PART IV DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

Article 38: State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people

¹[(1)] The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.

²[(2) The State shall, in particular, strive to minimise the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.]

Footnotes in the official text

1.Art. 38 renumbered as cl. (1) by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 9 (w.e.f. 20- 6-1979).
2.Ins. by s. 9, ibid. (w.e.f. 20-6-1979).

Leading cases

Municipal Council, Ratlam v. Vardhichand (1980)A municipality cannot plead lack of funds to escape its statutory duty to provide sanitation; a Magistrate under Section 133 CrPC must order abatement of a public nuisance and may give specific, time-bound directions to a public body.

Questions on this article

4 questions in 11 of our papers cite Article 38. Try these from the free papers:

1. In Charan Lal Sahu v. Union of India (1989), the Supreme Court upheld the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985, under which the Central Government represented the victims of the gas leak in their claims. The doctrine relied upon to justify the State acting on behalf of the victims was:
2. Consider the following statements about Part IV: 1. Article 39A (equal justice and free legal aid) was inserted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976. 2. Article 43B (promotion of co-operative societies) was inserted by the Constitution (Ninety-seventh Amendment) Act, 2011. 3. Clause (2) of Article 38, requiring the State to strive to minimise inequalities in income, was inserted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
3. In Pragya Prasun v. Union of India (30 April 2025), which concerned digital KYC norms that acid attack survivors with facial disfigurement and persons with visual impairment could not satisfy, the Supreme Court held that:

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