Article 14 of the Indian Constitution and its Provisions

India is a country full of diversity in culture, religion, language and in other parameters. It is necessary to have some fundamental rules that would help to protect equality. The Indian Constitution protects the diversity of India and provides equality to every citizen by its Article 14. In this article, we will learn about what is article 14 what type of equality does it give.  Article 14 of the Indian Constitution states that ‘’the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India, on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth’’. There will be no discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, sex or birthplace etc. Article 14 is for both Indian citizens and foreigners who are living in India. It is the duty of the states of India to provide all kinds of equality to the citizens. The laws as per The Constitution of India is the same for all. No individual or authority is not above than constitution. Every person has to follow the same rule and regulations that are mentioned in the Constitution.

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The two provisions in the statement of Article 14 have very important aspects of this article, these provisions are 'equality before the law' and 'equal protection of laws. Let’s know about these provisions of article 14 of the Consitution in detail.

Equality Before Law

This Law has originated from British Constitution. It enforces legal equality and states that no one is above the law. The state will provide equality to everyone. There will not be any kind of discrimination on the basis of the status of a person. According to equality before law following provisions are given to an Indian citizen. 

• This provision provides equal treatment of all citizens before the court. It means Indian Courts will not discriminate between rich and poor, official or non-officials etc.

• There will not be any kind of privileges to any person. Every person will get the same punishment for the same crime.

• It is the duty of the States to prevent any kind of discrimination and if Any discrimination is observed within the states then that should be removed according to the law.

Equal Protection of Laws

The Provision of equal protection of laws has been taken from the constitution of America. The Supreme Court of India states that the rule of law is a fundamental element of the Indian Constitution as written under Article 14. Hence it cannot be abolished. It can not be changed by any constitutional amendment. According to equal protection of Laws, these provisions are provided as per the Indian Constitution.

• One law is for everyone and the same rule will be applied all over the country.

• Everyone should be treated equally. Discrimination is strictly prohibited as per article 14. 

• Equal treatment of privileges and obligations should be given by a similar law.

Exceptions to Article 14

Article 14 of the Indian Constitution of Right to equality has some exceptions. This provision does not apply to these circumstances and persons. 

• Some immunities are provided to the President of India and the State Governor. The process of imprisonment against the President of India and the State Governor cannot be initiated by any court when he or she is in the term of office of the President or the Governor. It is mentioned in Article 361.

• India has adopted some sovereign rulers. According to this rule, ambassadors and diplomatic persons will be free from criminal and civil cases. International Laws are applied in these matters.

• No court proceeding can lie in any court against any parliament committee or parliament member for speaking anything in Parliament.

The Citizenship Act,1955

The Constitution provides single citizenship for the entire nation. According to the Citizenship Act, Indian citizenship can be acquired by birth, registration, descent and naturalization. This act has been amended several times. According to article 9 of the Indian Constitution that a person who voluntarily acquires citizenship of another country will be no longer an Indian citizen. According to this act, a person who was born after 26th January 950 and before 1st July 1987 in India will be an Indian citizen irrespective of their parent’s nationality. The central government can register a person who falls under some categories mentioned in the constitution. as an Indian citizen, The Citizenship Act has been many times amended by the Citizenship (Amendment) Acts. Some of the Amendment Acts came into action in 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2019. The 1886 Amendment restricted at least one parent had to be an Indian citizen for acquiring Indian citizenship. The Citizenship Amendment act of 1992 eliminates discrimination against women in the matter of citizenship and their children. According to this amendment, a person born outside India can have Indian citizenship if either of her or his parents were Indian. The amendment of 2003 restricted that a parent could not be an illegal immigrant. The 2003 amendment also gave power to the Government of India to construct a National Register of Citizens (NRC). The latest amendment in the Citizenship Act is the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. According to this act Indian government will provide Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who arrived in India before 2015 but it t excludes Muslims. Anti-CAA protesters claimed that the Citizenship amendment Act in a violation of article 14.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019

Currently, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 has been imposed in India. Under CAA there is a provision to give citizenship of India to foreign citizens of certain religions. Since these foreign people are being given citizenship on the basis of their religion and other people of a particular religion are not getting citizenship. Those who are opposing the CAA argue that Citizenship Amendment Act violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution because article 14 provides the right to equality. Hence in this way, article 14 and citizenship act which was amended in 2019 have contradictions. Article 14 provides equality before the law and on the other hand, CAA is discriminating on the basis of religion. Many protests were held against and in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act nationwide. Massive protests were held against the Citizenship Amendment Bill in India but on 12 December 2019 CAA was passed. After passing the bill many massive protests were turned violent that lead to communal riots in New Delhi and throughout the nation. In the favour of CAA people states that the Indian Constitution is for Indian citizens. It is not applicable to those who are not citizens of India. Hence Indian Government how can treat anyone unequally who is not even a citizen of India. In a diversified nation such as India, there will be always a need for laws that are applied selectively. 

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Article 14 of the Indian Constitution provides equality before the law and equal protection of laws within the territory of India which means everyone will be given equal opportunity for their development. The right to equality is a fundamental right of Indian citizens. It is important for their development in all dimensions. These rights are guaranteed by the Constitution. Indian Constitution is the protector of Fundamental Rights.