Directive Principles of State Policy: The Basics
Core facts about Part IV of the Indian Constitution, its non-justiciable nature, and its classification.
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Questions Covered in This Set
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What are the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)?
Guidelines in Part IV of the Constitution (Articles 36–51) directing the State on the kind of social and economic order it should build. If Fundamental Rights are the brakes, DPSPs are the steering wheel.
Which Articles cover the Directive Principles?
Articles 36 to 51, in Part IV of the Constitution.
From which country's constitution were the Directive Principles borrowed?
The Irish Constitution of 1937 (which itself drew on the Spanish Constitution).
What does Article 37 say?
DPSPs shall not be enforceable by any court (non-justiciable), but they are 'fundamental in the governance of the country' and it is the State's duty to apply them in making laws.
What does 'non-justiciable' mean in practice?
You cannot go to court (e.g. under Article 32) and ask a judge to enforce a Directive Principle — no writ will issue on that basis alone.
If DPSPs can't be enforced, why do they matter?
They set a standard of political accountability, guide courts in interpreting Fundamental Rights, and form the legislative agenda of independent India.
What is the philosophical anchor of Part IV?
Article 38 — the State shall secure a social order in which social, economic and political justice informs all institutions, moving India from political to social and economic democracy.
What did Dr B.R. Ambedkar call the Directive Principles?
'Instruments of instructions' to every future government — a phrase taken from the Government of India Act, 1935.
How did Unni Krishnan (1993) use a Directive Principle?
The Court read Article 45 (free education) with Article 21 to hold education part of the right to life; later made the fundamental right Article 21A by the 86th Amendment, 2002.
What are the three conventional classes of Directive Principles?
Socialistic (welfare-state), Gandhian (village and self-reliance), and Liberal-Intellectual principles.
