Article 19 of Indian Constitution: Protection of certain rights regarding Freedom of speech, etc

Original Text of Article 19 of Indian Constitution:

Article 19 (1) All citizens shall have the right-

• to Freedom of speech and expression;
• to assemble peaceably and without arms;
• to form associations or unions 2[or co-operative societies];
• to move freely throughout the territory of India;
• to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; 1[and]
• * * * * * [omitted via 44^th amendment]
• to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

(2) Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the State from making any law in so far as such

the law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause in the interests of 4[the sovereignty and integrity of India], the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order,

decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

(3) Nothing in sub-clause (b) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes or prevents the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or] public order, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause.

(4) Nothing in sub-clause (c) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of 4[the sovereignty and integrity of India or]

public order or morality, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause.

(5) Nothing in [sub-clauses (d) and (e)] of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub-clauses either in the interests of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribe.

(6) Nothing in sub-clause (g) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes or prevents the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the general public, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause, and, in particular, nothing in the said sub-clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in

so far as it relates to, or prevents the State from making any law relating to—

(i) the professional or technical qualifications necessary for practising any profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business, or

(ii) the carrying on by the State, or by a corporation owned or controlled by the State, of any trade, business, industry or service, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens or otherwise.

Article 19 of Indian Constitution Explanation:

Article 19(1) of the Indian Constitution provides six freedoms to Indian citizens, namely:

a. Freedom of speech and expression:

It implies that citizens have the right to express their views, opinions, beliefs and convictions freely through speech, writing, painting, printing, etc.

The Supreme Court has held the following activities as speech and expression under Article 19:

1. Right to propagate other’s view
2. Freedom of press
3. Right against the imposition of pre-censorship on a newspaper
4. Right to telecast
5. Freedom of commercial advertisement
6. Freedom of Silence (Negative right)
7. Right against telephone tapping
8. Right against Bundh called by a political party or organisation (Negative right)
9. Right to demonstration or picketing (but not the right to strike)

Grounds of reasonable restrictions against Freedom of speech [Article 19(2)]:

1. Sovereignty and Integrity of India
2. Security of the State
3. Friendly relations with a foreign state
4. Public order
5. Decency or Morality
6. Contempt of court, defamation
7. Incitement to an offence

b. Freedom to assemble peacefully and without arms:

It includes taking out processes and holding public meetings and demonstrations.

Grounds of reasonable restrictions against assembly [Article 19(3)]:

1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Public order (Includes maintenance of traffic) – For example, this right does not include the right to strike (Industrial laws regulate it).

c. Freedom to form associations, unions or cooperative societies:

It provides the right to form associations, unions, cooperative societies, political parties, companies, societies, clubs, partnership firms, etc.

It also covers the negative right, i.e., the right not to join an association or union. However, the right to obtain recognition of the association or union is not a fundamental right.

Grounds for reasonable restrictions against the formation of association [Article 19(4)]:

1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Public order and morality

d. Freedom to move freely throughout the Indian territory;

It involves the right of intra-state and inter-state movement. The right to move outside of the country is dealt with by Article 21. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Freedom of movement of prostitutes can be confined on the grounds of public health and morality.

Grounds for reasonable restriction against Freedom of movement [Article 19(5)]:

1. The interest of the general public
2. Protection of interest of any scheduled Tribe

e. The Freedom to reside and settle in any part of India:

This right includes:

1. The right to reside in any part of the country, which means to stay at any place temporarily,
2. The right to settle in any part of the country (to set up a home/domicile).

Grounds for reasonable restrictions against Freedom to reside anywhere in India [Article 19(5)]:

1. Interests of the general public – For example, The Supreme Court has held that certain areas can be restricted for habitual offenders and prostitutes.
2. Protection of interests of any scheduled tribes.

f.  [Right to Property]

* It has been repealed by the 44^th Amendment; Currently, the right to property exists as a constitutional right under article 300A, which was inserted via the 44^th Amendment.

g. Freedom to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, business or trade.

The scope of this right is broad and covers all means of livelihood. This right does not include illicit trade or immoral practices. The State can regulate it or completely prohibit it.

However, the State can impose certain conditions, such as:

1. Requirement of professional and technical qualification
2. Exclusion of citizens from any trade, business, industry or service carried out by the State or corporations controlled by the State (State monopoly in such conditions is justified).

[Article 19(6)]: Only one Ground of reasonable restriction is given against Freedom of occupation, i.e. the interest of the general public. For example, a person cannot engage in an immoral profession.

List of Amendments in Article 19 of Indian Constitution:

Amendments	Descriptions
1st Amendment Act,1951	The Amendment introduced new grounds. i.e., friendly relations with foreign states and the incitement of offence and public order.
97th Amendment Act, 2011	The Amendment provided constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies. It added a new section, “The Cooperative Societies” (Article IX-B) and Rights to Form Cooperative societies as a Right to Freedom under Article 19(1).
44th Amendment Act, 1978	In relation to Fundamental Rights, the right to property has been taken off and is now separately mentioned as a legal right under Article 300A of the constitution.
16th Amendment Act, 1963	The Amendment empowers the state to impose additional limitations on the rights to Freedom of speech and expression, to assemble peacefully, & to form associations in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India.

For further Reference:

Read the Constitution of India

Read the Fundamental Rights.

Other Related Links:

Indian Constitution: All Articles and schedules	Article 1 of Indian Constitution
Article 2 of Indian Constitution	Article 3 of Indian Constitution
Article 4 of indian Constitution	Article 5 of Indian Constitution
Fundamental Rights	DPSP
Fundamental Duties	Amendments of the Indian Constitution
Article 18 of Indian Constitution	Article 20 of Indian Constitution