The Parliament enacts the "Fair Housing Act, 2024," which includes the following provisions: (1) Section 3: Prohibits discrimination in renting or selling houses based on religion, caste, or gender. (2) Section 6: Imposes a penalty of 10,000 for discrimination. (3) Section 10: Makes it mandatory for landlords to disclose the religious background of all tenants in the previous 10 years. A citizen challenges Section 10, arguing that it violates the right to privacy under Article 21. The Supreme Court declares Section 10 unconstitutional but upholds the other provisions. What principle did the court apply?
Explanation & Strategy
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The Doctrine of Severability (also called the Doctrine of Separability) allows courts to strike down only the unconstitutional portion of a statute while preserving the valid remainder, provided the valid parts can stand independently. Here, Section 10 was severed as violative of Article 21 privacy rights, while Sections 3 and 6 remained operative as they were constitutionally sound and self-contained.
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