Directive Principles, Welfare, Social Security VIS-ÀVIS Fundamental Rights: Judicial Approaches
Author : Bommathi Bhavani
Abstract :
The nature, significance, role and objective underlying the Directive Principles have not been rightly appreciated by courts initially. There has been conflict of opinions about the status and position of Directive Principles vis-à-vis Fundamental Rights in the Constitution. Soon after the commencement of the Constitution, the approach of the judiciary was to give an undue emphasis on the unenforceability of Directive Principles without taking them as fundamental in the governance and ignoring the constitutional duty imposed on the state to implement them. The non-justiciable ‘and non-enforceable ‘character of these principles as discussed and concluded by the Constituent Assembly might be the reason behind this approach of judiciary. Thus it strengthened the belief that Directive Principles carry mere pious aspirations of little legal force and had to conform to and run subsidiary to Fundamental Rights.
Keywords :
Social security, justiciable ‘and non-enforceable, harmonious interpretation
