In a hill village of Pauri, waste from a stone-crushing unit began to choke the stream from which the villagers drew their water. A group of residents took the matter to the courts, which ordered the unit to stop the dumping. Soon after, the panchayat chosen in the village polls took up a new task. It decided how the stream, the common grazing land and the forest produce of the village would be used and shared, instead of waiting for orders from the district office.
Apart from cases like the one on the stream, the courts' reading of the same right has also been used to provide which of the following?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Primary healthcare and primary education
Option (1) Equal pay for equal work to labourers — Incorrect. Equal pay for equal work came from a different right. The Supreme Court read this Directive Principle into the right to equality under Article 14, and it brought relief to plantation and agricultural labourers.
Option (2) Access to information as part of free speech — Incorrect. Access to information rests on a different right. In 1993 the Supreme Court held that the Right to Information is part of the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).
Option (3) Constitutional status for village panchayats — Incorrect. Constitutional status for panchayats did not come from any court reading of a right. It came through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992, which gave this status to the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Option (4) Primary healthcare and primary education — Correct. The stream case rests on the right to life under Article 21. The courts read 'life' as a life of quality, more than mere animal existence, so the same reading was also used to provide primary healthcare and primary education.
NCERT (2026-27): “Constitutional Norms and Social Justice: Interpretation to Aid Social Justice … |