The Indian constitution protects the rights of children,
women, minorities and weaker sections.’
Elaborate on the basis of a case study.
The Indian constitution is the fundamental document of the country where the
equality is the basic principle. These documents consist of Article 14, which
emphasize on “EQUALITY BEFORE LAW” which means every citizen of this
country are to be treated equally and no one will be discriminated or deprived
by law. Article 14 of the Indian constitution also provides the protection for
every individual within the territory of India.
Children's rights & protection:
Articles 15, 21, 23, 24, 39, 42 etc.
Constitution of India
The Indian constitution accords rights to children as citizens of the country, and
in keeping with their special status the State has even enacted special laws. The
Constitution, promulgated in 1950, encompasses most rights included in the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child as Fundamental Rights and Directive
Principles of State Policy. Over the years, many individuals and public interest
groups have approached the apex court for restitution of fundamental rights,
including child rights. The Directive Principles of State Policy articulate social
and economic rights that have been declared to be “fundamental in the
governance of the country and … the duty of the state to apply … in making laws”
(Article 37). The government has the flexibility to undertake appropriate
legislative and administrative measures to ensure children’s rights; no court can
make the government ensure them, as these are essentially directives. These
directives have enabled the judiciary to give some landmark judgements
promoting children’s rights, leading to Constitutional Amendments as is in the
case of the 86th Amendment to the Constitution that made Right to Education a
fundamental right.
Constitutional Guarantees that are meant specifically for children include:
Right to free and compulsory elementary education for all children in the
6-14year age group (Article 21 A)
Right to be protected from any hazardous employment till the age of 14
years (Article 24)
Right to be protected from being abused and forced by economic necessity
to enter occupations unsuited to their age or strength (Article 39(e))
Right to equal opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner
and in conditions of freedom and dignity and guaranteed protection of
childhood and youth against exploitation and against moral and material
abandonment (Article 39 (f))
Right to early childhood care and education to all children until they
complete the age of six years (Article 45)
Besides, Children also have rights as equal citizens of India, just as any other
adult male or female:
Right to equality (Article 14)
Right against discrimination (Article 15)
Right to personal liberty and due process of law (Article 21)
Right to being protected from being trafficked and forced into bonded
labour (Article 23)
Right of minorities for protection of their interests (Article 29)
Right of weaker sections of the people to be protected from social injustice
and all forms of exploitation (Article 46)
Right to nutrition and standard of living and improved public health
(Article 47)
Constitution of India
A Presentation on Child rights in the Constitution of India
Elaborate and case study approach
Before the enactment of the constitution, there were bits and
pieces of various legislations which had dealt with the child and child labour. The
implementations of those provisions were not only tardy but half-hearted. The
constitution of India recognized the rights of the child for the first time and
included several articles dealing with their liberty, livelihood, development of
childhood, non-discrimination in educational spheres, compulsory and free
education and prohibition of their employment in factories, mines and hazardous
employment
STATUTES / ACTS AGE OF THE CHILD
Indian Majority Act,1875 18 years
21 years for male and 18 years for
The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
female
The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933 15 years
The Factories Act,1948 14 years
The Apprentices Act, 1961 14 years
The Women’s and Children’s Institutions
18 years both for male and female
(Licensing) Act, 1956
The Mine’s Amendment Act, 1983 18 years
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation
14 years
Act), 1986
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1986 16 years
The Juvenile Justice Act, 2001 18 years
The Draft Bill of The National Commission for
14 years
Children, 2000
Landmark Cases:
From the Seventh Five-Year Plan onwards, the judiciary and the Supreme Court
too have played an active role in upholding the rights of the child. Some of the
most important examples of social action litigation for children are the following
cases, each of which has been a landmark in the process of ensuring children’s
rights:
a) LaxmikantPandey vs. Union of India
on Adoption of Children:
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in a landmark case of LaxmikantPandey
Vs. Union of India laid down few doctrines governing the rules for Inter-Country
adoption. The case was instituted on the basis of a letter addressed to the court by
a lawyer, LaxmikantPandey alleging that social organisations and voluntary
agencies engaging in the work of offering Indian children to foreign parents are
indulged in malpractices.
(b) ShielaBarse vs. Union of India
on Trafficking of Children:
On 12th July, 1986 this Court issued various directions in regard to the physically
and mentally retarded children as also abandoned or destitute children who are
lodged in various jails in the country for ‘safe custody’. Giving further directions,
So far as a child-accused of an offence punishable with imprisonment of not more
than 7 years is concerned, a period of 3 months from the date of filing of the
complaint or lodging of the First Information Report is the maximum time
permissible for investigation and a period of 6 months from the filing of the
charge sheet as a reasonable period within which the trial of the child must be
completed. If that is not done, the prosecution against the child would be liable
to be quashed. Every State Government shall give effect to this principle or norm
in so far as any future cases are concerned.
(c) M.C. Mehta vs. State of Tamil Nadu
on Problem of Child Labour:
On the issue of child labour, The Court held that Articles 24, 39(e) and 9(f), 41
and 47 obligated the State to abolish child labour while ensuring healthy
development of the child. Under Article 32 the Government of India is required
to take legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to ensure
protection of the child from hazardous exploitation and its healthy development.
In the domestic sphere, the Court held that there are several pieces of legislation
such as the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (the Act)
that protect children from exploitation. However, the Court took note of the fact
that poverty compels a family to push their child into hazardous employment. The
Court held that it was thus necessary to fulfil the legislative intent behind the Act
to ensure the healthy development of a child.
(d) Vishal Jeet vs. Union of India
on Problem of Child Prostitution: The petition brought out the fact that poor
parents on account of acute poverty were selling their children and young girls
hoping that their children would be engaged only in household duties or manual
labour. However, pimps – brokers – keepers either purchase or kidnap them by
deceitful means and unjustly and forcibly inveigle them into ‘flesh trade’.
0TheSC issued the following directions inter alia to the State Governments and
Union Territories
1. Direct concerned law enforcing authorities to take appropriate and
speedy action under the existing laws in eradicating child prostitution.
2. Take steps in providing adequate and rehabilitative homes.
3. Set up separate Advisory Committee consisting of relevant
government officials, sociologists, criminologists, members of the
women/ child welfare/ voluntary social organizations to make
suggestions for eradicating child prostitution; and measures for care,
protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of victims.
Unni Krishnan vs. State of Andhra Pradesh
on Education of Children:
The case involved a challenge by certain private professional educational
facilities to the constitutionality of state laws regulating capitation fees charged
bysuchinstitutions.
The Supreme Court held that the right to basic education is implied by the
fundamental right to life (Article 21) when read in conjunction with the directive
principle on education (Article 41). The Court held that the parameters of the
right must be understood in the context of the Directive Principles of State Policy,
including Article 45 which provides that the state is to endeavour to provide,
within a period of ten years from the commencement of the Constitution, for free
and compulsory education for all children under the age of 14.
(f) Gaurav Jain vs. Union of India
on Problems of Prostitution and Children forced into Prostitution:
This writ petition has been filed pleading for separate schools and hostels for the
children of prostitutes. On behalf of respondents, it was contended that since they
are in fact unwanted children of prostitutes it is in the interest of such children
and the society at large that they are segregated from their mothers and be allowed
to blend with others and become part of the society.
(g) Gita Hariharan vs. Reserve Bank of India
on Guardianship:
In Githa Hariharan vs Reserve Bank of India, which challenged the constitutional
validity of Section 6, the Supreme Court deemed both mother and father as natural
guardians of a child.
The apex court also ruled that ‘after’ cannot be given a literal interpretation, and
the child’s welfare has precedence in determining the guardian of a child.
“The father by reason of a dominant personality cannot be ascribed to have a
favoured right over the mother in the matter of guardianship since both fall within
the same category,” the court said in 1999.
A great legal breakthrough was achieved in 1992 when the Supreme Court of
India held in Mohini Jain’s, that the ‘right to education’ is connected to
fundamental rights enshrined under Part III of the Constitution” and that ‘every
citizen has a right to education under the Constitution’.
Another historic judgment by the Supreme Court of India in 1993 radically
transformed the status of Article 45. In its Unnikrishnan Judgment (1993), the
Supreme Court ruled that Article 45 in Part IV has to be read in ‘harmonious
construction’ with Article 21 (Right to Life) in Part III of the Constitution, as
Right to Life loses its significance without education.
Constitutional rights available to women in India-
Fundamental right to equality before Law that is, equal protection of laws in
India- Article 14
Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of
birth. However, art 15(3) empowers state to make any special provision for
women and children -Article 15
Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment or opportunity to any
office under state and prohibits discrimination on ground of sex- Article 16
Freedom of speech and expression and freedom to practice any profession or to
carry out any occupation, trade or business – Article 19
Protection of life and personal liberty- Article 21
Right to Privacy- Article 21
Right to property- Art. 300-A
Political rights- women reservation in for instance, panchayats. Art 15 of the
Constitution allows special provisions for women and children to be made for
their welfare.
Under the Legal Services Authorities Act women and children are entitled to
free legal aid.
The following Acts of Government Protect Women in India
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961) (Amended in 1986
The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986
The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 (3 of 1988)
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (PREVENTION,
PROHIBITION and REDRESSAL) Act, 2013
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013
Case study
Equality for women was recognised in India as early as in 1925, The
Commonwealth of India Bill, 1925, in clause 7 demanded for equality before
the law and provided that there be “no disqualification or disability on the
ground of only sex”, along with the provision that all persons were to have
equal right to the use of “roads, courts of justice, and all other places of business
or resort dedicated to the public”.
The earliest case in India pertaining to women right was Air India v. Nargesh
Meerza where the Supreme Court held that the regulation of Air India
pertaining to termination of an air hostess if she were to get pregnant within 4
years of service was held to be arbitrary and unconstitutional. This judgment is
etched in history of women rights as an apostle for organisations to regulate the
working condition of women on par with their male counterparts.
The verdict in these eight cases, which were fought to provide justice to one
woman, continue to bring hope to several women facing circumstances that
undermine their dignity and their fundamental right to equality.
[Link] Vs State of Rajasthan Bhanwari Devi, a social worker from
Rajasthan, was brutally gang-raped by five men for preventing a child marriage.
Determined to seek justice, she decided to go to court. In a shocking decision,
the trial court acquitted all five accused. Vishaka, a Group for Women’s
Education and Research, took up the cause of Bhanwari Devi. It joined forces
with four other women’s organisations, and filed a petition before the Supreme
Court of India on the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace. On August
13, 1997, the Supreme Court commissioned the Vishaka guidelines that defined
sexual harassment and put the onus on the employers to provide a safe working
environment for women.
2. Mary Roy Vs State of Kerala Women from the Syrian Christian community
in Kerala were prevented from inheriting property due to patriarchal traditions.
This decree was challenged by Mary Roy, a woman's right activist and educator.
After the demise of her father, she filed a case against her elder brother when
she was denied equal share in the family's inheritance. Though the plea was
rejected by the lower court, the Kerala High Court overruled the previous
judgment. In 1986, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment that
granted Syrian Christian women the right to seek an equal share in their father's
property. Sign up for our exclusive newsletters. Subscribe to check out our
popular newsletters.
3. Lata Singh Vs State of Uttar Pradesh Lata Singh was an adult when she left
her family home to be joined in matrimony with a man from a lower caste. Her
brothers, who were unhappy with the alliance, filed a missing person report, and
alleged Lata had been abducted. This resulted in the arrest of three people from
her husband's family. In order to get the charges dropped, Lata Singh filed a
petition which resulted in the landmark judgment by the Supreme Court that
allowed an adult woman the right to marry or live with anyone of her choice.
The court further ordered that the police initiate criminal action against people
who commit violence against those who decide on inter-religious or inter-caste
marriages.
4. Roxann Sharma Vs Arun Sharma Roxann was involved in a bitter child
custody battle with her estranged husband. A court in Goa granted her interim
custody of their child, but Arun Sharma whisked their son away and refused to
let Roxann meet the child. She filed a case against him, which led to the
landmark judgment pronounced by the apex court regarding children caught in a
legal battle between parents. The Supreme Court ruled that when estranged
parents are involved in a legal tussle over the custody of a child who is under
the age of five years, the custody of the child will remain with the mother.
5. Tamil Nadu Vs Suhas Katti This case led to the first conviction under the
Information Technology Act, 2000. The victim was being harassed by the
accused, Suhas Katti, when she refused to marry him. He would send
defamatory and obscene messages to her online in a Yahoo message group. To
add to her agony, she began to receive phone calls from unknown people
soliciting sex work. The victim filed a complaint in February 2004, and within
seven months the accused was convicted. In an age of merciless trolls and other
forms of online harassment, this judgment acts as a tool that woman can use to
safeguard their dignity.
6. Laxmi Vs Union of India in 2006, Laxmi, an acid attack victim, filed a
petition seeking measures to regulate the sale of acid and provide adequate
compensation to the victim. Taking cognizance of the number of cases relating
to acid attacks against women on the rise, the Supreme Court imposed stringent
regulations on the sale of acid in 2013. The ruling banned over the counter sale
of acid. Dealers can sell the acid only if the buyer provides a valid identity proof
and states the need for the purchase. It is mandatory for the dealer to submit the
details of the sale within three days to the police. It also made it illegal to sell
acid to a person below 18 years.
7. Centre for enquiry into Health and Allied themes (CEHAT) Vs Union of
India with the advent of pre-natal diagnostic techniques that could determine the
sex of a foetus, the growing trend of aborting female foetuses was observed. In
a bid to curtail female feticide, the government of India issued the PNDT Act in
1996. The provisions of the PNDT Act, however, were not being effectively
implemented by the state and central government. The Centre for Enquiry into
Health and Allied themes filed a petition which led to the Supreme court
directing the Central and State governments to enact the provisions of the act
immediately, and banned all advertisements relating to pre-natal sex
determination techniques.
8. Termination of 24-week-old pregnancy permitted on account of abnormal
foetus the petitioner, a rape survivor, who wished to remain unidentified,
approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to abort her 24-week
abnormal foetus. The petition challenged the 46-year-old Maternal Termination
of Pregnancy Act that does not permit abortion of a foetus after 20 weeks. The
Supreme Court ruled in favour of the petitioner after the medical board
submitted a report stating that continuing with the pregnancy would put the
mother's life at risk.
Equal rights and dignity of women in religious aspects has, recently, garnered
great importance in social life and in legal sphere. Two of the most prominent
judgments of Supreme court Sabarimala case and Triple Talaq case has
brought an end to century old practise of curtailing of women rights, the court
recognized customs within the definition of ‘law’ as per Article 13(3)(a) of the
Constitution but declared the practices void as per Article 13(1), which were
found in derogation of Fundamental Rights.
Concept of Minority in the Indian Constitution
Religious minorities
While Article 30 and Article 29 of the Constitution do not specify 'minorities'
in India, it is classified into religious minorities and linguistic minorities.
Religious Minorities in India
The basic ground for a community to be nominated as a religious minority is
the numerical strength of the community. For example, in India, Hindus are the
majority community. As India is a multi-religious country, it becomes important
for the government to conserve and protect the religious minorities of the
country.
Section 2, clause (c) of the National Commission of Minorities Act, declares six
communities as minority communities. They are:
Muslims
Christians
Buddhists
Sikhs
Jains and
Zoroastrians (Parsis)
Linguistic Minorities
Class or group of people whose mother language or mother tongue is different
from that of the majority groups is known as the linguistic minorities. The
Constitution of India protects the interest of these linguistic minorities.
Acts of Government
Dargah Khawaja Saheb Act, 1955
National Commission for Minorities Act
Wakf Act, 1995
Wakf (Amendment) Act, 2013
Minority Rights Under the Indian Constitution
Under the Constitution of India, there are various provisions to safeguard the
rights of minorities. Preamble of the Constitution declares India to be a secular
state. Article 15 prohibits any sort of discrimination on the grounds of race,
religion, caste, sex, descent, place of birth or residence. Article 16 also prohibits
any sort of discrimination when it comes to public employment, on the basis of
religion, caste, language, race and so on. This guarantees equal employment
opportunities to all the Indian citizens in case of government offices.
The right to profess, practice and propagate any religion has been guaranteed to
every person as a fundamental right under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution.
This article allows the minority communities to follow their beliefs and
practices without any hindrance as long as it does not hamper public order,
morality and health of any person. But the State can regulate the secular
activities related to religious practices such as financial, political, economic
activities.
Article 26 gives the freedom to the religious denominations or any such sections
to manage their own religious affairs including managing institutions for
religious and charitable purposes; owning, acquiring and administering movable
and immovable property. Again, this right is subject to public order, morality
and health.
Article 27 prohibits any compulsion on citizens to pay taxes, proceeds of which
are to be appropriated in promotion of any particular religion.
Article 28 prohibits state funded educational institutions from providing
religious instructions unless there is a requirement in the terms of the
endowment or trust, by which the institution has been established, regarding
imparting such religious instruction. It also gives the person attending any
educational institution the right to not participate in any religious instruction
imparted by the institute.
Article 29 of the Constitution provides the citizens with the right to conserve
their language, script and culture; as well as guarantees that they would not be
denied admission into any educational institution based on their race, language,
religion or caste. This right is provided to any section of the society, whether it
has been recognised as a minority by the State or not.
Article 30 is pivotal to the protection of minority rights in India. It provides the
minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions and the
State has been prohibited from any discrimination in matters of granting aids to
such institutions. But these educational institutions can be regulated by the
State. Although this article uses the term “minorities”, it has not been given any
definition by the Indian Constitution. The judiciary has tried to dwell upon this
matter in various cases.
The National Commission for Minority Educational Institution Act, 2004,
amended in 2006 and 2010, was promulgated with an objective to safeguard the
minorities’ educational rights as mentioned in Article 30(1).
Minority Protection Through Enforcement of Personal Laws
Before the colonial rule in India, Personal laws were widely applied in India,
including Hindu laws, Muslim Laws, and Jewish Laws. The British also used
the policy of non-interference with these personal laws. In the contemporary
India also, the matters related to marriage, divorce, succession and family
affairs are mostly governed by the personal laws specific to the certain
communities.
Marriage and divorce of the people from the Christian community are governed
by Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 and Section 10 of the Indian Divorce
Act, 1869, respectively. Matrimonial aspects of the Parsis (Zoroastrians) are
dealt by the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 which was amended in 1988
and 2001.
The Hindu Marriage Act applies to the Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains and every
other community which is not Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew. In case of
Muslim community, the marriages, divorces and adoption are governed as per
the Mohammedan Law.
The Jews follow their own customs which are uncodified and also follow the
general laws applicable to all communities in general.
The Muslim community in India is governed by the Classic Muslim law as well
as various legislations including – the Shariat Application Act, the Dissolution
of Muslim Marriages Act, the Massalman Wakf Validating Act, the Wakf Act,
the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act
Rights of Minority to Establish and Administer Educational Institutions
Article 30 of the Constitution of India defines Rights of Minority to Establish
and Administer Educational Institutions: -
1) All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to
establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
[1-A) In making any law providing for the compulsory acquisition of any
property of an educational institution establish and administered by a minority,
referred in clause (1), the State shall ensure that the amount fixed by or
determined under such law for the acquisition of such property is such as would
not restrict or abrogate the right guaranteed under that clause.
2) The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate
against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the
management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.
National Commission for Minorities
The National Commission for Minorities was established by the National
Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 to protect minority rights in the country.
The commission consists of one chairperson and six members representing the
six minor communities – Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and
Jains. The Commission performs various functions including evaluating the
development of minority communities under Union and States, ensuring the
safeguard of minority rights as per the Constitutional laws and other
legislations, conducting studies and researches on the matters related to
minorities and suggesting measures to Government on these aspects.
The commission also acts grievance redress forum for persons belonging to
minority communities. The commission calls for reports from concerned
authorities after taking cognizance of complaints. These reports are studied and
then recommendations are made by the commission. These recommendations
are not legally binding upon the authorities but State takes them seriously and
implements them. This Commission functions as a civil court in the matters
concerning summoning of witnesses, discovery and production of documents; it
receives evidence of affidavits, requisitions public records and copies, issues
commission for examination of witnesses and documents, and any other
prescribed matter in manner same as the civil courts.
Apart from these, the linguistic minorities can take up their grievances to the
Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities that was established in 1957 to comply
Article 350 B of the Constitution. The office of Commissioner submits annual
report to the government.
Weaker sections
The term „Weaker Section‟ in ordinary sense refers to the section of the
population who are socially, economically, politically and educationally
backward than the other sections of the population and have been suffering from
different kinds of disabilities due to their backwardness.
According to Government of India Act, 1935 “weaker section implies to those
sections of society who are either because of traditional custom of practice of
untouchability or because of tribal origin, tribal way of living or other
backwardness have been suffering from educational and economic
backwardness and some aspects of social life.”
On the basis of their overall status in a view to their socio-economic and
cultural life, for the convenience of effective administration of development and
welfare programmes with special focus to their socio-economic stands, the
weaker sections have been grouped basically into three distinct categories by
different resolutions of Government of India. Those groups can be serially
stated here on the basis of magnitude of their problems or vulnerability to
various disabilities suffered by them.
1. Scheduled Caste
2. Scheduled Tribes and
3. Other Backward Classes
Constitutional safe Guards and Laws
Article 15
Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of
birth
(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them
(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special
provision for women and children
Article 16
Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
(1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to
employment or appointment to any office under the State
(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 or, any employment or office under the State
(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
Article 29
Protection of interests of minorities
(2) No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution
maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
Article 46
Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections
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
i) National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) National Commission
for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is an Indian constitutional body established with
a view to provide safeguards against the exploitation of Scheduled Castes to
promote and protect their social, educational, economic and cultural interests,
special provisions were made in the Constitution.
ii) National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes is an Indian constitutional body
was established through Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003. On the 89th
Amendment of the Constitution coming into force on 19 February 2004, the
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been set up under Article 338A
iii). National Commission for Backward Classes
The National Commission for Backward Classes in India was set up by the
government of the country on 14 August 1993, as per the recommendation of the
Supreme Court under the provisions of National Commission for Backward
Classes Act, 1993 (Act No. 27 of 1993. In the Mandal case judgment, the
Supreme Court passed the orders for the establishment of the National
Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. This led to the setting up of the
Commission as a permanent body at the Center, Article 340
Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward
classes.
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is
an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes. The Act is popularly known as the SC/ST Act,
POA, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, or simply the Atrocities Act.
Reservations
Part XVI deals with reservation of SC and ST in Central and State
legislatures.
Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution enabled the State and
Central Governments to reserve seats in government services for the
members of the SC and ST.
The Constitution was amended by the Constitution
(77th Amendment) Act, 1995 and a new clause (4A) was inserted
in Article 16 to enable the government to provide reservation in
promotion.
Later, clause (4A) was modified by the Constitution
(85th Amendment) Act, 2001 to provide consequential seniority to
SC and ST candidates promoted by giving reservation.
Constitutional 81st Amendment Act, 2000 inserted Article 16 (4
B) which enables the state to fill the unfilled vacancies of a year
which are reserved for SCs/STs in the succeeding year,
thereby nullifying the ceiling of fifty percent reservation on total
number of vacancies of that year.
Article 330 and 332 provides for specific representation through
reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Parliament and in the
State Legislative Assemblies respectively.
Article 243D provides reservation of seats for SCs and STs in every
Panchayat.
Article 233T provides reservation of seats for SCs and STs in every
Municipality.
Article 335 of the constitution says that the claims of STs and STs
shall be taken into consideration constituently with the maintenance
of efficacy of the administration.
In the Indian Constitution, OBCs are described as "socially and educationally
backward classes", and the Government of India is enjoined to ensure their
social and educational development — for example, the OBCs are entitled to
27% reservations in public sector employment and higher education.
On 8 January 2019, The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-fourth
Amendment) Bill, 2019 was tabled in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of
the Parliament of India and it was passed on the same day. The bill was passed
by the upper house Rajya Sabha on 9 January. President Ram Nath Kovind gave
assent to the bill on 12 January 2019 and a gazette was released on the bill,
which turned it into law. Coming into force on 14 January 2019, the One
Hundred and Third Amendment of the Constitution of India amended articles
15(6) and 16(6) of the Constitution of India to permit 10% reservations to the
EWS category. A number of state cabinets approved the law and announced
their intention to implement the 10% EWS reservations.
