Right to Equality

Polity

The Right to equality means the absence of legal discrimination only on grounds of caste, race, religion, sex, and place of birth and ensures equal rights to all citizens. It is considered a basic feature of the Indian Constitution. The Right to equality is both a positive equality as well as a negative right.

Equality Before Law & Equal Protection of Law

Article 14 says that the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. This provision confers rights on all persons whether citizens or foreigners. The word 'person' includes legal persons, i.e., statutory corporations, companies, registered societies, or any other type of legal person. The Supreme Court held that where equals and unequals are treated differently, Article 14 does not apply. While Article 14 forbids class legislation, it permits reasonable classification of persons, objects, and transactions by the law, but the classification should not be arbitrary, artificial, or evasive.

Equal Protection of Laws (Positive Concept)

Equality before Law (Negative Concept)

RULE OF LAW

The concept of Rule of Law has the following three aspects:

  1. Absence of arbitrary power - No man can be punished except for a breach of law.
  2. Equality before the law - Equal subjection of all citizens to the ordinary law of the land administered by the ordinary law courts.
  3. The primacy of the rights of the individual - The constitution is the result of the rights of the individual as defined and enforced by the courts of law rather than the constitution being the source of the individual rights.

Only the first and the second element of the concept given by Dicey are applicable to the Indian System and not the third one. In the Indian System, the constitution is the source of individual rights.

NOTE:

The Supreme Court held that the 'Rule of Law' as embodied in Article 14 is a 'basic feature' of the constitution. Hence, it cannot be destroyed even by an amendment.

Exception of Equality:

The law is not absolute and there are constitutional and other exceptions to it. These are:

Prohibition of Discrimination on Certain Grounds

Article 15 provides that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen only on the following five grounds:

  1. Religion
  2. Race
  3. Caste
  4. Sex
  5. Place of birth

The use of the word 'only' connotes that discrimination on other grounds is not prohibited.

The second provision of Article 15 says that no citizen shall be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction, or condition on the above-mentioned five grounds with regard to:

Exceptions:

Equality of Opportunity in Public Employment

Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment or appointment to any office under the State. No citizen can be discriminated against or be ineligible for any employment or office under the State on the only grounds of:

Exceptions:

103rd Constitutional Amendment Act: Changes in Article 15 and 16

The Constitutional (103rd Amendment) Act got the assent of the President of India on 13th January 2018. It provides reservation of jobs in central government jobs as well as government educational institutions. It is also applicable to admissions to private higher educational institutions.

It applies to citizens belonging to the economically weaker sections from the upper castes. This reservation is “in addition to the existing reservations and subject to a maximum of ten percent of the total seats in each category”.

The bill states that it is drafted with a will to mandate Article 46 of the Constitution of India, a Directive Principle that urges the government to protect the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of society.

Article 15 (6) is added to provide reservations to economically weaker sections for 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. The amendment aims to provide reservations to those who do not fall in 15 (5) and 15(4) (effectively, SCs, STs, and OBCs).

Article 16 (6) is added to provide reservations to people from economically weaker sections in government posts.

An explanation states that “economic weakness” shall be decided on the basis of “family income” and other “indicators of economic disadvantage.”

Abolition of Untouchability

Article 17 abolishes 'untouchability' and forbids its practice in any form. The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with the law. The Civil Rights Act, 1955 defines civil right as any right accruing to a person by reason of the abolition of untouchability by Article 17 of the Constitution. The term 'untouchability' has not been defined either in the Constitution or in the Act. The Civil Rights Act, 1955 declares the following acts as offences:

The Supreme Court held that the right under Article 17 is available against private individuals. A person convicted of the offence of 'untouchability' is disqualified for election to the Parliament or state legislature.

Abolition of Titles

Article 18 abolished titles and makes four provisions in that regard:

In 1996, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the National Awards—Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. It ruled that these awards do not amount to 'titles' within the meaning of Article 18 that prohibits only hereditary titles of nobility. Therefore, they are not violative.

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Subject: Polity

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