Article 16
Definition
Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.
- Instrument
- Constitution of India
- Part
- Part III (Fundamental Rights)
- Scope
- Equality of opportunity in public employment
Common questions
Why would a forensic-practice text cite Article 16?+
It bears on recruitment and appointment to public forensic and investigative agencies, ensuring selection criteria for such posts do not discriminate on prohibited grounds while still allowing reservation policies it separately permits.
Does Article 16 cover private-sector forensic laboratories?+
No. It governs public employment, meaning appointments under the State, so private forensic labs and consultancies fall outside its direct reach unless they perform functions that bring them within the definition of State.
Related terms
- Article 13
- Declares that laws inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights are void to the extent of inconsistency; the textual basis for...
- Article 14 (Equality Before Law)
- Guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws to all persons within Indian territory; bans arbitrary State action.
- Article 15
- Prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
- Article 17
- Abolishes untouchability; enforced through the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.
- Article 19
- Six freedoms for citizens: speech and expression, peaceful assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession or trade, subject to reasonable restrictions.
- Article 20(3) (Self-Incrimination)
- No person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself; the textual basis for the bar on...
- Article 21 (Life and Personal Liberty)
- No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law; expanded by Maneka Gandhi 1978...
- Article 22
- Protection against arrest and detention: grounds of arrest, right to counsel, production before a magistrate within 24 hours; preventive-detention safeguards in clauses...
- Due Process (Indian Gloss)
- Post-Maneka Gandhi reading of Article 21 that the procedure depriving liberty must be fair, just and reasonable, not merely a procedure prescribed...
- Fundamental Right
- A justiciable right guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution, enforceable by writ in the Supreme Court (Article 32) and the High...
- Judicial Review
- Power of the Supreme Court and High Courts to test legislation and executive action against the Constitution, drawn from Articles 13, 32,...