Article 21 — Right to Life & Personal Liberty
अनुच्छेद 21 — जीवन और व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता का अधिकार
Article 21
Concept
Article 21 states: 'No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.' It is the heart of the Indian Constitution. After the Maneka Gandhi case (1978), Article 21 was expansively interpreted to include: right to live with dignity, right to privacy (K.S. Puttaswamy case, 2017), right to clean environment, right to health, right to education (now 21A), right to speedy trial, right against solitary confinement, right to shelter, right to food, and many more. The procedure established by law must be 'just, fair and reasonable' (Maneka Gandhi).
📌 Important Facts
- 1Article 21 is called the 'heart and soul' of the Indian Constitution (Bhagwati J.).
- 2Right to Privacy declared a fundamental right under Article 21 in K.S. Puttaswamy case (2017).
- 3Maneka Gandhi case (1978) expanded Article 21 — procedure must be just, fair and reasonable.
- 4Article 21A (Right to Education) added by 86th Amendment, 2002 — free education for 6-14 years.
🎯 Exam Relevance4
Civil Services Examination
Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level
IBPS Probationary Officer
Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission — State Service Examination
📜 PYQ Intelligence2× asked
❓ Practice MCQs0 available
Doubts & Discussion
Per-topic Q&A, doubt clearing, and study-buddy matching — coming soon.