DOES THE CONSTITUTION ALLOW CITIZENS TO BE COMPULSORILY DRAFTED FOR PUBLIC WORK?

Does the Constitution allow citizens to be compulsorily drafted for public work? Here Article 23(1) prohibits begaar and other forms of the forced labour. But Article 23(2) expressly permits the state to impose compulsory service for public purposes, provided it doesn't discriminate on specified grounds. Further more, under the Police Act, 1861 , residents of a neighbourhood may in specified public order circumstances be appointed special police officers. The Calcutta High Court in Dulal Samanta v District Magistrate, Howrah (1958) characterized this as compulsory public service protected by Article 23(2) . An even clearer example is the National service Act, 1972, under which specified qualified Doctors and the Engineers can be called up for National service. However parliament created an elaborate statutory regime for this:it identified who was liable, provided for the registration and notice, permitted postponement on hardship grounds, prescribed remuneration and required private employers to release--and later reinstate-- employees called up for service. The same elaborate arrangement is not available in the census Act. Any person the government considers suitable can be asked to perform the duties of an enumerator. But the rules are not as absolute as this sounds. Section 4(2) of the census Act, 1948 gives the state Government powers to appoint persons as census officers, to take aid in or supervise the census within a specified area and circle. Importantly, it add that such persons, when so appointed shall be bound to serve accordingly. This is potentially the strongest basis for the government's case, unlike provisions dealing specifically with government employees, section 4 uses the broad word "persons".But other provisions of the Act are much more specific about whose services can be compulsorily called upon:-- Er Fateh chand Guleria, Director RTI welfare Association registered number HPCD, 3552 , Bilaspur Himachal pradesh phone number, 9459334377