Article 24's child labour prohibition bars employing children below 14 in factories, mines, or hazardous work, reinforced by the Child Labour Act and Article 21A.
At a glance
Article 24 absolutely bars employing a child below fourteen in a factory, mine, or other hazardous employment.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, renamed in 2016, is the principal enforcing statute.
A 1996 Supreme Court direction created a Child Labour Rehabilitation Welfare Fund funded by a Rs 20,000 fine per child employed.
Article 24 works with Article 21A and the RTE Act, 2009 to move children from hazardous work into schooling.
Child labour prohibition under the Constitution is absolute and admits no exception: Article 24 bars any child below the age of fourteen from working in a factory, a mine, or any other hazardous employment. It sits alongside Article 23 in the Right against Exploitation, and over the decades Parliament has layered a growing body of legislation on top of this bare constitutional text to close gaps and extend protection further than the original wording alone.
What Article 24 Says
Article 24 reads: "No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment." The prohibition covers three settings specifically — factories, mines, and other hazardous employment — but it does not extend to harmless or innocent work outside these categories. Because the bar on employing children below fourteen in these hazardous settings admits no exception, it does not depend on parental consent, wage levels, or working conditions; the age threshold itself is the trigger.
Legislation Giving Effect to Article 24
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 has historically been the principal statute enforcing this constitutional bar, and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 renamed the parent statute as the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, updating its scope. Several older, sector-specific laws work alongside it, including the Employment of Children Act, 1938, the Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, the Plantation Labour Act, 1951, the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1951, the Apprentices Act, 1961, and the Bidi and Cigar Workers Act, 1966 — each of which restricts the employment of children below a specified age in its own sector.
In 2006, the government extended the practical reach of these protections by banning the employment of children as domestic servants and as workers in establishments such as hotels, dhabas, restaurants, shops, factories, resorts, spas, and tea-shops, warning that anyone employing a child below fourteen would face prosecution and penal action.
Judicial and Institutional Follow-Through
In 1996, the Supreme Court directed the creation of a Child Labour Rehabilitation Welfare Fund, into which an employer found violating the child labour prohibition must deposit a fine of ₹20,000 for every child unlawfully employed. The same directions required improvements in the education, health, and nutrition of affected children, linking punishment for the employer to rehabilitation for the child rather than treating the fine as an end in itself.
Institutional support followed with the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, which established a National Commission and State Commissions for the Protection of Child Rights, along with Children's Courts for the speedy trial of offences against children and violations of child rights.
Connection to the Right to Education
Article 24's prohibition on child labour works alongside Article 21A, the Right to Education, inserted by the Constitution (Eighty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2002. Parliament gave effect to Article 21A through the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which guarantees every child full-time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school meeting essential norms and standards. Both the 86th Amendment and the RTE Act came into force from 1 April 2010. Read together, Articles 21A and 24 push in the same direction: removing children from hazardous work and placing them in school instead.
UPSC Relevance
Prelims
- Article 24 bars employment of children below 14 in a factory, mine, or hazardous employment — an absolute prohibition with no exception.
- The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 was renamed the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 by the 2016 Amendment.
- The Supreme Court's 1996 direction created a Child Labour Rehabilitation Welfare Fund, funded by a ₹20,000 fine per child unlawfully employed.
- The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and the 86th Amendment Act, 2002 came into force on 1 April 2010.
Mains
- Discuss how Article 24 and Article 21A work together to shift children from hazardous labour into formal schooling.
- Examine the effectiveness of the Child Labour Rehabilitation Welfare Fund mechanism directed by the Supreme Court in 1996.
- Evaluate whether sector-specific child labour statutes (Factories Act, Mines Act, etc.) provide adequate coverage beyond Article 24's core prohibition.
FAQ
Q1. Does Article 24 prohibit all forms of child work? No. It prohibits employment of children below fourteen specifically in factories, mines, and other hazardous employment. It does not prohibit their engagement in harmless or innocent work outside these categories.
Q2. Which law is the principal legislation enforcing Article 24? The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, later renamed the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 by the 2016 Amendment.
Q3. What did the Supreme Court direct in 1996 regarding child labour? It directed the establishment of a Child Labour Rehabilitation Welfare Fund, requiring offending employers to deposit ₹20,000 for each child unlawfully employed, along with measures to improve affected children's education, health, and nutrition.
Q4. How does the Right to Education relate to Article 24? Article 21A, inserted by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002, guarantees free and compulsory elementary education, and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 gives it statutory effect — both reinforcing Article 24's aim of keeping children out of hazardous work and in school.
Q5. Are there sector-specific laws beyond the main Child Labour Act? Yes. Statutes such as the Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, the Plantation Labour Act, 1951, and the Bidi and Cigar Workers Act, 1966 also restrict child employment within their respective sectors.
Quick Revision
- Article 24 = absolute prohibition on employing children below 14 in factories, mines, or hazardous employment.
- Does not cover harmless/innocent work outside these categories.
- Principal law: Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, renamed by the 2016 Amendment Act as Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
- 1996 Supreme Court direction: Child Labour Rehabilitation Welfare Fund, ₹20,000 fine per child employed unlawfully.
- 2005: Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act established National/State Commissions and Children's Courts.
- 2006: Government banned child employment as domestic servants and in hotels, dhabas, shops, and similar establishments.
- Article 21A (86th Amendment, 2002) + RTE Act, 2009 (in force from 1 April 2010) reinforce Article 24 by guaranteeing elementary education.
Sources
- Constitution of India, Article 24 — legislative.gov.in
- Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 — legislative.gov.in
Further Reference
For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:
- M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
- D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
- The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.
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Constitutional provisions
Right to elementary education, inserted by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002.
Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.
Prohibition of employment of children below 14 in factories, mines, or hazardous work.