Articles 15 and 16 protect the principle of equality in specific social and employment scenarios, while providing the constitutional basis for protective discrimination (reservations).
1. Article 15: Prohibition of Discrimination
- 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. The word "only" means discrimination based on other grounds (like residence or academic capability) is permitted.
- Article 15(3): The State can make special provisions in favor of women and children (positive protective discrimination).
- Article 15(4) & 15(5): Allows reservation of seats in educational institutions (including private colleges) for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) and SC/STs.
- Article 15(6) - EWS Reservation: Added by the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, 2019, allowing up to 10% reservation in educational admissions for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
2. Article 16: Equality in Public Employment
- Article 16(1) & 16(2): Guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment and prohibits discrimination based only on religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, or residence.
- Article 16(4): The State can make provisions for the reservation of appointments in favor of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the government services.
📜 The Reservation Benchmark: Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) (Mandal Case)
A 9-judge bench ruled on the limits of reservation: (1) Backward classes can be classified into backward and more backward; (2) The "Creamy Layer" must be excluded from reservation benefits; (3) Total reservations cannot exceed 50% of seats, unless extraordinary circumstances exist; (4) Reservation applies only to initial recruitment, and not in promotions (which was later bypassed for SC/STs by Article 16(4A) via amendment).