Article 21 is a foundational provision in Part III of the Constitution of India, guaranteeing the fundamental right to the protection of life and personal liberty to every person, including non-citizens. The exact text states: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."
The provision was debated in the Constituent Assembly as Draft Article 15 on December 6 and 13, 1948. Initially, in A.K. Gopalan v. The State of Madras (1950), the Supreme Court adopted a narrow interpretation, holding that "procedure established by law" meant any law enacted by the legislature. This was problematic as it allowed for potentially arbitrary laws. The scope was radically transformed in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978), where the Court ruled that the procedure established by law must be "fair, just and reasonable," effectively introducing the American concept of due process of law.
The mechanism works as a negative restraint on the State, ensuring that any deprivation of life or liberty must follow a non-arbitrary and reasonable legal procedure. The judicial interpretation of "life" has been expansively broadened to include the right to live with human dignity, the right to livelihood, health, and a clean environment.
Article 21 is intrinsically connected to Article 14 (Equality) and Article 19 (Freedoms), forming the "golden triangle" of fundamental rights. A significant change was the insertion of Article 21A by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002, which mandates free and compulsory education for children aged six to fourteen years. Furthermore, the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978, ensured that the enforcement of Article 21 cannot be suspended even during an Emergency. The core text of the provision remains the same, but its scope continues to expand, as seen in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017), which recognized the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21.