What is Right to Equality? With Article 14 Explained

Every citizen of India is guaranteed the right to be treated equally under Articles 14 to 18 of the Constitution. Article 14 encapsulates the general standards of equality. The idea of equality does not talk about outright equality among individuals which is practically unrealistic to achieve. It is an idea implying the absence of any extraordinary benefit by reason of birth or the like for any individual.

As Dr Jennings puts it: “Equality before the law implies that among equivalents the law ought to be equivalent and ought to be similarly applied, that ought to be dealt with in a like manner. The privilege to sue and be sued, to prosecute and be prosecuted for a similar sort of activity ought to be the same for all residents of full age and comprehension without refinements of race, religion, wealth, societal position or political impact.”

Equality Before Law

This implies that no man is authorized to stray from the rules that everyone else follows and that each individual, whatever be his position in society or conditions, is subject to the purview of the ordinary jurisdiction. Professor Dicey provided three meanings of the Rule of Law:

• Supremacy of the Law:

This provision means that under no circumstances can the use of power exercised arbitrarily overshadow the supremacy of the law. To put it differently, it is also said that a person can be punished for nothing other than a breach of law.

• Equality Before the Law:

It implies all classes are subjected to the ordinary rule administered by ordinary law courts and that everyone must follow.

Right to Equality Under Article 14

According to Article 14, it is a compulsion to the State not to deny to any person equality before the law or equal protection of laws within the territory of India. The concept of ‘equality before the law’ is taken from the English Constitution and the concept of ‘equal protection of laws’ is borrowed from the American Constitution. Both these articulations aim at setting up what is designated “equality of status” in the Preamble of the Constitution. While both the articulations may appear to be impossible to tell apart, they don’t generally pass on a similar significance. While ‘equality before the law’ is, to some degree a negative idea suggesting the lack of any special benefit for people and the equal subject of all classes to the conventional law. “Equal protection of the law” is an increasingly positive idea inferring equality of treatment in equal conditions. Notwithstanding the aforementioned things, one overwhelming thought regular to both the articulations is that of providing justice.

Exceptions to the Rule of Law

The rule of equality given in the Constitution of India is not a standard rule without any exceptions. There are a number of special exceptions to it: Firstly, ‘equality before the law’ isn’t implying that the powers that are given to the public authorities will be the same as the powers given to the private citizens of the nation. To explain this better, we know that, a cop has the ability to arrest while, generally, no private individual possesses this power. This isn’t an infringement of the rule of law. In any case, the rule of law requires that these forces ought to be unmistakably characterized by the law and the maltreatment of power by public officials must be punished by common courts in a similar way as unlawful acts committed by private people.

Underlying Principle

Equality before the law or equal protection of the laws does not mean a similar treatment to everybody. As no two individuals are equal in all regards, a similar treatment of them in each regard would bring about unequal treatment to them. For instance, similar treatment in all regards to a young person and a grown-up, or to a debilitated or physically impaired individual as to a person free of any health problems, or to an affluent individual as to a poor person, will bring about unequal treatment or treatment which no one will legitimize or endorse.

As a result, the basic standard of equality isn’t the uniformity of treatment to all things considered equal, but instead to give them similar treatment in those regards where they are comparable and different treatment in those areas in which they are not alike. Basically, it is expressed: Equals are to be dealt with in a similar manner while unequal must be dealt with in a different way. For the real-life application of the principle of equality, all things considered, we should, consequently, discriminate between the individuals who are equivalent and the individuals who are not similar.

Despite the fact that no two individuals are comparable in all regards, they are for the most part comparative in one regard, in particular, they are generally human beings. In this manner, as people require a similar treatment, they should all be treated as people. In the Ancient Indian setting, as much as in Christianity and Islam, regardless of whether we are created from various pieces of the body of that first individual or God, we are for the most part God’s children. It is in this aspect that we are all deemed as equals.

Under Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India, the meaning of equality is not just limited to prohibiting unequal treatment but also requires equal treatment. A prerequisite obligation for the state is to treat people unequally but in addition to that the state must also come up with steps to eliminate the existing inequalities in the system especially the inequalities which demarcate human beings.

The varying needs of various classes of people regularly require to be given separate treatment. From the very idea of society, there ought to be various laws in place and the Legislature controls the strategy and orders laws to the greatest advantage of the wellbeing and security of the State.