Unit 1 of Law Relating to Women and Children (syllabus: Module I — the social and legal status of the sexes; the Constitution and women (Preamble, fundamental rights, directive principles, reservation in local bodies); personal laws, the Special Marriage Act 1954 and the Uniform Civil Code; criminal law and women; and the position of women under CEDAW and its optional protocol). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- What work does Article 15(3) do, and why is it the hinge of this whole paper?
- Which directive principles and fundamental duties support women's rights, and what rests on each?
- What is the constitutional provision for the reservation of seats for women in local bodies?
- How should a question on the Uniform Civil Code and the Special Marriage Act be answered?
- The syllabus names the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Evidence Act — what should an answer say about them now?
- What procedural protections does the criminal procedure law give a woman complainant?
- What is the rape-shield rule, and is it a matter of judicial discretion?
- How does the Women's Convention define discrimination, and why does the definition matter in argument?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Constitution of India, s. Article 15(3)
- Constitution of India, s. Articles 39, 42 and 51A(e)
- Constitution of India, s. Articles 243D and 243T
- Constitution of India and the Special Marriage Act 1954, s. Articles 37 and 44
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, s. the proviso to section 149, with section 308
- Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women 1979, s. Articles 1 and 4