Report No. 46

29. Recommendation to amend clause 3 relating to Article 31C.-

If that be so, we apprehend that retaining Article 19 without limiting its operation to sub-clauses (f) and (g) of clause (1) may conceivably empower Parliament or the State Legislature to make a law which might prohibit or penalise or control any criticism of the current economic policies adopted by the present Union Government or any movement to change the entire philosophy of the Directive Principles in conformity with the conservative view of economic and political life; and such a position, we think, could not be democratically sound or wise. Similar situations may, speaking purely theoretically, arise even in respect of the other freedoms guaranteed by clauses (b) to (e) of Article 19(1) if the whole of Article 19(1) were mentioned. That is why we recommend that, in Article 31C as drafted under clause 3 of the Bill, reference should be made to Article 19(1)(f) and (g) alone and not to Article 19 as a whole.