Article 18 of the Costitution of India with Case law
🧾 Article 18 of the Constitution of India
Title: Abolition of Titles
📜 Text of Article 18 – Constitution of India
Article 18. Abolition of titles
No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State.
No citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign State.
No person who is not a citizen of India shall, while he holds any office of profit or trust under the State, accept without the consent of the President any title from any foreign State.
No person holding any office of profit or trust under the State shall, without the consent of the President, accept any present, emolument, or office of any kind from or under any foreign State.
🧠 Objective of Article 18
To promote equality by abolishing titles of nobility that create artificial social distinctions.
To uphold democratic ideals by preventing the revival of a privileged class.
To prevent foreign influence on Indian public officials.
🛑 Prohibited Titles
“Raja”, “Nawab”, “Maharaja”, “Sir”, etc., if conferred as hereditary or honorific titles by the State.
Titles conferred by foreign governments like "Sir" from British Monarchy, unless academic or military.
✅ Permitted Titles
Academic Titles (e.g., Dr., Professor)
Military Ranks (e.g., Captain, Major)
Civil Awards (e.g., Bharat Ratna, Padma Shri), but they are not titles in the constitutional sense.
⚖️ Important Case Laws on Article 18
1. 🏛️ Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India (1996 AIR SC 770)
Issue: Whether the national awards like Padma awards violate Article 18?
Held:
Civil honours like Padma Shri or Bharat Ratna do not violate Article 18, as they are not "titles" creating privileges or entitlements.
Such awards are not hereditary, not to be used as prefixes or suffixes, and hence not violative of Article 18(1).
Note: The Court allowed their use in citations, but not as a part of name (e.g., “Padma Shri A. B. Singh” is not allowed officially).
2. 🏛️ Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India (2017)
Facts: Petitioner challenged the practice of designating advocates as "Senior Advocate", claiming it violates Article 18.
Held:
The designation of “Senior Advocate” is not a “title” under Article 18, but a classification based on merit and ability as per the Advocates Act.
Hence, it does not violate the Constitution.
3. 🏛️ Abdul Kader v. Union of India (AIR 1962 Ker 84)
Facts: Concerned the abolition of hereditary titles like “Khan Bahadur” and “Rai Bahadur”.
Held:
Article 18(1) prohibits all non-academic and non-military titles conferred by the Indian State.
The Court upheld that such titles cannot be used legally after the Constitution came into force.
📌 Summary of Article 18:
| Clause | Provision | Nature |
|---|---|---|
| 18(1) | State cannot confer titles (except academic or military) | Absolute |
| 18(2) | Indian citizens cannot accept foreign titles | Restriction |
| 18(3) | Non-citizens in Indian service need President’s consent for foreign titles | Conditional |
| 18(4) | Indian officials cannot accept gifts, offices, or emoluments from foreign states without President’s consent | Conditional |
📚 Constitutional Spirit
Article 18 gives effect to Article 14 (Right to Equality) by ensuring no artificial class distinctions are created based on titles.
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