Right to Freedom
Article
19 Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech,
etc.
(1) All citizens shall have the right -
(a)
to freedom of speech and expression;
(b) to assemble peaceably
and without arms;
(c) to form associations or unions;
(d)
to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) to reside
and settle in any part of the territory of India; and
(f) to
practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or
business.
(2) Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall
affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from
making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions
on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause in the
interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of
the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order,
decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation
or incitement to an offence.
(3) Nothing in sub-clause (b) of
the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so
far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing,
in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public
order, reasonable restrictions on the right conferred by the said
sub-clause.
(4) Nothing in sub-clause (c) of the said clause
shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it
imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the
interests of the the sovereignty and integrity of India or public
order or morality, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the
right conferred by the said sub-clause.
(5) Nothing in
sub-clause (d) and (e) of the said clause shall affect the operation
of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State
from making any law imposing, reasonable restrictions on the exercise
of any of the rights conferred by the said sub-clauses either in the
interests of the general public or for the protection of the
interests of any Schedule Tribe.
(6) Nothing in sub-clause (g)
of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in
so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law
imposing, in the interests of the general public, reasonable
restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said
sub-clause, and, in particular, nothing in the said sub-clause shall
affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it relates to,
or prevent the State from making any law relating to, -
(i) the
professional or technical qualifications necessary for practicing any
profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business, or
(ii)
the carrying on by the State, or by a corporation owned or controlled
by the State, of any trade, business, industry or service, whether to
the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens or otherwise.
Article
20 Protection in respect of conviction for offenses
(1)
No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a
law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an
offence, not be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might
have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the
commission of the offence.
(2) No person shall be prosecuted and
punished for the same offence more than once.
(3) No person
accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against
himself.
Article
21 Protection of life and personal liberty
No person shall
be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law.
Article
22 Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases
(1)
No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody
without
being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor
shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a
legal practitioner of his choice.
(2) Every person who is
arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest
magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest
excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest
to court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in
custody beyond the said period without the authority of a
magistrate.
(3) Nothing in clauses (1) and (2) shall apply -
(a)
to any person who for the time being is an enemy alien; or
(b)
to any person who is arrested or detained under any law providing for
preventive detention.
(4) No law providing for preventive
detention shall authorize the detention of a person for a longer
period than three months unless -
(a) an Advisory Board
consisting of persons who are, or have been, or are qualified to be
appointed as, Judges of a High Court has reported before the
expiration of the said period of three months that there is in its
opinion sufficient cause for such detention:
Provided that
nothing in this sub-clause shall authorise the detention of any
person beyond the maximum period prescribed by any law made by
Parliament under sub-clause (b) of clause (7); or
(b) such
person is detained in accordance with the provisions of any law made
by Parliament under sub-clauses (a) and (b) of clause (7).
(5)
When any person is detained in pursuance of an order made under any
law providing for preventive detention, the authority making the
order shall, as soon as may be, communicate to such person the
grounds on which the order has been made and shall afford him the
earliest opportunity of making a representation against the
order.
(6) Nothing in clause (5) shall require the authority
making any such order as is referred to in that clause to disclose
facts which such authority considers to be against the public
interest to disclose.
(7) Parliament may by law prescribe -
(a)
the circumstances under which, and the class or classes of cases in
which, a person may be detained for a period longer than three months
under any law providing for preventive detention without obtaining
the opinion of an Advisory Board in accordance with the provisions of
sub-clause (a) of clause (4);
(b) the maximum period for which
any person may in any class or classes of cases be detained under any
law providing for preventive detention; and
(c) the procedure to
be followed by an Advisory Board in an inquiry under sub-clause (a)
of clause (4).
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