Women, Law, Rights and the State: Constitutional and Legal Frameworks
This domain tests constitutional guarantees, special legislation, leading judgments and debates over personal law and the uniform civil code. Questions often ask which article or statute applies to a concrete situation.
Constitutional anchors
- Article 14: equality before law.
- Article 15(1): prohibition of discrimination on grounds including sex; Article 15(3): special provisions for women and children.
- Article 16: equality of opportunity in public employment.
- Article 21: life and personal liberty, expanded to privacy and dignity.
- Directive Principles: Article 39(d) equal pay; Article 42 maternity relief; Article 44 uniform civil code.
Statutory and case framework
- Maternity Benefit Act 1961, amended 2017; Equal Remuneration Act 1976.
- Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005; POSH Act 2013; POCSO Act 2012; PCPNDT Act 1994; MTP Act 1971, amended 2021.
- Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 gave daughters equal coparcenary rights; Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 criminalised triple talaq.
- Cases: Shah Bano (1985) maintenance; Vishaka (1997) harassment guidelines; Shayara Bano (2017) triple talaq; Joseph Shine (2018) adultery; Navtej Singh Johar (2018) consensual same-sex relations; Independent Thought (2017) marital rape of a child.
Worked example
Is a maternity-benefit scheme unconstitutional discrimination against men? Reasoning: Article 15(3) expressly permits special provisions for women; maternity benefits address a substantive disadvantage and are not treated as a breach of Article 15(1).
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing Article 15(1) with 15(3).
- Treating Vishaka as a statute; it is a judgment whose guidelines were later codified by POSH.
- Reducing Shah Bano to a uniform-civil-code case; it concerned maintenance.