सं Samvidhan

The Constitution of India

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.

(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.

(6) Nothing in this article or sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 or clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State from making,—

(a) any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5); and

(b) any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5) 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, which in the case of reservation would be in addition to the existing reservations and subject to a maximum of ten per cent. of the total seats in each category.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this article and article 16, "economically weaker sections" shall be such as may be notified by the State from time to time on the basis of family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage.

Why this exists

Article 15 was written against the backdrop of centuries of caste-based exclusion, untouchability, and discriminatory access to public spaces in India. The Constitution's framers wanted to guarantee formal equality while also permitting the state to take affirmative steps to uplift historically disadvantaged groups (like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and backward classes), recognizing that treating unequals equally would perpetuate injustice. Clause (6), added by the 103rd Amendment in 2019, extended this affirmative-action logic to economically weaker sections regardless of caste.

How courts read it

Courts have interpreted 'discrimination only on these grounds' to mean that if there are other reasonable grounds combined with religion/caste/sex, a classification may survive scrutiny (State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, 1951, initially struck down caste-based reservations, prompting the First Amendment that added clause (4)). Later cases like Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) shaped how backward classes are identified and capped reservations at 50% (with exceptions). The Supreme Court in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India (2022) upheld the EWS reservation under clause (6), affirming that economic criteria alone can justify special provisions without violating the basic structure of the Constitution.

Common misconceptions
  • Myth: Article 15 means all reservations are illegal because they 'discriminate' based on caste.
    Fact: Courts have held that clauses (4), (5), and (6) are exceptions built into the same Article, specifically allowing affirmative action for backward classes, SCs, STs, and economically weaker sections.
  • Myth: Article 15 bans all private discrimination, like a private club refusing entry.
    Fact: Article 15(2) applies to specific public spaces (shops, restaurants, hotels, public wells/roads) and mainly restrains the State's action, not all private conduct in every context.
  • Myth: The EWS reservation under clause (6) replaces caste-based reservations.
    Fact: Clause (6) is meant for economically weaker citizens not already covered under clauses (4) and (5), so it exists alongside, not instead of, caste-based reservations.