CBSE Class 9 Answered

Article 19-22 of our constitution deals with the Right to Freedom.

Article 19 A guarantee six basic freedoms to its citizens. These are:

• Freedom of speech and expression
• Freedom to form associations and unions
• Freedom to reside and settle in any part of India
• Freedom to move freely throughout the country
• Freedom to practice any profession, trade or business
• Freedom to assemble peacefully without arms.

Article 20 grants the following freedoms to the citizens of the country:

• No person can be punished twice for committing a same crime
• A person can not be forced to be a witness in a case where he himself is accused of an offence.

Article 21 mentions that no person can be deprived of his life and liberty except he is proved guilty by a law. Even when he/she is accused of a crime, he/she has :

1. To be informed of the offence committed by him/her
2. To be presented before a magistrate within 24 hrs of his/her arrest
3. To consult a lawyer and make preparations for defense at the trial.

Even if a person has been detained under Preventive Detention (when he/she is kept in custody for three months without trial), a person is not considered as an accused until and unless they are proved. He/she can be detained beyond three months only by an advisory board. Further, He/she has to be informed of the grounds of detention and has the right to make representation against the detention order.