Article 14 – Equal protection of laws and Equality before law:
- According to Article 14, the State should not deny anyone equality before the law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
- With regard to Article 14, no one can be punished except for violating the law.
- The law should maintain equal loyalty among all rich or poor citizens.
- The Supreme Court held that Article 14 is a fundamental feature of the Constitution, which means that it cannot be destroyed even by amendment.
Exceptions:
- The President of India and the Governor of the States enjoy the following immunity under Article 361.
- They shall not be liable to any court for the execution and performance of their official powers and duties.
- No criminal proceedings will be instituted during their tenure and no arrest or imprisonment will be imposed by any court during their tenure.
- No civil proceedings will be instituted against them during their tenure until the expiry of two months after the notice is sent to them.
- No person shall be liable for any civil or criminal proceedings in any court of law relating to a newspaper or radio or television publication under Article 361A.
- The member of Parliament shall not be liable to any trial in any Court in respect of the vote cast in Parliament under Article 105.
- No member of the State Legislature is not liable for any trial in any court of law relating to a vote cast in the Legislature under Article 105.
- The Supreme Court held that Article 31C was an exception to Article 14 and that it would where article 31 C comes in article 14 goes out.
- Foreign rulers; Ambassadors, diplomats, UNO and its agencies have an exception from criminal and civil proceedings.
Article 15 – Prohibition of Discrimination:
- Article 15 gives that the State will not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
Exceptions:
- The State is allowed to make any special provision for women, children, socially-educationally backward classes, and SC-ST classes.
Article 16 – Equality in public employment:
- Article 16 gives equivalent opportunities for all individuals in the country with respect to employment in any office of the central or State.
Exceptions:
- The State may make reservations for any appointments and posts of Central or State departments in favor of any backward classes.
Article 17 – Abolition of Untouchability:
- Article 17 eliminates untouchability and prohibits its practice in any form, and it is a punishable offence under the law.
- In 1976, the untouchability offences act 1955 has been thoroughly amended and renamed the protection of the Civil Rights Act 1955.
- A person convicted of a crime of untouchability is disqualified from being elected to Parliament or the State Legislature.
- Anyone found guilty of untouchability faces up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 500 or both.
Article 18 – Abolition of Titles:
- Article 18 prohibits the state from awarding any title to any citizen or foreigner except for military or educational distinction, and It also prohibits an Indian citizen from accepting any title from any foreign state.
- Article 18 prohibits certain titles mentioned below, especially Maharaja, Raj Bahadur, Roy Bahadur, Rai Sahib, Dewan Bahadur, etc.
- With regard to national awards, the Supreme Court upheld in 1996, that Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards are not the same as titles. However, it also ruled that the names of award recipients should not be used as suffixes or prefixes, otherwise they would lose the awards.