This article is written by Aryaa Singh, pursuing BBA LLB (Hons) from NMIMS school of Bangalore. This is an insightful article on the role of poverty law in India.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Poverty is described as a lack of material items or money sufficient to meet a person’s basic needs. Absolute poverty is described as a total lack of resources to meet fundamental human needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.
The inability to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, or shelter is referred to as poverty.Being poor in Canada is not the same as being poor in Russia or Zimbabwe. Poverty varies widely based on one’s situation, and there is no single cause for it. Disparities between rich and poor within a country may be a warning indicator of a worsening situation.
Whatever classifications are used, one thing is certain: poverty is a complex socioeconomic issue. Despite how poverty is described, it is universally recognised as a problem that requires everyone’s attention. It is vital that all members of our society work together to create chances for everyone to reach their greatest potential.
What is law of poverty
The Universal Proclamation of Human Rights emphasises a broad spectrum of human rights, including, among other things, a declaration that no one shall be subjected to torture or cruel and inhuman treatment or punishment. However, near the end of the Declaration, there is Article 25, which states the following: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
Poverty law is defined as “the legal statutes, policies, and cases that apply specifically to the financially destitute in his or her day-to-day living.” The purpose of poverty legislation, in a common sense perspective and in practise, is to protect the poor from injustice by the law.
A similar commitment is made in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. However, based on a casual reading of Article 21, it simply states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law,” this would never be assumed.
In Francis Coralie Mullin v. Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi and Others(1981) the Supreme Court declared that: “…the right to life includes the right to live with human dignity and all that goes along with it, namely, the bare necessities of life such as adequate nutrition, clothing and shelter and facilities for reading, writing and expressing oneself in diverse forms, freely moving about and mixing and commingling with fellow human beings. … it must, in any view of the matter, include the right to the basic necessities of life and also the right to carry on such functions and activities as constitute the bare minimum expression of the human-self.”
Need of poverty law in India
Before delving into this subject, we must first understand the connection between poverty and education. Poor children are rarely given a solid education, and as a result, adults from the same socioeconomic level are denied steady and appropriate jobs. Even if children start school at an early age, circumstances force them to drop out and work for their family’s survival, causing them to remain in the same social stratum as their parents.
Poverty robs people of many necessities that others take for granted. This is one of the causes why the poor engage in such illegal activities: they want to have access to opportunities and materials that they have been denied for a long time. As a result, people resort to illicit means to meet their demands, which contributes to crimes such as burglary, theft, robbery, assault, rape, & attempted rape, among others.
The justice system regards them as criminals rather than poor people because they committed the crime and met all of the conditions for being a criminal. Poverty has little impact on crime, yet crime can keep people poor owing to factors such as a criminal record and education. We cannot erase crime unless we develop a social and political system in which everyone has a good existence, which includes proper employment, proper income, healthcare, education, and nutritional food for children.
Why do the poor become victims of crimes
The poor are more prone than other economically secure persons to be victims of crime. They become crime victims as a result of the greed of others; they are used as a means. For example, when a drug peddler wants to provide the substance, he or she may need someone who is willing to face legal consequences if caught, therefore he may offer a specific amount of money to an unfortunate person, and the poor will agree to commit the crime.
It is most unfortunate that even today, a significant part of the population is living in extreme poverty. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stated in 2001 that poverty was “a human condition characterized by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.”
Implementation of existing law and scope for recommendations
What is Poverty Alleviation?
Poverty alleviation refers to the economic and humanitarian actions taken to eradicate poverty from a country. According to the World Bank, if a person’s daily income is $1.90 or less, he or she is living in extreme poverty, which currently affects 767 million people worldwide. According to the most recent government figures, 268 million individuals in India were living on less than $1.90 per day in 2011. To alleviate poverty and provide basic facilities to poor households, the Government of India developed a number of programmes and schemes.
The Agenda for Alleviation
India, as a welfare state, is committed to its people’s development. Legislation and development policies reflect the constitutional responsibilities. It is currently recognised that a joint measure focusing on faster growth and direct interventionist-safety net procedures is the best way to maximise control techniques. Furthermore, the institutions implementing these measures must guarantee that they complement the policy approach.
The judiciary has kept a close eye on this constitutional obligation, ensuring that any conflict between the legislature and the government is minimised. Building on Article 21, the judiciary has adopted a broad view that encompasses practically all aspects of poverty, whether direct or indirect.
Constitutional Espousal
The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution proposed a constitutional obligation on the State to provide to the citizens ‘Rural Wage Labour’ as a Fundamental Right and proposed the introduction of a new Art. 21B for this purpose. The judiciary has stated in Basheshar Nath v. Commissioner of Income Tax Delhi that “the easiest way of depriving a person of his right to life would be to deprive him of his means of livelihood to the point of abrogation”.
Constitution of India for the poor
The function of the law in poverty alleviation is a key topic. The Indian Constitution is the highest commander of law in India, and the writers of the Constitution were anxious that each and every citizen has the opportunity to be developed and uplifted, thus provisions for this were incorporated. Despite the fact that the term “poor” is not included in the Indian Constitution, the Preamble, Fundamental Rights, and Directive Principles of State Policy all support the welfare state model.
Article 21: Protection of life and personal liberty:
The right to life is a human right, and no state can deprive its inhabitants of this right unless a legal procedure is followed. This does not merely suggest that life cannot be destroyed or taken away, as in the imposition and execution of a death sentence. Since no one can exist without a means of subsistence, the right to work is equally important.
Article 39A – Equal justice and free legal aid
Every party to litigation has legal access to the court to present their cases, but the proceedings need the payment of court fees as well as the assistance of an experienced lawyer. Article 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that the legal system should provide free legal aid to those in need.
Article 15 and 16
Authority of Insurance articles (COI) grant the state the authority to create special arrangements for backward castes and social groupings. They include steps to offer preference to socially, educationally and economically disadvantaged elements of society in state-owned enterprises and government jobs.
Present Scenario
People living in extreme poverty are disproportionately affected by the epidemic, which exacerbates their already restricted access to food, clean water, consistent income, and public services, while also limiting their ability to adopt social distance. Prior to COVID-19, the poor faced a number of challenges to their economic growth.
According to recent World Bank projections, the pandemic is generating a severe economic shock that could undo decades of poverty alleviation gains and throw more than 80 million people into extreme poverty.
Conclusion
The main goal is poverty abolition. India has vowed to ‘Leave No One Behind,’ promising to prioritise progress for those who are the most disadvantaged. Regrettably, current statistics are gloomy. More Indians have fallen into poverty, hunger, and economic inequality in the previous two years, according to the NITI Aayog’s 2019 Sustainable Development Goals Index.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown measures, intended to prevent the virus’s spread, have driven millions of people into poverty around the world. While data is still being gathered, the pandemic has the potential to undo any gains made thus far. As a result, proactive efforts by governments, large corporations, and all major players to implement policies that assist the poorest are even more important.
Since poverty, like a pandemic, has no borders and is a worldwide issue, international organisations are also working to help the poor and implement protections such as human rights for the entire world. Similarly, the Indian government should make particular arrangements to help better the lives of the underprivileged.
References
- Angus Maddison, The historical origins of Indian poverty, v. 23, n. 92 PSL QUARTERLY REVIEW, [S.l.] JEL: I32, N15, O53, 32 Jan. 2014
- https://legalaffairs.gov.in/sites/default/files/chapter%2011.pdf
- http://nujslawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/vasudeva.pdf
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