or a state.

Article 350A – Instruction in mother tongue at the level of primary education.

Article 351 – Development of Hindi Language. The union to promote the spread of Hindi and to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression of all the elements of the composite culture of India.

Why are DPSP Non Justiciable?

The framers of the Indian Constitution made the Directive Principles non-justiciable and legally non-enforceable due to the following reasons as listed below:

• • The country did not possess sufficient financial resources to implement them.
  • The presence of vast diversity and backwardness in the country would stand in the way of their implementation.
  • The newly born independent Indian State with its many preoccupations might be crushed under the burden unless it was free to decide the order, the time, the place and the mode of fulfilling them.

 

Criticism of the Directive Principles

Many constitutional and political experts as well as members of the constituent assembly criticised the Directive Principles on the following grounds:

Non-justiciable

• • T T Krishnamachari described the Directives as a veritable dust-bin of sentiments, whereas K C Wheare called them as a manifesto of aims and aspirations and suggested that they serve simply as moral homily, and Sir Ivor Jennings observed them only as pious aspirations.
  • Then how can the courts monitor their implementation. Although, the courts, especially since the 1990s, have started giving significance to the DPs through ‘judicial activism’.

No proper classification

• • The segregation into Socialist, Gandhian, and Liberal and International principles was not there in the Constitution.
  • According to the critics, the Directive Principles are not arranged in a sensible manner on the basis of a consistent philosophy. The declaration blends with the relatively insignificant issues with the most important economic and social questions.

Conservative

• • Sir Ivor Jennings observed the Directives to be on the basis of the political philosophy of the 19th century England. He remarked: ‘Part IV of the Constitution expresses Fabian Socialism without the socialism’. He suggested that the Directives are deemed to be suitable in India in the middle of the twentieth century.

Constitutional Conflict

• • K Santhanam has stated that the Directive principles arise a constitutional conflict between
  • The Centre and the states,
  • The President and the Prime Minister, and
  • The governor and the chief minister.
  • According to him, the Centre can give directions to the states with respect to the implementation of these principles, and in case of non-compliance, can dismiss the state government.
  • For instance, when the Prime Minister gets a bill which is violating the Directive Principles and is passed by the Parliament, the president may reject the bill on the ground that these principles are fundamental to the governance of the country and hence, the ministry has no right to ignore them. The same constitutional conflict may arise at the state level between the governor and the chief minister.

Some Directive Principles are not practicable

• • Strict nation-wide ban on alcohol can never be practically enforced.
  • Social values combined with sentimental values – prevention of cow-slaughter and alcohol consumption combined with principles of social and economic justice (39b, 39c)

No mention of methods to implement these

• • No time frame, no process, no agencies prescribed.

Importance of Directive Principles

• • Lay down the foundation of Economic Democracy
  • Measuring rods to judge the achievements of the Government
  • They establish welfare state
  • These are Fundamental in the Governance of the country.
  • These Principles supplement Fundamental rights
  • Guiding Principles for courts
  • They bring stability and continuity in State policies.

 

Utility of Directive Principles of State Policies

• • The Directive Principles are the life giving provisions of the Constitution because they constitute the stuff of the Constitution and its philosophy of social justice.
  • Dr B. R. Ambedkar had stated that the Directives have great value since, they lay down that the goal of Indian polity is economic democracy as distinguished from political democracy.
  • According to M C Setalvad (former Attorney General of India), the Directive Principles are significant and useful in the following ways:
  • They act like an instrument of instructions which are addressed to all authorities in the Indian Union. They remind them of the basic principles of the new social and economic order, which the Constitution aims at building.
  • They have served as useful beacon-lights to the courts. They have helped the courts in exercising their power of judicial review, i.e., the power to determine the constitutional validity of a law.
  • They form the dominating background to all State action, legislative or executive and also a guide to the courts in some respects.
  • They amplify the Preamble, which solemnly resolves to secure to all citizens of India justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.

• • The Directive Principles also perform the following major roles:
    1. They facilitate stability and continuity in domestic and foreign policies in political, economic and social spheres in spite of the changes of the party in power.
    2. They are supplementary to the fundamental rights of the citizens. They are intended to fill in the vacuum in Part III by providing for social and economic rights.
    3. Their implementation makes a favourable atmosphere for the full and proper enjoyment of the fundamental rights by the citizens.
    4. They enable the opposition to exercise influence and control over the operations of the government. The Opposition can blame the ruling party on the ground that its activities are opposed to the Directives.
    5. They serve as a crucial test for the performance of the government. The people can examine the policies and programmes of the government in the light of these constitutional declarations.
    6. They serve as common political manifesto. ‘A ruling party, irrespective of its political ideology, has to recognise the fact that these principles are intended to be its guide, philosopher and friend in its legislative and executive acts’.

Fundamental Rights vs Directive Principles of State Policies

The directives differ from the fundamental rights in Part III of the Constitution or the ordinary laws of the land, the following ways:

 

Conflict between Fundamental Rights (Judiciary) & DPSP (Parliament + Government)

Champakam Dorairajan Case (1951)

• • FRs vs DPSP
  • The Supreme Court ruled that in case of any conflict between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles, the former would prevail. It declared that the Directive Principles have to conform to and run as subsidiary to the Fundamental Rights. But, it also held that the Fundamental Rights could be amended by the Parliament by enacting constitutional amendment acts.
  • Result and Action – FRs are amendable – 1^st, 4^th, and 17^th Amendments to implement some directives.

Golaknath case (1967)

• • FRs vs DPSP
  • The Supreme Court ruled that the Parliament cannot take away or abridge any of the Fundamental Rights, which are ‘sacrosanct’ in nature. In other words, the Court held that the Fundamental Rights cannot be amended for the implementation of the Directive Principles.
  • Result and Action – FRs NOT amendable – 24th, 25th Amendments – Parliament can alter, amend, abrogate any part of the Constitution even to the extent of taking away all fundamental rights [Article 368].
  • The 25th Amendment Act inserted a new Article 31C which contained the following two provisions:

1. 1. 1. No law which seeks to implement the socialistic Directive Principles specified in Article 39 (b) and (c) shall be void on the ground of contravention of the Fundamental Rights conferred by Article 14 (equality before law and equal protection of laws), Article 19 (protection of six rights in respect of speech, assembly, movement, etc) or Article 31 (right to property).
      2. No law containing a declaration for giving effect to such policy shall be questioned in any court on the ground that it does not give effect to such a policy.

Keshavanada Bharathi case (1973)

• • FRs vs DPSP
  • The Supreme Court declared the second provision of Article 31C as unconstitutional and invalid on the ground that judicial review is a basic feature of the Constitution and hence, cannot be taken away. However, the above first provision of Article 31C was held to be constitutional and valid.
  • Result and Action – basic structure doctrine – the 42nd Amendment Act accorded the position of legal primacy and supremacy to the Directive Principles over the Fundamental Rights conferred by Articles 14, 19 and 31.
  • The Doctrine of Basic Structure (1973) From the Kesavananda case emerged this doctrine, which suggested that there can be no law in violation of the “basic structure” of the constitution. Although, what it exactly comprises of is subject to some debate, usually the following come under this doctrine –
    • • The supremacy of the constitution.
      • Republican and democratic form of government.
      • The secular character of the Constitution.
      • Maintenance of the separation of powers.
      • The federal character of the Constitution.

Minerva Mills case (1980)

• • FRs vs DPSP
  • Basic structure doctrine
  • The Supreme Court held that ‘the Indian Constitution is founded on the bedrock of the balance between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles. They together constitute the core of commitment to social revolution. They are like two wheels of a chariot, one no less than the other. To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution. This harmony and balance between the two is an essential feature of the basic structure of the Constitution. The goals set out by the Directive Principles have to be achieved without the abrogation of the means provided by the Fundamental Rights’.
  • Result and Action – the Directive Principles were once again made subordinate to the Fundamental Rights. But the Fundamental Rights conferred by Article 14 and Article 19 were accepted as subordinate to the Directive Principles specified in Article 39 (b) and (c). Further, Article 31 (right to property) was abolished by the 44th Amendment Act (1978).

Current Scenario

Presently, the Fundamental Rights enjoy supremacy over the Directive Principles. Yet, this does not mean that the Directive Principles cannot be implemented. The Parliament can amend the Fundamental Rights for implementing the Directive Principles, so long as the amendment does not damage or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.

 

Implementation of Directive Principles of State Policies

• Since 1950 –Governments of centre & states made laws & implemented several programmes

1. • Planning Commission & NITI Aayog – aimed at securing socio-economic justice and reducing inequalities of income, status and opportunities.
   • Land reform laws by states – to bring changes in the agrarian society and to improve the conditions of the rural masses. Such as Zamindari system abolition
   • Acts related to industrial workers – The Minimum Wages Act (1948), the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act (1986), the Trade Unions Act (1926), the Factories Act (1948), the Mines Act (1952) etc.
   • Child labour banned – By various Act of the Constitution.
   • Laws for protection of women workers – The Maternity Benefit Act (1961) and the Equal Remuneration Act (1976)
   • Measures to utilise financial resources for common good – These include nationalisation of life insurance (1956), Nationalisation of fourteen leading commercial banks (1969), Nationalisation of general insurance (1971) etc.
   • Free legal services – The Legal Services Authorities Act (1987) – Lok Adalat : Statutory, civil court status, awards binding on the parties, no appeal on any court
   • Boards for cottage industries development – Khadi and Village Industries Board, National Small Industries Corporation, Handloom Board, Handicrafts Board, Coir Board, Silk Board etc. have been set up for the development of cottage industries in rural areas.
   • Employment schemes/programmes – like MGNREGA etc.
   • Steps to modernise agriculture & animal husbandry – Agriculture has been modernised by providing improved agricultural inputs, seeds, fertilisers and irrigation facilities.
   • Panchayat system – Three-tier panchayati raj system has been introduced by 73^rd Amendment Act (1992).
   • Reservation for weaker sections – Seats are reserved for SCs, STs and other weaker sections in educational institutions, government services and representative bodies.
   • The Criminal Procedure Code (1973) to separate judiciary from executive
   • Steps to ancient heritage – The Ancient and Historical Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (1951) has been enacted to protect the monuments, places and objects of national importance.
   • PHCs & other health programmes – Primary health care are established throughout the country. Also, special programmes have been launched to eradicate widespread diseases like malaria, TB, leprosy, AIDS, cancer, filaria, Japanese encephalitis etc.
   • Laws to prohibit slaughter of cows, calves, and bullocks have been enacted in some states.
   • Old age pension – Some states promotes the pension to peoples above 65 years.
   • Non-alignment in foreign policy – India promotes the principles of Panchsheel to promote international peace and security
   • Wildlife protection – The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, have been enacted to safeguard the wildlife and the forests respectively.

So, this was all about the Directive Principles of State Policies of Indian Constitution.

You can read about Fundamental Rights Here (Part 1 – Article 12 to 22) & Here (Part 2 – Article 23 to 35).

In the Next Post (Click Here), We will discuss about the Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) of Indian Constitution.