The term "Section 21" is ambiguous in Indian law, referring to both a constitutional Article and a statutory Section. The most significant concept is Article 21 of the Constitution of India, a fundamental right, while Section 21 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) mandates the formation of School Management Committees (SMCs).
Article 21 is a fundamental right enshrined in Part III of the Constitution of India, adopted in 1950. It guarantees the "Protection of life and personal liberty" with the provision: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law". This provision was included to safeguard individuals against arbitrary action by the State.
The mechanism of Article 21 was initially interpreted narrowly in A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950), but its scope was dramatically expanded in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978). The Supreme Court ruled that the "procedure established by law" must be "fair, just, and reasonable," effectively incorporating the spirit of 'due process of law'. This judicial expansion has made Article 21 the "heart of fundamental rights".
It connects to a vast array of implied rights, including the right to live with human dignity, the right to livelihood (Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, 1985), the right to a healthy environment, and the right to privacy (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, 2017). A major change connected to it is the insertion of Article 21A by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002, which made the Right to Education for children aged six to fourteen a fundamental right. The core text of Article 21 has not been amended, but its judicial interpretation continues to evolve, such as recognizing the right to die with dignity (passive euthanasia) in Common Cause v. Union of India (2018).