Article 15 And Prohibition Of Discrimination

Article 15 of Constitution of India deals with Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. It reads as: 

 

(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them. 

 

(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. 

(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children. 

 

[(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.] 

 

[(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.]

 

• Clause (1) specifies the prohibited grounds in any matter over which the State has sole authority, while Clause (2) specifies the prohibited grounds in any matter over which the State, including private individuals, has sole authority.

 

• Clause (3) empowers the government to make special provisions for women and children's protection.

 

• Discrimination based solely on any of the aforementioned grounds is unconstitutional. However, discrimination on any of the above-mentioned grounds, as well as on other grounds not mentioned above, is legal.

 

• A public park, public road, public bus, ferry, public urinals, railways, and hospitals are all examples of a "place of public resort."

 

• In Clause (3), provisions could be made "for" women rather than "against" women. Furthermore, while provisions in favour of women and against men are valid, provisions in favour of men and against women are not.

 

• Clause (4) is an enabling clause that gives the State discretion over the application of these provisions.

 

As a result, the State is not obligated to act in accordance with it.

 

As can be seen, the article refers to 'citizens,' implying that this right is only available to Indian citizens, not foreigners.

 

Article 15 states that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen solely on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, or birthplace. The words "discrimination" and "only" are critical in this provision.

 

'To make an adverse distinction with regard to' or 'to distinguish unfavourably from others' is what the word 'discrimination' means. The word 'only' implies that discrimination based on other factors is not prohibited.

 

Article 15 states that no citizen shall be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction, or condition based solely on religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth with respect 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 by State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public. This provision prohibits discrimination by the government as well as private individuals, whereas the previous provision only prohibits discrimination by the government.

 

(a) The government has the authority to make special provisions for women and children. For example, reserving seats in local bodies for women or providing free education to children.

 

(b) The state has the authority to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally disadvantaged citizens, as well as scheduled castes and tribes. For example, in public educational institutions, seat reservations or fee reductions are common.

 

(c) The state has the authority to make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens, including scheduled castes or scheduled tribes, in terms of admission to educational institutions, including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the state, except minority educational institutions.

 

The 93rd Amendment Act of 2005 added the final provision. To give effect to this provision, the Centre passed the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, which established a quota of 27% for candidates from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in all central higher educational institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) (IIMs). Both the Amendment Act and the OBC Quota Act were upheld by the Supreme Court in April 2008. However, the Supreme Court ordered the central government to exclude the 'creamy layer' (advanced sections) from the OBCs when putting the law into effect.