📌 Key Topics Covered in this Blog
- ⚖️ Supreme Court on scope of Article 14
- 📑 Can classification be permitted under Article 14?
- ⚖️ Arbitrariness, discretion & reasonableness under Article 14
- 👩👧 Affirmative Action for Women and Children in Article 15
- 🧑🏽🤝🧑🏾 Affirmative Action for SCs, STs & SEBCs in Article 15
- 💰 Affirmative Action for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in Article 15
- 📜 Constitutional Validity of the 93rd & 103rd Amendments
⚖️ The First Fundamental Right: Right to Equality
Equality Before Law
- Article 14
- State shall not deny to any person equality before law
- State shall not deny to any person equal protection of laws within the territory of India
📝 Explanatory Notes by DLA on Article 14:
- Equality before the law, guaranteed by the first part of Article 14, is a negative concept while the second part is a positive concept.
- The gravamen of Article 14 is equality of treatment. The basic principle is that the law must operate equally on all persons under like circumstances.
📚 The Doctrine of Classification
Question: Can there be different laws for different classes of people?
Is classification permitted under Article 14?
Ans: It is well-established that while Article 14 does not forbid reasonable classification for the purposes of legislation. In order to pass the test of permissible classification two conditions must be fulfilled:
- The classification must be founded on an intelligible differentia which distinguishes persons or things that are grouped together from others left out of the group
- The differentia must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the statute in question.
What is necessary is that there must be a nexus between the basis of classification and the object of the Act under consideration.
Question: Is a law conferring discretionary powers constitutionally valid in view of Article 14?
Ans: Every discretionary power is not necessarily discriminatory. Equality is not violated by mere conferment of discretionary power. It is violated by arbitrary exercise by those on whom it is conferred.
Question: How is arbitrariness viewed under Article 14?
Ans: Equality is antithetic to arbitrariness. In fact equality and arbitrariness are sworn enemies; one belongs to the rule of law in a republic, while the other, to the whim and caprice of an absolute monarch. Where an act is arbitrary, it is implicit in it that it is unequal and is therefore violative of Article 14.
Question: Is reasonableness an essential element of Article 14?
Ans: Equality is a dynamic concept. Article 14 strikes at arbitrariness in State action and ensures fairness and equality of treatment. The principle of reasonableness which is an essential element of equality or non-arbitrariness pervades Article 14 like a brooding omnipresence.
📖 Scope of Article 14
- Article 14 guarantees equal treatment to persons who are equally situated
- Unequals are not only permitted to be treated unequally but also they have to be so treated
- Equal treatment to unequals is nothing but inequality
- Article 14 allows reasonable classification on an objective basis having nexus with the object to be achieved
📜 Article 15 of Indian Constitution – Prohibition of Discrimination
🚫 Prohibition of Discrimination
Article 15(1)
- State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of:
- Religion
- Race
- Caste
- Sex
- Place of birth
Clause (2)
- No citizen shall be subjected to any disability, liability or restriction on these grounds only
👩👧 Affirmative Action in favour of Women and Children
Clause (3)
- This Article does not prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children
🧑🏽🤝🧑🏾 Affirmative Action in favour of SCs, STs and SEBCs
Introduced by the 1st Amendment Act in 1951
Clause (4)
- This Article does not prevent the State from making any special provision for:
- Socially or educationally backward class of citizens
- Scheduled Castes
- Scheduled Tribes
🏫 Special Provision for Admission to Educational Institutions
Introduced by the 93rd Amendment Act in 2005
Clause (5)
- This Article does not prevent the State from making any special provision, by law, for:
- Socially or educationally backward class of citizens
- Scheduled Castes
- Scheduled Tribes
- For their admission to educational institutions including private institutions (whether aided or unaided by State)
Exception: Minority educational institutions under Article 30(1)
⚖️ Constitutional Validity of the 93rd Amendment
- Issue 1: Whether the Ninety-Third Amendment is against the “basic structure” of the Constitution?
Decision: It does not violate the “basic structure” for state-maintained and aided institutions. Validity for private unaided institutions left open. - Issue 2: Whether exclusion of minority educational institutions from Article 15(5) is violative of Article 14?
Decision: Exclusion is valid, as minority institutions form a separate class protected by other provisions. - Issue 3: Whether “Creamy Layer” is to be excluded from SEBCs?
Decision: Yes. Identification of SEBCs without excluding creamy layer would not be valid under Article 15(1). - Issue 4: Whether “Creamy Layer” applies to SCs and STs?
Decision: No, creamy layer principle does not apply to SCs and STs.
💰 Affirmative Action in favour of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)
Introduced by the 103rd Amendment Act of 2019
Clause (6)
- This article or Articles 19(1)(g) or 29(2) do not prevent the State from:
- Making special provision for advancement of economically weaker sections (EWS) of citizens other than classes in Clauses (4) & (5)
- Making special provision for admission of EWS to educational institutions (including private, aided or unaided, but excluding minority institutions under Article 30(1))
- Reservation can be in addition to existing reservations, subject to a maximum of 10% of total seats.
Explanation: “Economically weaker sections” shall be as notified by the State, based on family income and other indicators of disadvantage.
Declared valid by the Supreme Court in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India [2022], discussed in detail at the end of Article 16.
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❓ Frequently Asked Questions on Article 15 of Indian Constitution
Article 15 prohibits the State from discriminating against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. It is a fundamental right ensuring equality before the law.
Yes. Through constitutional amendments, Article 15 allows the State to make special provisions for women, children, socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
Article 15(5), added by the 93rd Amendment, enables the State to provide reservation for SCs, STs, and socially or educationally backward classes in educational institutions, including private ones—except minority institutions under Article 30(1).
Article 15(6), introduced by the 103rd Amendment Act, 2019, allows up to 10% reservation in educational institutions for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of citizens, apart from the existing reservations for SC, ST, and OBC categories.
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the 103rd Amendment that introduced EWS reservation. It ruled that 10% EWS quota does not violate the “basic structure” of the Constitution.
The creamy layer principle applies to SEBCs (OBCs) and ensures that the most advanced sections among them do not take away benefits meant for truly disadvantaged groups. However, the creamy layer rule does not apply to SCs and STs.
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