Introduction of the doctrine of basic structure can be considered as an attempt of the Supreme Court of

India to balance the needs of the changing times with the identity of the legal system. It is evident from
the nature of the doctrine that in the absence of the doctrine, Parliament would have been able to wield
all power and had the potential to destroy the identity of the legal system and even to repeal the
Constitution. The basic Structure is at the Heart of the Constitutional Scheme. Part III of the
Constitution is called the cornerstone of Indian democracy. The Preamble is the basic structure of the
Constitution of India. The Preamble says that people are the ultimate authority and the Constitution emerges
from them. The Preamble contains a specified objective that is the basic structure. The Preamble may invoked
to determine the ambit of the fundamental rights , and Directive Principles of States Policy. In Maneka
Gandhi v. Union of India1 the Supreme Court observed: Fundamental rightsweave a pattern of
guarantee on the basic structure of human rights, and impose negative obligations on the State not to
encroach on individual liberty in its various dimensions. The fundamentals of the Indian Constitution
are contained in the Preamble which secures its citizens, Justice, social, economic and political, Liberty
of thought, expression. The Preamble, fundamental rights and directive principles the trinity arc the
conscience of the Constitution. Basic structure doctrine reaffirmed- the Minerva Mills and
Waman Rao cases.

Freedom of expression is more essential in a democratic setup of

State where people are the Sovereign rulers. Iver Jennings said,
Without freedom of speech, the appeal to reason which is the basis of
democracy cannot be made.1 1
Jennings, W.I., Cabinet Government,13. [Cited in Dr. Madhabhusi Sridhar, The
Law of Expression, An Analytical Commentary on Law for Media 18 (Asia Law
House, Hyderabad, 18, (2007)].

This freedom is essential for the proper functioning of the democratic

process.It is regarded as the first condition of liberty. In Prabhu Dutt
V.Union of India The Supreme Court has held that the right to know news
and information regarding administration of the government is included in
the freedom of speech and expression. right to freedom of speech and expression and right
Freedom of speech and
to life and liberty include right to information.

expression could be considered one of the most

fundamental of all freedoms. The citizens right to kno
w the true facts about the administration of a country is one of the vital
ingredients of a democratic State. People can play an important role in
a democracy only if it is an open government where there is full
access to information in regard to functioning of government. The
people of this country have a right to know every public act, every thing that
is done in a public way, by their public functionaries. The people of India declared in
the Preamble of the Constitution, which they gave unto themselves their resolve to secure to all the
citizens liberty of thought and expression. This resolve is reflected in Article 19(1) (a) which is one of the
Articles found in Part III of the Constitution, which enumerates the Fundamental Rights. 2
Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and.. the touch-stone
of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated. While in
Apex Court, Bhagwati, J. had endorsed, Open Government is the new
democratic culture of an open society towards which every liberal democracy
is moving and our country should be no exception.3The concepts of Open
Government and Right to Information are inter-relatable. The viability to
access to Government is the prime criteria in deciding the openness of a
Government. Participation in government by the people is regarded, as an
importantaspect of democracy and peoples desisted from participating in
governmental affairs unless they have information as to what is going on in
the Government. A modern democratic State being answerable and
accountable to its people, the people are entitled to know what policies and
programme, how and why, are being framed and followed by the
Government.
An important feature justifying the openness in governmental activities is
that, being an activist entity, the Government accumulates a vast armory of
powers in a welfare state. Out of this powers, from Defense to Education,
from External Affairs to Poverty Elevation, the Government frames and
implements collective policies and schemes. These powers are used to affect
economic interests and the personal liberty of the individual. Therefore, it is
extremely essential that these powers have to be exercised for public good,
not improperly and for the purposes of which the powers are conferred.
Hence, this objective can be best ensured by giving access to the individual to
Governmental information and not in shrouding in secrecy as to howthe
Government exercises its power in individual cases. Secret Governments and
the corruption in public administration are the real evils of the century. the
Right to Information laws are critical tools in the fight against Corruption. It
enhances transparency. Freedom of information is a fundamental human right
and.. the touch-stone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is
consecrated.

Freedom to air one's view is the lifeline of any democratic institution and any attempt to stifle, suffocate
or gag this right would sound a death knell to democracy and would help usher in autocracy or
dictatorship. Freedom of speech is guaranteed not only by the constitution or statutes of various states
but also by various international conventions like Universal Declaration of Human Rights , European
convention on Human Rights and fundamental freedoms, International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights etc. Freedom of Speech is the bulwark of democratic government. This freedom is essential for
the proper functioning of the democratic process. Freedom of speech is there to protect the right of all
citizens to understand political issues so that they can participate in smooth working of democracy.
People should know what their elected representatives are doing in the
legislature. Also, live telecast of Assembly proceedings alone will put an end
to the acrimonious scenes taking place inside the House.

The authority of the court exists for advancement of justice

& if any attempt is made to abuse that authority so as to produce
injustice, the court has power to prevent abuse. The liberty & property
of any individual are sacred & sacrosanct & the Court zealously
guards them & protects them.The tracking of persons by their IP addresses is potentially
invasive of individuals privacy. In the absence of a culture of strict adherence to the rule of law by the
police apparatus in India, the unbridled ability to track persons through IP addresses has the potential of
becoming an extremely oppressive tool of surveillance. The police conducted the physical search and
seizure of the two offices on the authorization of the Honble Speaker without a valid warrant
from a magistrate, judge or a court as per the facts given which is not valid as per Section 93 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. the elements of the crime have not been met because
the necessary state of mind for criminal activity was not present. direction for investigation can be
given only if an offence is, primafacie, found to have been committed or a person's involvement is prima
facie established,but a direction to police to investigate whether any person has committed an offence
or not cannot be legally given. Such a direction would be contrary to the concept and philosophy
of"LIFE" and "LIBERTY" guaranteed to a person under Article 21 of the Constitution. Moreover the
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly does not have the power under Art. 178 to issue such
authorization for search and seizure as the speaker in his capacity as presiding officer has the
power to only regulate the proceedings of the house and is equipped with disciplinary powers.
The fact that the official computer of Mr. Ozan has been used to access various website
containing child pornographic clips and store the same through an Internet file-sharing program
does not explicitly show that he used it to view only child porn clips as . Numerous adult porn
websites do contain in them a category of child porn that does not mean it only consist of child
porn as well as having a variety of categories of adult porn. the Right to Privacy is considered a
penumbral right under the Constitution i.e. a right that has been declared by the Supreme Court as
integral to the Fundamental Right to Life and Liberty. The right to privacy is implicit in the right to life
and liberty guaranteed to the citizens of this country by Article 21. It is a right to be let alone.

A men vs women conflict is disheartening to watch. The NMA appealed to The Supreme Court for
what they think is their democratic right, ie to participate in elections. Although equality of the sexes is
enshrined in the Indian constitution, it is not a social reality. Therefore, vigorous affirmative action was
needed to improve the condition of women. The womens struggle in Nagaland shows that like
other places and societies, the demands of political and economic rights, in this case womens
equality, often bring out the contradictions existing in a society. Reservation for women is
necessary in patriarchal societies like Naga society, for instance, where there is a historical culture of
inequalities as Naga customs, culture and traditions preclude women from inheriting land and
participating in the decision-making process, which is exactly what Article 371(A) protects and is
All male tribal bodies have been against the 33% rese
unconstitutional.
rvation for women in urban local bodies (ULBs) in Nagaland. Women in
Nagaland have been fighting for representation in municipal and town councils. In almost every
instance, communities and their leaders have chosen to sacrifice the
rights of women to safeguard patriarchal practices. Time and again
womens movements in India have confronted issues of community
identity vs the rights of women. Various tribal bodies, including the
Naga Hoho, have called for a boycott to oppose 33 per cent
reservation for women It's is a direct confrontation between articles
243 (D) which gives 33 per cent reservation for women and 371 (A),
which gives special status to the Nagaland State. The NMA argues
that article 243(T) of the Constitution, which provides for 33%
womens reservation in municipal bodies, applies to Nagaland as well.
No woman has ever been elected to the state assembly in over 53
years of Nagalands existence as a state. Most of the tribal bodies
which act as the custodians of tribal culture and traditions are
dominated by men.The property and inheritance rights are highly
skewed against women Towns and municipalities are new concepts
and have nothing to do with tradition and customary practices of the
Nagas. Greater participation of women in the political process would
be a pre condition for their economic and social emancipation. We will
need adequate representation of all genders to make decision making
bodies that are capable of doing good for all. Among 193 countries
ranked by Inter Parliamentary Union, Indias lower house stands at a
poor 145 in terms of womens representation. Reservation for women is necessary
in patriarchal societies like Naga society Denial of womens rights cannot and
shouldnt be an option in a progressive society. ULBs are not part of
traditional Naga society and adherence to their laws does not bypass
any fundamental right of the citizens. Infusing modern ideas while
keeping the Naga customs intact, to promote gender equality and
emancipation of women Women will be mens equals only if
incompetent women could hold important jobs just like men
did.