Some laws you should be aware of

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  Some laws you should be aware of

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• To be aware: For citizens of a nation, to be aware of their rights is crucial, to ensure accountability in the system. Here are four important laws that you must know.
• Four crucial laws:

1. Right to Information (Article 19 (1) (a)): The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Indian Parliament that makes the right to information a fundamental right for the citizens of India. This Right to Information was passed by Parliament on June 15, 2005, and came fully into force on October 12, 2005. Under the RTI Act, any citizen of India can request information from any public authority and the authority will have to revert back at the earliest or within thirty days. If the matter involving a petitioner's life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours.
2. Right to Equality (Article 14): The Right to Equality (Article 14) of the Indian constitution give equality before the law within the territory of India. This law is applicable to anybody and everybody who is inside the territory of India including an Indian citizen, corporations, and foreigners. This article permits classification, so long as it is 'reasonable', but forbids class legislation. Classification of groups of people is considered reasonable when: the classification is based upon intelligible differentia that distinguishes persons or things that are grouped from others that are left out of the group, the differential has a rational relation with the objective of the act. 
3. Right to Education (Article 21A): The Right to Education Act (RTE), is an Act of the India Parliament which was made on August 4, 2009. This law describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21 (a) of the Indian Constitution. RTE makes accessibility of education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and specifies minimum norms in elementary schools. This law states that all private schools have to reserve 25 percent of seats to children (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the public-private partnership plan). It also prohibits all unrecognised schools from practice and makes provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for admission. The Act also provides that no child will be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until the completion of elementary education. There is also a provision for special training of school drop-outs to bring them up to par with students of the same age.
4. Right to Life (under Article 21): The Right to life (Article 21) says that nobody, including the Government, has to authority to end your life. Under this law, it is mandatory for the Government to take appropriate measures to safeguard life by making laws to protect you. Right to Life also makes it necessary for the govt to take appropriate steps to protect you if your life is at risk. Public authorities should also consider your right to life when making decisions that might put you in danger or that affect your life expectancy. If a member of your family dies in circumstances that involve the state, you may have the right to an investigation.

• Rights versus duties: The constitution of India is built around ensuring the fundamental rights of every citizen, irrespective of their background. It is also important to know that duties are, hence, inbuilt into this. When one citizen enjoys his rights, he automatically ensures that the State is performing its duties well. When one citizen crosses the line (set by his rights), he steps into another's domain, and his right has to be protected by the State. This system of checks and balances ensures that everyone enjoys their rights responsibly. Of course, there's an additional set of 'fundamental duties' also in the Constitution, which lists what every citizen must do. An example is the creation of a scientific temperament.

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