Right To Shelter Case Study

• Right To Shelter
Unlike certain other ESC rights, the right to shelter, which forms part of the right to an ade¬quate standard of living under Article 11 of the ICESCR, finds no corresponding expression in the DPSP. This right has been seen as forming part of Article 21 itself. The court has gone as far as to say, “The right to life . . . would take within its sweep the right to food . . . and a reasonable accommodation to live in.” However, given that these observations were not made in a petition by a homeless person seeking shelter, it is doubtful that this declaration would be in the nature of a positive right that could be said to be enforceable. On the other hand, in certain other contexts with regard to housing for the poor, the court has actually refused to recognize any such absolute right.
In Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation , the court held that the right to life included the right to

The court said:
No State or country can have unlimited resources to spend on any of its projects. That is why it only approves its projects to the extent it is feasible. The same holds good for providing medical facilities to its citizens including its employees. Provi¬sion on facilities cannot be unlimited. It has to be to the extent finances permit. If no scale or rate is fixed then in case private clinics or hospitals increase their rate to exorbitant scales, the State would be bound to reimburse the same. The principle of fixation of rate and scale under the new policy is justified and cannot be held to be violative of Article 21 or Article 47 of the Constitution.
• Right to Education
Article 45 of the DPSP, which corresponds to Article 13(1) of the ICESCR, states, “The State shall endeavor to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Con¬stitution, for free and compulsory education for