Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
REDDY
Principal
R.L. Law College,
Davangere 577 002.
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS FOR SCHEDULED CASTES AND
TRIBES, WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND BACKWARD CLASSES:-
FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS:
Relevant
provisions
under
Article
PREAMBLE
"WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute
India in to a SOVERIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC, and to secure to all its Citizens:
JUSTICE Social economic and political:
LIBERITY of thought, expression, belief, faith & worship:
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity:
and to promote among them all.
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and
integrity of the nation.
IN OUR CONSTITUTENT ASSEMBLY, this twenty-sixth day of
November, 1949.do
AND GIVE
TO
I.
ARTICLE 14 :
The State shall not deny to any Person Equality BEFORE
THE LAW OR EQUAL PROTECTION LAWS with in the
territory of India."
This provision aims at establishing Equality of status in the
preamble and guarantees to all persons, including women and children,
The right to equality in law. Article 14 is general provision & has to be
read subject to the other provisions with in the part-III on Fundamental
rights. Hence, any law making provision for women and children under
Article 15 (3) cannot be challenged on the ground of contravention of
Article14. The special provisions made under these provisions must be
with in reasonable limits.
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.
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 & place of
public entertainment; or
b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places
of public resort maintained
ii)
iii)
iv)
offence.
v)
vi)
vii)
viii)
ix)
x)
xi)
xii)
Article 39(d) : Equal pay for equal work for both men and women .
Article 42 : Directs the state to make provision for securing just human
conditions and for maternity relief .
Article 47: Duty to raise the stand of living and improvement of health.
employment.
This Article prohibits employment of children below 14 years of
age in factories & hazardous employment. It is in the interest of Public
health & safety of life of children. Children are assets of the nation.
In Peoples Union for Democratic Rights Vs- Union of India,
1983 (Asiad Case) it was contended that the Employment of Children
Act, 1938 was not applicable in case employment of Children in the
Construction work of Asaid Projects in Delhi since construction industry
was not a process specified in the schedule of the Children Act. The
Supreme Court rejected this contention & held that the construction
work is hazardous employment & therefore under Article 24 no child
below the age of 14 years can be employed in the construction work
even if construction industry is not specified in the schedule to the
employment of the said Act.
This Article however, doesnot prohibit their employment in any
innocent or harmless job or work.
The constitution under Article 24 provides for prohibition of
employment of children, the inadequacies, if any arising through
constitutional commitment is substantially met with other legislations. In
view of increase in the province of economic activities & social life, the
incidents of child labour is still visible in many activities in India.
However these inadequacies can be met with special power of the State
Under Article 15 (3) & 24 to enact legislations to regulate child labour.
The following are Indian legislate Child labour. The following are Indian
legislations dealing with prohibition & regulation of child labour.
The General Legislations are :1. The Factories Act, 1948.
2. The Plantation workers act, 1951.
3. The Mines Act, 1952.
4. The Merchant & Shipping Act, 1958.
5. The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961.
6. The Karnataka Shops 7 Commercial Establishments Act, 1961.
7. The Beedi & Cigar Workers Act, 1966.
8. The Dangerous Machinery Act, 1983.
2.
Was a water-carrier, barber, tailor etc & could not serve caste
Hindus.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Even
after
receiving
education,
in
ordinary
special
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9.
14
to
16
of
the
Article 14: The State shall not deny to any person equality before the
law or equal protection of laws within the territory of India.
11
12
5. Nature of persons.
6. Nature of Business.
7. Time.
8. Object of the Law / Taxation Laws.
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Colleges on the basis of religion, caste, race set forth in the said
communal order. It reserved the seats on the basis of Brahmins & NonBrahmins, backward, Hindus, Muslims etc. Two Brahmin students who
could not get admission despite then merit, challenged the communal
G.O. as being violative of their fundamental rights guaranteed under
Article 15(1) & 29(2) of the constitution. The decision in Champakam
Dorairajan case caused a political agitation in the South. The decision
also gave a clue as to what should be done to enable the State to help
the backward classes of citizens to get admission in educational
institutions. So the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 introduced
clause (4) to Article 15 to enable the State to make special provisions
for the Backward classes in matters of admission.
Article 46 under Directive Principles of State Policy also
supported to enact the first amendment which directs the Sate for the
promotion of education & economic interest of SC & ST & Other weaker
sections.
The class contemplated under the clause must be both Socially &
Educationally backward.
Thus under Article 15 (4) the two contentions issues are to be
determined :1. Who are socially & educationally Backward classes? This
we have already discussed.
2. What is the limit of reservation?
In Balaji Vs- State of Mysore (AIR 1963 SC 649) the
Mysore Government issued an order Under Article 15(4)
reserving seats in the Medical & Engineering Colleges in the
State as Backward classes & more backward classes &
SC/ST, total reservation amounts to 68% & 32% was made
available to merited students. The court held that subclassification made by the order between backward classes &
14
(2)
Though caste may be a relevant fact but it cannot be the sole test
for ascertaining whether a particular class is a backward class or not.
Poverty, occupation place of habilation may all be relevant factors to be
taken into consideration. Further SC & ST has been defined in SubClauses (24) & (25) of Article 366 of the Constitution.
But in the historic Judgment Indra Sawhney Vs- Union of
India (The Mandal Case AIR 1993 SC 477) the supreme court held
that sub classification of backward classes into backward & more
backward classes can be done the purpose of Article 16 (4) reservation
in public employment.
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with
the
affairs
of
any
religions
or
16
appointment to any
with
the
maintenance
of
efficiency
of
17
framed by the
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PROTECTIVE DISCRIMINATION
Article 14
Permits reasonable classification
Test :
1. Intelligible
differentia.
2. Nexus with
object to be
achieved.
Article 16(4)
Reservations
in Public
Employment
Basis of Classification
1. Geographical
2. Historical
3. Age
4. Sex
5. Nature
of person
6. Nature of
Business.
7. Time
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