No Person Shall Be Deprived of His Life and Personal Liberty Except According to Procedure Established by Law
Article 21 of the Constitution of India provides that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. This provision is one of the most important fundamental rights and acts as a safeguard against arbitrary state action. Initially, the Supreme Court interpreted Article 21 narrowly, but over time it has been expanded to protect a wide range of human rights.
In A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950), the Supreme Court held that as long as there was a law authorizing deprivation of liberty and the procedure prescribed by that law was followed, Article 21 was satisfied. The Court adopted a strict interpretation and did not examine whether the procedure was fair or reasonable.
A major change came with Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978). The petitioner’s passport was impounded without giving her an opportunity to be heard. The Supreme Court held that the procedure under Article 21 must be ‘just, fair and reasonable’ and not arbitrary or oppressive. The Court also linked Articles 14, 19 and 21, creating a broader protection of fundamental rights.
The scope of Article 21 was further expanded through several landmark judgments. In Francis Coralie Mullin v. Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi (1981), the Court held that the right to life includes the right to live with human dignity. In Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985), the Court recognized the right to livelihood as an integral part of the right to life. In Unni Krishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1993), the right to education was read into Article 21, which later influenced the insertion of Article 21A.
The Supreme Court has also recognized rights such as privacy, health, clean environment, legal aid and speedy trial under Article 21. In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), a nine-judge bench declared the right to privacy a fundamental right flowing from Article 21.
Thus, Article 21 has evolved from a narrow procedural guarantee into a source of numerous substantive rights. Through judicial interpretation, it now protects human dignity and ensures that any deprivation of life or personal liberty must follow a fair, just and reasonable procedure established by law.
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This article has been researched and prepared by Akansha Shrivastava, Legal Research Intern at LegalRath.