Article 39(d) is a foundational provision within the Indian Constitution, specifically located in Part IV under the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). This provision mandates that the State shall direct its policy towards securing "that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women."
The concept was included in the Constitution, which came into effect in 1950, to guide the State in establishing a welfare society and securing social and economic justice by eliminating gender-based wage discrimination. Although DPSP provisions are not directly enforceable in a court of law, the State is constitutionally obligated to apply them in making laws.
The mechanism of its implementation was initially through the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. However, the principle gained significant legal teeth through judicial interpretation. In the landmark judgment of Randhir Singh v. Union of India (1982), the Supreme Court held that the principle of equal pay for equal work is not merely an abstract doctrine but a constitutional goal, making it enforceable by reading Article 39(d) with the Fundamental Rights, specifically Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 16 (Equality of Opportunity in Public Employment). The Court declared that the principle is "deducible" from these Articles.
The legislative framework implementing this principle has recently changed: the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, was replaced by the Code on Wages, 2019. This new Code made a significant change by extending the application of equal remuneration beyond the binary of men and women, thereby benefiting the LGBTQI+ community, while the core constitutional text of Article 39(d) remains focused on men and women.