CRITICISM OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES‌

The Fundamental Duties mentioned in Part IVA of the Constitution have been criticised on the following grounds:

1. The list of duties is not exhaustive as it does not cover other important duties like casting vote, paying taxes, family planning and so on. In fact, duty to pay taxes was recommended by the Swaran Singh Committee.

2. Some of the duties are vague, ambiguous and difficult to be understood by the common man. For example, different interpretations can be given to the phrases like 'noble ideals’, 'composite culture’, 'scientific temper’ and so on2 .

3. They have been described by the critics as a code of moral precepts due to their non-justiciable character. Interestingly, the Swaran Singh Committee had suggested for penalty or punishment for the non-performance of Fundamental Duties.

4. Their inclusion in the Constitution was described by the critics as superfluous. This is because the duties included in the Constitution as fundamental would be performed by the people even though they were not incorporated in the Constitution3 .

5. The critics said that the inclusion of fundamental duties as an appendage to Part IV of the Constitution has reduced their value and significance. They should have been added after Part III so as to keep them on par with Fundamental Rights.