Article 23 of the Indian Constitution

Article 23 of the Indian Constitution enshrined in Part III of Indian Constitution prohibits the traffic in human beings and forced labour. It is considered considered as Right Against Exploitation. Article 23 protects the individual individual not only against tue State but also private individuals. The protection under Article 23 is available to both citizens as well as non-citizens. 

Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour

Article 23(1): Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.

Traffic in human beings - 

Case: Raj Bahadur vs Legal Remembrancer, 1953 Cal

Held: 'Traffic in human beings' means selling and buying men and women like goods and includes immoral traffic in women and children are for immoral or other purposes. 

Slavery in Article 23

Case: Dubar Goala vs Union of India, 1952 Cal

Held: Though slavery is not expressly mentioned in Article 23, it is included in the expression 'traffic in human beings'. 

Other provisions in Indian Constitution 

Under Article 35 of the Indian Constitution, Parliament is authorised to make laws for punishing acts prohibited by this Article. 

Laws in India - 

1. In pursuance of Article 35, Parliament has passed the Suppresion of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1953, for punishing acts which result in traffic in human beings. This Act has been renamed as The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
2. Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

In 1976, the Parliament enacted the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, providing for the abolition of bonded labour system with a view to prevent tye economic and physical exploitation of tye weaker sections of the people. 

Case: Kahason Thangkul vs Shimitri Shaili, 1961 Manipur

A custom required that each householder of the village should offer one day's force labour to the village Headman of the village. 

Held: The custom is violative of Article 23(1) of the Constitution which prohibits begar and forced labour. 

Non- Payment of Minimum Wage

Case: Peoples Union for Democratic Rights vs Union of India, 1982 SC

Held: The deduction of Rs.1 per worker per day by the Jamadars from the wages payable to workers employed by contractor for Asiad Projects in Delhi as a result of which the worker did not get the minimum wage of Rs 9.25 per day was violative of Article 23 of the Constitution. 

Bhagwati J. said, "The word 'force' must therefore be construed to include not only physical or legal force but also force arising from the compulsion of economic circumstances which leaves no choice of alternatives to a person in want and compels him to provide labour or service even though the remuneration received for it is less tuan minimum wage."

Non payment to Prisoners

Case: State of Gujarat vs Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat, 1998 SC

Held: The labour taken from prisoners without paying proper remuneration is" forced labour" and violative of Article 23 of the Constitution. The prisoners are entitled to payment of reasonable wahes for tue work taken from them and the Court is under duty to enforce their claim. 

    3. UP Removal of Social Disabilities Act,          1947

Section 3 of the said Act provides that, "no person shall refuse to render to any person merely on the ground that he belongs to a Scheduled Caste, any service which such peson already renders to other Hindus on the terms on which such service is rendered in the ordinary course of business. 

Case: State vs Baanwari, 1951 All. 

The respondents challenged the validity of UP Removal of Social Disabilities Act. The appellant who were barbers and dhobies has refused to shave and wash clothes of Harijans. They were therefore convicted under Section 6 of the above Act. 

Held: The Act did not contravene Article 23 of the Indian Constitution. When a person is prohibited from refusing to render service merely on the ground that the person asking for it belongs to a Scheduled Caste, he is not thereby subjected to forced labour. 

13th Amendment of Constitution of USA

contains a similar provision. It says that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist with the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction

Article 23(2): Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for public purposes, and in imposing such service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste or class or any of them.

Case: Dulal Samanta vs DM, Howrah, 1958 Cal

Held: Compulsory military service or social services can be imposed because they are neither begar nor traffic in human beings. 

                                  - Anjali Singh & 

                                    Deepak Kumar 

                           (University of Allahabad)