“Right of movement and residence throughout the territory of India are freely available to the Indian citizens, but these rights are not absolute.” Comment.

Articles 19(1)(d) and 19(1)(e) guarantee every citizen the right to move freely throughout the territory of India and to reside and settle in any part of it, knitting the country into one national fabric. Article 19(5), however, makes these freedoms expressly qualified.

Grounds and instances of restriction

• Reasonable restrictions may be imposed in the interests of the general public — covering public order, health, morality and security.
• Restrictions may also protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes: entry and residence in tribal areas are regulated to safeguard their land, culture and livelihoods, as under the Inner Line Permit regime in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur.
• Courts have upheld externment orders (Dr. N.B. Khare, 1950) and restrictions on the movement of sex workers on public health and morals grounds (State of UP v. Kaushailiya, 1964).
• Public-interest curbs include prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC (now Section 163 BNSS), curfews, and the COVID-19 lockdowns imposed under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• These rights belong to citizens alone, and Article 19 freedoms stand suspended during an Emergency proclaimed on grounds of war or external aggression (Article 358).

The freedoms of movement and residence are thus fundamental but not absolute: the Constitution consciously balances individual liberty against the public interest and the protection of vulnerable tribal communities.