Topic-Directive Principles of the State Policy- Article 42

Inscribed in the Spanish constitution from where the Irish inserted it in their constitution and our visionary framers included it in our Indian constitution. DPSPs are non-justiciable rights mentioned in the two categories of individual rights as suggested by the Sapru committee in 1945. Part IV (articles 36-51) of the constitution talks about DPSP which acts as an instrument to guide the states while framing policies for citizens. Although DPSPs are not legally binding, they aim to promote economic and social democracy in the country.

Though not originally classified in the Indian constitution, they are, on the basis of content and philosophy, classified into three categories:

• Socialist principles

They are the concepts that aim to achieve social and economic fairness and pave the way for the welfare state to emerge. 

It includes article 38, 39, 39A,41,42, 43, 43A and 47

• Gandhian principles

These values are based on Gandhian ideology, which was utilised to depict Gandhi’s reconstruction programme during the national struggle.

Articles based on the Gandhian principles are 40, 43, 43B, 46, 47 and 48.

• Liberal-Intellectual principles

These principles reflect liberalism’s ideology. The articles included are 44. 45, 48, 48A, 49, 50 and 51.

Amendments to DPSPs

The DPSP has been amended four times. 

• First 42nd Amendment 1976 – It added four new directive principles- Article 39, Article 39A, Article 43A and Article 48A.
• Second, 44th Amendment 1978 – The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 created a new DPSP under Article 38, which mandates the State to reduce inequalities in income, status, facilities, and opportunities. 
• Third, 86th Amendment 2002 – It altered Article 45’s subject matter, and under Article 21A, basic education became a fundamental right.
• Fourth, 97th Amendment 2011 – The 97th Amendment Act of 2011 created a new DPSP for cooperative societies under Article 43B.

Article 42 explained

Article 42: Workplace circumstances that are fair and equitable, as well as maternity leave.

The Constitution says that “the State shall make provisions for securing reasonable and humane working conditions and for maternity relief.”

Case study

Recently, a state ordinance denying maternity leave to a woman after her third pregnancy was declared unconstitutional by the Uttarakhand High Court.

The High Court ruled that the rule violated the Maternity Benefits Act, which prohibited such discrimination. The High Court, on the other hand, determined that the Rule violated the spirit of Article 42 of the Indian Constitution, which mandates that the government should “provide fair and humane working conditions and maternity relief.”

Article 42 belongs to DPSP, which are non-justiciable in nature, but the court’s primary reliance was on the Maternity Benefits Act 1961 (recently amended- Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017).

Fundamental Rights versus DPSPs and Associated cases

Champakam Dorairajan versus the State of Madras (1951):

•  In this case, the Supreme Court declared that the Fundamental Rights would take precedence over the Directive Principles in the event of a dispute.
• It said that the Directive Principles must be consistent with and operate as a complement to the Fundamental Rights.
• It further stated that the Parliament could change the Fundamental Rights by implementing constitutional amendment acts.

Golaknath versus State of Punjab (1967):

• The Supreme Court held in Golaknath v the State of Punjab (1967) that Fundamental Rights could not be altered by Parliament, even for the implementation of Directive Principles.
• The court went against its own decision in the ‘Shankari Parsad case.

Major reforms through the implementation of DPSP

Land Reforms

Land reform legislation has been passed in almost every state to bring about reforms in an agricultural society and to enhance the living standards of the rural masses. These are some of the measures:

• Elimination of intermediaries such as zamindars, jagirdars, and inamdars, among others

• Security of tenure, fair rents, and other tenancy reforms

• Landholdings are subject to limits.

• Land surpluses are distributed with landless labourers.

• Farming cooperatives

Panchayati Raj System

The government fulfilled the constitutional commitment outlined in Article 40 through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992.

In practically every section of the country, the three-tiered ‘Panchayati Raj System’ was implemented at the village, block, and district levels.

Labour Reforms

• To defend the interests of the working class, the following laws were enacted. Code on Wages, 2020, Minimum Wages Act (1948).

• The Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act is a law that regulates and abolishes contract labour (1970)

• The Child Labor Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986 forbids and regulates child labour and in 2016, it was renamed the Child and Adolescent Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act of 1986.

• Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976.

Fundamental Rights versus DPSPs: Major differences

•  FRs are legally enforceable by courts in case of their violation whereas the DPSPs are non-justiciable i.e., they can be challenged in court for their implementation.

• FRs are punishable by law while DPSPs have moral and political sanctions.
• FRs primarily focus on the welfare of an individual hence are individualistic in nature. On the other hand, DPSPs aim at the welfare of a whole society hence it is secretariat and socialistic.
• No legislation has to be passed for the implementation of FRs, they are automatically enforced whereas DPSPs have to be passed as legislation to be implemented.
• FRs are interested in establishing political democracy while DPSPs aim at equal and just social and economic well-being of the citizens.

Conclusion

DPSPs are an essential part of the successful functioning of Indian democracy. Questions from this chapter are asked in defence exams in the General Knowledge section. Hence, you need to know the articles which form a part of DPSP to score good marks in the General Knowledge part.