Article 18: Full Explanation with important cases
Date: 25 May, 2020
By: Pradeep Yadav
By: Pradeep Yadav
Bare Meaning
Article 18: Abolition of titles
1. No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State.
2. No Citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign State.
3. No person who is not a citizen of India shall, while he holds any office of profit or trust under the State, accept without the consent of the President any title from any foreign State.
4. No person holding any office of profit or trust under the State shall, without the consent of the President, accept any present, emolument, or office of any kind from or under any foreign State.
2. No Citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign State.
3. No person who is not a citizen of India shall, while he holds any office of profit or trust under the State, accept without the consent of the President any title from any foreign State.
4. No person holding any office of profit or trust under the State shall, without the consent of the President, accept any present, emolument, or office of any kind from or under any foreign State.
Article 18 in Graphic mode.
Explanation of Article 18
In Clause 1, this article is abolishing all types of titles by State except military and academic. The meaning of the State as defined in Article 12.
In Clause 2, this article is also prohibiting all kinds of titles given to any Indian Citizens by any foreign government.
In Clause 3, non-citizen of India who is holding any office of profit is not allowed to get any types of titles without the consent of the President.
In Clause 4, People are also prohibited from getting any type of Present, emolument or office of any kind by any foreign government.
In Clause 2, this article is also prohibiting all kinds of titles given to any Indian Citizens by any foreign government.
In Clause 3, non-citizen of India who is holding any office of profit is not allowed to get any types of titles without the consent of the President.
In Clause 4, People are also prohibited from getting any type of Present, emolument or office of any kind by any foreign government.
After looking at this article 18 and reading the 4 clauses carefully, we can see that the starting 2 clauses are talking about the citizens of India and the last 2 clauses are talking about any foreign national who is holding any office of profit under the Government of India.
The non-citizens are also expected to not to accept any titles from any other country while serving the government as they are expected to be loyal to India while giving their service to our country.
The Constitution gave the power to Parliament to create law for a penalty against the people who are found violating Article 18.
The non-citizens are also expected to not to accept any titles from any other country while serving the government as they are expected to be loyal to India while giving their service to our country.
The Constitution gave the power to Parliament to create law for a penalty against the people who are found violating Article 18.
Are Bharat Ratna Awards against Article 18?
No, Bharat Ratna awards aren’t against Article 18. They are covered by the exception given in clause 1 of Article 18. Many other awards which are given by the Government of India like Padma Vibhushan, Padma Shri etc. are all coming under this exception. These awards are given as a mark of respect for the exemplary work done by the individual for our country.
Important Case of Article 18
In the case of Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India, AIR 1996, the court said that National awards aren’t titles under clause 1 of Article 18. The court asked for setting up of guidelines while giving these awards as they are highly respected.
The committee was set up by the Government of India in which it said that the awards should be given based on recommendations of names given by various state governments. These recommendations will be reviewed by the Centre government. After this committee, the names will be sent to Prime Minister’s Office and finally sent to the President for the final verdict.
It is important to remember that there are no guidelines given for the Bharat Ratna award.
It is important to remember that there are no guidelines given for the Bharat Ratna award.
