Directive Principles in the context of Constitution of Ireland

The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens.

It espouses constitutional supremacy (not parliamentary supremacy found in the United Kingdom, since it was created by a constituent assembly rather than Parliament) and was adopted with a declaration in its preamble. The Indian Constitution does not contain a provision to limit the powers of the parliament to amend the constitution. However, the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala held that there were certain features of the Constitution so integral to its functioning and existence that they could never be cut out of the constitution (known as the 'Basic Structure' Doctrine).

Sale and consumption of alcoholic liquor for human consumption is prohibited in the states of Bihar,Gujarat, Mizoram, and Nagaland. All other Indian states and union territories permit the sale and consumption of alcohol.

The directive principles of state policy (DPSP) in the constitution of India (article 47) state that "....the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health". The Directive Principles are not-justiciable rights of the people but fundamental in the governance of the country. It shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making policy laws per Article 47. Per Article 38, state and union governments, as duty, shall make further detailed policies and laws for implementation considering DPSPs as fundamental policy.

His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru & Ors. v. State of Kerala & Anr. (Writ Petition (Civil) 135 of 1970), also known as the Kesavananda Bharati judgement, was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that outlined the basic structure doctrine of the Indian Constitution. The case is also known as the Fundamental Rights Case. The court in a 7-6 decision asserted its right to strike down amendments to the constitution that were in violation of the fundamental architecture of the constitution.

Justice Hans Raj Khanna argued that the Constitution possesses a basic structure of constitutional principles and values. The Court partially cemented the prior precedent Golaknath v. State of Punjab, which held that constitutional amendments through Article 368 were subject to fundamental rights review, but only if they could affect the 'basic structure of the Constitution'. At the same time, the Court also upheld the constitutionality of the first provision of Article 31-C, which implied that laws seeking to implement the Directive Principles, which do not affect the 'Basic Structure,' shall not be subjected to judicial review.

The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply equally to all citizens, regardless of their religion. Currently, personal laws of different religious communities are governed by their religious scriptures. Personal laws cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance. While articles 25-28 of the Indian Constitution guarantee religious freedom to Indian citizens and allow religious groups to maintain their own affairs, article 44 expects the Indian state to apply directive principles and common law uniformly to all Indian citizens when formulating national policies.

Personal laws were first framed during the British Raj, mainly for Hindu and Muslim subjects. The British feared opposition from community leaders and refrained from further interfering within this domestic sphere. The Indian state of Goa was separated from British India during the colonial rule in the erstwhile Portuguese Goa and Daman, retained a common family law known as the Goa civil code and thus was the only state in India with a uniform civil code prior to 2024. Following India's independence, Hindu code bills were introduced which largely codified and reformed personal laws in various sects among Indian religions like Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs but they exempted Christians, Jews, Muslims and Parsis.

Article 47 of The Constitution of India is one of the Directive Principles which directs the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health.