WELFARE OF BACKWARD

CLASSES
  
Preamble
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into
a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure
to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the
Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do
HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
 ARTICLE 12
In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,
“the State’’ includes the Government and Parliament
of India and the Government and the Legislature of
each of the States and all local or other authorities
within the territory of India or under the control of the
Government of India.
 ARTICLE 14
The State shall not deny to any person equality
before the law or the equal protection of the laws
within the territory of India.
 ARTICLE 15. (1)
The State shall not discriminate against any
citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste,
sex, place of birth or any of them.
 ARTICLE 15.(2)
No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to
any disability, liability, restriction or condition with
regard to— (a) access to shops, public restaurants,
hotels and places of public entertainment; or (b) the
use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of
public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State
funds or dedicated to the use of the general public.
 ARTICLE 15.(3)
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State
from making any special provision for women
and children.
 ARTICLE 15.(4)
Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of article 29
shall prevent the State from making any special
provision for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or for
the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

[First Amendment]
 ARTICLE 15. (5)
Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of
article 19 shall prevent the State from making any special
provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or for the
Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so far as
such special provisions relate to their admission to
educational institutions including private educational
institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other
than the minority educational institutions referred to in
clause (1) of article 30.
rd
 Article 16(1)

There shall be equality of opportunity

for all citizens in matters relating to
employment or appointment to any
office under the State.
 Article 16(2)
No citizen shall on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, sex, descent,
place of birth, residence or any of
them, be ineligible for, or discriminated
against in respect of any employment
of office under the State.
 Article 16(3)
Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament
from making any law prescribing, in regard to a
class or classes of employment or appointment
to an office under the Government of or any
local or other authority within, a State or Union
Territory, any requirement as to residence within
that State or Union Territory prior to such
employment or appointment.
 Article 16(4)
Nothing in this Article shall prevent the
State from making any provision for the
reservation of appointments or posts in
favor of any backward class of citizens
which in the opinion of the State, is not
adequately represented in the services
under the State.
 In an advertisement published in December,
1949, the Madras Public Service Commission
invited applications for 83 posts of District
Munsifs which were distributed in the following
manner:

Harijans-19, Muslims-5, Christians-6, Backward

Hindus-10 Non-Brahim (Hindu)-32 and
Brahmins-11.
[Venkataraman v. State of Madras (A.I.R. 1951
S.C. 229)]
Indra Sawhney on Reservation for
OBCs.
Introduction of the Concept of
Creamy Layer.
Extension of the Concept to SCs
and STs by Nagraj.
Indra Sawhney on Reservation in
promotions.
 Article 16(4A)
(Before 85th Amendment)
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State
from making provision for reservation in matters
of promotion to any class or classes of posts in
the services under the State in favour of the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes,
which in the opinion of the State are not
adequately represented in the service of the
State.
Virpal Singh Chauhan/Ajit Singh on
seniority of candidates promoted by
reservation.
 Article 16(4A)
(After 85th Amendment)
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State
from making provision for reservation in matters
of promotion with consequential seniority, to any
class or classes of posts in the services under
the State in favor of the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes, which in the opinion of
the State are not adequately represented in the
service of the State.
Limit on Reservation
 Limit on Reservation
Supposing, for instance, reservations were made for a
community or a collection of communities, the total of which
came to something like 70 per cent of the total posts under the
State and only 30 per cent are retained as the unreserved.
Could anybody say that the reservation of 30 percent as open
to general competition would be satisfactory from the point of
view of giving effect to the first principle, namely, that there
shall be equality of opportunity? It cannot be in my judgment.
Therefore, the seats to be reserved; if the reservation is to be
consistent with sub-clause (1) of Article 10, must be confined
to a minority of seats.
[Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in Constituent Assembly]
 Limit on Reservation
The Supreme Court in the matter of Balaji v. State
of Mysore (1961) observed that the reservation
made under Clause (4) of Article 15 should be
reasonable. It should not be such as to defeat or
nullify the main Rule of equality contained in
Clause (1). While it is not possible to predicate the
exact permissible percentage of reservations, it
can be stated in a general and broad way that
they should be less than 50 per cent.
THE ‘CARRY FORWARD’ RULE was in the following terms, “
if a sufficient number of candidates considered suitable by the
recruiting authorities, are not available from the communities
for whom reservations are made in a particular year, the
unfilled vacancies should be treated as unreserved and filled
by the best available candidates. The number of reserved
vacancies, thus, treated as unreserved will be added as an
additional quota to the number that would be reserved in the
following year in the normal course, and to the extent to which
approved candidates are not available in that year against this
additional quota, a corresponding addition should be made to
the number of reserved vacancies in the second following
year.”
 Article 16(4B)
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from
considering any unfilled vacancies of a year which are
reserved for being filled up in that year in accordance
with any provision for reservation made under clause
(4) or Clause (4A) as a separate class of vacancies to
be filled up in any succeeding year or years and such
class of vacancies shall not be considered together
with the vacancies of the year in which they are being
filled up for determining the ceiling of fifty percent
reservation on total number of vacancies of that year.
[81st Amendment]
 ARTICLE 16.(5)
Nothing in this article shall affect the operation
of any law which provides that the incumbent of
an office in connection with the affairs of any
religious or denominational institution or any
member of the governing body thereof shall be a
person professing a particular religion or
belonging to a particular denomination.
 ARTICLE 17
“Untouchability” is abolished and its practice in
any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any
disability arising out of “Untouchability” shall be
an offence punishable in accordance with law.
 ARTICLE 19. (1)
All citizens shall have the right— (a) to freedom of
speech and expression; (b) to assemble peaceably
and without arms; (c) to form associations or unions;
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of
India; and* * * * * (g) to practise any profession, or to
carry on any occupation, trade or business.
 ARTICLE 19.(5)
Nothing in sub-clauses (d) and (e) of the said
clause shall affect the operation of any existing law
in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from
making any law imposing, reasonable restrictions
on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the
said sub-clauses either in the interests of the
general public or for the protection of the interests of
any Scheduled Tribe.
 ARTICLE 25. (1)
Subject to public order, morality and health and
to the other provisions of this Part, all persons
are equally entitled to freedom of conscience
and the right freely to profess, practise and
propagate religion.
 (2) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation
of any existing law or prevent the State from
making any law— (a) regulating or restricting any
economic, financial, political or other secular
activity which may be associated with religious
practice; (b) providing for social welfare and reform
or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions
of a public character to all classes and sections of
Hindus.
 ARTICLE 32 (1)
The right to move the Supreme Court by
appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of
the rights conferred by this Part is guaranteed.
 ARTICLE 46
The State shall promote with special care the
educational and economic interests of the
weaker sections of the people, and, in particular,
of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes, and shall protect them from social
injustice and all forms of exploitation.
 Article 335

The claims of the members of the Scheduled

Castes and the Schedule Tribes shall be taken
into consideration, consistently with the
maintenance of efficiency of administration in
the making of appointments to services and
posts in connection with the affairs of the Union
or of a State.
 Proviso to Article 335

Provided that nothing in this article shall prevent

in making of any provision in favor of the
members of the Schedule Castes and the
Schedule Tribes for relaxation in reservation in
matters of promotion to any class or classes of
services or posts in connection with the affairs
of the Union or of a State.
[82nd Amendment]
 Article 341(1)
The President may with respect to any State or
Union Territory, and where it is a State after
consultation with the Governor thereof, by public
notification, specify the castes, races or tribes or
parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes
which shall for the purpose of this Constitution
be deemed to be Schedule Castes in relation to
that State or Union Territory, as the case may
be.
 Article 341(2)
Parliament may by law include in or exclude
from the list of Schedule Castes specified in a
notification issued under clause (1) any castes,
races or tribes or parts of or groups within
castes, races or tribes but save as aforesaid a
notification issued under the said clause shall
not be varied by any subsequent notification.
 The Constitution (Scheduled Castes)
Order, 1950 provides that no person
professing a religion different from Hindu or
Sikh or Buddhism can be deemed to be a
member of a Scheduled Caste.
 Article 342(2)
Parliament may by law include in or
exclude from the list of Schedule Tribes
specified in a notification issued under
clause (1) any tribe or tribal communities
but save as aforesaid a notification issued
under the said clause shall not be varied by
any subsequent notification.
 Section 2 of the NCBC Act

“backward classes” means such backward classes of

citizens, other than the SCs and STs, as may be
specified by the Central Government in the lists.
“Lists” means lists prepared by the Central
Government for providing reservation in appointments
to backward classes of citizens, which, in its opinion
are not adequately represented in services, under the
Government of India and any local or other authority.
THANK YOU