STATE ACTION REQUIREMENT UNDER INDIAN CONSTITUTION: CONCEPTUAL CHALLENGES IN THE ERA OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

The period from the second half of twentieth century is usually regarded as the age of human rights. The concept of human right is generally conceived as minimum guaranteed right protecting individual against the excesses of state. In fact, the legitimacy of the state itself depends on its fulfilling the obligation of protecting the basic human rights of life, liberty and estate of its subjects. This is the reason for the incorporation of most of these human rights in the constitutional documents of world nations as fundamental rights. Fundamental rights have dual aspects.3 First point of view is that, it confers justiciable rights on the people which can be enforced through the courts against the state.Second point of view is that, Fundamental rights constitute restriction and limitation on state action. However, later a consensus have developed that these Fundamental rights are no longer at the disposal of the state and that they are entitlements guaranteed directly to individuals under the International human rights regime. But these developments have not led to the change in the concept of human rights7 which generally remained state centric. Thus, a person who alleges the infringement of his human rights has to establish before the court that, there was arbitrary invasion upon his rights by the state. Hence the scope of human rights is mainly limited to the state - individual relationship and it leaves all other areas without interference.