Supreme Court : Article 21-A (Right To Elementary Education )

Supreme Court : Article 21-A (Right To Elementary Education )

The power  of the Supreme Court of India to enforce these fundamental rights is derived from Article 32 of the Constitution. It gives citizens the right to directly approach the Supreme Court for seeking remedies against the violation of these fundamental rights.
This entitlement to constitutional remedies is itself a fundamental right and can be enforced in the form of  writs evolved in common law – such as habeas corpus (to direct the release of a person detained unlawfully), mandamus (to direct a public authority to do its duty),  quo warranto (to
direct a person to vacate an office assumed wrongfully),  prohibition (to prohibit a lower court from proceeding on a case) and certiorari (power of the higher court to remove a proceeding from a lower court and bring it before itself). Besides the Supreme Court, the High Courts located in the
various States are also designated  as constitutional courts and Article 226 permits citizens to file similar writs before the High Courts. 

With the advent of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in recent decades, Article 32 has been creatively interpreted to shape innovative remedies such as a ‘continuing mandamus’ for ensuring that executive  agencies comply with judicial directions. In this category of litigation, judges have also imported private law remedies such as ‘injunctions’ and ‘stay orders’ into what are essentially public law-related matters.

Successful challenges against statutory provisions result in reliefs such as the striking down of
statutes or even reading down of statutes, the latter implying that courts reject a particular approach to the  interpretation of a statutory provision rather than rejecting the provision in its entirety

The court has also recognized access to free education as a justiciable right. This decision prompted a Constitutional amendment which inserted Article 21-A into the Constitutional text, thereby guaranteeing the right to elementary education for children aged between 6-14 years. The Courts have
also pointed to Directive principles in interpreting the  prohibitions against forced labour and child labour. The enforcement of these rights leaves a lot to be desired, but the symbolic value of their constitutional status should not be underestimated. 

Source : http://www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in/speeches/speeches_2009/judicial_activism_tcd_dublin_14-10-09.pdf
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THE CONSTITUTION (EIGHTY-SIXTH AMENDMENT) ACT, 2002
[12th December, 2002.]

2. Insertion of new article 21A.- After article 21 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely:-
Right to education.-
 "21A. The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such
manner as the State may, by law, determine.".

Source : http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend86.htm