If the right to life is the basis of society, the right to liberty is the essence of human existence. Man has not simply to live, but to live well and living well means living a moral, virtuous and happy life. Man has a moral vocation to perform or do his duty in the social life.
This he can do only when he has complete freedom to exercise his faculties and to determine the general conditions of his life. It also implies that the movements of the individual should not be restricted by any arbitrary exercise of authority either by other individuals or by the government.
Mere life without movement would be meaningless and without the exercise of human faculties it would not rise above the levels of animals. Since the right to liberty and free movement arises from the fact that every man contributes something to the good of society, slavery, in any form, is the antithesis of liberty.
Image Source: 185.26.182.219
ADVERTISEMENTS:
But unrestrained freedom is the negation of freedom as it means freedom for no one. True freedom is really limited by freedom, that is, my freedom is limited by the freedom of others so that all may equally use their potentialities for their own good as well as for the common good.
Liberty, as such, involves certain ‘fundamentals’ which must be guaranteed to each individual, and personal liberty is the foremost of all.
The right to personal freedom means that no one may be wrongfully arrested or detained or coerced in any manner not prescribed by the laws of the State. Physical restraint is wrong, unless the individual is accused of an offence and is tried in a court of law, or when after trial he is convicted.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
If the personal freedom of a citizen is arbitrarily restricted by a government, which allows to its citizen the right to free movement, then, there are two alternatives before him. He may, in the first place, apply to a court for a writ of Habeas Corpus.
When the writ is issued, the prisoner is produced before a court which enquires into the causes of his arrest or detention and orders him to be set free if his arrest is held illegal. In the second place, the accused person can seek redress for his arrest. Redress for arrest means that a person who has been wrongly arrested may sue the wrong-doer for damages or get him punished by a court of law.
The right to liberty and free movement is, however, not unlimited. A government may impose many restrictions on freedom of movement of the citizens during a period of war or at a time of national emergency.
War and other national emergencies demand that government should possess wide discretionary powers. These are, nevertheless, extraordinary powers to be exercised for extraordinary purposes and a resort to them should not be made in times of peace.