Are Courts Considered State Under Article 12 Of The Constitution of India?
- Bhumitra Dubey, DNLU, Jabalpur
- September 22, 2020
Content :
The Constitution of India guarantees certain fundamental rights to the citizens of India in part III, which is referred to as the “Magna Carta of the Constitution”. These guaranteed rights under the Constitution of India are to be protected by the State, and in case the State fails, the citizens are given the right to claim them by way of filing a writ petition against the State. The concept of State has been discussed by many political thinkers and defined in different ways indifferent pieces of political and legal literature. After considering all the views, the Constitution makers drafted the definition of State and mentioned it in Article 12 of the Constitution. Subsequent judicial decisions have expanded the scope of the definition from time to time. The judiciary has interpreted the term ‘other authorities’ mentioned in the definition of State widely in several cases. So, it is very important to understand the scope of the definition of \'State \'for ascertaining the protection of these fundamental rights. However, this research paper only attempts to explore one fundamental question: Can the Judiciary come under the ambit of \'State\'?
This research paper is divided into five parts. Part I deals with the meaning, scope and interpretation of Article 12 pertaining to the Judiciary. Part II discusses whether it is necessary to include Judiciary under the State? Part III deals with the question of whether the State includes Judiciary or not? Part IV provides the recommendations and critical analysis. Lastly, Part V provides the conclusion of the article.
