Patanjali Civil Services Academy

Right to Peaceful Protest [Prelims Bits]

Tags: Prelims Current events of national and international importance

Source: The Indian Express

Context: Recent Supreme Court and Allahabad High Court interventions protected students’ right to protest against alleged exam and workers’ issues while checking arbitrary use of executive powers.
Freedom of speech and expression: Article 19(1)(a) guarantees it to citizens; peaceful protest is protected primarily through Article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b).
Right to assemble peacefully: Article 19(1)(b) guarantees the right to assemble peaceably and without arms.
Reasonable restrictions: Article 19(3) permits restrictions on peaceful assembly in the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State and public order, among other grounds.
National Security Act (NSA), 1980: A preventive detention law permitting detention to prevent specified threats to national security, public order and essential supplies/services.
Judicial review: Courts can examine executive action that is arbitrary, excessive or violates fundamental rights, acting as a constitutional check on state power.

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the National Security Act, 1980:

It is primarily a preventive detention law rather than a mechanism for imposing punishment after conviction for an offence.
Its preventive detention framework is confined exclusively to threats to the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Its application illustrates the constitutional tension between individual liberty and the State's interest in maintaining security and public order.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The National Security Act (NSA), 1980 provides for preventive detention, intended to prevent specified harmful acts rather than punish a person for an offence already committed.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Its scope is not confined exclusively to sovereignty and integrity; it also covers specified threats relating to national security, public order and essential supplies/services.
Statement 3 is correct: Preventive detention raises important constitutional questions concerning the balance between individual liberty and legitimate State security interests.

Q2. With reference to the right to peaceful protest in India, consider the following statements:

The right to assemble peacefully and without arms is available only when the assembly is conducted in a public place.
The right to peaceful protest is not an absolute right and may be subjected to reasonable restrictions on grounds specified in the Constitution.
Executive action affecting peaceful protests can be subjected to judicial review where it is arbitrary or violates fundamental rights.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Article 19(1)(b) guarantees the right to assemble peaceably and without arms; it does not make the right conditional upon the assembly being in a public place.
Statement 2 is correct: Article 19(3) permits reasonable restrictions on this right on specified grounds, including sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State and public order.
Statement 3 is correct: Judicial review enables constitutional courts to scrutinise arbitrary, excessive or rights-violating executive action.