Article 39(f): Constitutional Protection of Children

Article 39(f) directs the State to ensure that children can grow up in a healthy, free and dignified environment. It requires opportunities and facilities for their development and protection of childhood and youth against exploitation and moral and material abandonment.

Protection envisaged under Article 39(f)

The provision combines a positive responsibility to support children’s development with a protective responsibility to prevent exploitation and abandonment.

• Children must receive opportunities and facilities for healthy development. The constitutional concern therefore extends beyond protection from immediate harm to conditions that enable children to grow and develop.
• Children must develop in conditions of freedom and dignity. Their welfare must be pursued in a manner that respects them as persons, rather than merely as recipients of assistance.
• Childhood and youth must be protected against exploitation. This protection is not confined to employment-related abuse.
• Childhood and youth must also be protected against moral and material abandonment. The provision addresses neglect of their care and support as well as deprivation of material necessities.

Constitutional status and responsibility of the State

Article 39(f) forms part of the Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV. It directs the State’s policy towards child development and protection.

• Under Article 37, Directive Principles are not enforceable by any court, but they are fundamental in the governance of the country, and the State must apply them in making laws.
• Article 39(f) therefore does not itself create a directly enforceable individual remedy, but it provides a constitutional standard for child-related legislation and public policy.
• The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 substituted the clause to expressly include opportunities and facilities for healthy development in conditions of freedom and dignity, alongside protection against exploitation and abandonment.

Relationship with other safeguards for children

Article 39(f) provides a broad welfare objective that complements more specific constitutional safeguards.

• Article 15(3) permits the State to make special provisions for women and children.
• Article 21A requires free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14 years in the manner determined by law.
• Article 24 prohibits employment of children below 14 years in factories, mines or other hazardous employment.