Fundamental Rights are a set of constitutional provisions, enshrined as a concept in Part III of the Constitution of India from Article 12 to Article 35, guaranteeing basic human freedoms and civil liberties to all citizens and, in some cases, all persons. The concept originated from the Indian independence movement, which sought to establish a justiciable code of rights to protect individuals from arbitrary state action, drawing inspiration from documents like the United States Bill of Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Early demands for such rights were seen in the Swaraj Bill, 1895, and the Nehru Report, 1928.
The mechanism of Fundamental Rights is that they are justiciable, meaning a person can directly approach the Supreme Court under Article 32 or a High Court under Article 226 for their enforcement. Article 13 establishes the principle of judicial review, declaring that any law made by the State that takes away or abridges these rights shall be void. The six categories of rights include the Right to Equality (Articles 14–18), the Right to Freedom (Articles 19–22), and the Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32).
A key connection is the Basic Structure Doctrine, established in the landmark judgment of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), which ruled that while Parliament can amend Fundamental Rights, it cannot alter the Constitution's basic structure. A significant change occurred with the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978, which abolished the Right to Property (formerly Article 31) as a Fundamental Right, converting it into a legal right under Article 300A. More recently, the 86th Amendment Act, 2002, inserted Article 21A, making the Right to Education for children between six and fourteen years a Fundamental Right. The core principle of protecting individual liberty against state tyranny has remained constant.