Right to Equality (Articles 14-18)
Articles 14-18: equality before law, the reasonable classification and arbitrariness tests, prohibition of discrimination, equality of opportunity, and abolition of untouchability
The equality code: Articles 14-18
Articles 14 to 18 of the Constitution constitute the 'right to equality', the first cluster of Fundamental Rights in Part III. Article 14 is the genus; Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 are species that apply the equality principle to specific situations.
Article 14 guarantees to every person — citizen and non-citizen, natural and juristic — two distinct guarantees: 'equality before the law' (a negative concept borrowed from A.V. Dicey's rule of law, England) and 'equal protection of the laws' (a positive concept borrowed from the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution). Equality before law means absence of special privilege and equal subjection of all to ordinary law; equal protection means like should be treated alike — equal treatment in equal circumstances.
The two tests under Article 14
Article 14 forbids class legislation but permits reasonable classification. In State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar (1952) the Supreme Court struck down the West Bengal Special Courts Act for arbitrary classification. The twin test of valid classification, settled in Ram Krishna Dalmia v. Justice Tendolkar (1958), requires: (i) the classification rests on an intelligible differentia distinguishing those grouped from those left out; and (ii) the differentia has a rational nexus to the object sought to be achieved by the statute.
From E.P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu (1974) and Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978), the Court evolved a wider 'arbitrariness' doctrine: equality is antithetical to arbitrariness, so any State action that is arbitrary, per se, violates Article 14. This was reaffirmed in Shayara Bano v. Union of India (2017), where instant triple talaq was struck down as manifestly arbitrary.
Articles 15 and 16: discrimination and opportunity
Article 15 prohibits discrimination by the State against citizens only on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 15(3) permits special provisions for women and children; Article 15(4) (inserted by the First Amendment, 1951, after State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, 1951) permits provisions for socially and educationally backward classes, SCs and STs; Article 15(5) (93rd Amendment, 2005) extends this to admissions in educational institutions including private unaided ones; Article 15(6) (103rd Amendment, 2019) permits provision for the economically weaker sections (EWS).
Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment. Article 16(4) enables reservation for backward classes inadequately represented. In Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) the Court upheld 27% OBC reservation, excluded the 'creamy layer', and capped total reservation at 50%. Article 16(4A) (77th Amendment) and 16(4B) (81st Amendment) deal with reservation in promotions and the carry-forward of unfilled vacancies. Article 16(6) (103rd Amendment, 2019) provides up to 10% EWS reservation, upheld in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India (2022).
