VidBodh AcademyThe art and science of civil services preparation
Student login

Polity and Governance › Constitution and rights

हिन्दी — Read in Hindi

Freedoms, privacy and personal liberty (Articles 19 to 22)

Articles 19 to 22: the freedoms of the citizen, the right to life and personal liberty that protects every person, the rights the courts have read into it, and the safeguards on arrest and detention.

Foundation note: The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023

Showing 5 of 9 articles, those that changed from 1 July to 30 September 2026.Show all

Right to protest and crowd control

Copy link to Right to protest and crowd control

Mains

Article 19(1)(a) and (b) protect the freedom of speech and the right to assemble peaceably and without arms, subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order.

What changed

  1. 22 Jul 2026Briefnewly addedThe Chalo Sansad march in Delhi on 20 July revived the debate on the limits of policing a peaceful assembly. The use of pellet guns and shock batons, and an internet suspension, raised the question of the minimum necessary force. Disability rights and doctors' groups asked for a ban on pellet guns and electric shock weapons for all police forces. The Hindu, 22 Jul 2026: Why are pellet guns used as a non-lethal crowd control measure? | Explained (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 24 Jul 2026: Ban use of pellet guns, electric shock batons by all police forces: disability rights outfits (opens in a new tab)

Vande Mataram and the national honour law

Copy link to Vande Mataram and the national honour law

Prelims and Mains

LeadVande Mataram and the national honour lawJuly 2026

Why in news

Parliament passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which extends to the national song, Vande Mataram, the protection that the 1971 Act gives the National Anthem. The Rajya Sabha passed it on 29 July and the Lok Sabha on 30 July 2026.

Background

  • The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 punishes insult to the National Flag and the Constitution, and the intentional prevention of the singing of the National Anthem.
  • Vande Mataram was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and appears in his novel Anandamath.
  • On 24 January 1950 the Constituent Assembly recorded that the song would be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana.
  • Until 2026 the song had no protection in criminal law.

What the amendment does

  • It becomes an offence to intentionally prevent the singing of Vande Mataram, or to disturb an assembly engaged in singing it.
  • The punishment is imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine, or both.
  • The song now stands on the same footing in criminal law as the anthem.

The constitutional questions

  • Is silence an offence? The text punishes prevention and disturbance. It does not say that a person who declines to sing commits an offence.
  • Freedom of speech includes the freedom not to speak, and Article 25 protects conscience.
  • Fundamental duty: Article 51A(a) asks citizens to respect the Constitution, the National Flag and the National Anthem. It does not name the national song.
  • Vagueness: the Act does not define the national song, and a penal law in vague words can chill lawful conduct.
  • The government's case: equal honour, recorded in 1950, should carry equal protection in law.

Cases to cite

  • Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986): students who stood respectfully but did not sing the anthem, for reasons of faith, were protected by Articles 19(1)(a) and 25.
  • Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015): a penal provision in vague terms is unconstitutional because it chills free speech.
  • Shyam Narayan Chouksey v. Union of India (2018): playing the anthem in cinema halls was made optional.

The way forward

  • Read the offence narrowly: obstruction and disturbance, never abstention.
  • Issue clear guidance to the police, so that the law is not used against those who stay silent.
  • Promote respect for national symbols through education, which serves the purpose better than prosecution.

Prelims facts

  • The Act is of 1971; it covers the flag, the Constitution, the anthem and now the national song.
  • Article 51A(a) names the Constitution, the flag and the anthem, not the song.
  • Vande Mataram is from *Anandamath, by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
  • Maximum punishment: three years, or fine, or both.

Open the lead on its own page

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 punishes insult to the National Flag and the Constitution, and the intentional prevention of the singing of the National Anthem.

What changed

  1. 30 Jul 2026LeadVande Mataram and the national honour law

  2. 6 Aug 2026Briefnewly addedThe Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026 was published in the Gazette on 6 August as Act No. 11 of 2026, after the President's assent. Gazette of India, 6 Aug 2026: The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act No. 11 of 2026), text via LiveLaw (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 11 Aug 2026: President Murmu gives assent to Bill criminalising insult to Vande Mataram (opens in a new tab)

  3. 22 Sep 2026newly added

    • On 22 September the Supreme Court told the Union it expected no criminal consequences for a person who does not sing Vande Mataram, in whole or in part, for reasons of religion or conscience.
    • It will examine the amended Section 3 against the fundamental rights, on a petition that also notes that the Act does not define the national song.

    The Hindu, 22 Sep 2026: Supreme Court says state can set National Song, but cannot impose conscientious objectors to penal action (opens in a new tab) · LiveLaw, 22 Sep 2026: We expect no criminal consequences on person not singing Vande Mataram for religious reasons: Supreme Court to Centre (opens in a new tab)

Preventive detention and the right to represent

Copy link to Preventive detention and the right to represent

Prelims

Article 22(5) requires that a person held under a preventive detention law be told the grounds of detention and be given the earliest opportunity to make a representation against it.

What changed

  1. 31 Aug 2026Briefnewly addedIn Alfiya A. v. State of Kerala the Supreme Court held that failing to inform a detenu of the right to make a representation violates Article 22(5). Such a failure renders the detention illegal, even if a representation was sent independently. LiveLaw, 31 Aug 2026: Supreme Court monthly roundup, August 2026 (opens in a new tab)

The High Level Committee on Demographic Changes: its questionnaire to States

Copy link to The High Level Committee on Demographic Changes: its questionnaire to States

Mains

The High Level Committee on Demographic Changes was set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 26 May 2026.

What changed

  1. 28 Sep 2026Briefnewly addedIt sent States 35 questions seeking data by religion for the past 15 years. The legal point: the State may collect personal data only by law, for a legitimate aim and in proportion (K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, 2017). The Hindu, 28 Sep 2026: States stumped as demography panel seeks religion-wise data on vehicles, schools, voters (opens in a new tab)

Preventive detention under the National Security Act

Copy link to Preventive detention under the National Security Act

Prelims and Mains

The National Security Act, 1980 allows a person to be detained without trial to prevent acts prejudicial to security or public order.

What changed

  1. 29 Sep 2026Briefnewly addedOn 29 September 2026 the Supreme Court quashed a detention and held that a confession to the police cannot alone justify detention. It held that using the Act to defeat a bail order is punitive, and imposed ₹10 lakh costs on the State. LiveLaw, 29 Sep 2026: Supreme Court daily round up, September 29, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Also filed elsewhere

Download a copy

Every article on this page, in full.