Unni Krishnan case
Also called: Unni Krishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1993) · Topic: Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Remedies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Unni Krishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1993) was a Supreme Court judgment. It held that children up to 14 have a fundamental right to free education as part of the right to life under Article 21. Before this, free education was only a directive, a goal the State should aim for but which courts could not enforce. The case pushed Parliament to write the right into the Constitution itself.
Example
After Unni Krishnan, the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 added Article 21A (free and compulsory education for ages 6 to 14). It also rewrote Article 45 to cover early childhood care below six and added a duty for parents in Article 51A(k).
Don't confuse with
- Article 21A: this is the express right that came in 2002. Unni Krishnan found the right inside Article 21 by interpretation, nine years earlier.
Related concepts
- Right against exploitation
- Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
- Begar
- Asiad workers case
- Bonded labour
- Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976
- Prohibition of child labour
- Right to education
- 86th Constitutional Amendment Act 2002
- Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009