CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS FOR VULNERABLE GROUPS IN INDIA: AN EXAMINATION OF RIGHTS, IMPLEMENTATION GAPS, AND PATHWAYS FOR REFORM

Abstract
The Constitution of India establishes a comprehensive normative architecture
for the protection of marginalised communities—including women, children,
persons with disabilities, scheduled tribes, senior citizens, and religious and
linguistic minorities. Despite the existence of an extensive corpus of
fundamental rights, directive principles, and special legislation, a persistent
and well-documented chasm separates the formal guarantee of rights from their
practical realisation. This article surveys the constitutional provisions and key
legislative instruments that frame the rights of these six vulnerable groups,
examines landmark judicial decisions that have enlarged the protective scope
of those provisions, and critically evaluates the structural, socio-cultural, and
institutional obstacles that undermine effective enforcement. The article
concludes by proposing targeted reforms in legal awareness, judicial capacity,
economic empowerment, and technology-assisted justice delivery as
preconditions for meaningful equality.
Keywords: constitutional rights; human rights; vulnerable groups; women’s
rights; children’s rights; disability rights; tribal rights; minority rights; social
justice; legal protection.