ConceptOfSoci

alJust
iceUnderI
ndi
anConst
it
uti
on

Theconstit
uti
onofIndiawasadoptedonNov ember26,1949.Someprovisionoft
heconst
ituti
on
cameintoforceonsamedaybutt heremai
ningprovi
sionsoftheconst
it
utioncameint
oforceon
January26,1950.Thi
sdayisref
erredtot
heconstit
uti
onast he“dat
eofit
scommencement ” ,
and
cel
ebratedastheRepubli
cDay.

TheIndianConsti
tut
ionisuni
queinitscontent
sandspiri
t.Throughborrowedf
rom almostever
y
consti
tuti
onoftheworld,t
heconsti
tuti
onofIndiahasseveral
salientf
eatur
est
hatdisti
ngui
shit
fr
om theconsti
tuti
onsofothercountr
ies.

Dr.Bhi mr aoAmbedkar ,waschai rmanoft hedr af t

ingcommi tt
ee.Hewast hef irstLawMi nisterof
theIndia.Hecont inuedt hecr usadef orsoci al r
ev aluationunt iltheendofhi sl i
feont he6t h
December1956.Hewashonour edwi tht hehi ghestnat ional honour ,’Bhar atRat na’inApr i
l 1990.
B.R.Ambedkarwasaf fect i
onatelycalledBabaSahebAmbedkar .
Bhar atRat naBabasahebDr .B.R.Ambedkar ,theChi efAr chitectofConst i
tutionofI ndia,isthe
manofmi l
l
enni um f orsoci al j
ustice,i
nt hesenset hathebecamet hedel i
vererofort heMessi ah
oftheDal it
s, theer stwhi leuntouchabl es,Ot herBackwar dCl asses( OBCs) ,andwomen,
const i
tuting95%ofHi ndupopul ation.Thatbi gsegmentofpopul ationhadbeenf orcedt oliveata
sub-humanl ev elfrom t imei mmemor ial
,undercast esy st em, sanctionedbyHi nduscr i
ptures.He
wast hemanofmi llenni um forsoci alj
ustice,sincehewast hef ir
stmani nhi storytosuccessf ul
ly
l
eadat iradeofsecur ingsoci al j
usticetot hev astsect i
onsofI ndi
anhumani t
y ,withthehel pofa
l
aw, whi chpr actical l
yr epealedt heconcer nedpor ti
onsofHi nduscr iptur es.
Dr.Ambedkari st hemanofmi ll
ennium forsoci aljustice, si
ncehewast hef i
rstmani nhistoryt o
successf ullyl eadat i
radeofsecur i
ngsoci al t
ot hev astsect ionsofI ndianhumani t
y,witht hehel p
ofal aw. Dr .Ambedkarwast hemanwhot riedt ot urnt heWheel oft heLawt owar dsoci al
j
usticef oral l
.Hehasst rongf ervortoat t
ai nsoci aljusticeamongt heI ndianCommuni t
iesf orthi
s
purposehebeganhi sv ocati
on.

Atthetimeofindependence,
theconstit
uti
onmaker
swerehi
ghlyinf
luencedbyt
hefeel
ingof
social
equali
tyandsocialj
usti
ce.Forthesamer
eason,
theyi
ncorpor
atedsuchprov
isi
onsint
he
consti
tuti
onofIndi
a.Theseareasf ol
l
ows–

Thewords,“Social
i
st”,
“secular
”,“
democrati
c”and“republ
i
c”havebeeni
nsertedi
nt hepreamble.
Whichr
eflectsit
’sfr
om asa“ soci
alwel
farestat
e.”Theexpressi
on“
soci
ali
st”wasintent
ional
l
y
i
ntr
oducedint hePreamble.
[2]

TheConst ituti
onofI ndiahassolemnl ypromi sedtoalli
tsciti
zensj ustices-
social,economicand
poli
tical
;li
ber t
yoft houghtexpr
ession, bel
ief,fai
thandwor ship; equali
tyofstat
usandof
oppor t
unity
; andt opromoteamongt heall f
raterni
tyassuri
ngt hedi gni
t yoft
hei ndivi
dualandthe
unit
yoft henat ion.TheConstit
utionhasat t
empt edtoattunet heappar entl
yconf l
icti
ngclai
msof
socio-economi cjusti
ceandofi ndiv
idual l
ibertyandfundament alri
ghtsbyput t
ingsomer el
evant
provisi
ons.

Arti
cle19enshri
nesthefundament alri
ghtsofthecit
izensofthi
scountry.Theseven
sub-cl
ausesofArti
cle19(1)guaranteetheciti
zenssevendif
fer
entkindsoffreedom and
recognizet
hem asthei
rfundament alri
ghts.Art
icl
e19consideredasawhol efurni
shesavery
sati
sfactor
yandrati
onalbasisforadjusti
ngtheclaimsofindi
vi
dualright
soff r
eedom andthe
clai
msofpublicgood.

Arti
cles23and24pr ov
ideforfundament
alright
sagai
nstexpl
oit
ation.Art
icl
e24,inpart
icular
,
prohi
bitsanempl oyerfr
om empl oy
ingachil
dbelowtheageof14y earsinanyfactor
yormi neor
i
nanyot herhazar
dousempl oyment.Ar
ti
cle31makesaspecifi
cprov i
sioni
nr egar
dtothe
fundamental
rightt
opr
oper
tyanddeal
swi
tht
hev
exedpr
obl
em ofcompul
sor
yacqui
sit
ionof
proper
ty.

Arti
cle38r equir
esthatthestateshouldmakeanef forttopr omotethewel f
areofthepeopleby
securi
ngandpr otect
ingaseffecti
vel
yasi tmayasoci al orderinwhichjusti
cesocial
,economic
andpol i
ti
cal shal
linf
orm al
ltheinsti
tut
ionsofnat i
onallife.Arti
cle39clause(a)saysthatthe
Stateshallsecurethattheoperati
onoft hel
egal syst
em pr omot esjust
ice,onabasisofequal
opportunit
y,andshal l
,i
nparti
cularprovi
defreelegalaid, bysuitabl
elegisl
ati
onorschemes, ori
n
anyotherway ,t
oensurethatopportuni
tiesforsecuri
ngj usticearenotdeniedtoanyci t
izenby
reasonofeconomi corotherdisabi
li
ti
es.

Ar t
icle41r ecognizesev eryci ti
zen’sr ightt owor k,toeducat i
onandt opubl i
cassi st
ancei ncases
ofunempl oy ment ,
oldage, sickness&di sabl ementandi not hercasesofundeser vedwant .
Ar t
icle42st ressest hei mpor tanceofsecur ingj ustandhumanecondi tionsofwor kandf or
mat er nit
yr elief.Arti
cl e43hol dsbef or et hewor kingpopul at i
ont hei deal oft hel i
v i
ngwageand
Ar t
icle46emphasi zest heimpor t
anceoft hepr omot ionofeducat ional andeconomi cint
erestsof
schedul ecast es,schedul et ri
besandot herweakersect i
ons.
Thesoci al problem pr esent edbyt heexi stenceofav erylargenumberofci tizenswhoar e
treatedasunt ouchabl eshasr eceivedt hespeci al at
tent i
onoft heConst ituti
onasAr ticl
e15( 1)
prohi bitsdi scriminationont hegr oundsofr el i
gion,race,cast e,sex, orpl aceofbi r
th.Thest at
e
woul dbeent i
tledtomakespeci alpr ovisionsf orwomenandchi ldr en,andf oradv ancementof
anysoci al andeducat i
onal l
ybackwar dcl assesofci ti
zens, orfort heSC/ STs.Asi milarexcepti
on
i
spr ov i
dedt ot hepr i
ncipleofequal ityofoppor t
uni t
ypr escribedbyAr t
icle16( 1)inasmuchas
Ar t
icle16( 4)al l
owst hest atet omakepr ov isionf orther esolutionofappoi ntment sorpost sin
favourofanybackwar dcl assofci tizenswhi ch, intheopi nionoft hest ate,isnotadequat el
y
represent edi nt heser vi
cesundert hest ate.Ar ticl
e17pr oclaimst hatunt ouchabi l
i
tyhasbeen
abol i
shed&f orbidsitspr acticeinanyf or m &i tpr ovi
dest hatt heenf or
cementofunt ouchabil
it
y
shal lbeanof f
encepuni shabl einaccor dancewi t
hlaw.Thi si st hecodeofpr ov i
sionsdeal i
ngwith
thepr oblem ofachi ev i
ngt hei dealofsoci o-economi cjusti
cei nt hiscount rywhi chhasbeen
prescr ibedbyt heConst it
utionofI ndi a.

Thesoci al j
ust i
cescenar i
oi st obei nv esti
gat edint hecont extoft wost reamsofent itl
ement s:(a)
sust ainabl elivelihood, whi chmeansaccesst oadequat emeansofl i
ving, suchasshel ter, cl
othing,
food, accesst odev el
opment al means, empl oyment ;educat ion,health,andr esour ces; (b)soci al
andpol iti
cal par ticipati
on( enabl ingorempower ingmeans) , whichisbui ltont heguar ant eeof
fundament al rights, andpr omot i
onandempower mentoft her i
ghttopar ticipat i
oni nt he
gov ernment ,
andaccesst oall av ail
abl emeansofj ustice, andont hebasi sofwhi ch“ justiceasa
politi
cal pr ogr amme”becomesav iabler ealit
y.Wer equiret her eforeast udybasedonsel ect
i
llustrat i
onsofv ar iousissuesr elat i
ngt ogov ernmentpol iciesont opi
cssuchas: (a)t her ightto
foodandwat er;(b)housi ng, whi chi ncludesr eset t
lementandr ehabil
itati
on; ( c)accesst o
educat i
on, (d)accesst opr ov isionsofheal thandheal thcar e, (
e)r i
ghttowor k, and( f)accesst o
i
nf ormat ionandt her i
ghtt ocommuni cation.Inshor t,oneoft heimpor tantway sinwhi cht he
i
nqui r ywi l
l proceedwi l
l bethr ought akingst ockofv ar i
ousf ormst hathav eoccasi onedt he
articulationofi deasofsoci al just i
ce.Gov ernment al j
usticeconsi stsofv ar i
ouswel f
ar eschemes,
l
aw, legal li
teracy , admi nistr
at i
v ef ormsofar bitr
ati
onsuchast ri
bunals,boar ds, cour ts,publ i
c
i
nt erestl i
tigat i
on, newl egal educat i
on, plust heconst i
tuti
onal ideaofpr ot ectionofweaker
sect i
onsoft hesoci et
yandi ntr oduct i
onofposi ti
vedi scri
mi nation.

InD.S.Nakar av.UnionofIndi
a[3],theSupr emeCourthasheldt hatthepri
nci palaim ofa
sociali
stst
ateistoelimi
nateinequal i
tyinincome,st
atusandst andardsofl i
fe.Thebasi cframe
workofsoci al
ism i
stoprovideapr operstandardofli
fetothepeopl e,especiall
y,securit
yfrom
cradletograve.Amongstthere,itenvisagedeconomicequali
tyandequi t
abledi st
ributi
onof
i
ncome.Thi sisablendofMar xism &Gandhi sm,l
eani
ngheav i
lyonGandhi ansoci ali
sm.From a
whol
lyfeudalexploi
tedslavesociet
ytoav i
brant,
throbbi
ngsoci
ali
stwelf
aresoci
etyr
evealsa
l
ongmar ch,but,
duringthisj
ourney,ever
ystateacti
on,whenev
ertaken,
mustbesodirectedand
i
nter
pretedsoast otakethesocietyonesteptowardsthegoal
.

InExcelWearvUni onofIndia[
4],
theSupremeCour theldthattheaddit
ionofthewor d‘
soci
ali
st’
mightenablethecourtstolearnmoreinfav ourofnati
onalisat
ionandst at
eownershipofan
i
ndustry.But,
solongaspr i
v at
eownershipofi ndust
ri
esi srecogni
sedwhi chgovernsan
overwhelminglar
geprinci
plesofsoci
ali
sm andsoci aljusti
cecannotbepushedt osuchanextent
soast oignor
ecompl etel
y,ortoaverylargeextant,t
heinterestofanothersect
ionofthepubl
ic,
namelytheprivat
eowner softheundertaking.

Thet er m‘ j
ust i
ce’inthePr eambl eembr acesthreedistinctforms-soci al
,economi candpol iti
cal,
secur edt hroughv ariouspr ovisionsofFundament alRightsandDi rectivePrinci
ples.Social j
usti
ce
denot est heequal tr
eat mentofal lci
ti
zenswi thoutanysoci aldi
stincti
onbasedoncast e,colour,
race,religion, sexandsoon.I tmeansabsenceofpr ivi
legesbeingext endedt oanypar ti
cular
sectionoft hesoci ety,andi mpr ovementi nthecondi t
ionsofbackwar dclasses(SCs, STs, and
OBCs)andwomen.
Economi cj usticedenot esont henon-di scri
minationbetweenpeopl eont hebasisofeconomi c
factors.Iti nvolvestheel imi nationofglar i
nginequal i
ti
esinweal th,incomeandpr operty.A
combi nationofsoci aljusticeandeconomi cjusti
cedenot eswhati sknownas‘ distri
butivejusti
ce’
.
Polit
ical justiceimpliest hatal l ci
ti
zensshoul dhav eequal poli
ti
cal r
ights,equalvoiceinthe
gover nment .Theideal ofj ustice-social,economi candpol it
ical
-hasbeent akenfrom theRussi an
Revaluat ion( 1917).

Theterm’ equal
i
ty’meanstheabsenceofspecialprivi
legestoanysecti
onoft hesociety
, and
provi
sionofadequateopportuni
ti
esforall
indiv
idualswithoutanydiscr
imi
nation.ThePr eamble
securesatallci
ti
zensofIndi
aequalit
yofstatusanoppor tuni
ty.Thi
sprovi
sionembr acest hr
ee
dimensionsofequali
ty-ci
vi
c,pol
iti
calandeconomi c.
[5]

Thef
oll
owi
ngpr
ovi
sionsoft
hechapt
eronFundament
alRi
ght
sensur
eci
vi
cequal
i
ty:

a) Equal
i
tybef
oret
heLaw(
Art
icl
e14)
.

b) Pr
ohi
bit
ionofdi
scr
imi
nat
ionongr
oundsofr
eli
gion,
race,
cast
e,sexofpl
aceofbi
rt
h
(Ar
ti
cle15)
.

c) Equal
i
tyofoppor
tuni
tyi
nmat
ter
sofpubl
i
cempl
oyment(
Art
icl
e16)
.

d) Abol
i
tionofunt
ouchabi
l
ity(
Art
icl
e17)
.

e) Abol
i
tionoft
it
les(
Art
icl
e18)
.

Therear
etwopr ovi
sionsintheConsti
tut
ionthatseektoachi
evepol
it
ical
equal
it
y.One,noperson
i
stobedeclaredineli
gibl
eforincl
usi
oninelect
oralrol
l
songroundsofrel
igi
on,
race,
casteorsex
(Ar
ti
cle325).Two,electi
onstotheLockSabhaandt hest
ateassembl
iestobeonthebasisof
adul
tsuff
rage(Arti
cle326).
[6]

Arti
cle36to51i ncor
poratecert
aindirect
ivepri
nci
plesofStatepolicywhichtheStatemustkeep
i
nv i
ewwhi legoverni
ngt henati
on,butbyAr t
icl
e37theseprincipl
ehav ebeenexpressl
ymade
non-j
usti
ciabl
einacour toflaw. Althoughthesepri
nci
plesarenotj udici
all
yenf
orceabl
e,yett
hey
arenotwithoutpurpose.ThereportoftheSub-Commi tt
eesai d:

“TheprinciplesofPolicysetf
ort
hint hi
spartareint
endedfort
hegui
danceoftheStat
e.While
theseprinciplesshall
notbecognizablebyanyCour tt
heyarenev
ert
hel
essfundamental
inthe
governanceoft hecountr
yandtheirappli
cat
ioninthemakingofl
awsshal
lbethedutyofthe
State.
”[
7]
Accor dingtoDr .B.R.Ambedkar ,t
heDi r
ectiv
ePr inci
plesofStatePol icyisa‘nov el feature’ofthe
IndianConst ituti
on.Theyar eenumer at
edinPar tIVoftheConst it
ution.Theycanbecl assifi
ed
i
nt othreebr oadcat egor i
es-sociali
stic,Gandhianandl i
beral
-int
ellectual. Thedi rective
princi
pl esaremeantf orpr omot i
ngt heidealofsocialandeconomi cdemocr acy.Theyseekt o
establisha‘wel farestate’inIndia.Howev er,unli
ketheFundament alRight,thedi rectivesarenon-
j
ust i
ciableinnat ure,t
hati s,theyarenotenf orceablebythecour tsfort hei
rv i
olation.Yet ,t
he
Const i
tutionitselfdeclaresthat‘thesepr i
ncipl
esar efundamental i
nt hegov ernanceoft he
countryandi tshallbet hedut yofthest at
etoappl ytheseprinci
plesi nmaki ngl aws’ .Hence, t
hey
i
mposeamor alobli
gationont hestateauthorit
iesforthei
rapplicati
on.But ,ther eal force
(sanction)behi ndthem i spol i
ti
cal,t
hatis,publicopini
on.[
8]

I
nMiner
vaMil
l
scase[
9](
1980)
,theSupr
emeCourthel
dthat‘t
heIndi
anConst
it
uti
onisf
ounded
ont
hebedr
ockoft
hebal
ancebetweent
heFundament
alRightsandt
heDir
ecti
vePri
nci
ples’
.

SocialJusti
ceisthefoundationstoneofIndianConst
it
uti
on.Indi
anConst i
tut
ionmakerswere
wellknownt otheuseandmi ni
mal i
tyofvar
iouspri
nci
plesofjust
ice.Theywantedtosear
chsuch
for
m ofj usti
cewhichcouldfulfi
l
ltheexpectati
onsofwholerevol
ution.Pt
.JawaharLalNehr
uput
anideabef oret
heConst i
tuentAssembl y

"Fi
rstworkofthi
sassemblyistomakeIndi
aindependentbyanewconsti
tut
ionthr
oughwhich
starv
ingpeopl
ewi l
lgetcomplet
emealandclot
hs,andeachIndi
anwil
lgetbestopti
onthathe
canpr ogr
esshimsel
f."
[10]

Soci
aljusti
cefoundusef ulf
orever y
onei ni
tski
ndandf l
exibl
efor
m.Alt
houghsocialj
ust
iceis
notdef
inedany whereintheconstituti
onbutiti
sanidealelementoff
eel
ingwhichisagoal of
const
it
ution.Feel
ingofsocialjust
iceisaf or
m ofrel
ati
veconceptwhi
chischangeabl
ebyt he
ti
me,cir
cumst ances,cul
tureandambi t
ionsoft
hepeople.
[11]

Soci
ali
nequali
ti
esofIndiaexpectsol
uti
onequal
l
y.UnderIndi
anConsti
tut
iontheuseofsoci
al
j
usti
ceisacceptedi
nwi dersensewhichi
ncl
udessoci
alandeconomicalj
usti
ceboth.Accor
ding
toChi
efJusti
ceGajendragadkar.

"I
nthi
ssensesocial
just
icehol
dstheai
msofequal oppor
tuni
tyt
oev
eryci
ti
zeni
nthemat
terof
soci
al&economicalact
ivi
ti
esandtopr
eventi
nequali
ti
es"
.[
12]

Theconst it
utionofI ndiadoesnotcompl etelydedi cat edtoanyt raditi
onal i
deologyas–
equalit
ari
an, Util
itar
ian,Cont ractarianorEnt i
tlementt heory.Dedicat i
onofconst i
tuti
oni s
embeddedi npr ogressiveconceptofsoci aljusticeandv ariousrulesofj usti
cesuchas-Qual it
y,
Transacti
on, Necessi ty
, Optionset car eit
shel pi
ngor gans.Infactdedi cati
onoft heconst i
tuti
onis
i
nsucht ypeofsoci aljusti
cewhi chcanf ulfi
l
l theexpect at
ionsofwel farestat
eaccor dingto
Indianconditions.Sot hatinonewayi thasbeent oldaboutt hev al
ueofEqual i
tywhi chisknown
ast hedeclarati
onofequal behav i
orofequal st oAr istoti
l,
di r
ectsthest ate"Thest ateshallnot
denyt oanyper sonequal i
tybef or ethel awort heequal protecti
onoft helawswi thintheterri
tory
ofIndia"
[13]thati sdistri
butivej ustice.Int heot herwayi thasbeent oldtheprotect i
ve
discri
minationbyspeci alprov i
sionf orotherbackwar dsoft hesoci etysuchas–SC, ST&Soci al
ly
andeducat ionallybackwar dcl asses, [
14]whi chist heat tr
ibute(symbol )ofcorrect i
veand
compensat oryj usti
ce.

Ori
ginal
Pri
ncipleofEqual
it
ari
anjust
icei
spropounded/
der
ivedbyAr
ist
otl
ethatisequal
behav
ior
i
nequal mat
ter.Ift
herei
sunequalbehav
iorbet
weenequal
,ther
ewil
lbeinj
usti
ce.

I
nStateofU.P.Vs.PradeepTandon,[15]t
heSupr emeCourtacceptedreasonabl ecl
assi
fi
cati
on
j
ust
ici
ableont hebasi
sofunequal behavi
orbetweenunequalpeople.I
nChi ranjeetLasVs.Uni
on
OfI
ndia[
16].andStateofJ.K.v
s.Bhakshi Gul
am Mohammad[ 17]itisheldbyt heSupremeCourt
t
hatduetosomespeci alci
rcumstancesoneper sonoronebodycanbet reatedasoneclass.But
thequest i
oni showt odet ermineinequal i
ty?InIndiai
tisnoteasytodetermineinequali
ty.I
nAi
r
Indiavs.Ner gi
sMi r
za[18]t heSupr emeCour tdecl
aredtheruleofAirI
ndiaunreasonableand
discri
minator y
.Butaccept ingjusti
ciableelementi nequal
it
y,iti
strytomakeequal it
ymor e
effect
iveandpr ogressive.InE.P.Roy appavs.StateofTamilnadu[
19]JusticeBhagwatihasheld
thatequalityismov abl
econceptwhi chhasmanyf ormsandaspect s.Itcannotbet i
ghtenedi
n
tradi
ti
onal andpr incipl
izedcircle.Equal i
tywithequalbehavi
orprohibi
tsarbit
rar
inessinacti
on,
i
nequal i
tyissur el
ybet her e.

Toacceptr i
ghtt oequalit
yasanessent ial elementofJust ice,IndiaConst i
tuti
onpr ohibitsunequal
behav i
oront hegr oundsofr eligion, race, caste,sex.Butconst ituti
onaccept sthatst r
ict
compl i
anceoff ormal equali
tywi llmakeupequal it
y .Butthesy stem ofspeci al provi
sionf or
backwar dclassesofsoci ety
,itist ot ryt omaket hepr inci
pleofequal i
tymor eef fect
ive.Under
Arti
cle15( 4)thest at
eshal lmakeanyspeci alprovisionfort headv ancementofanysoci al
lyand
educationall
ybackwar dclassesofci tizenorf ortheschedul edcast es,andt heSchedul edtribes
andint hesamemannerbyaccept ingt heoppor tunityofequal itytoempl oymentunderst atein
Arti
cle16( 1),ithasexcept edthepr inci pleofequal izati
onunderAr ticl
e16( 4).Ifiti
sint heopi ni
on
ofthest atethatanycl assoft heci tizenshasnotadequat elyrepresent ati
onunderst ate
employ ment ,stateshallmakeanypr ov isionf orther eservationofappoi ntment s.Accor dingt oArt
46theSt at
eshal lpromot ewithspeci al caret heeducat i
onal andeconomi cinterestsofweaker
secti
onsoft hepeopl e,andinpar ti
cul ar, oft heschedul edcast esandt heschedul edtribes,and
shallprotectthem f r
om social injusticeandal lformsofexpl oi
tation.

InaveryimportantcaseofIndr
aShahani
v s.Uni
onofIndi
a[20]t
heSupr
emeCourtdeclar
ed27%
reser
vati
onlegalforsoci
all
yandeconomicall
ybackwardcl
assesoft
hesoci
etyundercent
ral
servi
ces.

Basicallyprotecti
vedi scr
iminati
oni susedtoful
fi
llt
hoselackswhichariseduetoalongt i
me
deprivation.Iti
sapar tofcor r
ecti
v eandcompensatoryjust
ice.I
thasbeent ol
dthatpeoplesof
backwar dcl assofsoci et
yhav ebeenbear i
nginj
usti
ceforgenerati
ontogenerati
on.Some
peoplesoft hesocietymadesupr emacyont hebenefi
tsofthesociet
yandmadedepr i
vedto
others.Sot hisprovisi
onofpr otectiv
ediscri
minat
ionhasbeenmadef orthosedepr
ivedpeople
whoar elivi
nginunbenef ici
alcir
cumst ances.

Throughequal opport
unityonthebasisofqual i
tytheSupremeCour thastri
edtomakea
reasonablebal
ancebet weendist
ributi
onofbenef it
sanddi st
ri
buti
vejusti
ce.I
nM. R.Bal
ajiv
s
StateofMy sur
e,theSupr emeCour thashel
dt hatfortheobjectofcompensator
yjusti
ce,l
imitof
reservat
ionshouldnotbemor ethan50%.I nIndiaShahni v
s.UnionofIndia[
22]f
ullbenchofnine
j
udgesappr ovedthisbalancebetweendistr
ibuti
v ejust
icethr
oughqualit
yandcompensat ory
j
ustice.

Ther eisav erywi depl anningofj ust i

ceaccor dingtonecessi tyintheconst ituti
on.I texpect s
distri
but i
onofsoci albenef i
tsaccor dingt onecessi tybywhi chmor eneedyper soncanget
benef i
ts.I tisexpect edt othest at ethatt hestat eshal l
inpar ti
cular,directitspol i
cyt owards
secur i
ngt hatchi l
drenar egi venoppor tuni ti
esandf acil
itiestodev elopi naheal t
hymannerandi n
condi t
ionsoff reedom anddi gnityandt hatchi l
dhoodandy outhar epr otectedagai nst
exploitationandagai nstmor al andmat er i
alabandonment .UnderAr t
icle41, i
tisexpect edtot he
statet hatt heSt ateshall,wi t
hint helimi tsofi tseconomi ccapaci t
yanddev elopment ,make
effectivepr ovisionf orsecur i
ngt her ightt owor k,toeducat i
onandt opubl icassi stancei ncaseof
unempl oyment ,oldage, sicknessanddi sablement , andi nothercasesofunder serv edwant .Itis
prov i
dedunderAr ticle42t hatt hest ateshal lmakepr ov i
sionforsecur ingj ustandhumane
condi t
ionsofwor kandf ormat er nit
yr elief.InAr ti
cle43i ti
sexpect edt hatt heSt ateshal l
endeav ort osecur e,bysui tablel egislationoreconomi cor ganizati
onori nanyot herway ,toall
wor kersagr i
cultural,i
ndust ri
al orot her wi se,wor k,al i
vingwage, conditionsofwor kensur i
nga
decentst andar dofl if
eandf ullenj oy mentofl eisureandsoci al andcul turaloppor tuni ti
esand, in
particular,thest ateshal lendeav ort opr omot ecot t
agei ndustriesonani ndiv i
dual orco- operativ
e
basisi nrur alareas.I nPUDRv s.Uni onofI ndia,theSupr emeCour thashel dt hatmi ni mum wages
mustbegi
venandnottopaymi
nimum wagesi
sthev
iol
ati
onofhumandi
gni
tyandi
tisal
so
knownasexpl
oit
ati
on.

InIndia,cour tshav eper f

ormedagr eatrol
et omaket heSocialj
usticesuccessful.Inthefiel
dof
distr
ibutiv
eJust ice,Legisl
atureandJudiciarybothar eplayi
nggreatrolebutcour t
sar eplayi
ng
mor epower fulroletodel i
vercompensator yorcorrecti
vejusti
cebutt hesepri
nciplesareknown
asmut uall
yr elati
vesnotmut uall
yopposit
es.I deal
sandgoal saretodel i
versocialjusti
ce.
Medi um maybedi st
ri
but i
veorcompensat oryjusti
ce.Theadopt edt y
pemaybeofqual it
y,
Necessi ty
, Equality,Freedom, Commoni nterestorother.Alt
hought heSupremeCour thasnot
foundanypossi bledef i
nit
ionofSocialJusticebuthasaccept editasanessent i
al andanor gan
oflegal system.

Thesupr emecour tofI ndiahasgi venapr inci

palanddy nami cshapet otheconceptofsoci al
j
ust ice.Soci al justicehasbeengui dingf orceofthejudici
al pr onouncement s.InSadhur am v.
Pulin, theSupr emeCour truledt hatasbet weentwopar ti
es, i
fadeal i
smadewi thonepar ty
withoutser i
ousdet rimentt ot heot herCour twouldleaninf av ourofweakersect i
onoft hesoci ety
.
Thej udi ciaryhasgi venpract i
cal shapet osocialj
usticethroughal lowingaffirmati
ve
gov er nment al actionsar ehel dt oi ncludecompensat or
yjust iceaswel lasdistri
buti
vejusti
ce
whichensur et hatcommuni t yresour cesar emoreequitablyandj ustlysharedamongal lcl
asses
ofci tizens.Theconceptofsoci al j
ust i
cehasbr oughtrevolutionar ychangei nindustr
ialsocietyby
char gi ngt heol dcont r
actual obligat i
ons.Itisnomor eanar roworonesi dedorpedant i
cconcept .
Iti
sf oundedont hebasi cideal ofsoci o-economicequal i
tyandi tsaimi stoassisttheremov alof
socio-economi cdi spar i
ti
esandi nequal i
ti
es.
InJ. K.Cot t
onSpi nni ngAndWi evingCoLt dV.LabourAppel lat eTribunal,t heSupremeCour tof
Indiapoi nt edoutt hati nindust ri
al mat tersdoctr
inai
reandabst ractnotionsofsocialjusti
cear e
avoidedandr ealisticandpr agmat i
cnot i
onsareappl i
edsoast of i
ndasol utionbetweent he
empl oy erandt heempl oyeeswhi chi sj ustandfair
.

Despitethewellint
enti
onedcommi tmentofensuringsocial
just
icet hroughequal i
zat
ionor
protect
ivediscr
iminat
ionpoli
cy,t
hegovernment alef
fort
shavecausedsomet ensi
oninthe
society
.Inthenameofsoci alj
usti
ceevensuchact iv
iti
esareperformedwhi chhavenothingt
odo
withsocialj
usti
ce.Theneedofhouri st
oensur etheproperandbal ancedi mplementati
onof
poli
ciessoast omakesocialjust
iceaneffect
ivevehicl
eofsocial progress.
[29]

Engl
i
shquot
ati
oni
fyouwantt
osucceedasaJudge/l
awy
eri
nourpr
ofessi
onandt
hatquot
ati
on
i
s:

“
Wor
kli
keahor
seandl
i
vel
i
keaher
mit
.”

Ifyouappl
ythesestandar
dsinyourdail
yli
vesyouwil
lbefulf
il
li
ngtheconsti
tut
ionaldharmaand
i
feachoneofy ouli
vebytheconsti
tut
ionaldhar
maoursocietyshal
lbefreeofdiscr
iminati
onand
eachoneofyouwillbetherol
emodel forot
hersandal
ltheserel
igi
ousandcasteconf l
i
ctswil
l
end.

Anur
agShy
am Rast
ogi
[1]

[
1]Resear
chSchol
ar,
LucknowUni
ver
sit
y,Lucknow

[
2]Byt
he42ndConst
it
uti
onal
(Amendment
)Act
,1976.

[
3](
1983)
1SCC305
[
4]AI
R1979SC25

[
5]Laxmi
kanat
h,M.
,I
ndi
anpol
i
ty(
2008)p.29

[
6]I
bid

[
7]Shi
var
ao,
Sel
ectDocument
s,Vol
.IIatp.175.

[
8]Laxmi
kanat
h,M.
,I
ndi
anpol
i
ty(
2008)p.29

[
9]AI
R1980SC1789.

[
10]Mi
nar
vaMi
l
lsv
s.Uni
onOfI
ndi
a(1980)
3SCC625

[
11]V.
R.Kr
ishnaI
year,
Soci
alJust
ice-SunsetorDawn(
1987)p.
53

[
12]P.
B.Ganendr
agadkar
,Law,
Liber
tyandsoci
alj
ust
ice(
1964)p.77,
99

[
13]Ar
t14oft
heI
ndi
anConst
it
uti
on

[
14]Ar
t15(
4)andAr
t16(
4)ofI
ndi
anConst
it
uti
on

[
15]AI
R1975SC563

[
16]AI
R1951SC41

[
17]AI
R1967SC122

[
18]AI
R1981SC1829

[
19]AI
R1974SC587

[
20]AI
R1993SC497

[
21]AI
R1963SC649

[
22]1992Supp.(
3)SCC217
[
23]Ar
t39(
f)

[
24]AI
R1982SC1473

[
25]My
sor
eMi
l
lsCo.Lt
d.Vs.Soot
iMi
l
lMazdoorUni
on,
AIR1955S.
C.170

[
26]AI
R1984SC1471.

[
27]AI
R1964SC737.

[
28]Pr
asad,
Dr.Ani
rudh,
Out
li
nesofl
egal
languagei
nIndi
a(2007)p.
414

[
29]I
bid

[
30]ExtemporespeechbyHon’
bleMr
.Justi
ceS.
H.Kapadia,
Judge,
Supr
emeCourtofIndi
aont
he
occasi
onoftheEight
hJusti
ceJ.
K.MathurMemori
alLect
ureon13-
12-
2008atLucknow.

anur
agshyam r
ast
ogi
on23Apri
l2011