The right to pollution free air has been recognized as part of which…

Concept: Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the Fundamental Right to Life and Personal Liberty. The Supreme Court has read this right expansively — 'life' is not mere animal existence but the right to live with human dignity, and courts have held that a healthy, pollution-free environment is a necessary part of that dignified existence.

Application: In landmark rulings such as M.C. Mehta v. Union of India and Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, the Supreme Court held that the right to a wholesome environment — including pollution-free air and water — flows directly from Article 21. On this basis, the right to pollution-free air has been recognised as part of the Right to Life.

Cross-check (comparing the options):

• Life (Article 21): covers the right to a pollution-free environment, as established through this line of judicial interpretation.

• Equality (Article 14): guarantees equal treatment before the law and protection against discrimination; it does not address environmental quality.

• Justice: appears in the Preamble as a guiding ideal of the Constitution rather than a separately enforceable Fundamental Right under Part III.

• Freedom (Article 19): protects freedoms such as speech, assembly, and movement; it is not the constitutional basis on which environmental protection has been read in.

Therefore, the right to pollution-free air is recognised as part of the Right to Life.