News & Events
Question – Why is Article 32 of the Indian Constitution regarded as Heart & Soul of the Constitution?
- January 13, 2023
- Posted by: Pallavi Singh
- Category: Blog
![Article 32 under the Indian Constitution](https://aakarias.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Article-32-under-the-Indian-Constitution-1170x500.jpg)
Answer –
Article 32 confers the right to remedies for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights mentioned in Part lll of the Indian Constitution. In other words, the right to get the fundamental rights protected is in itself a fundamental right.
According to the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr.B.R. Ambedkar, the Right To Constitutional Remedies, is known as the heart and soul of the Constitution.
As per Article 32, individuals can move to the Supreme Court if they are being denied their fundamental rights that are guaranteed in the Constitution.
The Supreme Court has ruled that Article 32 is a basic feature of the Constitution. Hence, it cannot be abridged or taken away even by way of an amendment to the Constitution. It contains the following four provisions:
(a) The right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights is guaranteed.
(b) The Supreme Court shall have power to issue directions or orders or writs for the enforcement of any of the fundamental rights. The writs issued may include habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo-warranto.
(c)Parliament can empower any other court to issue directions, orders and writs of all kinds. However, this can be done without prejudice to the above powers conferred on the Supreme Court. Any other court here does not include high courts because Article 226 has already conferred these powers on the high courts.
(d) The right to move the Supreme Court shall not be suspended except as otherwise provided for by the Constitution. Thus the Constitution provides that the President can suspend the right to move any court for the enforcement of the fundamental rights during a national emergency (Article 359).
It is thus clear that the Supreme Court has been constituted as the defender and guarantor of the fundamenetal rights of the citizens. It has been vested with the ‘original’ and ‘wide’ powers for that purpose. Original, because an aggrieved citizen can directly go to the Supreme Court, not necessarily by way of appeal. Wide, because its power is not restricted to issuing of orders or directions but also writs of all kinds.
The purpose of Article 32 is to provide a guaranteed, effective, expedious, inexpensive and summary remedy for the protection of the fundamental rights. The violation of à fundamental right is the sine qua non for the exercise of the right conferred by Article 32. Thus, it is for these reasons, Article 32 is termed as “heart and Soul” of the Constitution.