Fundamental rights available against state ; not against private individuals

Fundamental rights available against state ; not against private individuals.---

                           individual needs constitutional protection against state. The rights which are given to the citizens by way of fundamental rights as included in part-III of the constitution are a guarantee against state action as distinguished form violation of such rights from private parties. Private action is sufficiently protected by the ordinary law of land.

     

           In P.D. shamdasani  vs .central bank of India, 

        the petitioner, in applications under article 32 of the constitution, sought the protection of the court on the ground that his property right under articles 19 (1)(f) and 31 were infringed by the action of another private person--the central bank of India. The supreme court dismissed the petition and held : "neither article 19 (1) nor article 31 (1) was intended to prevent wrongful individual's acts or to provide protection against merely private conduct......

                           The language and structure of article-19, and its setting in part-III of the constitution, clearly show that the article was intended to protect those freedoms against the state action other then in the legitimate exercise of its power to regulate private rights of property by individuals is not within the purview of the articles".