tatement made by a Minister even if traceable to any affairs of the State or for protecting the Government, cannot be attributed vicariously to the Government

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL ORIGINAL/CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (CRIMINAL) NO. 113 OF 2016

KAUSHAL KISHOR                                             … PETITIONER(S)

VERSUS

STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH & ORS. …RESPONDENT(S)

WITH

SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION @ (DIARY) NO. 34629 OF 2017

J U D G M E N T

V. RAMASUBRAMANIAN, J.

3. Thereafter,   the   Constitution   Bench,   by   an   order   dated

24.10.2019, formulated the following five questions to be decided by

this Court:­

“…1)   Are   the   grounds   specified   in   Article   19(2)   in

relation to which reasonable restrictions on the right

to free speech can be imposed by law, exhaustive, or

can restrictions on the right to free speech be imposed

on grounds not found in Article 19(2) by invoking other

fundamental rights? 

2) Can a fundamental right under Article 19 or 21 of

the Constitution of India be claimed other than against

the ‘State’ or its instrumentalities? 

3) Whether the State is under a duty to affirmatively

protect the rights of a citizen under Article 21 of the

Constitution   of   India   even   against   a   threat   to   the

liberty of a citizen by the acts or omissions of another

citizen or private agency? 

4) Can a statement made by a Minister, traceable to

any affairs of State or for protecting the Government,

be   attributed   vicariously   to   the   Government   itself,

especially   in   view   of   the   principle   of   Collective

Responsibility? 

5) Whether a statement  by a  Minister, inconsistent

with the rights of a citizen under Part Three of the

Constitution,   constitutes   a   violation   of   such

constitutional   rights   and   is   actionable   as

‘Constitutional Tort”? …”

.....

 135.    As   all   the   literature   on   the   issue   shows,   collective

responsibility is that of the Council of Ministers. Each individual

Minister is responsible for the decisions taken collectively by the

Council of Ministers.  In other words, the flow of stream in collective

responsibility is from the Council of Ministers to the individual

Ministers.   The   flow   is   not   on   the   reverse,   namely,   from   the

individual Ministers to the Council of Ministers.

....

137.   Therefore, our answer to Question No.4 would be that a

statement made by a Minister even if traceable to any affairs

of   the   State   or   for   protecting   the   Government,   cannot   be

attributed   vicariously   to   the   Government   by   invoking   the

principle of collective responsibility.