Compulsory Public Service under Article 23

Article 23(2) permits the State to require people to perform service for a public purpose, even when they have not volunteered. This is an express exception to Article 23’s prohibition of forced labour, but the State must observe the clause’s non-discrimination requirement when imposing such service.

The general protection against forced labour

Article 23(1) prohibits trafficking in human beings, begar and other similar forms of forced labour. Contravention of this prohibition is an offence punishable in accordance with law.

• Begar means compulsory work without payment.
• The protection operates against both the State and private persons, and it extends to citizens and non-citizens.

When compulsory public service is permitted

Article 23(2) preserves the State’s power to impose compulsory service for public purposes. The constitutional distinction is between prohibited exploitation through forced labour and compulsory service directed towards a public purpose.

• The service must be imposed by the State; this exception does not give private persons an independent right to compel labour.
• The service must serve a public purpose, such as compulsory military service, rather than merely a private interest.
• In imposing the service, the State must not discriminate on grounds only of religion, race, caste or class, or any of them.
• Consent is not indispensable: otherwise, the constitutional permission to impose compulsory service would have no meaning.

How to assess a particular compulsory duty

The first question is whether the duty falls within the public-purpose exception. The next is whether its imposition satisfies the specific non-discrimination condition and other applicable constitutional and statutory requirements.

• Article 23(2) does not itself prescribe the detailed duties, appointment procedure or penalties for a particular public service; these must be examined under the applicable law.
• An exception under Article 23 does not create a blanket exemption from other constitutional safeguards.
• The precise prohibited grounds matter: Article 23(2) expressly mentions class, but does not list sex among its grounds.