Mr. Vice-President, Sir, we are dealing today with one of the most important clauses of this Constitution. We are dealing with the freedom of citizens. That is to say what rights the Indian people have under this Constitution. On reading the entire clause, I feel that the rights which have been recognised under sub-clause (1) of this article have been to a great extent abrogated by the subsequent provisos. In a Constitution, there are two important points, namely what are our rights and what form of Government we are going to have. These are the two important subjects in a Constitution and others flow from them and therefore one expects that so far as the rights of the people are concerned, they should be expressed in clear, simple and straight language, so that a common man when he reads the Constitution can understand exactly and precisely what are his rights and what are the checks to his rights. I do not propose to say that at times of emergencies or grave needs, freedom does not require to be checked to a certain extent. I believe in checks and balances, but at the same time, I must say that those checks should be very precise, and clear and should not be couched in ambiguous language and left to courts for decisions.
