Question:easy

Assertion (A): Freedom of Speech is the most important civil liberty of people in a democratic polity.
Reason (R): State can regulate free speech in the interest of public order.

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One statement says why the right matters, the other says how it can be curbed under Article 19(2). Ask whether a limit on a right can ever explain the right's importance.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
  • Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A
  • A is true but R is false
  • A is false but R is true
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Two true sentences about Article 19 are placed side by side here, but they are doing opposite jobs. One celebrates the freedom, the other fences it in. Spotting that mismatch settles the question.

  1. Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A: Wrong. A restriction on a right never explains why the right matters so much.
  2. Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A: Correct.
  3. A is true but R is false: Wrong. Article 19(2) expressly lists public order as a ground on which reasonable restrictions may be imposed.
  4. A is false but R is true: Wrong. The primacy of free speech in a democracy is a settled proposition in Indian constitutional writing and judgments.

Why the assertion is true: democracy runs on informed choice. Citizens need to hear criticism, read reporting, and argue in public before they vote. Strip the speech away and elections become theatre. That is why free speech is treated as the liberty on which the others depend.

Why the reason is true: the Indian Constitution never made this freedom absolute. Article 19(2) permits reasonable restrictions on eight grounds, and public order is one of them, inserted by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 after early Supreme Court decisions had read the original clause narrowly.

Why the link fails: notice the subject matter. The assertion answers "how important is this freedom?" The reason answers "how far can this freedom be curtailed?" The second question does not supply an answer to the first. If the reason explained anything, it would explain that the right has boundaries, which is close to the opposite of what the assertion claims.

Let's summarize:

  • Assertion: true, free speech is the core democratic liberty under Article 19(1)(a).
  • Reason: true, Article 19(2) allows restrictions on grounds including public order.
  • The reason limits the right rather than explaining its importance.

So both are true, the reason is not the explanation, and option (B) is the answer.

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