Q. With reference to Directive Principles of State Policy, consider the following statements:
1. Article 37 gives the executive the freedom to make DPSPs justiciable or nonjusticiable.
2. Parliament enacted the first constitutional amendment act to give way to implementing some of the DPSPs.
Which of the above-mentioned statements is/ are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer
The Directive Principles along with the Fundamental Rights contain the philosophy of the Constitution and is the soul of the Constitution. Some of the features of DPSPs are:
Statement 1 is incorrect – The Directive Principles are nonjusticiable in nature, that is, they are not legally enforceable by the courts for their violation. Therefore, the government (Central, state and local) cannot be compelled to implement them. There is no freedom to the executive to make it justiciable or non-justiciable. It can only be done by amending the constitution through the Parliament.
Statement 2 is correct – In the Champakam Dorairajan case (1951), the Supreme Court ruled that in case of any conflict between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles, the former would prevail. It declared that the Directive Principles have to conform to and run as subsidiary to the Fundamental Rights. But, it also held that the Fundamental Rights could be amended by the Parliament by enacting constitutional amendment acts. As a result, the Parliament made the First Amendment Act (1951), the Fourth Amendment Act (1955) and the Seventeenth Amendment Act (1964) to implement some of the Directives.
