THE BASIC OVERVIEW

Author: Sameer Afzal Ansari, III year of B.A.,LL.B. from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University

We tiall tiknow tithat tiConstitution tiof tiIndia tiis tithe tiSupreme tiLaw tiof thetiland, tiwhich tiis tithe tilengthiest tiConstitution tiall tiover tithe world.tiThis tibook ti“THE TRANSFORMATIVE CONSTITUTION” tiby GAUTAM BHATIA tiis tiquite tidifferent tifrom tithe tiother tibooks tion Indian Constitution.tiThis tibook tiis tia tihistorical tireading tion tithe transformative nature tiof tithe tiConstitution tiof tiIndia.tiThe tiauthor believed tithat tithis Constitution tihad tibeen tiread tiby titwo tidifferent ways by tithe tijudges.tiThis book tidraws tion tithe tipre-independence tipolitical and tilegal tihistory tito argue tithat tithe tiIndian tiConstitution tiwas intended to titransform tinot only the tipolitical tistatus tiof tiIndians tibut tialso tithe social tirelationships.tiThis book tideals tiwith tithe titrinity tiof tivalues i.e.tiequality, tiliberty tiand fraternity tiand tiwith ticurrent tiissues, tiwhere Constitution tiis ticompared tias a tiliving titree.tiIt tiused tinine tijudgements of tithe tiCourts tito tidiscuss about tithe tiunion tiof titrinity tiof tithose tthree and titheir timutual interdependence.ti

SUMMARY

This tibook tiis ticoncerned tiwith tinine ticases tiand tithe tiauthor, tiGautam Bhatia,tias tia tipractising tilawyer, tihe tiwas tiprofessionally tiinvolved withtifour ticases tiamong tithe tinine ticases.tiThis tibook tistarts withtiAuthor’s Note, tithen tiPrologue, tithen tithe timain tithree tiparts tii.e.tiEquality ti(part one), tiFraternity ti(part titwo), tiLiberty ti(part tithree), tithen tiEpilogue tiand other tirelated tiinformation.tiEvery tipart tii.e.tipart tione, titwo tiand tithree consists tiof ticase tistudies, tiwhich tithe tiauthor tiused tito ticalled tias Acts.tiThe tiauthor tiin tihis tibook tibeautifully tiexplains tihow tithe teconomic policy tiwas tinever tia tipart tiof tiThe tiConstitution tiof tiIndia tibut tithere left tienough tichecks tiand tibalances tiin tiorder tithat tithe ticountry tistays committed tito tiequal tiopportunity, tiliberty tiand tifraternity.ti

In tithe tiprologue tiportion tithere tiistia tidebate tithat tiwhether tithe creation of tithe ticonstitution tiis tian tievolution tior titransformation, tithough ultimately tithe titransformative tinature tiof tithe tiIndian tiConstitution tiis established.tiIn tihis tibook tihe titalks tiabout titwo tidifferent tiapproaches tito the tiConstitutional tiInterpretation: tiStatic ti(very ticonservative) tiv.tiLiving Tree ti(very tiexpansive) tiand tithe ticorrect tiway tishould tibe tineither tiof them tirather tiwhat tihe ticalls tiis tithat tiThe tiTransformative Constitutionalism.tiBecause tihe tithinks tiand tiargues tithat tiit tiis tithe timost appropriate tinature tioftiIndian tiConstitution tiand tibeautifully tienlightened the tisocial tiand tipolitical titransformation tiin tihis tibook. tiIn tithis tprologue portion tihe tidiscussed tithe tiConstituent tiAssembly tidebates tiand tiattempts to tiexplain tithat tiwhy tisuch tian tiArticle tifound tiplace tiin tithe Fundamental tiRights tipart tiof tithe tiConstitution tiof tiIndia tiand tiwhat were tithe tiwordings ticarefully tichosen tiwhile timaking tia ticomparative analysis tiwith tithe tiother tiConstitutions.ti

In tithe tibeginning tiof tievery tipart tithe tirelevant tireference tiarticles tiare mentioned tibriefly.tiDealing tiwith tithe tinine tiimportant tiActs tias tiwell tias judgements tialong tiwith tithe tiadvanced tireading tiof tithis ticonstitution tthe author tibeautifully tidiscussed tithe tithree ticonstitutional tivalues tiof equality, fraternity tiand tiliberty.tiThose tithree tivalues tiare tiprotected tiby tiour Constitution.tiWith tithe tihelp tiof timutual tiinterdependence tiof tithis trinity of tivalues tithe tiauthor tienvisions tithe titransformation tiof tirelations between tithe tistate, tisociety tiand ticitizens, tiin tiall titheir permutations.tiHere tione tithing tiis tiimportant tithat tiaccording tito Gautam Bhatia’s tiopinion tiindividuals tii.e.tithe ticitizens tiare tithe tiheart tiof fundamental tirights tiof tiour tiConstitution tiand tithe tistate tiis tithe tivehicle of tisocial titransformation.

Part tiOne: tiEquality- tiThere tiis tithree tichapters tiin tithis tipart.tiThe tifirst chapter tiis tiSex tiDiscrimination: tiAnuj tiGarg tiand tithe tiAnti-stereotyping Principle, tithe tisecond tichapter tiis tiEquality tiBefore tiLaw: tiNaz Foundation tiand tiEqual tiMoral tiMembership, tiand tithe tithird tichapter tiis Equality tiof tiopportunity: tiN.tiM.tiThomas, tiGroup tiSubordination, tiand the tiDirective tiPrinciples.tiThese tithree tichapters tiwith tithe tithree tispecific cases tiare tidescribed tihere tivery tiprecisely tiand tieasily.tiSo, tithat tiany normal ti(whose tibackground tiis tinot tilaw) tiperson tican tieasily tiunderstand this. tiIn tithe tiNaz tiFoundation ticase tijudgement tion tisec ti37, tithe tiauthor applauds tithe ticourt tifor tiits tiextensive tiunderstanding tiof tithe ti“linkage between tiequality tiand tinon- tidiscrimination, tithe tiidentification tiof tisites of tigroup tiexclusion, tithe tifocus tion tidisadvantage, tidisability tiand tiself- realisation ti(‘dignity’), tiand tithe tiattention tito tithe tiactual tiexperience tiof the tisubjects tiof tia tilaw ti(‘real tiand tieffective tiequality’).tiHere tiwas tia deep, tirich tiand tisubstantive tiunderstanding tiof tiequality...”

Part tiTwo: tiFraternity- tiThis tipart tiis tialso ticonsists tiof tithree tichapters namedtias tifourth, tififth tiand tisixth tichapter.tiThe tifourth tichapter tiis named tias tiCivil tiRights: tiIndian tiMedical tiAssociation tiand tiHorizontal Discrimination, tififth tichapter tiis tiReligious tiFreedom tiand tiGroup Identity: Saifuddin tiand tithe tiAnti- tiExclusion tiPrinciple tiand tithe tisixth tione tiis The tiFreedom tito tiWork: tiPeoples tiUnion tifor tiDemocratic tiRights tiand Forced tiLabour.tiThis tifraternity tisection timakes ticase tifor tithe enforcement tiof tinon-discrimination tibetween tiindividual tiand tithe tinon-state tientities, tiwhether tiprivate tior ticommunity.tiIn tithis tibook tithere tiis a argument tithat tieven tithough tithe tiprivate tientities tihave tia ticertain freedom tiof ticontract, tithat tifreedom ticannot tibe tijustified tiif tiit hampers a tistrong timandate tiof tipublic tipolicy tiwith tiregard tito tianti-discrimination tior tifreedom tiof tiassociation tior tiequal tiaccess tito tipublic spaces.tiAs tithe tiauthor tipoints tiout, ti“...as tithe ticourt tiincreased tiits tiown power tiin tithis timatter, tithe tiuse tiof tiarticle ti25(2)(b) ti- tiwhich tigranted the tistate tithe tipower tiof tireligious tiintervention tifor tisocial tireform- began tito tidecrease.”

Part tiThree: tiLiberty- tiIn tithis tipart tialso tithree tichapters tiare tiincluded namedtias tiseventh, tieighth tiand tithe tininth tichapter.tiThe tiseventh chapter is tinamed tias tiPrivacy tibeyond tithe tiPublic/ tiPrivate tiDivide: tiSareetha and tiFreedom tiwithin tithe tiFamily, tithe tieighth tichapter tiis tiSpeech, Association, tiPersonal tiLiberty, tiand tithe tiState tiof tiExceptions: tiJyoti Chogre tiv.tiState tiof tiMaharashtra tiand tithe tilast tii.e.tithe tininth tichapter is tiPrivacy tiand tiThe tiCriminal tiProcess: tiSelvi tiv.tiState tiof tiKarnataka. As per tiAmbedkar’s tiwords, ti“equality tiwithout tiliberty tiwould tikill tiindividual initiative.” tiThe tiauthor tiused tithis tijurisprudence tiby timoving tithe tdebate beyond tithe titraditional tiprivate/public tidivide, tiand tito tiprotect tithe individual tifrom tithe ticlose tiobservation tiof tihis tihome, tispeech, tibody etc.tias tiwell tias tilife tichoices( tisuch tias tisexuality, tiright tito tirefuse marital tisexual tiviolation tietc.)

As tiI tisaid tiearlier, tiGautam tiBhatiatiwas tiprofessionally tiattached tiwith four ticases tiwhich tiare tidiscussed tiin tithis tibook.tiSome tiof tithose ticase there tiare tithe tiConstitutional tichallenge tito tiSection ti377 tiof tithe tiIndian Penal tiCode, ti1860, tianother ticase tiis tirelated tiwith tiRight tito tiPrivacy where tithe tibail tiapplications tiif tiKabir tiKala tiManch tibefore tithe Supreme tiCourt tiand tithe tiConstitutional tichallenge tito tiAadhaar.tiWe have seen timany tinew tijudgements tilike tithe tiSupreme tiCourt’s tijudgements regarding tiadultery, tisection ti377 tiwere tichallenged tiand tithe tivery important tiand tifamous tiSabarimala titemple ticase.tiBut tiunfortunately allithose tijudgements tiwere tidelivered tiafter tithe tiauthor tifinished tiwriting this tibook tiso tithe tiauthor tidid tinot tiget tithe titime tito tiincorporate thoseticase tijudgements tialso tiin tihis tiauspicious tibook tibut tiinstead tiof that tithe tiauthor tihas tiaddressed tithem tiin tibrief tiphoto tiscripts tito tieach chapters.

This tibook tiistia tidense tiand tiinsightful tiread, tiwhich tithrows tilight tion the tirich tidiscourse tiof ticivil tiright tiand tiliberation timovements tithat guided tithe timakers tiof tithe ticonstitution tiand tithe tiIndian tirepublic.tiHe ties tithe tistruggles tifor tilabour tirights, tiand tifeminist tiand tianti- ticaste movements tiinto tithe ticonstitutional tiframework.tiThis tibook tialso titells about tiseveral ticurrent tiaffairs, tithose tiare tiadultery, tithe tiAadhaar challenge tiand tithe tiSabarimala tiverdict, tidecriminalisation tiof homosexuality tiand tithe tiSabarimala tiverdict.

EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION

In tihis tibook tithe tiauthor tiexamines tiall tithe tiarticles tiwhich tiare embedding tiequality, tifraternity tiand tiliberty tiin tithe ticonstitution.tiHe considers tithe ticonstitutional tihistory tiof tithe tiinclusion tiof tithose tiarticles and tiits tisocial, tipolitical tiand tiintellectual tihistory, tiwhich tidescribes tithe struggles tithat tihow tithey tigot tiattention tiof tithe tifounder tifather.tiAfter that tihe tiuses tithree tilandmark tijudgments tiin tieach tisection tito tiillustrate the tiways tithrough tiwhich tilegally tigrounded tireadings tiof tithose foundational tivalues tiare ticreated tito tirealize tithe tinature tiof tiIndia’s transformation ticonstitution.ti

The tisection tion tiequality tiexamines tithe tijudiciary’s tihandling tiof tisex discrimination tithrough tithe tilens tioftia ti2008 tijudgment, tiAnuj tiGarg vs.tiHotel tiAssociation tiof tiIndia.tiAfter tithis ticase tiThe tiSupreme tiCourt reviewed tia tilaw tithat tibarred tiwomen tifrom tiworking tiin tia tiliquor tishop or tibar tiand tistruck tiit tidown. tiThis tijudgment tiis tivery tiimportant tifor Bhatia tibecause tiits tireading tiof tiarticle ti15(1) tiwhich ticontains tithat ti“The state tishall tinot tidiscriminate tiagainst tiany ticitizens tion tiground tionly tiof religion, tirace, ticaste, tisex, tiplace tiof tibirth tior tiany tiof tithem”, tiwhich rejects tithe ticlassification tibased tion ti‘natural’ tidifferences tibetween tithe sexes tiin tifavour tiof tia tiposition tiwhich timeasures tithe ticonstitutionality of laws tiin titerms tiof titheir tiimpact tion tiwomen tiand titheir tiright tito equality.tiFor tiBhatia tithe tifact tiis tithat tithe tiConstitution tigrants tithe right to tivote, tidelinked tifrom tistatus tior ticommunity, tiwhich timakes tithe doctrine tiof tiSeparate tiSpheres tifor timen tiand tiwomen tilegally indefensible.

This ticombination tiof tithe tilawyer’s tibeady tieye tifor tiConstitutional titext engaged tiwith tithe tiintellectual’s tiwide ti– tiranging tirecourse tiof tihistorical argument ticharacterizes tiof tiAuthor’s titreatment tiof ti‘Fraternity’ tiand ‘Liberty’ tithe tiother titwo tisections tiof tithis tibook.

For tiexample, tiin ti‘Fraternity’, tihe tiargues tithat tidiscrimination tiof housing is tiunconstitutional tion tithe tibasis tiof tian tiexpansive tireading tiof tiarticle 15(2) tiwhich tiis tiundertaken tiby tiSupreme tiCourt tibench tiin tiIndian Medical tiAssociation tivs.tiUnion tiof tiIndia.tiAnd tiin ti‘Liberty’ tihe tiargues that tithe tiapex tidecision tiof tithe ticourt tiin tiSelvi tivs.tiThe tistate tiof Karnataka, titransformed tiour tireading tiof tiarticle ti20(3); tiwhich ticontains that ti‘No tiperson tiaccused tiof tiany tioffence tishall tibe ticompelled tito tibe a witness tiagainst tihimself’.

He tisees tiin tithis tilandmark tijudgment tithat tidecisively titilting tithe tiscales against tithe ti‘crime ticontrol’ tithe tijurisprudence tiderived tifrom ticolonial practice tiwhich tiis tiin tifavour tiof tia ti‘due tiprocess’ tithe tijurisprudence opposed tito tithe tiuse tiof ti‘trust tiserums’, tilie-detector titest tiand tiillegally obtained tievidence.

This tibook tiis tiwell tiwritten tiand tibeautifully tiresearched, tiwhich tigivestia lucid tivision tiof tithe tiTransformative tiConstitutionalism tiin tiIndia.tiThe author tigoes tiinto tiimmense tidetail tiabout tivarious tiprovisions tiof tithe constitution.tiIn tithis tibook tithe tiauthor tivery tinicely tiargues tithrough lesser tiknown tijudgments tiof tiHigh tiCourts tiand tidissents tiof tiSupreme Court tias tiwell tias tiHigh tiCourts.tiHe tiadvances tia tinovel tivision tiof tithe constitution.tiAs tihis tiidea tiof tiour tiConstitution tiis tiTransformative tiin nature tihe ticelebrates tithe tispirits tiof tithe tijurisprudential tihistory, tiwhile calling tifor tiaction tiby tithe tijudiciary tifor tigiving tifull tieffect tiof tithe rights tiwhich tiare tiguaranteed tiunder tiIndian tiConstitution.ti

In timy tiperspective tithis tiis tian tiamazing tibook tiand tian tiimportant tbook also tiwhich tinot tionly tidiscussed tiwith tipre- ticonstitutional tihistory tibut also tideals tiwith tithe timost ticriticaltias tiwell tias tirecent tiissues tilike preventive tilaws, tireligious tifreedom, tiLGBTQ tirights tietc.tiThis tibook spreads tithe ticonstitutional tilaw tiwith tia tidifferent tivision tiand enlightened the timutual tiinterdependence tiof tithe titrinity tiof tivalues tiwith tithe tivery important tinine tiacts timeans tinine ticases.tiThis tibook tireinforces tithe belief tithat tithe tiConstitution tiof tiIndia tiwas tialways timeant tito tiimprove the tilives tiof tithetimarginalized ticitizens tiand tithis ticonstitution tihas tia unique tiblend tiof tipresenting tiperspectives tifrom tithe tipast, tiforeign jurisdictions tiand tithe ticurrent ticontext.tiThis tibook tialso ticonsists tiof elaborate tiend tinotes, tiwhich tiis tifilled tiwith tienormous tiresources, anyone can tigain timany timore tiknowledge tiand tiinformation tifrom tithese tiend notes.

Astia tilaw tistudent tiI tican ticonclude tithat tias tia tinon-fiction tibook, tithe author tihas tidone tia tigreat tijob tiin tidescribing tithe ticonstitutional tistory rather tithe ticonstitutional tiphilosophy tiwith tithe tihelp tiof tithe tinine acts.tiEveryone, tiwho tiis tinon-fiction tibook tilover, tiespecially tithe tistudents and tithe tiother tipersons tiwho tiare tiengaged tiin tilegal tiprofession timust read tithis tibook tionce tito tiunderstand tithe ticonstitutional tihistory explicitly.