Restrictions imposed on your freedom by government
Answers
Answer:
The Constitution of India provides the right of freedom, given in article 19 with the view of guaranteeing individual rights that were considered vital by the framers of the constitution. The right to freedom in Article 19 guarantees the freedom of speech and expression, as one of its six freedoms.
Answer:
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures“ is a saying oft-quoted to justify measures that evoke introspective instincts in the citizens. In emergent situations, there is no gainsaying that measures also ought to be emergent and rightly so.
A distinction, however, has to be carefully drawn and understood between extraordinary measures and extra-constitutional measures. The former can be sustained only as long as it does not militate against the latter.
Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, the government has ordered a nationwide lockdown and the citizens have moved into a state of virtual house arrest. Whereas there is no question on the imminence of ordering a lockdown in the present factual scenario, the nature, extent, and scope of the lockdown ought to be put to a legal scrutiny. Why is it important?
Primarily speaking, a lockdown is an all-pervasive order involving restrictions upon a bundle of civil liberties. The freedom of movement, freedom to carry on profession, trade or occupation of choice, and freedom to reside in any part of the country constitute the first layer of curbs in a lockdown.
The second layer of curbs is born out of instances of extravagance while implementing the first layer, thereby leading to a direct violation of the otherwise faceless right to life and personal liberty, as argued later.
What makes this scrutiny of lockdown to be of utmost importance is the fact that the power of state to order a lockdown and rights of citizens to resist disproportionate curbs on their civil liberties are both born out of the same document, the “holy document” in words of Justice Rohinton Nariman. The examination, thus, lies within the Constitution of India.
It is pertinent to note that the guidelines restricting freedom of trade/occupation/profession have been framed under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Notably, these guidelines do not put a direct restriction on the freedom of movement. The movement of citizens is restricted through a web of executive orders passed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 coupled with the addendum issued by the Home Ministry and read with the colonial era Epidemic Diseases Act.
It is important, at this juncture, to note that the nature of lockdown varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, depending largely on the perception of the government as regards the ingredients of civic life in the country.
For example, during the lockdown, Italy allows citizens to exercise alone nearby the house; France allows outdoor exercise, walk within 1 km and taking dog out for walk; UK allows any one form of exercise (walking or bicycling). I am not inclined to argue whether India should allow such concessions too, because such decisions are largely driven by civic behavior, coupled with multiple other factors.