Consider the following statements regarding Article 25 of the Indian Constitution:
(A) Right to Freedom of Religion is given to all citizens only.
(B) Freedom of conscience is ascertained by it.
Which of the above statement is correct?

Question

Consider the following statements regarding Article 25 of the Indian Constitution: 
(A) Right to Freedom of Religion is given to all citizens only. 
(B) Freedom of conscience is ascertained by it. 
Which of the above statement is correct?

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

**The correct option is 2: Only (B) is correct.**

Statement (B) is definitively correct. Article 25(1) of the Indian Constitution explicitly states: "Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion." Freedom of conscience is the internal, subjective liberty of an individual to mold his relation with God or creatures of his thought, allowing a person to think or believe as they want on matters of religion. It is the core, unchallengeable private element of religious freedom, which is unequivocally protected by Article 25. Therefore, the statement that "Freedom of conscience is ascertained by it" is an accurate reflection of the Article's text and scope.

**The incorrect option is 1: Only (A) is correct.**

Statement (A) is incorrect because Article 25, which guarantees the Right to Freedom of Religion (including freedom of conscience, profession, practice, and propagation), is available to "all persons," not "all citizens only." Fundamental Rights under the Indian Constitution are generally categorized based on whom they are available to—either citizens only (like Article 19) or both citizens and foreigners/non-citizens (i.e., all persons). Article 25 belongs to the latter category, extending its protection to every person residing in India, including non-citizens, thereby promoting religious tolerance and coexistence universally across the country. Since the right is granted to "all persons," stating it is "given to all citizens only" makes statement (A) factually wrong in the context of the Indian Constitution.

**The incorrect option is 3: Both (A) & (B) are correct.**

This option is incorrect because, as explained above, statement (A) is fundamentally flawed. While statement (B) accurately reflects a key component of Article 25 (Freedom of Conscience), the assertion that both statements are correct fails due to the erroneous restriction of the right in statement (A) to "citizens only," when the text of Article 25 clearly applies to "all persons." This makes the composite option incorrect.

**The incorrect option is 4: Neither (A), nor (B) is correct.**

This option is incorrect because statement (B) is a correct and foundational aspect of Article 25. Article 25 secures the individual's spiritual liberty in its fullest sense, starting with the inner freedom of conscience. Since at least one of the statements, (B), is correct, the assertion that neither statement is correct cannot be accepted.