Constitutional Provisions relating to rights and duties of people and government

Suppose nobody in your housing society has ever broken a rule, yet the air near the building is unbreathable because of a nearby factory. There is no complaint because there is no one to blame; the Constitution of India was written long before anyone thought of a pollution Act. So where does a resident find a right to clean air, and who is under a duty to give it? The answer is in three Articles and in how the Supreme Court has read them.

In two minutes

The Constitution says nothing about a fundamental right to a clean environment in so many words, but Article 21 (life), Article 48A (State’s duty) and Article 51A(g) (citizen’s duty) together give the courts a base for environmental protection, and Article 32 and public interest litigation give citizens a way in.

The rest of this chapter

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