UPSC Prelims 2019 Question:

In the context of polity, which one of the following would you accept as the most appropriate definition of liberty?

Explanation:

• The Right to Liberty comes under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Article 21 declares that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law.
  
  
• In Menaka case (1978), the Supreme Court took a wider interpretation of Article 21 and held that protection under Article 21 should be available not only against arbitrary executive action but also against arbitrary legislative action. Further, the court held that the ‘right to life’ as embodied in Article 21 is not merely confined to animal existence or survival but includes within its ambit the right to live with human dignity and all those aspects of life which go to make a man’s life meaningful, complete and worth living.
  
  
• At the same time, the Fundamental Rights are ‘not absolute but qualified,’ i.e., state can impose reasonable restrictions on them. Hence, they strike the perfect balance between the right of the individual (Individual liberty) and those of society as a whole, and individual Liberty and social control. So. the Constitution of India gives every opportunity to develop oneself fully by obeying the laws of society.
  
  

Therefore, option (4) is the correct answer.

Subject: Polity | Fundamental Rights