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UPPCS Polity Gap Sheet: Rights, Directive Principles and Duties.

UPPCS has asked 31 of these. 1 have not been asked yet. Lock the first list, then read the second: it holds what UPPCS has not used yet.

First, the concept

Rights are limits on the State and can be taken to court (Article 32). Directive Principles are goals for the State and cannot be enforced in court (Article 37), yet they guide laws. Duties are for citizens (Article 51A).

Some rights are for citizens only (15, 16, 19, 29, 30); the rest are for every person. Articles 20 and 21 stay alive even in an Emergency (44th Amendment).

✅ Already asked (31)

Fundamental Rights

  • Article 12 and 13 · Definition of 'State'; laws against rights are void (judicial review)
  • Article 14 · Equality before law and equal protection of laws
  • Article 15 and 16 · No discrimination; equal opportunity in public jobs
  • Article 17 · Untouchability abolished
  • Article 18 · Titles abolished (military and academic allowed)
  • Article 19 · Six freedoms (originally seven; property removed)
  • Article 20 · No ex post facto law, no double jeopardy, no self-incrimination
  • Article 21 · Life and personal liberty; widened by Maneka Gandhi (1978) and Puttaswamy (privacy, 2017)
  • Article 21A · Free and compulsory education, 6–14 years (86th Amendment)
  • Article 22 · Protection against arrest; preventive detention
  • Article 23 and 24 · No forced labour or trafficking; no child labour under 14 in factories
  • Article 25–28 · Freedom of religion
  • Article 29 and 30 · Culture; minorities' right to run schools
  • Article 32 · Constitutional remedies; Ambedkar: 'heart and soul of the Constitution'

Writs

  • Habeas Corpus · 'Produce the body'; against unlawful detention, even by private persons
  • Mandamus · 'We command'; orders a public official to do a duty
  • Prohibition · Higher court stops a lower court from exceeding jurisdiction
  • Certiorari · 'To be certified'; quashes a lower court's order
  • Quo Warranto · 'By what authority?'; challenges a person holding a public office

Directive Principles

  • Article 37 · Not enforceable in court, but fundamental to governance
  • Article 39 · Livelihood, fair distribution of wealth, equal pay for equal work
  • Article 39A · Free legal aid (42nd Amendment)
  • Article 40 · Organise village panchayats
  • Article 43 and 43B · Living wage, cottage industries; co-operatives (97th)
  • Article 44 · Uniform Civil Code
  • Article 45 · Early childhood care and education below six (after the 86th)
  • Article 47 · Nutrition, public health; prohibition of intoxicating drinks
  • Article 48 and 48A · Agriculture and animal husbandry, cow slaughter; environment and wildlife (42nd)
  • Article 49, 50, 51 · Monuments; separation of judiciary from executive; international peace

Fundamental Duties

  • Article 51A, Part IVA · Added by the 42nd Amendment (1976), on the Swaran Singh Committee's advice
  • Ten duties, now eleven · The 11th (51A(k)), on parents to educate children 6–14, came with the 86th (2002)

❌ Not asked yet (1)

🔒 1 items not asked yet

Fundamental Duties: 1

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⚠️ Article 21A is a Fundamental Right; Article 45 is now only about children under six. Equal pay for equal work is a Directive Principle (39), not a Fundamental Right. Fundamental Duties came from the USSR and are not enforceable in court.

'Asked' and 'not asked' are checked against every UPPCS question on this site. 'Not asked yet' does not mean it will surely come.

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