Article 39A - Indian Constitution [Explanation]

This article is a compilation of Article 39A as it is. You can understand it well, that’s why its explanation is also given below, you must read it. Its explanation is also available in Hindi, for this you can use the link given below;

Appeal - Allow our notification service by clicking on the Bell icon so that you can easily get the notification of each new article. Also join our social media handles and be a part of the latest discussions;

📌 Join YouTube	📌 Join FB Group
📌 Join Telegram	📌 Like FB Page

📖 Read This Article in Hindi

Article 39A

Chapters of Content

📜 Article 39A

¹[39A. Equal justice and free legal aid.—The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.]
—————–
1. . Ins. by s. 8, ibid. (w.e.f. 3-1-1977).

—————

🔍 Explanation

The literal meaning of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) is the principles that guide the policy of the state .

When the constitution was framed, the people had no experience of ruling in a democratic state and making laws in the interest of the country. Especially for the states that were about to take over after a long colonial period.

As we know that it is not mandatory for politicians in our country to be educated . In such a situation, a guide becomes necessary so that the policy makers always know which way to go.

◾ It was not that DPSP was a new idea but it was already working in Ireland and we took it from there.

◾ The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are the guidelines for making laws and policies for the welfare and development of the citizens. These are included in Part IV of the Indian Constitution.

These principles are non-enforceable, meaning they are not enforceable by the courts, however, are considered fundamental in the governance of the country and must be taken into account by the government while formulating laws and policies.

Overall, policy-directive elements are those elements of democratic and constitutional development whose objective is to establish a public-welfare state.

Classification of DPSP — Below you can see the classification of Directive Principles. This will make it easier for you to understand why the articles you are reading have been included in the DPSP and for what purposes it has been targeted.

Principles	Articles
Socialist	⚫ Article 38 ⚫ Article 39 ⚫ Article 39A ⚫ Article 41 ⚫ Article 42 ⚫ Article 43 ⚫ Article 43A ⚫ Article 47
Gandhian	⚫ Article 40 ⚫ Article 43 ⚫ Article 43B ⚫ Article 46 ⚫ Article 48
Liberal intellectual	⚫ Article 44 ⚫ Article 45 ⚫ Article 48 ⚫ Article 48A ⚫ Article 49 ⚫ Article 50 ⚫ Article 51

Apart from this, the directive elements can also be seen by dividing them into the following groups;

Welfare State Article 38 (1 and 2), Article 39 (B and C), Article 39A, Article 41, Article 42, Article 43, Article 43A and Article 47 are kept in the Policy Directive Principles of this group.

Equality of Dignity & Opportunity Articles 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 50 are kept in the policy directive elements of this group.

individual ‘s rights Articles 39A, 41, 42, 43, 45 and 47 are kept in the Policy Directive Principles of this group.

Article 36 to Article 51 comes under Part 4 of the Constitution. In this article we are going to understand section 39A ;

⚫ Article-34 – Indian Constitution

⚫ Article-35 – Indian Constitution

—————————

| Article 39A – Equal justice and free legal aid

This direction was added by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976. That is, this provision was not a part of the original constitution. But why was there a need to add it?

In fact, the Preamble of the Indian Constitution promises to ensure social, economic and political justice to all citizens. Apart from this, Articles 14 and 22(1) of the Constitution also make it mandatory for the State to ensure equality before the law.

That is why in the year 1976, with the help of the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act , Article 39A was inserted in the Directive Principles of State Policy and it was written that it is the duty of the states to provide free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society.

In order to ensure all these, in the year 1987, the Legal Services Authority Act was enacted by the Parliament, which came into force on November 9, 1995. It was implemented to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society.

The National Legal Services Authority was constituted under this above act . Which we also know by the name of NALSA;

NALSA aims to legally empower the marginalized and excluded groups of the society by imparting legal literacy and awareness so as to bridge the gap between the benefits available and the entitled beneficiaries.

A separate article is available on this subject in which we have understood how to get free legal aid and who gets it etc.

Understand NALSA in detail– National Legal Services Authority: NALSA

Remember here that Article 39A can be used for the interpretation of Article 21.

For example, if a person is kept in custody and cannot hire a lawyer because of poverty, in such situations an advocate can be made available to that person for the purpose of doing justice.

Remember here that if the offense is heinous and the advocate given to the defendant is inexperienced then it would be a violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21.

So overall this is Article 39A, I hope you have understood. To understand other article, you can use the link given below.

| Related Article

Hindi Articles	English Articles
⚫ अनुच्छेद 39 ⚫ अनुच्छेद 40	⚫ Article 39 ⚫ Article 40

⚫ Constitution
⚫ Basics of Parliament
⚫ Fundamental Rights
⚫ Judiciary in India
⚫ Executive in India

—————————–

Disclaimer - The articles and their interpretations presented here are based on the original Constitution (latest edition), DD Basu's commentary on the Constitution (mainly) and various scholars of the Constitution (whose writings are available in newspapers, magazines and audio-visuals on the Internet). We have just tried to make it interesting and easy to understand.