India was a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

India was a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A number of fundamental rights guaranteed to the individuals in Part III of the Indian Constitution are similar to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The following chart makes it very clear.
In Keshavananda Bharati v. State of kerala , the Supreme Court observed, “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights may not be a legally binding instrument but it shows how India understood the nature of human rights at the time the Constitution was adopted.” In the case of George Varghese v. Bank of Cochin the point involved was whether a right incorporated in the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is not recognized in the Indian Constitution, shall be available to the individuals in India. Justice Krishna lyer reiterated dualism and asserted that the positive commitment of the State Parties ignites legislative action at home but does not automatically make the Covenant an enforceable part of the ‘Corpus Juris’ in India. Thus, although the Supreme Court has stated that the Universal Declaration cannot create a binding set of rules and that even international treaties may at best inform judicial institutions and inspire legislative action. Constitutional interpretation in India has been strongly influenced by the Declaration. In the judgment given in the Chairman, Railway Board and others v. Mrs.Chandrima as, the Supreme Court observed that the Declaration has the international recognition as the Moral Code of Conduct having been adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The applicability of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and principles thereof may have to be read, if need be, into the domestic jurisprudence. In a number of cases the Declaration has been referred to in the decisions of the Supreme Court and State High Courts.India ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on March 27, 1979. The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1989, however, was not ratifled by lndia.
Fundamental Rights and Human Rights
The judicially enforceable fundamental rights which encompass all seminal civil and political rights and some of the rights of minorities are enshrined in part III of the Constitution (ARTICLEs 12 to 35). These include the right to equality, the right to freedom, the right against exploitation, the right to freedom of religion, cultural educational rights and the right to Constitutional remedies.10 Fundamental rights differ from ordinary rights in the sense that the former are inviolable. Any law,custom,