A fair and equitable judicial system is a hallmark of any modern democratic state. In such a state, the law of the land must be applied in a way that places all citizens on an equal footing. If the law favors a citizen for an unreasonable reason such as class, status, gender, etc., the law is unjust and does not serve its purpose, which is to maintain justice. Every subject of a State must be considered equal before the law, and no subject may be treated with any particular consideration for an unreasonable reason such as sex, race, class, religion, etc. This term can be summarized in the terms «equality before the law» and «equal legal protection». This idea is an essential component of the concept of the rule of law according to A.V. Dicey. The terms «equality before the law» and «equal protection of the law» are found in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which ensures that every citizen is not discriminated against on unreasonable grounds in the application or enforcement of laws. It is also provided for in article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Fourteenth Amendment deals with many aspects of citizenship and citizens` rights.

The most commonly used – and often argued – wording in the amendment is «equal protection of laws,» which plays a prominent role in various landmark cases, including Brown v. Board of Education (racial discrimination), Roe v. Wade (reproductive rights), Bush v. Gore (election recount), Reed v. Reed (discrimination based on sex) and University of California v. Bakke (racial quotas in education). See more. This article was written by Adhila Muhammed Arif, a student at The Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram. This article attempts to examine the meaning of the terms «equality before the law» and «equal protection of the law» and the scope of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which contains these expressions. Article 14 guarantees the equality of all persons[a], including citizens, businesses and foreigners. [3] [4] [5] Its provisions have been debated in a number of cases before the Supreme Court, and Ram Krishna Dalmia v.

Justice S R Tendolkar reiterated its meaning and scope as follows. Article 14 allows classification as long as it is «reasonable», but prohibits class legislation. A classification of groups of people is considered useful if:[6] A same-sex couple has successfully used the law`s anti-discrimination protections to receive the same treatment as a heterosexual couple in terms of inheritance rules for renting property. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and the state in which they reside. No State may enact or enforce laws that restrict the privileges or immunities of United States citizens; nor can any State deprive a person of life, liberty or property without recourse to judicial proceedings; deny a person within its jurisdiction the same protection of the law. Protection against discrimination in human rights law is not «autonomous». To invoke this right, you must prove that the discrimination has affected your enjoyment of one or more of the other rights in the law. However, you do not have to prove that this other human right has actually been violated. Section 14 of the Constitution of India provides for equality before the law or equal protection of the laws in the territory of India. The term «equal protection of the law» is positive as opposed to «equality before the law».

It simply means that all people have the same rights and obligations in similar circumstances. This essentially means that equals must be treated equally and that there must be no discrimination between them. Equals and unequals cannot be equated and treated without discrimination. The courts have also ruled that the protection of human rights against discrimination also includes indirect discrimination. This happens when a rule or policy that is supposed to apply equally to everyone is to the detriment of one or more groups. For example, the requirement that all employees be more than six feet tall may constitute indirect discrimination. Women and some people with disabilities are disadvantaged and, to be justified, this should be a strict condition for the workplace. «The State shall not deny anyone equality before the law or equal protection of the laws in the territory of India.» [1] Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees that no one shall be deprived of the right to equality before the law or of the equal protection of the law in the territory of India. It is a right that can be claimed by anyone, whether citizen or not, on Indian soil. Here we can affirm that article 14 contains two expressions, namely «equality before the law» and «equal protection of the law». The first expression «equality before the law» is borrowed from English common law. The term «equal protection of the law» is borrowed from the Constitution of the United States of America.

Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution states that no one shall be denied equal protection of the law by a state under his or her jurisdiction. In addition, the concept of equality of rights is part of the concept of equality of status set out in the preamble to the Indian Constitution. As described by Justice Bhagwati in Maneka Gandhi v. Citing the Union of India (1978), equality is a dynamic concept that cannot be limited to our traditional understanding and knowledge. Article 14 limits the arbitrariness of State action and guarantees that justice and equality prevail in the treatment of all subjects. It is important to understand that the Human Rights Act does not protect you from discrimination in all areas of your life – there are other laws that offer more general protection, such as the Equality Act 2010. Congress shall have the power to apply the provisions of this Article by appropriate legislation. The terms «equality before the law» and «equal protection of the law» are found in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. The concepts of equality before the law and equal protection of the law differ slightly. However, the latter is part of the first. When there is no equal legal protection, there is no equality before the law. It should also be noted that this concept is not absolute, because we can only apply it among those who are equal and not among the unequal.

The constitution also allows the state to enact laws that apply only to certain categories of people in order to achieve certain reasonable objectives.