Q189
Indian PolityCitizenship, Emergency & Special Provisions
Which Fundamental Rights cannot be suspended during a National Emergency under Article 359?
- a.Articles 19 and 32
- b.Articles 14 and 15
- c.Articles 20 and 21
- d.All are right.
Answer: (C) Articles 20 and 21
Article 359 empowers the President, during a National Emergency, to suspend the right to move courts for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights named in the order, except Articles 20 (protection in respect of conviction for offences) and 21 (life and personal liberty). This exception was added by the 44th Amendment, 1978, in reaction to ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976), in which the Supreme Court had upheld the suspension of habeas corpus during the Emergency. Compare Article 358, under which Article 19 is suspended automatically, but only when the emergency is declared on the ground of war or external aggression. So Articles 19, 32, 14 and 15 (options A, B) can all be affected, and D is wrong.