Articles 23 and 24 establish the Right against Exploitation, protecting human dignity from systemic labor abuses.
1. Article 23: Prohibition of Forced Labor and Trafficking
Article 23(1) prohibits traffic in human beings, begar (compulsory labor without pay), and other similar forms of forced labor. Violations are punishable by law.
During the construction of stadiums for the Asian Games, workers were paid less than the minimum wage. The government claimed there was no physical force. The Supreme Court held that "forced labor" is not just physical threat. If a person is forced to work for less than the minimum wage due to economic poverty and starvation, it amounts to forced labor under Article 23.
Exception (Article 23(2)): The State can impose compulsory service for public purposes (such as military conscription or disaster relief), but cannot discriminate based on religion, race, caste, or class.
2. Article 24: Prohibition of Child Labor
Article 24 reads: "No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment."
- Absolute Mandate: Unlike Western laws that permit regulated light work, Article 24 is absolute for children under 14 in hazardous industries.
- M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu (1996): The Supreme Court directed the complete elimination of child labor in Sivakasi's fireworks factories, ordering employers to pay a fine of Rs. 20,000 per child to set up a Child Labour Rehabilitation Fund.