Article 28

Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions

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Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part III, Article 28, printed page 15
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 28 regulates religious instruction in State-funded institutions and protects consent for participation in recognised or aided institutions.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Clause (1) prohibits religious instruction in institutions wholly maintained out of State funds. Clause (2) makes an exception for a State-administered institution founded under an endowment or trust that requires religious instruction.

Clause (3) separately protects people attending institutions recognised by the State or receiving State aid: participation in religious instruction or worship cannot be required without their consent, or their guardian’s consent if they are minors.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A State-aided school requires a minor pupil to join religious worship without the guardian’s consent.

Core takeaway: Clause (3) protects against compulsory participation in that situation.

Illustrative Notice: The school’s funding, recognition, founding instrument and the nature of the activity matter. The constitutional categories should not be treated as interchangeable.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Different clauses apply to wholly maintained, administered, recognised and aided institutions.

The ban in clause (1) concerns religious instruction, with the exception in clause (2).
Clause (3) covers religious instruction and worship in recognised or aided institutions and attached premises.
For a minor, the consent specified in clause (3) is the guardian’s.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds. (2) Nothing in clause (1) shall apply to an educational institution which is administered by the State but has been established under any endowment or trust which requires that religious instruction shall be imparted in such institution. (3) No person attending any educational institution recognised by the State or receiving aid out of State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that may be imparted in such institution or to attend any religious worship that may be conducted in such institution or in any premises attached thereto unless such person or, if such person is a minor, his guardian has given his consent thereto.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part III, Article 28, printed page 15 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource