Forensic Nursing semester V inclusion of new curriculum

1. Fundamental Rights

2. Indian Constitution
Fact Check
 Adopted: 26th
November, 1949
 Enforced: 26th
January, 1950
 Supreme law
 longest written
national
constitution
Articles 470
Parts 25
Schedules 12
Appendices 5

3. Fundamental Rights
 Part III –
Fundamental
Rights – Articles 12
to 35
 Kesavananda
Bharati v. State of
Kerala (1973)
 PART OF BASIC
STRUCTURE
1. Right to Equality
2. Right to Freedom
3. Right against
Exploitation
4. Right to Freedom of
Religion
5. Cultural and
Educational Rights
6. Right to
Constitutional
Remedies

4. Why Right to Property is not a
Fundamental Right?
Removed by the 44th
Constitutional Amendment
(1978)
Legal right and not a
fundamental right
Article 300A (Part XII of the
Constitution)

5. Fundamental Rights
Fundamental Rights are incorporated from Article
12 to 35 in the Third Chapter (Part) of the Indian
Constitution. Rights are the basic facilities which
we need for our growth. These are the claims of
individual recognised by the society and enforced
by the State. The existence of Democracy can’t be
imagined without Fundamental Rights in India
because Rights are the pillars of Democracy.

6. Why do we call these Rights as
Fundamental?
 These Rights are incorporated in
the third Chapter (Part) of the
Constitution of India.
 They afford a basis for the
development of an Individual.
 The people and officials of India are
ought to enjoy these rights.

7. Nature of Rights
 Fundamental rights are equal to all.
 Rights are justiciable
 Fundamental rights are not absolute.
 They limit the authority of the central and
state governments.
 Fundamental rights distinguish between
citizens and foreign nationals.
 They can be suspended during emergency.
 Parliament can amend Fundamental rights.

8. Fundamental Rights (12 – 35)
 Right to Equality
 Right to Freedom
 Right Against Exploitation
 Right to Freedom of Religion
 Cultural and Educational Rights
 Right to Constitutional Remedies

9. Fundamental Rights
Article 12 {Definition}
In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, "the
State" includes the Government and Parliament of India
and the Government and the Legislature of each of the
States and all local or other authorities within the territory
of India or under the control of the Government of India.
Article 13 {Laws inconsistent with or in
derogation of the fundamental rights}
(1) All laws in force in the territory of India immediately
before the commencement of this Constitution, in so far as
they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall,
to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.

10. Right to Equality
Article 14 to 18

11. Right to Equality, Article-14 to 18
Equality before law Article-14 provides that «the
state shall not deny to any person equality before
law or the equal protection of law within the
territory of India ».
Prohibition of Discrimination, Article-15
(on grounds of religion,race,caste,sex or place of birth)
Equality of Opportunity Article-16
(in matters of public employment)
Abolition of Untouchability Article-17
Abolition of Titles Article-18

12. Right to Freedom
Article 19 to 22

13. Right to Freedom (19 – 22)
 Freedom of speech and expression Article-19
 Freedom of Press – (Article-361) A has been inserted according to which the press
has been given the power to publish an account of the proceedings of the Indian
Parliament and states legislatures.
 Right to information is linked to the freedom of speech and expression granted in
Article 19 in the constitution.
 Freedom to assemble peacefully without Arms.
 Freedom to form associations and unions.
 Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India.
 Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
 Freedom to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or
business.
 Protection in respect of conviction of an offence Article-20
 Protection of life and personal liberty Article-21
 Right to education Article-21 A
 Protection against arrest and detention against certain cases Article-22

14. Right against
Exploitation
Article 23-24

15. Right Against Exploitation, Article
23-24
 Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced
labour. Article 23
 Prohibition of compulsary services Article-23 : under
this article the state can not force people to do
compulsory service for public purposes.
 Prohibition of Child Labour Article-24: Children below
the age of forteen years will not be allowed to work in
factories, mines or in other dangerous places so that
their health is not adversely affected.

16. Right to Religious
Freedom
Article 25 to 28

17. Right to Freedom of Religion,
Article 25 to 28
Freedom to profess and propagate any
religion, Article-25
Freedom to manage religious affairs, Artcle-
26
Freedom not to pay taxes for the promotion
of any particular religion, Article-27
No religious instructions in government
educational institutions, Artcle-28(1)
In private educational institutions religious
education not against the will, Article-28(3)

18. Cultural and
educational rights
Article 29 to 30

19. Cultural and educational
rights,Article 29 to 30
Protection against interest of
minorities,Article-29(1)
Freedom to get admission in educational
institutions,Article-29(2)
Right to minorities to establish
educational institutions,Article-30(1)
No discrimination while giving grants-
Article-30(2)

20. Right to
Constitutional
Remedies.
Article-32

21. Right to constitutional
remedies,Article-32
 Article-31(1), provides that a citizen can approach
the supreme court of India by due process of law for
the implementation of the Fundamental Rights
included in Chapter 3 of the constitution.
 Article-32(2), the Supreme court of India has the
right to issue writs in the nature of the Habeas
Corpus,Mandamus,Prohibition,etc.
 Article-32(3), The Indian Parliament can empower
any court to issue notice within its jurisdiction
without infringing or influencing the powers of the
Supreme Court of India.
 Article-32(4), the state cannot suspend the right to
constitutional remedies except in cases provided in
the Indian Constitution.

22. Critical Evaluation
of Fundamental
Rights
Public Opinion

23. Critical evaluation of
fundamental rights
 No rights outside the constitution
 Too many limitations
 Preventive Detention and Fundamental rights
 Rights can be suspended during emergency
 Absence of Economic rights
 Vague and complex language
 Supremacy of Parliament over Fundamental
Rights
 Special concessions for minorities and backward
classes are against the Principle of Equality.

24. Importance of Human Rights
Foundation of democracy
Check on the arbitrariness of the
Government
Create proper conditions for the
development of Men
Foundation of Rule of law
Establishment of Secular state
Protection of the interests of the minorities
Reconciliation between individual interests
and social interests.

25. NATIONAL HUMAN
RIGHTS COMMISSION

26. HISTORY OF NHRC
 UN Commission on Human Rights formulated
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10th
December, 1948.
 The international community recognized the growing
importance of strengthening national human
rights institutions and arranged a meeting
of representatives of national institutions in Paris.
 A detailed set of principles on the status of national
institutions was developed, these are commonly
known as the Paris Principles which became the
foundation for the establishment and operation of
national human rights institutions.
 The National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) was established on October

27. FEATURES OF NHRC
 NHRC was constituted under Section 3 of the 1993 Act
for better protection of human rights. The term ‘human
rights’ is defined in Section 2(d) of the 1993 Act, which
reads as follows:
“Human right” means the rights relating to life,
liberty, equality and dignity of the individual
guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the
International Covenants and enforceable by courts in
India.
 The Commission takes an independent stand since it is
autonomous i.e. it has been created by an Act of
Parliament.
 NHRC has the powers of a civil court, has a very wide

28. DIVISION OF NHRC
 There are five divisions in NHRC as follows:
◦ Training Division, spreading human rights literacy among
sections of the society
◦ Law Division, handles registration and disposal of around one
lakh cases each year, registered on the complaints of human
rights violation.
◦ Administration Division, looks after the establishment,
administrative and related requirements of the Chairperson and
Members of the NHRC.
◦ Policy Research and Project Division, undertakes and promotes
research on human rights and organizes conferences, seminars
and workshops on important human rights issues.
◦ Investigation Division, headed by an officer of the rank of
Director General of Police, assisted by one DIG and three
Senior Superintendents of Police for Spot Enquiries, Custodial
deaths, fact finding cases.

29. Commission shall consist of:
 A Chairperson
 One Member who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme
Court of India
 One Member who is or has been the Chief Justice of a
High Court
 Two Members to be appointed from among persons
having knowledge of or practical experience in matters
relating to human rights
 In addition, the Chairpersons of four National
Commissions of
1.Minorities
2.SC
COMPOSITION OF NHRC

30. COMPOSITION OF NHRC

31. APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL
OF MEMBERS
The Chairperson and the Members of the Commission are
appointed by the President of India on the
recommendations of a Committee consisting of:
 The Prime Minister
 The Home Minister
 The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha
 The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha
 The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
 The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha

32. APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL
OF MEMBERS
 The chairman and members hold office for a term of
five years or until they attain the age of 70 years,
whichever is earlier.
 After their tenure, the chairman and members are not
eligible for further employment under the central or
state government.
 The president can remove the chairman or any member
from the office under certain circumstances.
RECOMMENDATION
COMMITTEE

33. FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF
COMMISSION
 The Commission performs the following functions
namely:
a) Violation of human rights
b) Negligence in the prevention of such violation, by a
public servant.
c) Intervene in any proceeding involving any allegation of
violation of human rights pending before a court with the
approval of such court.
d) Visit under intimation to the State Government, any jail
or any other institution under the control of the State
Government, where persons are detained for purposes of
treatment.
e) Review the safeguards provided by the Constitution or

34. FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF
COMMISSION
f) Review the factors, including acts of terrorism that
inhibit the enjoyment of human rights and recommend
appropriate remedial measures.
g) Study treaties and other international instruments on
human rights and make recommendations for their
effective implementation.
h) Undertake and promote research in the field of human
rights.
i) Spread human rights literacy among various sections of
society and promote awareness of the safeguards available
for the protection of these rights through publications, the
media, seminars and other available means.
j) Encourage the efforts of non-governmental organizations
and institutions working in the field of human rights.

35. MAJOR HUMAN RIGHTS
ISSUES IN INDIA
Some of the issues which are taken up by NHRC are listed
as follows:
 Custodial Torture
 Right to Work and Labour Rights
 Extrajudicial Killings
 Arbitrary Arrest and Detention
 Excessive Powers of the Armed Forces and the Police
 Sexual Violence
 Conflict Induced Internal Displacement
 Child Labour
 Manual Scavenging
 Violence and discrimination against Women, Children
 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Rights

36.  NHRC has widely dealt with issues relating to application of
human rights and has established its reputation for
independence and integrity.
 There is increasing number of complaints addressed to the
Commission seeking redressal of grievances.
 NHRC has pursued its mandate and priorities with
determination and considerable success.
 Some of the famous interventions of NHRC include
1. Campaigns against discrimination of HIV patients.
2. It ordered all State Governments to report the cases of
custodial deaths or rapes within 24 hours of occurrence failing
which it would be assumed that there was an attempt to suppress
the incident.
ROLE OF NHRC IN SAFEGUARDING
HUMAN RIGHTS

37. 3. An important intervention of the Commission was related to Nithari
Village in Noida, UP, where children were sexually abused and murdered.
4. NHRC helped bring out in open a multi crore pension scam in Haryana.
5. It also looked up the case of sterilization tragedy of Chattisgarh.
 In spite of many achievements, the NHRC has been marred with
controversies.
For instance, the Batla House encounter case in the recent past where the
Commission’s report giving clean chit to the Delhi Police came under fire
from various quarters. It was said that the Commission had failed to conduct
a proper inquiry as its officials never visited the site and filed a report on
the
basis on the police version.
ROLE OF NHRC IN SAFEGUARDING
HUMAN RIGHTS

38. LIMITATIONS OF THE
COMMISSION
 NHRC can only make recommendations without the power
to enforce decisions.
 This lack of authority to ensure compliance can lead to
outright rejection of its decision too.
 It is often viewed as a post-retirement destinations for judges,
police officers and bureaucrats with political clout.
 Bureaucratic functioning, inadequacy of funds also hamper
the working of the commission.
 Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, human
rights commissions cannot investigate an event if
the complaint was made more than one year after
the incident, therefore, a large number of genuine grievances
go unaddressed.

39. IMPROVEMENTS
 If human rights commissions are to truly protect rights
in India, it needs a revamp.
 The efficacy of commissions will be greatly enhanced if
their decisions are made enforceable by the government.
 If commissions are to play a meaningful role in society,
they must include civil society human rights activists as
members.
 Misuse of laws by the law enforcing agencies is often
the root cause of human right violations.
 The weakness of laws should be removed and those
laws should be amended or repealed, if they run
contrary to human rights.

40. CASES HANDLED BY NHRC
1. Gujarat Riots : During February-March 2002, three thousand
people belonging to minority Muslim community were killed and
property was destroyed due to communal violence. NHRC
initiated an inquiry and directed the state government to report the
measures taken so far and also approached Supreme Court of
India on behalf of Gujarat riots.
2. Starvation Death In Orissa: NHRC investigated the reports of
death of people due to starvation in Koraput, Bolangie, Kalahandi
districts of Orissa. It appointed a team to report about the existing
conditions and a special persons to look after the relief and
rehabilitation work. It also periodically reviewed the measures
taken by State Government to prevent deaths.
3. Death Due To Silicosis: People from Madhya Pradesh who
worked as labourers in quartz crushing factory in Gujarat died due
to Silicosis/ Silicotuberculosis. Nearly 200 people died in the last
4 years after returning to their village as they were exposed to
silica dust. NHRC demanded a factual report from Madhya
Pradesh and Gujarat and also dispatched a team fro Investigation
Division for a spot enquiry.

41. Thank You