The Constitutional Basis of Reservation in India
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two
Syllabus topic 9, "Affirmative Actions in India and United States."
Pages 604 to 609 of 676
In one line
Indian reservation is not one power but a dozen provisions inserted over seventy five years, and knowing which is which is half the subject.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: the constitutional basis of reservation consists of enabling provisions in Part III for education and public employment, mandatory provisions in Parts IX, IXA and XVI for seats in legislatures and local bodies, and machinery provisions for identifying the beneficiary classes.
Part III: the enabling provisions
| Provision | What it enables | Inserted by | With effect from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article 15(3) | Special provision for women and children | Original | 26 January 1950 |
| Article 15(4) | Special provision for socially and educationally backward classes and for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, notwithstanding article 29(2) | First Amendment 1951 | 18 June 1951 |
| Article 15(5) | Special provision for the same classes in admission to educational institutions, including private aided and unaided, other than minority institutions under article 30(1) | Ninety Third Amendment 2005 | 20 January 2006 |
| Article 15(6) | Special provision for economically weaker sections other than the classes in clauses (4) and (5), with a ten per cent maximum in education | One Hundred and Third Amendment 2019 | 14 January 2019 |
| Article 16(4) | Reservation of appointments or posts for any backward class not adequately represented in the services under the State | Original | 26 January 1950 |
| Article 16(4A) | Reservation in matters of promotion, with consequential seniority, for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes | Seventy Seventh Amendment 1995; words substituted by the Eighty Fifth Amendment 2001 | 17 June 1995 |
| Article 16(4B) | Carried forward vacancies as a separate class, outside the fifty per cent ceiling for the year of filling | Eighty First Amendment 2000 | 9 June 2000 |
| Article 16(6) | Reservation of appointments for economically weaker sections, in addition to existing reservation, with a ten per cent maximum | One Hundred and Third Amendment 2019 | 14 January 2019 |
Two features of the drafting. Every one is permissive: "nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making". None confers a right to be appointed or admitted, and the Court has repeatedly said that article 16(4) confers no fundamental right on an individual.
And one about scope. Article 15(4) speaks of "special provision", which is wider than reservation and covers fee concessions, scholarships and relaxations; article 16(4) speaks of "reservation".
Part XVI and the legislatures
Article 330. Reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People, in proportion to population.
Article 332. The same in the Legislative Assembly of every State.
Article 330A and article 332A, inserted by the One Hundred and Sixth Amendment 2023, with effect from 16 April 2026, reserve seats for women: as nearly as may be one third of the seats filled by direct election, including one third of the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
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