CasePre

sent
ati
onOnI
ndraSawhne
y&Ot
hersVs.
Uni
onOfI
ndi
a
WhenourownConst it
utionwasf ramedt hef r
ameroft heconsti
tutionmadeaspeci alprovisi
on
wit
hi nt
enti
ontoprovi
deequal opportuni
tyint hepublicemploymentt oallthecit
izenswi t
hin
I
NDI A.Thesamewasi nsert
edint heArt.16oft heIndianConst i
tution.Butconsideringthe
backwardclassesaspecial
provisionwasi nsertedinthesameAr t.Inclause4i.e.,i
nAr t
.16(4).
Thissecti
onempower stheStatetomakeaspeci alprovi
sionforthosebackwar dclasseswho
i
nt heopini
onoftheStatearenotadequat elyrepresentedintheser viceundertheSt at
e.

Buti
ntheseconnect
iont
woquest
ionsr
easonabl
eexpl
oresourmi
ndt
hat
:

i
.Whowi
l
lbedesi
gnat
edasabackwar
dcl
asspeopl
efort
hepur
poseoft
hissect
ion?&

i
i
.Whowi
l
lbet
reat
edt
obei
nadequat
eint
heempl
oymentunderSt
ate?

Becausetherewerenosui tableanswer softheset woquest i

onsgivenundertheprovi
sionofthe
Consti
tut
ion.Bytakingthisadv antagetheruli
ngpar tywhower einthepoweratCentreut i
l
ised
thi
sprovi
sionsfortheirownpol it
icalbenef
it.Butthiscase(whichisalsofamouslyknownas
MONDALCOMMI SSION Scase)pl aysanimpor t
antroletofindouttheansweroftheset wo
questi
ons.Soiti
sv eryimportantf orustoknowt hef act,
issue,f
indi
ngs&j udgementofthis
casewhicharegoingt obedi scussedonsubsequent ly
.

2)Fact
sOfThi
sCase:
-

Thef actsoft hecaseswer easf oll

ows.OnJanuar y1,1979t heJANATAGov ernmentheadedby
thePr i
meMi nisterSri MORARJIDESAIappoi ntedthesecondBackwar dCl asses(Bya
President i
alOrderunderAr t
icle340oft heConst it
ut i
onofIndia,thefir
stBackwar dClass
Commi ssionknownasKAKAKALLELKAR' sCommi ssionwassetuponJanuar y29,1953andi t
submi tteditsreportonMar ch30, ,
1955l ist
ingout2399cast esassoci all
yandeducat ionall
y
backwar dont hebasi sofcriteri
aev ol
vedbyi t,buttheCent r
alGov ernmentdidnotacceptt hat
reportandshel veditinthecol dstorage)Commi ssionunderAr t
icle340oft heConstituti
on
undert hechai rmanshi pofSr iB.P.Mandal (MP)t oinvesti
gatetheSoci all
y&Educat i
onal l
y
Backwar dClasseswi thinthet erri
tor
yofI NDIA&r ecommendedst epstobet akenfortheir
advancementi ncludingthenecessar ypr ovisi
onwhi char etober equir
edt obemadef ort hem
fortheupl if
tmentoft hei
rstat usbygivingequal opportunit
yinthepubl icemployment.

1Thecommi ssi
onsubmittedi
tsreportonDecember,1980i
nthi
srepor
tthecommissi
on
i
dent
if
iedabout3743castesassocial
ly&educat
ional
l
ybackwardcl
asses&recommendedf
or
r
eser
vati
onof27%i nGovernmentjobs.

2Inthemeantimeduet oint
ernaldi
sturbancewithi
nthepar tytheGOVT.col
lapsed&bythusi
t
coul
dnti
mplementt her
ecommendat ionsmadebyMANDALCOMMI SSION&aftert
hatt
he
CONGRESSGOVT.headedbyt hePri
meMi ni
sterSmt.INDIRAGANDHIcamet othepowerat
cent
re.Butshedi
din
timplementtheMANDALCOMMI SIONSr epor
tti
ll
1989.In1989the
CONGRESSGOVT.t oppl
edduet othedefeatofthegener alel
ecti
on.
3Aft
erwinni
ngthatelecti
onJANATADALagai ncamet othepower&decidedtoi
mplementthe
r
eportoft
hecommi ssion.Af
terthatt
henPrimeMini
sterV.P.
SINGHissuedof
fi
ceof
memorandum onAUGUST13, 1990&reser
ved27%seatsfortheSoci
all
y&Backwardcl
asses.

4Thiscauseef
fecti
ncivi
ldi
stur
bancethr
oughoutt
heINDIA.From v
ari
ousplacesanti
Reserv
ati
onmov ementr
ockedthenati
onfor3months.I
tresul
tsahugelossofpersons&
proper
ty.

5Awri
tpeti
ti
onwasfil
edf
rom theBARASSOCIATI
ONOFTHESUPREMECOURT.
Chal
l
engi
ng
t
hev
ali
dit
yofOff
iceofMemorandum i
ssuedbyt
heGOVT.

6Thecasewasul t
imat
elydecidedbyt he5Judgesbench.Theyi
ssuedastayor
dert
il
lthefi
nal
disposal
ofthecaseonOct ober1,1990.Unfor
tunatel
yi
nthemeanwhil
eJANATAGOVT.again
coll
apsedduetodefect
ions&i n1991byt heParl
iamentar
yel
ecti
ons&theCongr
essagain
formedtheGOVT.atcentre.

7Tot acklethesituati
on&alsofort hepol
it
ical
gai
nthenPrimeMi nisterP.V.NARSHI MARAO
i
ssuedanot herofficeofmemor andum bymaking2changesi )byi
nt r
oducingt heeconomi
c
cri
ter
ioningr ant
ingreservat
ionwithin27%inGovt
.Job.&ii)Reser
v edanot her10%of
vacanciesforthesociall
y&educationall
ybackwar
dclasses.Thatistotal37%( 27%10%)

8.The5judge
sbenchrefer
r edthi
smat t
ertothe9judgesbenchwhoissuedanoti
cetothe
Govt.t
oshowcauset hecri
teri
auponwhi chtheGOVT.hasproposedtomake27%r eser
vati
on
fort
hem.Butinspit
eoftakingsev er
aladj
ournmentstheGOVT.ofINDI
Ahasfail
edtoexplai
n
thecri
ter
iamenti
onedintheof f
iceofmemor andum.

3)I
ssueFr
amedByTheCour
t:
-

I
nthi
scaset
hecour
tfr
amedt
hef
oll
owi
ngi
ssues:
-

1.WhetherAr
ti
cle16(
4)isanexcepti
ontoArti
cle16(
1)andwoul
dbeexhaust
iveoft
her
ightt
o
reser
vat
ionofpost
sinservi
cesundertheSt
ate?

2.Whatwoul dbet hecontentofthephrase"BackwardClass"inAr t

icl
e16(4)oftheConstit
uti
on
andwhet hercastebyitsel
fcouldconsti
tut
eacl assandwhet hereconomiccrit
erionbyit
self
couldi
dent i
fyaclassforArti
cle16(4)andwhether"BackwardCl asses"i
nArti
cle16(4)would
i
ncludethe" weakersecti
ons"mentionedinArti
cle46aswel l
?

3.I
feconomiccr
iter
ionbyi
tselfcouldnotconstit
uteaBackwardClassunderAr
ti
cle16(
4),
whetherr
eser
vat
ionofpost
si nservicesundertheStat
e,basedexcl
usiv
elyoneconomic
cri
ter
ionwoul
dbecov er
edbyAr ti
cle16(1)oftheConsti
tut
ion?
4.Cant heextentofreser
vationofpostsintheservi
cesundertheSt at
eunderAr t
icl
e16( 4)or
,if
permit
tedunderAr ti
cle16(1)and16(4)together,
exceed50%oft hepostsinacadr eorServi
ce
undertheStateorexceed50%ofappoi ntmentsinacadreorser v
iceinanyparti
cularyearand
cansuchext entofreserv
ationbedeterminedwi t
houtdet
erminingtheinadequacyof
repr
esentati
onofeachcl assi nt
hediff
erentcategor
iesandgradesofSer vi
cesundert heStat
e?

5.DoesArt
icl
e16(
4)permitt
hecl
assi
fi
cati
onof'
BackwardCl
asses'i
ntoBackwardCl
assesand
MostBackwardCl
assesorpermi
tcl
assi
fi
cati
onamongthem basedoneconomicorot
her
consi
der
ati
ons?

6.Wouldmaking"
anypr
ovi
sion"underArt
icl
e16(4)forreser
vat
ion"
byt
heState"necessar
il
y
havetobebylawmadebythelegi
slat
uresoftheStateorbylawmadebyParl
i
ament ?Orcould
suchprov
isi
onsbemadebyanexecutiveorder
?

7.Wil
ltheextentofj
udi
cialr
eviewbeli
mit
edorr estri
ctedi
nregardtothei denti
fi
cat
ionof
BackwardClassesandt
heper cent
ageofreser
vationsmadef orsuchclasses,toa
demonstrabl
yperver
seident
ifi
cati
onorademonst rabl
yunreasonabl
eper centage?

8.Woul
dreservat
ionofappoi
ntmentsorposts"i
nfavourofanyBackwardCl
ass"ber
est
ri
cted
tot
heini
ti
alappoint
menttothepostorwoulditext
endtopromotionsaswel
l?

9.Whet
hert
hemat
tershoul
dbesentbackt
otheFi
ve-
JudgeBench?

4)Ar
gumentMadeOnBehal
fOfThePet
it
ioner:
-

OnbehalfofthePet i
ti
onerfol
lowingargumentsweremadebylear
nedSENI
ORCOUNCEL,Mr.
N.A.Pal
khiwala,Mr.K.K.Venugopal,
Smt .Shyamal
aPappuandMr.P.
P.Raoassi
stedbya
batt
eryofl
ayer sappeari
ngforthepetit
ioner
s:-

I.Firstl
y,therecommendat ionsmadebyt heMONDALCOMMI SSIONar eindirect
lyprovokingthe
evil i
deaofCASTESYSTEM whi chisnothi
ngbutconsideredasagai nstthei deaofthe
secul ari
sm.Accor di
ngtot hemwoul dbedanger ousanddi sastr
ousforther apiddevelopmentof
theI ndiansocietyasawhol emar chingtowardsthegoaloft hewelfarestate.Theyalso
cont endedt hatthei
dentif
icationofSEBCsbyt heCommi ssiononthebasi sofcast esystem i
s
bizar r
eandbar renofforce,muchl essexposingholl
owness.Ther ef
or e,
theOMsi ssuedont he
strengthoft heMandal Repor twhichissolel
ybasedont hecast ecr
iteri
onar cv i
olat
iveofArti
cle
16( 2).

II
.Secondly,t
hereportwasnotsolelybaseduponthecastecr
iter
iabutthr
eeotherfact
orsar
e
alsoconsider
edi.e.soci
al,
educat
ionalandeconomicbackwardnessbutgivi
ngmor e
i
mpor t
ance-r
ight
lytoo-tothesocialbackwar
dnessas"havi
ngadi r
ectconsequenceofcast
e
status.
I
II.Thi
rdly,t
hepr esentReportbasedon1931censuscannev erserv
eacor rectbasisfor
i
dent i
fyi
ngthe'backwar dclass'
,t
hatther
efore,af
reshCommi ssi
onunderAr ti
cle340(1)ofthe
Constit
utionisrequiredtobeappointedt
omakeaf reshwidesurveythr
oughoutt helengthand
breadthofthecount ryandsubmi tanewlistofOBCs( ot
herbackwardclasses)ont hebasisof
thepresentdayCensus.

IV.Fourthl
y,ift
herecommendat
ionsoftheCommissi
onareimplemented,
itwouldresul
tint
he
sub-standardrepl
aci
ngthest
andardandtherei
nsofpowerpassi
ngfrom meri
tocracyto
medi ocri
ty.

V.Fi
ft
hly,i
twi
llbeindemor al
i
zationanddi
scont
entandthati
twouldrevit
alizecastesystem,
andcleav
ethenationint
otwo-f orwar
dandbackward-andopenupnewv istasforint
erneci
ne
conf
li
ctandfi
ssiparousfor
ces,andmakebackwardnessavestedi
nterest
.

VI
.Si
xthl
y,t
heargumentthatthei
mpl
ement
ati
onoftherecommendati
onsoftheCommi
ssi
on
woul
dresul
tindemoral
i
sationoft
hemer
it
ori
ouscandi
datesappear
ingfort
hepubl
ic
empl
oyment.

VI
I.Sevent
hly,
the'
Equalpr
otecti
on'
clausepr
ohibi
tst
heSt at
efrom maki
ngunreasonabl
e
di
scri
minati
oninpr
ovidi
ngprefer
encesandfaci
l
iti
esforanysecti
onofit
speople.

VIII
.Ei
ght
hly,
theargumentscri
ti
cisi
ngtheReporti
sthatthesaidReportvi
rt
uall
yrewrit
est
he
Consti
tut
ionandineff
ectburi
es50f at
homsdeept heidealofequal
it
yandthatift
he
recommendati
onsaregiveneff
ecttoandimplemented,theeff
ici
encyofadmini
strat
ionwi
ll
comet oagri
ndinghal
t.

5)Ar
gument
sMadeOnBehal
fOfTheRespondentI
.E.
,Gov
t.OfI
ndi
a:-

I
.Fir
stl
y,i
ftheabovear gumenti
saccept
editwil
lresul
tinnegat
ionofthejustcl
aim oft
he
SEBCstoav ai
lthebenefi
tofArt
icl
es16(
4)whichisafundamentalr
ight.

II
.Secondly,thatt
heat tackwhi chwast r
oughfrom thepetit
ionersidethatthisreportwastot
all
y
basedupont hecensusr eportmadeon1931r epor
tiscompl etel
yfalse&basel essbecauseA
perusaloftheRepor ti
tselfindicatesthatthe1931censusdoesnothav eevenar emot e
connecti
onwi t
htheident i
fi
cationofOBCs.Butont heotherhand, theyareidentif
iedonlyont
he
basisofthecount r
y-widesoci o-educati
onalfi
eldsurveyandt hecensusr eportof1961
parti
cul
arlyfortheidentif
icati
onofpr imiti
vetri
bes,abori
ginaltr
ibes,hil
ltr
ibes,forestt
ri
besand
i
ndigenoust r
ibes.

I
II
.Thirdl
y ,
theCommi ssioncannotbesai dtohaveignoredthi
sfactual
posi
ti
onandf oundfault
wit
hf orrel
yingon1931census.I nfact
,thisposi
ti
onismadecl earbytheCommi ssionitsel
fin
ChapterXIIofitsReport
.Howev erSyst
emat i
ccaste-wiseenumerat
ionofpopul
ationwas
i
ntroducedbyt heRegist
rarGeneralofI
ndi ai
n1881anddi sconti
nuedin1931.I
nv iewoft hi
s,
fi
guresofcast e-
wisepopulat
ionbeyond1931ar enotav ai
labl
e.
IV.Fourt
hly,thecommi ssiononlywentt hr oughthecensusr eportmadeon1931wi t
hintenti
on
togainani deaofcommuni ty-
wisepopul ationfi
guresf rom t
hecensusr ecordsof1931and,
thengroupedt hem i
ntobr oadcaste-clustersandreligiousgroups.Thesecollect
ivi
seswer e
subsequent l
yaggregat
edunderf i
vemaj orheadsi.e.(i)Schedul
edCast esandScheduledTr i
bes;
(i
i)Non-Hinducommuni ti
es,Reli
giousGr oups,etc.
; (i
ii
)ForwardHi nduCastesandCommuni ti
es;
(i
v)Backwar dHinduCast esandCommuni ti
es;and(v )BackwardNon- HinduCommuni ti
es.In
thisconnectiontheRESPONDENTci tedt heexampl eof BALARAM CASEwher etheCourt
consideredthecensusr eportmadeon1931.

V.Fif
thl
y,theCommi ssiononl yafterdeepl yconsideri
ngt hesocial,educati
onalandeconomi c
backwardnessofv ari
ouscl assesofcitizensofourcount ryi
nt heli
ghtoft hevari
ous
proposi
ti
onsandt estsl aiddownbyt hisCour thadsubmi tt
editsRepor tenumerati
ngv ar
ious
cl
assesofper sonswhoar etobet reatedasOBCs. Ther ecommendat i
onsmadei nt hepresent
Reportaft
eral ongl ullsincet hesubmi ssionoftheRepor tbytheFirstBackwardCl asses
Commi ssi
on,ar esuppor ti
veofaf fi
rmat i
veact i
onpr ogrammeshol dingthemember softhe
hist
ori
call
ydisadv antagedgr oupsf orcenturiestocatchupwi tht hestandardsofcompet i
ti
on
setupbyawel ladv ancedsoci et
y.

VI
.Asamat teroffact
,theReportwant
edtor eserv
e52%ofallt
hepostsint
heCentral
Gover
nmentf orOBCscommensur atewit
htheirrati
oint
hepopul
ati
on.However
,indef
erencet
o
l
egall
imi
tat
ioni thasr
ecommendedar eservati
onof27%onlyeventhought
hepopulat
ionof
OBCsisal
mostt wi
cethisf
igur
e.

VII.Pointi
ngoutoneat tackmadeonbehal foft
hePETITIONERt hati
ft hecommi ssionsreporti
s
i
mpl ement edthenitresulti
nt hesub-standardr
eplaci
ngt hestandard&al sodemor alisat
ionof
themer i
tor
iouscandidatesappear i
ngf ort
hepublicemploymenti stotal
lyf alse&baseupon
falseassumpt ionbecauset heveryobjectofArti
cle16(4)istoensureequal i
tyofoppor t
unityin
mat ter
sofpubl icemploymentandgi veadequaterepr
esent at
iontothosewhohav ebeenpl aced
i
nav erydiscontentposit
ionfrom ti
mei mmemor i
alonaccountofsoci ological r
easons.Her e
theCommi ssionthroughitsreportrecommendedt heGOVT.t oful
fi
l t
hist argetonl
y&not hi
ng
else.

VIII
.Though'equal
protecti
on'clauseprohi
bit
stheSt atefr
om makingunreasonabl
e
discr
iminat
ioninprov
idingpreferencesandfacil
i
tiesforanysect
ionofit
speople,nonet
hel
essi
t
requir
estheStatet
oaf f
ordsubst anti
all
yequalopportuni
ti
estothose,
placedunequall
y.

I
X.Therei
snoquest
ionofr
ewrit
ingtheConsti
tut
ion,
becausetheCommi
ssi
onhasact
edonl
y
undert
heaut
hor
it
yofthenoti
fi
cati
onissuedbythePresi
dent
.
6)Fi
ndi
ngsOfTheCour
t:-

I
nconnect
ionoft
hiscasef
oll
owi
ngf
indi
ngswer
emadebyt
heCour
t:
-

I.Cl
ause(4)ofArti
cle16isnotanex cepti
ont oClause(1)ther
eof.Itonlycarv
esoutasectionof
thesociet
y,vi
z.,
thebackwar dcl
assofci t
izensforwhom t hereservati
onsinservi
cesmaybe
kept.Thesaidcl
auseisexhaustiv
eoft her eserv
ationsofpostsintheser vi
cessofarasthe
backwardclassofcit
izensisconcer
ned.I tisnotexhaustiv
eofal lt
her eser
vati
onsinthe
serv
icesthatmaybekept .Thereser
vationsofpost si
ntheservicesfortheothersect
ionsofthe
soci
etycanbekeptunderCl ause(1)ofthatAr ti
cle.

II
.Thebackwar dclassofci t
izensr efer
redtoinAr t
icl
e16( 4)i
sthesoci allybackwardcl assof
ci
tizenswhoseeducat i
onal andeconomi cbackwar dnessisonaccountoft heirsocial
backwar dness.Acast ebyi t
selfmayconst i
tuteaclass.Howev er,i
nor dertoconst i
tutea
backwar dclasst hecast econcer nedmustbesoci all
ybackwar dandi tseducationaland
economi cbackwar dnessmustbeonaccountofi tssocialbackwar dness.Theeconomi c
cri
terionbyi t
selfcannoti dentif
yacl assasbackwar dunlesstheeconomi cbackwar dnessoft he
cl
assi sonaccountofi t
ssoci albackwar dness.Theweakersect i
onsment i
onedinAr ti
cle46ar e
agenusofwhi chbackwar dclassofci t
izensment i
onedi nArti
cle16( 4)consti
tuteaspeci es.
Arti
cle16( 4)referstobackwar dclasseswhi chareapar toftheweakersect i
onsoft hesoci et
y
andi tisonlyforthebackwar dcl asseswhoar enotadequat elyrepresentedintheser vi
ces,and
notforal l
theweakersect i
onst hatthereservati
onsinser vi
cesarepr ovidedunderAr ti
cle16(4).

II
I.Noreser
vati
onsofpostscanbekeptinservi
cesundert
heStatebasedexcl
usi
vel
yon
economiccri
ter
ionei
therunderAr
ti
cle16(4)orunderAr
ti
cle16(
1).

IV.Ordinaril
y,ther eser vat
ionskeptbothunderAr t i
cle16(1)and16( 4)togethershouldnot
exceed50percentoft heappointmentsinagr ade, cadreorser v
iceinanypar ti
culary ear
.Itis
onlyforext r
a-or dinar yreasonsthatthispercent agemaybeexceeded.Howev er,everyexcess
over50percentwi llhav etobejusti
fiedonv alidgr oundswhi chgr oundswi l
lhavet obe
specifi
callymadeout .Theadequacyofr epresent ationisnottobedet er
minedmer elyont he
basisoft heov er allnumer icalst
rengthofthebackwar dclassesi ntheservices.Fordet er
mi ning
theadequacy ,
t heirr epresentati
onatdiffer
entl ev el
sofadmi ni st
rati
onandi ndiffer
entgr ades
hastobet akeni ntoconsi derati
on.I
tistheef fect i
vev oi
ceint headmi ni
strati
onandnott het otal
numberwhi chdet ermi nest headequacyofr epr esentati
on.

V.Ar t
icl
e16(4)per mi t
sclassifi
cati
onofbackwar dclassesintobackwar dandmor eormost
backwar dcl
asses.Howev er,thi
scl assi
fi
cati
onispermittedonlyont hebasisoft hedegreesof
socialbackwardnessandnotont hebasi softheeconomi cconsi derat
ionalone.I
fbackwar d
classesareclassifi
edi nt
obackwar dandmor eormostbackwar dclasses,separatequotasof
reservat
ionswillhavet obekeptf oreachofsuchcl asses.Intheabsenceofsuchsepar ate
quotas,thereservationswillbeill
egal.I
tisnotpermissi
bletocl assifybackwardcl assesora
backwar dcl
asssoci al gr
oupi ntoanadv ancedsecti
onandabackwar dsecti
onei theron
economi coranyot herconsider at
ion.Thetestofadvancementl i
esi nthecapacitytocompet e
withtheforwardcl asses.Ift
headv ancedsecti
oninabackwar dcl assissoadv ancedast obe
abl
etocompet ewiththefor
wardclasses,t
headvancedsect
ionf
rom t
hebackwar
dcl
assno
l
ongerbelongstothebackwardclassandshoul
dceasetobeconsider
edsoanddeni
edt
he
benef
itofreser
vat
ionsunderArt
icle16(4)
.

VI.Theprov
isionsf
orr
eser
vat
ionsi
ntheser
vicesunderAr
ti
cle16(
4)canbemadebyan
executi
veorder.

VII.Therei snospeciall
awofjudi
cial
revi
ewwhenthereser
vati
onsunderArt
icl
e16(4)ar
eunder
scruti
ny .Thejudi
cialrevi
ewwil
lbeavail
abl
eonlyi
nthecasesofdemonstr
ablyperv
erse
i
dent i
ficati
onofthebackwardclassesandint
hecasesofunreasonabl
eper
centageof
reservationsmadef orthem.

VIII
.Iti
snotnecessar yt oanswert hequest i
onsi nceitdoesnotar i
seint hepr esentcase.
Howev er,ifithastobeanswer ed,theansweri sasf ol
lows:Ther eservati
onsi nt hepromot i
ons
i
nt heser vi
cesar eunconst it
utionalastheyar einconsistentwiththemai ntenanceofef fici
ency
ofadmi nistr
at i
on.
Howev er,thebackwar dclassesmaybepr ovidedwi threlaxations,exemptions,
concessionsandf aci
lit
ieset c.toenablethem tocompet ef orthepromot i
onal postswithothers
wher everthepr omotionsar ebasedonsel ect
ionormer i
t-cum-seniorit
ybasi s.Further,t
he
commi t
teeorbodyent rustedwi ththetaskofsel ecti
onmustber epresentativ
eandmannedby
suit
ableper sonsincludingt hosef r
om thebackwar dclassest omakeani mpar ti
alassessment
ofthemer i
ts.Toensur eadequat erepresentati
onoft hebackwar dclasseswhi chmeans
representati
onatal ll
ev elsandi nallgr
adesi ntheser vi
ce, t
her ul
esofr ecruitmentmustensur e
thatthereisdi r
ectrecruitmentatal ll
evelsandi nallgradesi ntheser vi
ces.

IX.Themattershoul
dnotber ef
err
edbacktotheFi
ve-JudgeBenchsincealmostallther
elev
ant
questi
onshav ebeenanswer edbythi
sBench.Thegr
ievanceabouttheexcessi
veandaboutt he
wrongincl
usionandexclusionofsocial
groupsi
nandf rom t
heli
stofbackwardclassescanbe
examinedbyanewCommi ssionwhichmaybesetupf orthepur
pose.

7)Obser
vat
ionOfTheCour
t:-

Fol
l
owi
ngobser
vat
ionswer
emadebyt
hecour
tinconnect
ionoft
hiscase:
-

I.Thecour
tparti
cul
arlyi
nthiscaseobser vedt
hataf t
ertheissueofOf f
iceofMemor andum
(O.M.)byt
heGOVT.ofI NDIAr egardi
ngimplementati
onoft herecommendat ionmadeint he
MONDALCOMMI SSIONreportawi despreadvi
olenceoccur r
edthroughouttheINDIAbywhi ch
l
ar genumberofpubli
c&pr operti
esweregeteffectedbyit.SoCourtconsideringt
hesocial
scenari
oappealedtothepeopletokeeppeace&mai ntainsocialor
der.

I
I.Cour tal
soobserved&al soadmi tt
edthatthistypesofpr oblem whichmainlyoccur
redfrom
thecast esyst
em &whi chwear enowf aci
ngi snothingbutaconsequenceofourownf aultas
wecr eatedinourancientday&t i
ll
wehav ebeenf ollowing.Itisreal
lyaperi
lforoursoci
ety.But
webei ngjudgescantoverlooki
tbecauseot herwi
sebasi cobj ectoftheConsti
tuti
onwil
lbe
defeated.Ourdutyi
st ointerpr
etethispr
ovisioni.
e.,Art
.16( 4)insuchawaysot hatt
hetrue
obj
ectoft
hef
rameroft
heconst
it
uti
oncaneasi
l
ybef
indout
.

II
I.Cour talsopoi
ntedoutt hatthePart-
II
IoftheConst
itut
ion(
mainlydeal
swit
hFUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS) &-PartI
IIoftheConstitut
ion(mainl
ydealswit
hFUNDAMENTALDUTI ES)
arethecore
sectionst heconstit
uti
onwhi chwasenact edforr
emov al
ofhist
ori
cinj
usti
ceandinequal
i
ties
ei
t herinherit
edorar t
if
ici
all
ycreatedintheINDIANsoci
ety.

IV.Thecourtalsoobservedtheidi
oti
cpractiseoursociet
ywheret
hemomentachi l
dcomesout
ofthemot her
'swombi naHi ndufamilyandt akesi
tsfi
rstbr
eat
handevenbeforeitsumbil
ical
cordiscutoff
, thei
nnocentchil
disbranded, sti
gmati
zedandputi
naseparat
esl otaccor
dingto
thecasteofit
spar ent
sdespitethefactthatthebir
thofthechi
l
dinthepar
ti
cularsloti
snotby
choicebutbychance.

V.Theconceptofi nequalit
yisunknowni nthekingdom ofGodwhocr eatesallbei
ngsequal ,
but
somepeopl ehav ecreatedthearti
fi
ciali
nequal
it
yi nthenameofcast i
sm wi thself
ishmot i
ve
andvestedinterest
.Inthisrespectthecourtal
sopoi ntedoutthev
iewofSWAMIVI VEKANANDA
whereheoneofhi slett
errefer
redCasteornocast e,creedornocreed,orclass,orcaste,or
nat
ion,orinst
ituti
onwhi chbarsthepoweroff r
eet houghtandacti
onofani ndi
vidual-evenso
l
ongast hatpowerdoesnoti njur
eot her
s-isdevil
ishandmustgodown .

8)Judgement
:-

The9judgesConst
it
uti
onBenchoft
heSupr
emeCour
tby6-
3maj
ori
tygav
ethef
oll
owi
ng
j
udgements:
-

I
.Backwar
dclassofci
ti
zeninAr
ti
cle16(
4)canbei
dent
if
iedont
hebasi
soft
hecast
esy
stem &
notonl
yoneconomicbasi
s.

I
I.Art
icle16(
4)isnotanexcept
ionofArt
icl
e16(
1).I
tisani
nst
anceoft
hecl
assi
fi
cat
ion.
Reser
v ati
oncanbemadeunderar t
icl
e16(1)
.

II
I.Backwardcl
assesi
nAr
ti
cle16(
4)wer
enotsi
mil
art
oassoci
all
y&educat
ional
l
ybackwar
din
arti
cle15(
4).

I
V.Cr
eamyl
ayermustbeexcl
udedf
rom t
hebackwar
dcl
asses.

V.Art
icl
e16(
4)per
mit
scl
assi
fi
cat
ionofbackwar
dcl
assesi
ntobackwar
d&mor
ebackwar
d
cl
asses.

VI.Abackwardclassofci
ti
zenscannotbei
dent
if
iedonl
y&excl
usi
vel
ywi
thr
efer
encet
o
economiccri
ter
ia.

VI
I.Reser
vat
ionshal
lnotexceed50%.

VI
II
.Reser
vat
ioncanbemadebyt
he
EXECUTI
VEORDER
.
I
X.Nor
eser
vat
ioni
npr
omot
ion.

X.Per
manentSt
atut
orybodyt
oexami
necompl
ainsofov
eri
ncl
usi
on/underi
ncl
usi
on.

XI.Majori
tyhel
dthatt
her
eisnoneedt
oexpressanyopi
nionont
hecor
rect
nessoradequacyof
theexerci
sedonebytheMONDALCOMMI SSION.

XI
I.Di
sput
esr
egar
dingnewcr
it
eri
acanber
aisedonl
yint
heSupr
emeCour
t.

9)Concl
usi
on:
-

Thedecisi
onofthiscasenodoubt l
ylai
ddownawor kabl
e&reasonablesolut
iontothe
reserv
ati
onprobl
em.Buti nspi
teofthatt
hepoli
ti
ciansarest
il
ltr
yingthedil
utetheeffectoft
he
decisi
onofthi
scasewi t
hi nt
enti
ontopoli
ti
cal
gain.Subsequent
lythr
eeConst i
tut
ional
amendment sweremade.

1.TheConst i
tut
ion77thAmendmentin1995:
-bythi
samendmentanewclausewerei
nserted
underArti
cle16&i .
e.,
Art
icl
e16(4-A).Whi
chempowerstheStat
etomaketomakeaprov i
sion
forreser
vati
oninmat t
erofpromot
iontoanycl
assorcl
assesofpost
sint
heserv
iceoftheState
i
nf avouroftheSC&ST?

2.TheConst
it
uti
on77thAmendmenti n2000:-bythisamendmentanewcl ause(4B)was
i
nsert
edunderArt
icl
e16.Bythi
samendmenti twasf i
xedthatr
eser
vat
ioncanexceedabove
50%reser
vat
ionforSC,ST&BCi fbacklogvacancieswhi chcoul
dnotbefi
ll
edupintheprev
ious
year
sduetothenon-av
ail
abi
l
ityofeli
giblecandi
dat es.

3.TheConstit
ution77thAmendmenti n2001:
-bythi
samendmentt
hewor di
nthematt
erof
promoti
ontoanycl assesweresubst
it
utedbythewords
int
hematterofpr
omotionwi
th
consequent
ialsenior
it
y,toanycl
asses

Thesetypesofact
sonbehal
foftheGOVT.cl
earl
yindi
cat
esthatwi
thint
enti
ontogainhuge
vot
ebanksbycur t
ail
i
ngi
tsef
fectther
uli
ngpar
tymanipul
atel
ybypassedthedeci
sionmadein
thi
scase.