A.19 and Scope

A.19 and Scope

Kaushal Kishor v. State of UP [2023] GCtR 13 (SC) 

The restrictions under clause (2) of Article 19 of Constitution of India are comprehensive enough to cover all possible attacks on the individual, groups/classes of people, the society, the court, the country and the State. This is why Court repeatedly held that any restriction which does not fall within the four corners of Article 19(2) will be unconstitutional.

Executive cannot transgress its limits by imposing an additional restriction in the form of Executive or Departmental instruction. That the eight heads of restrictions contained in clause (2) of Article 19 are exhaustive can be established from another perspective also. The nature of the restrictions on free speech imposed by law/ judicial pronouncements even in countries where a higher threshold is maintained, are almost similar. The role of the Court is to protect fundamental rights limited by lawful restrictions and not to protect restrictions and make the rights residual privileges.