Human Rights and Civil Liberties — Amendments

Amendment	Year	Description	Impact
42nd Amendment Act	1976	Added three new Directive Principles: Article 39A (free legal aid), Article 43A (participation of workers in management of industries), and Article 48A (protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife).	Strengthened the socio-economic dimension of human rights, emphasizing state responsibility towards social justice and environmental protection, though these remain non-justiciable.
44th Amendment Act	1978	Removed the Right to Property (Article 31) from the list of Fundamental Rights, making it a legal right (Article 300A). It also significantly amended emergency provisions, making it impossible to suspend Articles 20 and 21 during an emergency.	Crucially safeguarded civil liberties by ensuring that the right to life and personal liberty cannot be suspended even during an emergency, a direct response to the abuses of the 1975 Emergency. It also rebalanced the relationship between property rights and social welfare.
86th Amendment Act	2002	Made education a Fundamental Right by inserting Article 21A, which mandates the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years. It also changed Article 45 and added a new Fundamental Duty under Article 51A(k).	Elevated the right to education from a Directive Principle to an enforceable Fundamental Right, significantly impacting children's rights [VY:SOC-13-06] and access to basic human rights.