The term “ RESERVATION” is very very common among us. It has a very deep and vital meaning. We people have use of this term in our vital uses too. So before going into deep, it is important for us to understand the meaning of the term “RESERVATION”.
If we talk about the basic meaning of this term, we can very lucidly say that ‘the act of reserving something is known as reservation’. Here we have to understand the legal meaning of the term. So if we talk legally the meaning of the term is ‘ the act of making an exception or qualification is reservation’. It can be defined as an arrangement to have something held for future use. When we talk about reservation we very lucidly mean to limit a condition. From college to the hotel it is present everywhere and in every field.
The term reservation is also mentioned in the constitution of our country. Art. 15 of the Indian Constitution is a fundamental right which prohibits discrimination by the state against any citizen on grounds ‘only’ of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth. The use of the word only means that discrimination on other grounds is not prohibited. Further on, Article 16 says that there should be equal opportunity for citizens in matters relating to “employment” or “appointment to any office” under the state. It gives the right only to equal opportunity, i.e. the right to be considered for employment or appointment. We had seen the definition of Article toll now. So now let us move on to the concept further.
Art. 15 and Art.16 of the Indian Constitution intend to promote substantive equality. These clauses provide a mechanism for positive discrimination in favour of the grossly underrepresented and neglected sections of the society. As earlier there was a lot of discrimination on the grounds of religion, caste, sex, and place of birth. Earlier, we had no constitution and that is why many people used to discriminate against others. We can take the example of wells. Earlier only some specific castes, religion was allowed to take water. So it also comes under the clear sphere of discrimination. Earlier everyone was not allowed to gain education also.
This Article, therefore, provides an ample number of opportunities to everyone by eradicating discrimination. Evolution of article 15 in State of Madras v Champakam Dorairajan,*1 Supreme Court held that Madras government decision to provide caste-based reservation in government jobs and college seats was in violation of Article 16(2) of the Indian Constitution. This judgment also led to the 1st Constitutional Amendment in 1951, which resulted in the introduction of Art.15(4). Caste cannot be the sole and dominant test for determining social backwardness. The reservation made under Art.15(4) should be reasonable and less than 50%. In one of the cases, it was decided to look into the job opportunities for backward classes. On the basis, 27% reservation was allocated to OBC communities. The above decision was challenged in the case Indra Sawhney v Union Of India,*2 but the SC enumerated some essential points such as: The government reservation policy of giving 27% reservation to backward classes valid. SC also fixed a ceiling on the maximum reservation at 50%. It was also held that reservations for poor among forwarding castes on the basis of economic conditions is invalid. So it was all related to article 15. Art. 16 is an instance of the application of the general rule of equality before the law which is laid down in Art.14 and of the prohibition of discrimination in Art.15(1). Art.16 is applied only to the citizens. The goal of this article is limited to equality among comparables.
We talked about the article15,16 and 46 very briefly and have come to a conclusion. In very basic legal understanding , reservation in Indian law is a positive action. The reason for providing a reservation is only to uplift the lower castes. Most of the people take it negatively but no it is a positive step in our country for the suppressed classes.
This Article is written by Palak Tripathi and Abhishek Verma. They are currently pursuing B.A.LL.B at C.M.P Degree College and both are in the second year.
REFERENCES:
1. AIR 1951 SC 226
2. AIR 1993 SC 477
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