Unni Krishnan, J.P. and Ors. v State of Andhra Pradesh and Ors.

Facts

• The case arose from a challenge to the practice of charging capitation fees in private professional colleges
• The Court needed to determine whether education, not expressly listed as a fundamental right in Part III, could be read into Art.21 with the aid of Directive Principles

Issue

1. Whether the right to education is a fundamental right under Art.21, and to what extent; whether Directive Principles can inform the content of a fundamental right through harmonious construction.

Held

• The right to free education for children until fourteen years is a fundamental right flowing from Art.21, informed by the Directive Principle in Art.45
• Beyond fourteen, the right to education is subject to the state's economic capacity and is not an unqualified fundamental right
• The practice of capitation fees in professional colleges was struck down as unconstitutional
• A scheme for fee regulation was laid down (later revisited in TMA Pai Foundation, 2002)

Ratio Decidendi

Directive Principles can be read together with fundamental rights to give expansive content to an otherwise unenumerated right, such as education under Art.21; the right to free education for children up to fourteen years is fundamental, while access to higher and professional education remains subject to reasonable state regulation and resource constraints.