III. Right against Exploitation (Article 23 to 24)

Article 23: Prohibition of Traffic in Human Beings and Forced Labour

• This Article has been clearly designed to protect the individual not only against the State, but also against private individuals. It prohibits not only forced labour, but also ‘traffic in human beings’, which includes trafficking women for immoral or other purposes.

Article 24: Prohibition of Employment of Children in Factories, etc.

• In the case of M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu, (1996) the Hon’ble Supreme Court took judicial notice of child labour in Sivakasi, where the provisions of Article 24 were being violated. It was held that abolition of child labour is definitely a matter of great public concern and importance. Poverty was held to be the driving force behind the evil of child labour.