Turning now to the provisions in the Constitution, I do not agree with Professor Shah that we have hemmed in our Fundamental Rights with a number of restrictions which have rendered those rights almost nugatory. A number of speakers have referred to this matter. I believe, Sir, that these are very valuable rights which we have assured to our citizens. We have made them justifiable. They can be made the basis of judicial scrutiny. Article 13 provides that the laws in force in India, in so far as they are inconsistent with the Chapter on Fundamental Rights, will straightaway be void. In future also, any of the laws that offend against those Rights will be considered void. Therefore I believe that this Chapter provides very valuable rights to our citizens. For the first time in history, as a friend observed just now, they have been assured to all our citizens.
