Q. Which of the following statements regarding religious freedom provided under Article 26 of the constitution, is/ are correct?
1. Any group of individuals with a common set of spiritual beliefs is termed as a ‘religious denomination’ under the constitution.
2. It can be restricted based on public order, morality and health.
3. It provides the right to establish institutions for charitable purposes.
Select the correct option using the code given below:
Exp) Option b is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is incorrect: For a group to be termed as a ‘Religious Denomination’ for the purposes of Article 26 of the Constitution, following three conditions have to be satisfied:
- it should be a collection of individuals with common set of spiritual/ religious beliefs (doctrines)
- it should have a common organisational structure
- it should be designated by a distinctive name. All three must be fulfilled.
Statement 2 is correct: There are only 3 ‘reasonable restrictions’ to the collective religious freedom rights provided under Article 26, as mentioned in the constitution:
- public order
- morality (scope vis a vis Article 25 currently under consideration)
- health Other provisions related to fundamental rights are a restriction on rights guaranteed under Article 25, not Article 26.
Statement 3 is correct: The freedom to manage religious affairs is provided by Article 26. This Article gives the right to every religious denomination, or any section thereof, to exercise the rights that it stipulates. However, this right has to be exercised in a manner that is in conformity with public order, morality, and health. Clause (a) of Article 26 gives a religious denomination the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes.
