Fundamental Duties| Important Facts

Share it

Table of Contents

Introduction of Fundamental Duties

The Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution are inspired by the Constitution of the erstwhile USSR.
The Fundamental Duties of the citizens are enumerated in Article 51A.
Fundamental Duties were included in 1976 by the 42nd Amendment Act on the recommendation of the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee.
Fundamental Duties did not form part of the Constitution as originally adopted.

These duties are addressed to the citizens only.
Although these duties are not enforceable by a Court, they provide a valuable guide and aid in the interpretation of the Constitution.
The Fundamental Duties can be imposed through some suitable legislation.
The fundamental duties are 11 in number.
Ten duties were included in the Indian Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act 1976 and the Eleventh duty was added by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002.

According to Article 51A, it shall be the duty of every citizen of India:

51A (a) To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem

51A (b) To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom
51A (c) To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India
51A (d) To defend the country and render national services when called upon to do so
51A (e) To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women
51A (f) To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture
51A (g) To value protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures
51A (h) To develop the scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry and reform
51A (i) To safeguard public property and to abjure violence
51A (j)To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement
51A (k) Duty of the parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years (added by 86th Amendment Act, 2002)

The fundamental duties are non-enforceable and non-justiciable in character.
It means that no citizen can be punished by a court for violation of a fundamental duty.
In this respect, the fundamental duties are like the directive principles of the constitution in Part IV.
Courts can certainly take cognizance of laws seeking to give effect to fundamental duties.

The list of duties is not exhaustive as it does not cover other important duties like casting vote, paying taxes, family planning and so on. In fact duty to pay taxes was recommended by the Swaran Singh Committee.

Some of the duties are vague, ambiguous and difficult to be understand by the common man. For example, different interpretation can be given to the phrases like ‘noble ideals’, ‘composite culture’, scientific temper’ and so on.
They have been described by the critics as a code of moral precepts due to their non-justiciable character.

The Verma Committee (1999) identified the existence of the following legal provision:

The prevention of insults to National Honour Act (1971)
The various criminal laws provide for punishment for encouraging enmity and discrimination
The Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955)

Also, refer :