Question

The Right to Equality is guaranteed by:

• A. Article 14 to 18
• B. Article 14
• C. Article 14 and 15
• D. Article 14, 15 and 16

Hint:

Recall where the next heading, Right to Freedom, begins in Part III. The equality group ends just before it.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Every option here is a subset of the one before it in coverage, which is the classic shape of a "how far does the group extend" question. The safest method is to recall how Part III is laid out. The fundamental rights are printed under bold headings, and the framers grouped Articles 14 to 18 under the heading Right to Equality, Articles 19 to 22 under Right to Freedom, and so on. So the answer is not a matter of opinion, it is printed in the Constitution.

1. Article 14 to 18: Correct. This is the exact span the Constitution places under the Right to Equality heading. Article 14 is equality before the law and equal protection of the laws. Article 15 forbids discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment. Article 17 abolishes untouchability. Article 18 abolishes titles. Every one of them attacks a form of inequality.
2. Article 14: Too narrow. Article 14 is the general clause and the one courts turn to most often, but treating it as the whole Right to Equality confuses the leading Article with the group.
3. Article 14 and 15: Still short. It picks up the general equality clause and the anti-discrimination clause, then stops before public employment, untouchability and titles.
4. Article 14, 15 and 16: The strongest distractor, because these three carry almost all the litigation, particularly on reservation. But Articles 17 and 18 sit in the same block. Untouchability and hereditary titles are both inequalities the framers wanted gone, which is exactly why they were placed here.

So option (A) is the answer. A useful way to remember Articles 17 and 18 is to see what each abolishes. One kills a social hierarchy imposed by birth, the other kills a hierarchy conferred by the State. Both are equality provisions in substance, not just by placement.

Let's summarize:

• Right to Equality covers Articles 14 to 18.
• Right to Freedom covers Articles 19 to 22, which is where the next heading begins.
• Articles 17 and 18 are easy to forget but belong squarely to the equality group.

The Right to Equality is guaranteed by Articles 14 to 18, so option (A) is correct.