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UPSC Prelims 2017 · Polity · Directive Principles & Duties
Which of the following statements is/are true of the Fundamental Duties of an Indian citizen?
- A legislative process has been provided to enforce these duties.
- They are correlative to legal duties.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
No built-in enforcement, and not correlative to legal duties.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ WRONG The Constitution provides no mechanism to enforce Art. 51A. Parliament may enforce individual duties through ordinary laws (e.g. the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971), but no special process is laid down.
2. ✗ WRONG They are moral and civic obligations. They are not the legal counterpart of any right, and a citizen cannot be sued simply for not performing one.
The idea
Courts still use the duties: to judge whether a law is “reasonable” (a law giving effect to a duty is likely reasonable under Arts. 14/19), and as an interpretive aid. That is different from enforcing them directly.
Why the others are wrong
(a) No enforcement process is written into the Constitution.
(b) Fundamental Duties are non-justiciable moral obligations, not correlative legal duties.
(c) Both claims make the duties legally binding, which they are not.
The trap
Some duties are backed by separate laws, which makes “a legislative process has been provided” sound true. No process is provided in the Constitution itself.
🔒 Fundamental Duties: non-justiciable · no enforcement machinery in the Constitution · Parliament may give them effect by ordinary law.
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