1)Som Pr

akashv
.Uni
onofI
ndi
a,AI
R1981SC212:
(1981)1SCC449

Pensionissuewi
thBur mahShel lOi
lStorageLt d–Pet it
ionercoveredbyEPF&Mi scprovi
sions
Act,1952andgrat
uityu/Pay mentofGr atuit
yAct ,1972–companywasst atut
ori
lytakenov er
byforceoftheBurmahShel l(Acqui
sit
ionofUnder t
akingsinIndia)Act,1976-Cent ral
Governmenttookstepst ovesttheundertakinginthesecondr espondent ,
theBhar atPetr
oleum,
whichthenbecamet hest at
utor
ysuccessoroft hepetit
ioner
'sempl oy
er.Hi spensionar
yrights
suchashehad, t
herefore,becameclaimabl efrom thesecondr espondent.

Apreli
minaryobject
ionwasraisedonbehalfoft
hecorpor
ati
onthatnowri
twouldl
ieagainstt
he
secondrespondentsincei
tisneit
heragovernmentdepar
tmentnorast
atut
orycor
porat
ionbut
j
ustacompany .

-Settl
edpositionthatanyauthori
tyu/GoIcomeswi t
hint
hedefnofState-cor efactisthatthe
CentralGovernment,throughsection7chosetomakeov erit
sownpr opertytoit
sownof fspri
ng.
Therefore,
theBur mahShel lt
houghagov ernmentcompanyisbutthealteregooft heCent r
al
Governmentandmust ,theref
ore,betr
eatedasdefini
ti
onall
ycaughti
nt henetofSt ateaj ur
ist
ic
vei
l wornforcertai
nlegalpurposescannotobli
ter
atethetr
uecharact
eroft heentityfor
purposesofconst i
tuti
onallaw-

I
nter
nat
ional
Air
por
tsAut
hor
it
yCase,
AjayHasi
aCase

Test
slai
ddownbyt
hisCour
tfordeci
dingwhet
herabodyi
sSt
atewi
thi
nthemeani
ngofAr
ti
cle
12are:

(
i)I
ftheenti
reshar
ecapit
alofthecorporat
ioni
sheldbyGovernment,i
twoul
dgoalongway
t
owardsindi
cati
ngthatt
hecorporat
ionisaninst
rument
ali
tyoragencyoft
heGover
nment;

(i
i)Af
indi
ngofStat
efi
nanci
alsuppor
tplusanunusualdegr
eeofcont
rol
overt
hemanagement
andpoli
ciesmi
ghtl
ead,
onetocharact
eriseanoper
ati
onasStat
eacti
on.

(i
i
i)Theexi
stenceofdeepandpervasiv
eStatecont
rol
mayaf
for
dani
ndi
cat
iont
hatt
he
Corpor
ati
onisaStateagencyori
nstrumental
it
y.

(
iv)Whethert
hecor
por
ati
onenj
oysmonopol
yst
atuswhi
chi
sSt
ateconf
err
edorSt
atepr
otect
ed
i
sar el
evantf
act
or.

(v
)Ifthefuncti
onsoft hecorporat
ionarei
mpor tantpubl
i
cf unctionsandr
elat
edto
governmentalfunct
ionsitwouldbear el
evantfactori
nclassif
yingthecor
porati
onas
i
nstrumentali
tyoragencyoft heGovernment.

(vi
)Ifadepart
mentofGover
nmentist
ransfer
redt
oacor por
ati
on,i
twoul
dbeast
rongf
act
or
support
iveofthei
nfer
encet
hati
tisaninst
rument
ali
tyoftheSt
ate.

(v
ii
)Wher ethechemi
str
yoft
hecor
por
atebodyanswer
sthet
estofSt
atei
tcomeswi
thi
nthe
defi
nit
ionofArt
icl
e12.
(
vii
i
)Whethert
helegal
personi
sacorporat
ioncreat
edbyastat
ute,asdi
sti
ngui
shedf
rom under
astat
utei
snotanimport
antcr
it
eri
onal
thoughitmaybeanindi
cium.

Justi
cePathakdi
ssentedwit
hthemajori
tyonhol
dingtheBhar
atPetr
oleum asst
atebutwasi
n
agreementwit
hthem onthepri
nci
plet
hatthepet
it
ionerwasli
abl
eforrel
ief
.

2.Pr
adeepKumarBi
swasv
.Indi
anI
nst
it
uteofChemi
cal
Biol
ogy(
2002)5SCC111

Sabhaj
itTewarycase–JrSteno–wr itagai
nstCSI
Rforequalpay–cont endedArt
icl
e14–
deni
edbenefi
tby5j udgebench-hel
dCSI RnotaStat
eunderAr t
icl
e12CoIasi twasregi
ster
ed
undersoci
eti
esact.Thebenchinthi
scaseov er
rul
edthedeci
sioninSabhaji
tTewaryCase.

I
nPKRamachandr
aIy
ervUoIcour
thel
dthatI
CARi
sast
ateu/
A12CoI
.

BSMi nhasvIndianSt
ati
sti
cal
Insti
tut
e–heldcontr
olofCent
ral
Gov
tdeep&per
vasi
ve–I
ndi
an
St
ati
stical
Inst
it
utehel
dtobeast at
eu/ Ar
t12CoI.

Testpr
opoundedinAjayHasi
awerenotappli
edi
nTekraj
Vasandi
vUoI(1988)1SCC236and
I
nsti
tut
eofConsti
tut
ion&Parli
ament
aryStudi
es(I
CPS)asoci
etyr
egi
ster
edu/thesoci
eti
esact
washeldnottobeastate.

I
nChanderMohanKhannavNCERTt hecour tobservedthatt
hetestspr
opoundedinSukhdev
Singh,
Ramana(Ai
rpor
tAuthor
it
yCase),Aj ayHasia&Som Pr akashRekhicasear
emerely
i
ndicat
ivei
ndi
ciaandbynomeansconcl usiveorcli
nchinginanycase.I
nthisNCERTwasheld
tonotbeastat
eu/Art12asitsfunct
ioningwasl ar
gelyautonomous.

Centr
alI
nlandWaterTr
ansportCor
pLtdvBrojoNat
hGangul
y–heldappel
lantcompany
cover
edu/ A12CoI–fi
nancedby3Governments–Compl
etel
yunderCont
rolofCent
ral
Gov
t–
Chair
man&Boar dappoi
ntedbytheCent
ralGov.

Thepri
nci
plel
aiddowninSabhaj
itTewar
yCasethatasociet
yregi
ster
edu/Societ
iesActanda
Companyregi
ster
edu/CompaniesActfort
hatr
easonalonedoesnotfal
lunderArti
cle12was
cr
it
ici
zedandoverr
uled.

3.
G.Basi
Reddyv
.Int
ernat
ional
CropsResear
chI
nst
it
ute,
JT2003(
2)SC180

Ref
usedt
ohol
dICRI
SATasaSt
ateu/Ar
ti
cle12ofCoI
.
4.ZeeTel
efi
l
msLt
d.v
.Uni
onofI
ndi
a(2005)4SCC649

Courtref
usedtoacceptBCCI–asocietyregdundert
heTNSociet
iesRegi
strat
ionAct
,1975as
aStateu/Art12.Buthel
dthatr
eli
efagai
nstBCCIcudbesoughtu/
A226i ntheHC.

5.St
ateofU.
P.v
.RadheyShy
am Rai
,2009(
3)SCALE754

Hel
dUPGannaKi
sanSanst
hant
obeanst
ateu/
A12CoI
.

(
b)‘
Law’
underAr
ti
cle13;
AlsoAr
ti
cles31A,
31B,
31C,
368

(
i)Doct
ri
neofEcl
i
pse

TheDoct r
ineofEcli
pseisbasedont hepri
ncipl
ethatal awwhi chvi
olatesf undamentalri
ghtsis
notnull
it
yorv oidabini
ti
obutbecomesonl yunenforceabl ei.
e.remai
nsi namor ibundcondit
ion.
"I
tisover-
shadowedbyt hefundament alri
ghtsandr emai nsdor mant
, butitisnotdead."Such
l
awsar enotwi pedoutenti
relyfrom t
hestatutebook.Theyexi stforallpostt r
ansacti
onsand
fortheenfor
cementoft herightsacquir
edandl i
abi
liti
esincur r
edbefor ethecommencementof
theConstit
uti
on.Iti
sonlyagai nstt
heciti
zensthattheyr emaini nador mantormor i
bund
condit
ionbuttheyremaininoper at
ionasagainstnon-citizenswhoar enotent i
tl
edto
fundamentalri
ghts.

Forsolvingsuchapr oblem, Supr emeCour tformul at edt hedoct ri

neofecl ipseinBhi khajiv
.
StateofM. P.,AIR1955S. c.781.I nthi
scaset hepr ov i
sionsof .
C. P.andBer arMot orVehi cl
es
(Amendment )Act1948aut horizedt heStateGov ernmentt otakeupt heent ir
emot ort r
ansport
businessi ntheProvi
ncet ot heexcl usionofmot ort ranspor toperators.Thispr ovi
sionthough
vali
dwhenenact ed,butbecamev oi
dont hecommencementoft heConst ituti
onin1950ast hey
viol
atedAr ti
cle19(1)(g)oft heConst i
tut
ion.Howev er,in1951Cl ause( 6)ofAr t
icl
e19was
amendedbyt heConstit
ution( 1stAmendmentAct )soast oaut hori
zet heGov ernmentt o
monopol iseanybusiness.TheSupr emeCour thel dt hattheef fectoft heamendmentwast o
remov etheshadowandt omaket heimpugnedActf reef r
om bl emishori nfir
mi t
y.I
tbecame
enforceableagainstciti
zensaswel lasnon-citi
zensaf t
ertheconst i
tutionalimpedimentwas
remov ed.Thislawwasecl i
psedf orthetimebei ngbyt hef undament al ri
ghts.Assoonast he
ecli
psei sremov ed,t
hel awbegi nstooper at
ef rom t hedat eofsuchr emov al.

6.Keshav
anMadhav
aMenonv
.St
ateofBombay
,AI
R1955SC128:
1951SCR228

Proceedi
ngsagai nstappel
lantforanoffencepunishabl
eunderS18Press(Emer
gencyPowers)
Act1931i nrespectofapamphl etpubli
shedin1949.Appell
antcont
endedthati
twas
i
nconsistentwiththeFundament alr
ight
sconferr
edbyt heCoI&thrf
rhadbecomevoidu/Art
13(1)aft
erJan1, 1950.Scr ej
ectedthi
scontenti
on&hel dt
hatArt13(1)hadnor
etr
ospect
ive
eff
ect.Thearti
cledidnothav et heeff
ectofr ender i
ngt helawswhi chexi
stedont hedateoft he
commencementodt heConstituti
onVoi dAbI niti
of orallpurposesi ft
heywereinconsistentwith
theFundamental ri
ghts.DasJ.sai d“Arti
cle13( 1)cannotber eadasobl i
ter
ati
ngt heenti
re
operati
onofthei nconsist
entlaws,ortowi pet hem outal togetherfrom t
hestatutebook,forto
dosowi ll
betogi vethem (Fundament alRights)r et
rospect i
veef f
ectwhich,wehav esaid,they
donotpossess.Suchl awsexistforallpasttransact i
ons&f orenforci
ngallri
ghts&liabil
it
ies
accruedbefor
et hedat eoftheConst i
tuti
on.

7.St
ateofGuj
aratv
.Sr
iAmbi
kaMi
l
ls,
AIR1974SC1300:
(1974)4SCC656

Quest
ion:
Whetheral
awwhichtakesawayorabri
dgest
hefundamental
rightofci
ti
zensu/
A
19(
1)(
f)woul
dbev oi
d&theref
orenonestasregar
dsnon-
cit
izens.

Speaki
ngf orthecourtMat hewJ.af t
erreviewingtheear li
erdeci si
ons[Keshav anMadhav
Menon, Behram Khurshi
dPesakavStofBom, Bhi
kajiCase, DeepChandvStofUP, Mahendra
LalJai
ni vStofUP]obser vedthatjustaspr eConst i
tuti
onl awt aki
ngawayorabr i
dgi
ngt he
fundamental r
ightsu/A19r emainedoperat i
veaf t
erConst itut
ioncamei nt
of orceasregards
nonciti
zensbecausei twasnoti ncontravent i
onofanyoft heirfundamentalright
ssoalsoa
postConstit
utionlawoffendingArt19r emai nedoper at
iveasagai nstnon-ci
tizensbecauseit
wasnoti ncont r
avent
ionofanyoft heirFundament al ri
ghts.

8.Bhi
kaj
iNar
ainDhakr
asv
.St
ateofM.P.
,AI
R1955SC781[
discussedabov
e]

(
ii
)Wai
verofFundament
alRi
ght
s

9.BashesherNat
hv.CI
T,AI
R1959SC149

Thepet iti
onerwhosemat terhadbeenr efer r
edt otheI nvesti
gationCommi ssionu/ S5(1)oft he
Taxat ionofI ncome( Investi
gationCommi ssion)Act1947wasf oundtohav econceal edal ar ge
amountofhi sincome.Thepet i
tionerinor dert oescapeheav i
erpenaltyagr eedasaset t
lement
u/S8- At opayRs3Lakhsi nmont hlyinst alment sbywayofar r
earsoft ax&penal ty.Inthe
meanwhi letheSCi nanot hercasehel dt hatS5( 1)oft heTaxat i
onofI ncomeAct1947wasul t
ra
virest heConst itut
ionasi twasi nconsi stentwi t
hAr t14.Theassesseei nv i
ewoft heultr
av i
res
char acteroft heset t
lementi nvi
tedt heCour ttoholdt hathewasabsol vedofhi sobligati
on
undert heset tl
ement .Ther espondent, ont heot herhandcont endedt hatev enifS5(1)was
i
nv al idt heassesseehadwai vedhi sri
ghtguar anteedu/ Art14.SRDasCJ.&KapurJ.conf ined
thei rdeci siontoFundament alr
ightsact ual lyinvolvedinthegiv encaseandhel dthatther ight
underAr t
icl
e14coul dnotbewai ved.Bhagwat i
&SubbaRaoJJ.Hel dthatitwasnotopenf ora
citizent owai veanyoft hef undament al rightguar anteedu/t heConst it
ution.SKDasJ.who
dissent edhel d(ont heanal ogyoft heAmer icanConst itut
ion)thatFRcanbewai vedpr ovi
ded
suchwai verisnotfor bi
ddenbyl awanddoesnotcont r
avenepubl i
cpol i
cyorpubl icmor als.
(i
ii
)Severabil
i
ty–Onl yt hatpar tofthelawwil
lbedeclaredinval
idwhichisinconsistentwiththe
fundamentalrightsandt her estofthelawwill
stand.Howev er,
inval
idpar
toft helawwi llbe
severedonlyifitissever able,i.
e.,
ifaft
erseparat
ingtheinval
idpart,t
hevali
dpar tiscapableof
givi
ngeffecttot helegislature’si
ntent,
thenonlyitwi
llsurv
iveotherwiset
hecour tshalldeclar
e
theenti
relawasi nval
id.

Pur
posenotonl
ytor
est
ri
ctbutal
sot
oenl
arget
heappl
i
cat
ionofl
aw.–Hon’
ble

10.St
ateofBombayv
.F.
N.Bal
sar
a,AI
R1951SC318

8Secti
onsoft
heBombayProhi
bit
ionAct1949,wer
ehel
dultr
av i
resonthegr
oundsthatt
hey
i
nfr
ingedt
heFRoftheci
ti
zens.Buttheactminust
hei
nval
i
dpr ovisi
onswasal
lowedtost
and.

11.RMDCv
.Uni
onofI
ndi
a,AI
R1957SC628

I
ndetermini
ngwhethert heval
idpar
tsofthest
atutearesever
ablef
rom t
heinval
i
dpartst
he
i
ntent
ionofthelegi
slatur
eisthedet
ermini
ngfactor
.[i
.e.woul
dthel
egisl
atur
ehaveenact
edthat
i
sremaini
ngwi t
houtt heinv
ali
dpart
s?]

Thepet it
ioners,whower epromot ing' andconduct i
ngpr i
zecompet it
ionsint hedi f
ferentStat
es
ofIndi a,chall
engedt heconst i
tutional it
yofss.4and5oft hePr i
zeCompet it
ionsAct( 42of955)
andr r
.xi and12f r
amedunderS.20oft heAct.Theircont enti
onwast hat'
prizecompet i
ti
on'as
definedi nS.2( d)oftheActi ncl udednotmer elycompet i
tionsthatwer eofagambl ingnature
butal sot hosei nwhichsuccessdependedt oasubst ant
ialdegreeonski llandt hesect i
onsand
ther ulesv i
olatedtheirfundament al righttocarryonbusi ness,andwer eunsuppor tableunder
Art.19( 6)oft heConst i
tuti
on, thatt heyconst i
tutedasi ngleinseverableenact mentand,
consequent ly,mustfailenti
rely.Onbehal foftheUni onofI ndi
athiswascont r
ov er
tedandi twas
cont endedt hatt hedefini
ti
on, proper lyconst r
ued,meantandi ncludedonl ysuchcompet i
ti
ons
aswer eofagambl i
ngnat ure,andev enifthatwasnotso, t
heimpugnedpr ov i
sions,
beingsev erableintheirapplication, wer eval
idasr egardsgambl ingcompet i
tions.

Held,thatthevali
dit
yoftherest
rict
ionsi
mposedbySS.4and5andr r.i
iand12oftheActas
regardsgambl i
ngcompet i
ti
onswasnol ongeropentochal
lengeunderAr t
.19(
6)ofthe
Const i
tuti
oninviewofthe,deci
sionofthi
sCourtthatgambli
ngdidnotfal
lwit
hint
hepurvi
ewof
Art.19(i)(
g)oftheConstit
uti
on.

Onaproperconstr
ucti
onther
ecouldbenodoubtt
hatthePri
zeCompeti
ti
onsAct(
42Of1955),
i
ndefi
ningtheword'pr
izecompet
it
ion'
asitdi
dinS.2(
d),hadi
nviewonl
ysuchcompet
it
ionsas
wer
eofagambl ingnatur
eandnoothers.

I
ninterpr
eti
nganenactmentt
heCourtshoul
dascer
tai
ntheint
entionoft
helegi
slat
urenot
merelyfr
om al
iter
almeani
ngofthewordsusedbutal
sofrom suchmatt
ersasthehist
oryof
t
helegisl
ati
on,
itspur
poseandthemischi
efi
tseekstosuppr
ess.
Evenassumingt hatpr
izecompet
it
ionasdefi
nedbyS.2( d)oftheActi
ncludednotmerely
gamblingcompet i
ti
ons butalsoother
sinwhichsuccessdependedtoaconsi der
abledegr
ee
onskil
l,t
herestri
cti
onsimposedbyss.4and5andr r
.iiand12oft heActwereclear
lysever
abl
e
i
nt hei
rappl
icati
ont ot
hetwo,di
sti
nctandseparat
ecategori
esofcompet i
ti
onsand,
consequentl
y,couldnotbevoi
dasregardsgambli
ngcompet it
ions.

Thepr incipleofsev erabil

it
yisappli
cablet olawsenact edbylegisl
atureswi t
hl i
mi t
edpower sof
l
egislation, suchast hoseinaFeder alUnion, whichfal
lpart
lywithi
nandpar tl
yout sidet
heir
l
egislativecompet ence,wher ethequestionar i
sesastowhet herthevalidcanbesepar ated
from thei nv al
idpartsandt hati
saquest ionwhi chhast obedecidedbyt heCour tona
consider ationoftheent ir
epr ov
isi
onsoft heAct .Thereis,
howev er,
nobasi sf orthecontention
thatthepr incipleappliesonlywhent helegislat
ureexceedsitspower sasr egardst hesubject-
mat t
erofl egisl
ati
onandnotwheni tcontravenesanyconst i
tut
ionalprohibit
ions.

12.Chi
ranj
i
tLal
Chaudhar
yv.Uni
onofI
ndi
a,AI
R1951SC41

Petit
ionerappr oachedt heSCf ort hepr ot
ecti
onofhi sFRu/Ar t14&Ar t31agai nstt he
enforcementoft heShol apurSpi nning&Weav ingCo( Emer gencyPr ovi
sion)Act, 1950.The
peti
tionerwasanor di narysharehol deroftheSholapurSpi nning&Weav i
ngCo.Lt d.The
companyt hroughi t
sdi rect
or shadbeenmanagi ngandr unni ngat ext i
lemi l
lofthesamename.
In1949onaccountofmi smanagement&negl ectoft heaf fairsoft heCompany ,asi t
uati
onhad
ari
sent hatbr oughtaboutt hecl osingdownoft hemi ll
.Theact ionoft hecompanypr ej
udici
all
y
aff
ect edt hepr oduct ionofanessent i
al commodi t
y,apar tfrom causi ngser i
ousunempl oyment
amongstcer tainsect ionsoft hecommuni ty
.TheCent r
al Gov tthereuponi ssuedanOr di
nance
whichwasl aterr eplacedbyt heabov ement ionedAct .Byt hisAct ,themanagement&
admini strati
onoft heasset soft heCompanywaspl acedundert hecont rol&directors
appoint edbyt heGov t.Theol ddi r
ectorswer edismissedandt heasset soft heCompanywer e
handedov ertot hecust odyoft henewmanagement .Petiti
onercont endedt hattheimpugned
Actinf r
ingedr i
ghtt oequal ityguar anteedu/Art14oft heconst itut
ionv i
s-à-visothercompani es
andt heirshar ehol der.

SCdismissedthepetit
ionandheldthatal awmaybeconst it
uti
onalev enifitappliestoasi ngl
e
i
ndivi
duali
f,onaccountofsomespeci alcircumst ancesorreasonsappl icabletohi m andnot
appli
cabl
etoothers,
thatsingl
eindivi
dual maybet r
eatedasacl assbyi tsel
fandt hatunless
thati
twasshownt hattherewereothercompani essimil
arlycir
cumst anced, thelegisl
ati
onmust
bepresumedtobeconst it
uti
onal.SholapurCof ormedacl assbyitselfbecauset he
mismanagementoft heCompany ’saff
airspr ej
udici
all
yaffectedthepr oductionofanessent i
al
commodi t
y&hadcausedser i
ousunempl oy mentinasect i
onoft hecommuni ty.
13.St
ateofW.B.v
.AnwarAl
iSar
kar
,AI
R1952SC75

SCbymaj orityinvali
datedS5( 1)ofWBSpeci alCourtsAct1950becausei tconfer
redar bitr
ary
power sont heGov ttoclassif
yof fencesorclassesofof fensesorcl assesofcasesorcasesat
i
tspleasur eandt heActdi dnotlaydownanypol i
cyorgui delinesf ortheexer ci
seofi t
s
discret
iont ocl assifyoffencesorcases.Asr egardst heref erencei nt hePr eambletot he
necessityf or‘speedi ertri
alofoffences’,i
twashel dthatt heexpr ession‘ speedi
ertrial
’ wastoo
vague,uncer tai
nandi ll
usivetoaffordabasi sforrat
ional cl
assi f
ication.DasJ.hel dt hesect i
on
tobepar t
iallyinvalidinsofarasitempower edthegov er
nmentt odi r
ectcasesasdi sti
nguished
from classesofcases.Accor dingt ohim, t
hepr ovi
sionf orspeedi ertrialofcert
ainof f
enceswas
theobjectoft heActwhi chwasadi st
inctt
hingf r
om t heint ell
igi
bledi ffer
entiawhichhadt obe
thebasi sfort hecl assifi
cati
on.Thedi ffer
enti
aandt heobj ectbei ngdi fferentel
ement s, t
he
objectbyi tselfcoul dnotbet hebasi sofclassif
icati
onofof fencesorcases.

Themaj ori
tyruledthecaseagainstStat
eofWestBengalandhel
dtheWestBengalLawvoi
das
i
tgavear bi
trarypowert otheexecut
iveandthel
egi
slat
uret
odeci
dewhichcasesaretogoa
speci
alCour tandwhi chonesaretobedecidedbyanormalCour
twit
houtmakingany
cl
assi
ficati
oni nthelawi t
sel
f.

14.Kat
hiRani
ngRawatv
.St
ateofSaur
asht
ra,
AIR1952SC123

S11ofSaur ashtr
aSt atePublicSaf etyMeasur es(3r dAmendment )Ordinance, 1949, whichwas
similartoS5( 1)ofWBSpl CourtsAct ,1950wasi mpugned.I treferredto4di stinctcat egori
es
namel yoffences,classesofof fences, cases&cl assesofcases&empower edt heSt ateGov tto
dir
ectanyoneormor eofthesecat egor i
est obet ri
edbyt heSpeci alCour tconst it
utedundert he
Ordinance.Themaj or i
tyheldthatt hePr eambl et ot heOrdinancewhi chr eferredt otheneedt o
providef orpublicsaf ety,maintenanceofpubl icor der&thepr eservati
onofpeace&t ranquill
i
t y
i
nt heSt ateofSaur asht r
atoget herwi t
ht heaf fi
dav itfi
l
edbyt heSt ateGov texplainingt he
cir
cumst ancesunderwhi chthei mpugnedor derwaspassedaf fordedabasi sf ordistingui
shi ng
thi
scasef rom theAnwarAl iSar karcasesi ncei twascl earthatt heGovthadsuf f
ici
entgui dance
forclassifyingoffences, classesofof fencesorcl assesofcasesf orbeingt riedbyt hespeci al
procedur e.Sot herefor eaccordingt othemaj orityS11oft heOr dinancei nsof arasi tauthorized
theSt ateGov tt
odi rectof f
ences, classesofof fencesorcl assesofcasest obet r
iedbyt he
Speci alcour t
swasnotv iol
ati
v eofAr ticl
e14CoI .
15.I
ndr
aSawhneyv
.Uni
onofI
ndi
a,AI
R1993SC477

SecondBackwar
dCommi
ssi
on

Elev
en'
Indi
cat
ors'
or'cri
ter
ia'
fordeter
mi ni
ngsocial
andeducational
backwardness.These11
'
Indi
cat
ors'
weregroupedunderthreebroadheads,i
.e.
,Soci
al,
Educational
andEconomi c.They
are:
-

A.Soci
al:

(
i)Cast
es/
Classesconsi
der
edassoci
all
ybackwar
dbyot
her
s.

(
ii
)Cast
es/
Classeswhi
chmai
nlydependonmanual
labourf
ort
hei
rli
vel
i
hood.

(i
i
i)Castes/Cl
asseswher
eatleast25%f emalesand10%mal esabov
et hest
ateav
erageget
mar r
iedatanagebelow17yearsinrur
al ar
easandatleast10%femalesand5%malesdosoin
urbanareas.

(i
v)Cast
es/
Classeswher
epar
ti
cipat
ionoff
emal
esi
nwor
kisatl
east25%abov
etheSt
ate
aver
age.

B.Educat
ional
:

(v
)Castes/
Classeswherethenumberofchi
l
dreni
ntheagegr
oupof5-
15y
ear
swhonev
er
att
endedschooli
satleast25%abovetheSt
ateav
erage.

(v
i)Cast
es/
Classeswher
etherat
eofst
udentdr
op-
outi
ntheagegr
oupof5-
15y
ear
sisatl
east
25%abovetheStat
eaver
age.

(v
ii)Castes/Cl
assesamongstwhom t
hepr
opor
ti
onofmat
ri
cul
atesi
satl
east25%bel
owt
he
Stateaverage.

C.Economi
c:

(v
iii
)Castes/
Classeswher
etheav
eragev
alueoff
ami
l
yasset
sisatl
east25%bel
owt
heSt
ate
average.

(
ix)Cast
es/
Classeswher
ethenumberoff
ami
l
iesl
i
vingi
nKucchahousesi
satl
east25%abov
e
t
heStateav
erage.

(x)Cast
es/
Classeswher
ethesour
ceofdr
inki
ngwat
eri
sbey
ondhal
faki
l
omet
erf
ormor
ethan
50%ofthehousehol
ds.

(xi
)Cast
es/
Classeswher
ethenumberofhousehol
dshav
ingt
akenconsumpt
ionl
oani
satl
east
25%abovetheStat
eaver
age.
11.24.Ast heabov ethreegroupsar enotofequal importanceforourpur pose,separate
weightagewasgi vento'Indi
cat
ors' i
neachgr oup.Allt
heSoci al'
Indi
cators' weregi
vena
weightageof3poi ntseach.Educational'
Indicators'aweightageof2poi nt seachandEconomi c
'
Indicators'aweightageofonepoi nteach.Economi c,inadditi
ont oSocialandEducat i
onal
Indicat
ors,wereconsi deredi
mpor tantast heydirectl
yflowedf r
om social andeducational
backwar dness.Thisalsohelpedtohi ghli
ghtt hefactthatsocial
lyandeducat i
onall
ybackward
classesar eeconomi cal
lybackwardal so.

11.
25.Itwil
lbeseenthatfr
om theval
uesgiventoeachIndicat
ors,
thet otalscoreaddsupt o22.
All
these11Indicat
orswereappli
edtoal
l t
hecastescoveredbythesur veyforaparticularSt
ate.
Asar esul
toft
hisappli
cati
on,al
lcast
eswhichhadascor eof50per cent(i.
e.,11points)or
abovewereli
stedassocial
lyandeducat
ional
lybackwar
dandt herestwer et r
eatedas
'
advanced'
.

I
ssuesr
efr
amedbyt
heCour
t

1(
a)Whet hert
he'
prov
isi
on'cont
empl
atedbyAr
ti
cle16(
4)mustnecessar
il
ybemadebyt
he
l
egisl
ati
vewingoft
heState?

Thev eryuseoft hewor d"provi

sion"inAr t
icl
e16( 4)issignifi
cant.Wher easCl auses( 3)and(5)
ofArticl
e16-andCl auses(2)to( 6)ofAr t
icle19-uset hewor d"Law" ,Arti
cle16( 4)usest he
word" provision"
.Accordingly,
wehol d,agreeingwi t
hBal aj
i,t
hatthe" prov i
sion"cont emplatedby
Arti
cl
e16( 4)canal sobemadebyt heexecut ivewingoft heUni onoroft heSt ate,asthecase
maybe, ashasbeendonei nthepr esentcase.Baj aj
i hasbeenf oll
owedr ecent l
yinCompt rol
l
er
andAudi torGener alofIndiav.MohanLal Mehr ot
ra.Wi threspecttot hear gumentofabuseof
powerbyt hepol i
ti
calexecutiv
e,wemaysayt hatthereisadequat esaf eguar dagai nstmisuseby
thepol i
ti
cal executi
veoft hepowerunderAr ticl
e16( 4)inthepr ovi
sioni t
self

(b)I
ftheanswertoClause(
a)isi
nthenegati
ve,whet
heranexecut
iveor
dermakingsucha
prov
isi
onisenfor
ceablewit
houti
ncor
porat
ingiti
ntoarul
emadeundertheprov
isotoArti
cle
309?

SriRam Jethmal anicontendedt hatA16( 4)ismer elyanenabl ingprovisionandt hatithast obe

madear ul
eunderA309andanexecut i
veor derisnotenf orceable.Hel dbyt heCour t:-untila
l
awi smadeorr ulesarei ssuedunderAr ticl
e309wi threspectt oreservati
oni nfav ourof
backwardcl asses, i
twoul dalway sbeopent otheExecut i
ve( Government )topr ovidef or
reservat
ionofappoi ntment s/post sinf avourofBackwar dCl assesbyanexecut i
v eorder .We
cannotalsoagr eewi t
hSr iJethmal ani t
hatt heimpugnedMemor andumsshoul dbet reatedas
Rulesmadeundert hepr ov i
sot oAr ticl
e309.Ther eisnot hi
ngi nthem suggest i
ngev endi stantl
y
thattheywer eissuedundert hepr ov i
sot oAr ti
cle309.Theywer enev erintendedt obeso, noris
thatthestandoft heUni onGov ernmentbef oreus.Theyar eexecut i
veor dersissuedunder
Arti
cle73oft heConst it
ut i
onr eadwi thClause( 4)ofAr ti
cle16.Themer eomi ssionofar eci t
al
"i
nt henameandbyor deroft hePr esidentofI ndia"doesnotaf f
ectthev ali
dityorenf orceabi li
ty
oftheorders, ashel dbyt hisCour tr epeat edly
2(
a)Whet
herCl
ause(
4)ofAr
ti
cle16i
sanexcept
iont
oCl
ause(
1)ofAr
ti
cle16?

InBal ajiitwashel d-" t

her eisnodoubtt hatAr ti
cle15( 4)hast ober eadasapr ovi
sooran
except iont oAr ticl
es15( 1)and29( 2)".I
twasobser vedt hatAr t
icle15( 4)wasi nsertedbyt he
FirstAmendmenti nthel i
ghtoft hedeci sioni nChampakam, withav iewt or emov et hedef ect
point edoutbyt hisCour tnamel y,theabsenceofapr ovi
si oni nAr ticle15cor respondi ngto
Clause( 4)ofAr ti
cle16.Fol lowingBal aj
i i
twashel dbyanot herConst it
utionBench( bymaj orit
y)
i
nDev adasan-" furtherthisCour thasal readyhel dt hatCl ause( 4)ofAr ti
cle16i sbywayofa
prov i
sooranexcept i
ont oCl ause(1)".Subbar ao,J.,howev er,opi nedi nhisdi ssent ingopi nion
thatAr t
icle16( 4)isnotanexcept i
ont oAr ticle16( 1)butt hati tisonl yanemphat i
cwayof
statingt hepr incipleinherenti nthemai npr ov isi
oni tself
.Bet hatasi tmay ,sincet hedeci sionin
Dev adasan, itwasassumedbyt hisCour tthatAr ticl
e16( 4)isanexcept iont oAr ti
cle16(1) .This
view, howev er,receivedasev er
eset-backf r om themaj oritydeci sioni nSt ateofKer alaandOr s.
v.N. M.Thomas.Thought hemi nori
ty(H. R.KhannaandA. C.Gupt a, JJ.)st uckt othev i
ewt hat
Ar t
icle16( 4)i sanexcept i
on, themaj ori
ty( Ray ,C.J.,Mat hew, KrishnaI yerandFazal Ali
,JJ.)held
thatAr t
icle16( 4)isnotanexcept i
ont oAr ticle16( 1)butt hati twasmer elyanemphat icwayof
statingapr i
nci pleimpl i
citinAr ti
cle16(1) .

(b)WhetherClause(4)ofArt
icl
e16i sexhausti
veofthespecial
provisi
onst
hatcanbemadein
favourof'
backwardclassofciti
zens'
?Whet heri
tisexhaust
iveofthespeci
alpr
ovi
sionst
hat
canbemadei nf avourofal
lsecti
ons,cl
assesorgroups?

Courtagreeingwit
hJusticeBegandt hemaj orit
yinNM Thomascasehel dt hatClause(4)of
Art
icl
e16i sexhausti
veoft hespecialpr
ovi
sionst hatcanbemadei nf avourof" t
hebackward
cl
assofci t
izens"
.BackwardClasseshav i
ngbeencl assif
iedbyt heConst itutionitsel
fasaclass
deservi
ngspecialtr
eatmentandt heConstit
ut i
onhav ingitselfspeci
fiedthenat ureofspeci
al
tr
eatment,itshoul
dbepr esumedt hatnofurtherclassif
icationorspeci alt
r eatmentis
permissi
bleinthei
rfavourapartfr
om oroutsideofCl ause( 4)ofAr t
icle16.

(c)Whetherr
eser
vationscanbemadeunderCl
ause(
1)ofAr
ti
cle16orwhet
heri
tper
mit
sonl
y
extendi
ngofpref
erences/concessi
ons?

Whet
herAr
ti
cle16(
4)i
sexhaust
iveoft
hev
eryconceptofr
eser
vat
ions?

Inotherwords,t
hequest ioniswhet heranyr eservationscanbepr ovidedout si
deCl ause( 4)i.
e.,
underClause(1)ofAr ti
cle16.Ther ear et woviewsont hi
saspect .Onaf ull
erconsi derationof
themat t
er,weareoft heopiniont hatCl ause( 4)isnot ,andcannotbehel dtobe, exhaust iveof
theconceptofreservati
ons; i
tisexhaust iv eofreservati
onsi nfavourofbackwar dcl assesal one.
Merelybecause,onef orm ofclassificationi sstatedasaspeci f
icclause, i
tdoesnotf ollowt hat
theveryconceptandpowerofcl assificationimplicitinClause(1)isexhaust edt hereby .Tosay
sowoul dnotbecorrectinpr i
nciple.But , atthesamet ime,onet hi
ngi sclear.Iti
si nv er
y
excepti
onalsi
tuati
onsandnotf orall andsundr yr easons-t hatanyf urtherr
eserv ati
ons, of
whateverkind, shouldbeprovidedunderCl ause( 1)
.Insuchcases, t
heStat ehastosat i
sfy
,if
call
edupon, thatmaki ngsuchapr ovisi
onwasnecessar y(inpubli
cinter
est )t
oredressa
specif
icsituati
on.Thev erypresenceofCl ause( 4)shouldactasadamperupont hepropensity
tocreatefurtherclassesdeservingspecialtreatment.Thereasonforsayingsoi sverysimply.If
reser
vationsar emadebot hunderCl ause( 4)aswel lasunderClause(1),thevacancies
avail
ableforfreecompet it
ionaswel lasreser vedcategori
eswouldbecor respondinglywhit
tl
ed
downandt hatisnotar easonablethingtodo.

Whet
herCl
ause(
1)ofAr
ti
cle16doesnotper
mitanyr
eser
vat
ions?

Forther easonsgi venintheprecedingpar agraphswemustr ejectthear gumentt hatClause(1)

ofAr t
icl
e16per mitsonlyextendingofpr eferences,concessionsandexempt i
ons,butdoesnot
permitreserv ati
onofappointment s/posts.Aspoi ntedouti npara( 54)thear gumentt hatno
reservat
ionscanbemadeunderAr t
icle16(1)isreallyinspir
edbyt heopi nionofPowel l
,J.i
n
Bakke.Buti nt heverysamepar agraphwehadpoi ntedoutt hatitisnott heunani mousopi ni
on
oftheCour t
.Inpr i
ncipl
e,weseenobasi sf oraccedingt othesaidcont ent i
on.Whatki ndof
specialprovisionshouldbemadei nf avourofapar ticularcl
assi samat t erfortheStateto
decide,hav i
ngr egardtothefactsandci rcumst ancesofagi vensit
uation-subj ect,ofcourse,t
o
theobser vati
onsi ntheprecedingpar agraph.

Summar yofQ3Quest ionNo.3. (a)acast ecanbeanqui teof teni sasoci al classi nI ndi a.Ifiti
s
backwar dsoci all
y ,
itwoul dbeabackwar dcl assf ort hepur posesofAr ti
cle16( 4) .Amongnon-
Hindus, therear esev eral occupat ional gr oups, sect sanddenomi nat i
ons, whi chf orhi stor i
cal
reasonsar esoci all
ybackwar d.Theyt oor epr esentbackwar dsoci alcollectivesf ort hepur poses
ofAr t
icle16( 4).(b)Nei thertheConst itut i
onnort hel awpr escr ibet hepr ocedur eormet hodof
i
dent i
ficationofbackwar dcl asses.Nori si tpossi bleoradv i
sabl ef orthecour ttol aydownany
suchpr ocedur eormet hod.Itmustbel ef tt ot heaut horityappoi ntedt oident ify.Ifcanadopt
suchmet hod/ procedur easi tthinksconv eni entandsol ongasi tssur veycov erst heent ir
e
popul ace, noobj ecti
oncanbet akent oi t.Ident ifi
cat ionoft hebackwar dclassescancer t
ainlybe
downwi thr ef erencet ocast esamong, andal ongwi th,othergr oups, cl
assesandsect i
onsof
peopl e.Onecanst artt hepr ocesswi tht hecast es, wher ev ert heyar efound, appl yt hecr it
eria
(evol vedf ordet ermi ningbackwar dness)andf indoutwhet heri tsat i
sfiesthecr iter i
a.I fitdoes-
whatemer gesi sa" backwar dcl assofci tizens"wi t
hi nthemeani ngofandf ort hepur posesof
Article16( 4).Si mi l
arpr ocesscanbeadopt edi nt hecaseofot heroccupat ional gr oups,
communi ti
esandcl asses, soast ocov ert heent irepopul ace.Thecent ralideaandov er all
obj ectiveshoul dbet oconsi deral l availabl egr oups, sectionsandcl assesi nsoci et y.Si ncecast e
repr esent sanexi sti
ng, identifiablesoci al gr oup/ classencompassi nganov erwhel mi ngmaj ori
ty
oft hecount ry 'spopul ation,onecanwel lbegi nwi thi tandt hengot oot hergr oups, sect ionsand
classes.( c)Iti snotnecessar yforacl asst obedesi gnat edasabackwar dcl asst hati tis
situatedsi mi l
ar l
yt ot heSchedul edCast es/ Schedul edTr i
bes, (d)' Creamyl ay er 'canbe, and
mustbe, excl uded.( e)I tisnotcor rectt osayt hatt hebackwar dcl asscont empl atedbyAr t
icle
16( 4)isl i
mi tedt othesoci al
lyandeducat ional lybackwar dcl assesr eferredt oi nAr ticle15( 4)
andAr ticle340.I tismuchwi der .Thet estorr equi rementofsoci alandeducat ional
backwardnesscannotbeappl iedtoSchedul edCastesandScheduledTri
bes,whoindubit
abl y
fal
lwit
hintheexpr essi
on"backwar dclassofciti
zens.
"TheaccentinArt
icl
e16(4)appearstobe
onsocialbackwardness.Ofcour se,social
,educati
onalandeconomicbackwardnessareclosely
i
nter-
twinedintheI ndi
ancontext.TheclassescontemplatedbyArt
icl
e16(4)maybewi dert han
thosecontemplatedbyAr t
icl
e15( 4).

4(a)
.Whet
herthebackwar
dcl
assescanbei
dent
if
iedonl
yandexcl
usi
vel
ywi
thr
efer
encet
o
economi
ccri
teri
a?

Heldfrom di
scussi
oninQ3abackwar dclasscannotbedeterminedonl
yandexcl
usi
vel
ywi t
h
ref
erencetoeconomiccrit
eri
on.I
tmaybeaconsi derat
ionorbasisal
ongwit
handinaddit
ionto
soci
albackwardness,buti
tcanneverbethesolecri
ter
ion.Thi
sisthevi
ewunif
ormlyt
akenby
thi
sCourtandwer espectf
ull
yagr
eewi t
hthesame.

(b)Whet
hercri
ter
iali
keoccupat
ion-
cum-i
ncomewi
thoutr
efer
encet
ocast
eal
toget
her
,canbe
evol
vedfori
denti
fyi
ngthebackwardcl
asses?

I
nChi
tral
ekha,
t hi
sCourthel
dthatsuchident
if
icati
oni
sper
missi
ble.Weseenoreasontodif
fer
wi
tht
hesaidviewinasmuchasthisisbutanothermet
hodtof
indsocial
l
ybackwardcl
asses.

5.Whet
herthebackwar
dcl
assescanbef
urt
hercat
egor
isedi
ntobackwar
dandmor
ebackwar
d
cat
egor
ies?

Hel
d:Noconst
it
uti
onal
bart
osuchcat
egor
izat
ion.Hel
dpoi
ntsy
stem i
nMandal
commi
ssi
on,
11
ormore–some12some20-22.–Gol
dsmi
thscomparedwit
hvaddes

6.Towhatext
entcant
her
eser
vat
ionbemade?

(a)Whethert
he50%r
uleenunci
atedi
nBal
aji
abi
ndi
ngr
uleoronl
yar
uleofcaut
ionorr
uleof
prudence?

50% asdeci
dedi
nBal
aji
isabi
ndi
ngr
ule.

(b)Whetherthe50%r ul
e,i
fany
,isconfi
nedtor
eservat
ionsmadeunderCl
ause(4)ofAr
ti
cle16
orwhetherittakesi
nallty
pesofreser
vati
onst
hatcanbeprovi
dedunderArt
icl
e16?

Hel
dt hi
srul
eof50%appl
i
esonl
ytor
eser
vat
ionsi
nfav
ourofbackwar
dcl
assesmadeunder
Art
icl
e16(4)
.

(
c)Fur
therwhi
leappl
ying50%rul
e,i
fany
,whetherany
earshoul
dbet
akenasauni
torwhet
her
t
hetot
alstr
engthoft
hecadreshoul
dbelookedto?

I
ftheenti
reservi
ce/cadr
eistakenasaunitandthebacklogi
ssoughttobemadeup, t
henthe
opencompetit
ionchannelhastobechokedalt
ogetherf
oranumberofy ear
suntilt
henumber
ofmembersofallbackwardclassesr
eaches500,i
.e.
,ti
l
lthequot
ameantf oreachoft
hem is
fi
l
ledup.Thi
smayt akequiteanumberofyearsbecausethenumbersofvacanci
esari
singeach
yeararenotmany .Meanwhi l
e,themember sofopencompet i
ti
oncat egorywoul dbecomeage
barredandi nel
igi
ble.Equali
tyofopportunit
yintheircasewouldbecomeamer emirage.Itmust
ber emember edthattheequal i
tyofopportuni
tyguaranteedbyClause( 1)istoeachi ndi
vidual
cit
izenofthecount rywhil
eCl ause(4)contemplatesspecial
provi
sionbei ngmadei nf avourof
social
lydi
sadv antagedclasses.Bothmustbebal ancedagai
nsteachot her.Neithershouldbe
all
owedt oecl i
psetheother.Fortheabov ereason,wehol dt
hatforthepur poseofappl yi
ngt he
rul
eof50%any earshouldbet akenast heunitandnottheenti
restrengthoft hecadr e,
service
ortheunit,asthecasemaybe.

(
d)Whet
herDev
adasanwascor
rect
lydeci
ded?

Cour tov err

uledDevadasan( i
nwhi chthecar r
yforwardrulewasst ruckdown)case.Hel dthata
carryf orwardruleneednotnecessar i
l
ybei nthesamet ermsast heonef oundinDev adasan.A
giv
enr ulemaysayt hatt heunfil
ledreservedvacanciesshallnotbef il
ledbyunreserv
edcat egor
y
candi datesbutshallbecar ri
edf or
wardassuchf oraperiodofthr eey ear
s.Insuchacase, a
content i
onmayber aisedt hatreser
vedpost sremainasepar atecat egoryalt
ogether
.Inour
opinion, however,t
her esultofappli
cationofcarryforwardrule,
inwhat evermanneriti
s
operat ed,shouldnotresultinbreachof50%r ul
e.

7.Whet
herAr
ti
cle16per
mit
sreser
vat
ionsbei
ngpr
ovi
dedi
nthemat
terofpr
omot
ions?

Hel
dnor
eser
vat
ioni
npr
omot
ion.Wi
l
laf
fectef
fi
ciencyofadmi
nist
rat
ion.

8.Whetherreserv
at i
onsareant
i-
merit
ian?Towhatext
entar
eAr
ti
cles335,
38(
2)and46oft
he
Const
it
utionrelevantint
hematterofconst
rui
ngArt
icl
e16?

Didnott hinki tnecessar yt oexpl ai nindet ail

ont hecor rectnessoft heopposi ngpoi ntofv i
ewof
theabov e.Cour tobser v
edt hatt hemandat eofAr ti
cle335i st otaket heclaimsofmember sof
SC/ STi ntoconsi derati
on, consi st entwi t
ht hemai ntenanceofef fi
ciencyofadmi nistr
ati
on.I t
woul dbeami sreadingofAr ticlet osayt hatt hemandat eismai ntenanceofef f
iciencyof
admi ni stration.)Maybe, effi
ciency ,compet enceandmer itarenotsy nonymousconcept s;May
be,iti swr ongt ot reatmer i
tassy nony mouswi thef f
iciencyi nadmi nistr
ati
onandt hatmer itis
butacomponentoft heef fi
ciencyofanadmi nistrator.Evenso, t
her elevanceandsi gnifi
cance
ofmer itatt hest ageofi niti
al recrui t
mentcannotbei gnor ed.Itcannotal sobei gnor edthatt he
veryi deaofr eservationimpl i
essel ectionofal essmer it
oriousper son.Att hesamet ime,we
recogni set hatt hismuchcosthast obepai d, i
ftheconst ituti
onal pr omiseofsoci aljusti
cei sto
ber edeemed.Weal sofirml ybel i
ev et hatgivenanoppor tunity, member soft hesecl assesar e
boundt oov ercomet hei
ri nit
ial disadv antagesandwoul dcompet ewi th-andmay ,insome
cases, excel member sofopencompet it
orcandi dat es.Itisundeni ablethatnat urehasendowed
mer ituponmember sofbackwar dcl assesasmuchasi thasendoweduponmember sofot her
classesandt hatwhati sr equiredi sanoppor tunitytopr ov eit.Itmaynot ,therefore,besai dt hat
reserv at i
onsar eant imer iti
an.Bet hatasi tmay ,wear eoft heopi niont hatincer tainservices
andi nr espectofcer t
ainpost s,appl icati
onoft her uleofr eser vati
onmaynotbeadv i
sablef or
ther easoni ndi catedher einbef ore.Someoft hem ar e:(1)Def enceSer vi
cesincludi ngall
techni calpost stherei
nbutexcl udingcivi
lposts.(2)Al l
technicalpost si
nest abli
shments
engagedi nResear chandDev elopmentincl
udingt hoseconnect edwi thatomi cenergyand
spaceandest ablishmentsengagedi nproducti
onofdef enceequi pment ;(3)Teachi ngpost
sof
Prof essors-andabov e,
ifany .(4)Postsinsuper-speciali
ti
esinMedi ci
ne, engineeri
ngandot her
scient i
ficandt echnicalsubjects.(5)Postsofpilots(andco- pil
ots)inIndianAi rl
inesandAir
India.Thel istgivenabov eismer el
yil
lustr
ati
veandnotexhaust i
ve.Itisfort heGov ernmentof
Indiat oconsi derandspeci fytheser v
iceandpost st owhicht heRuleofr eser vati
onshallnot
appl ybutont hataccountt hei mplementati
onoft hei mpugnedOf fi
ceMemor andum dated13th
August ,1990cannotbest ay edorwi t
hheld.

9.Whethertheextentofjudi
cialr
ev i
ewisrestr
ictedwit
hregar
dt othei
dentif
icat
ionof
BackwardClassesandt hepercentageofreservati
onsmadeforsuchclassestoademonst
rabl
y
perv
erseident
ifi
cati
onorademonst rabl
yunreasonableper
centage?

Cour tobser vedt hatthereisnopar t

icularorspecial standardofj udi
cialscruti
nyi nmatters
arisingunderAr ticl
e16( 4)orforthatmat t
er,
underAr ticl
e15( 4)
.Theext entandscopeof
j
udi cial scrutinydependsupont henat ureofthesubj ectmat ter,thenatureoft her i
ghtaff
ected,
thechar acteroft helegalandconst ituti
onalprovisionsappl i
cableandsoon.Theact sand
order soft heSt atemadeunderAr ti
cle16(4)donotenj oyanypar ti
cul
arki ndofimmuni t
y.Atthe
samet ime, wemustsayt hatcour twoul dnormallyext endduedef er
encet othej udgmentand
discr etionoft heExecut ive-aco- equal wing-inthesemat t
ers.Thepol it
icalexecutive,
drawnas
i
ti sf rom t hepeopl eandr epresentasi tdoest hemaj orit
ywillofthepeopl e,i
spr esumedt o
knowt hecondi tionsandt heneedsoft hepeopleandhencei tsjudgmenti nmat terswithi
nits
j
udgmentanddi scr
etionwillbeent i
tledtoduewei ght.Mor ethant hi
s, i
tisneitherpossiblenor
desir ablet osay .Itisnotnecessar ytoanswert hequest i
onasf ramed.

10.Whetherthedist
inct
ionmadeintheMemor andum bet
ween'
poor
ersect
ions'
oft
he
backwar
dcl assesandother
spermissi
bleunderArt
icl
e16?

Obser
vedthatthesai
dclassi
fi
cati
oni
snotandcannotbet
ermedasi
nval
i
dei
ther
const
it
uti
onal
lyspeaki
ngorinlaw.

11.Whetherthereser
vat
ionof10%oft hepostsinf
avourof'othereconomical
lybackward
sect
ionsofthepeoplewhoarenotcoveredbyanyoftheexistingschemesoft hereser
vat
ions'
madebyt heOffi
ceMemor andum dat
ed25.9.1991permissi
bleunderArti
cle16?

Hel
dthattheabovereser
vat
ionsol
elyonbasi
sofi
ncome/
proper
tyhel
dbyaper
soni
svi
olat
ive
ofAr
ti
cle16(1)oft
heconsti
tut
ionandnotval
i
dinl
aw.
16.AshokaKumarThakurv
.Uni
onofI
ndi
a(2008)6SCC1

Fact
s

InApril
2006,thegover
nmentdecidedtoreservenear
ly27%ofseatsf orstudentsfrom theOBC
segmenti ni
nsti
tut
esofhigherl
earni
nginIndi
a.Thiswouldhavereducedt heseatsf orageneral
,
unreserv
edcandidatet
oabout50%( aft
ertaki
ngintoaccountot
herreservedseats).TheI ndi
an
parl
iamentpassedabillt
obringoutanamendmenti ntheconst
itut
ioninthisregard.Ashoka
Thakurchall
engedthevali
dit
yoftheamendment s.

TheSupr emeCour tofIndiainr esponsetot hePILr ef

usedtost ayt
heconstit
utional
amendmentbuti ssuednoticetot hegovernment .Thegovernmentwhichhadf acedstronganti
reservati
onprotestsonitsturnst at
edthatther eservati
onpolicywoul
dnotbei mpl emented
until
abi l
l(TheCent r
alEducationalInst
it
utions( Reservat
ioninAdmission)Bi
ll
,2006)introduced
i
nt hepar l
iamentinAugust2006f orthi
spur posebecomesal aw.Thebi l
lwaslaterapprovedby
thepar l
i
ament .
[1]

TheSupr emeCour t
,asani nteri
m measur e, st
ayedtheoperati
onofadmi ssiontomedi caland
professional i
nst i
tuti
onsf orOBC' sunderthe27%quot acategoryforthey ear2007-2008and
di
rect edthatal lcases( includingthisone)shoul dbeli
stedforthethirdweekofAugustf orfi
nal
hearinganddi sposal ont hei ssue.[
2]TheCour thel
dthatthe1931censuscoul dnotbea
determinat i
vef actorf oridentify
ingOBCsf orthepurposeofprov i
dingreservati
on.Howev er,
it
cl
arifi
edt hatt hebenef i
tofr eservat
ionfort heScheduledCastesandSchedul edTribescoul d
notbewi thheldandt heCent recangoaheadwi t
htheidenti
fi
cati
onpr ocesst odeterminet he
backwar dcl asses.

On10Apr i
l2008, t
heSupr emeCour tofIndiaupheldt heGov er
nment '
s27%OBCquot asi
n
Governmentfundedi nst
it
utions.TheCour tcategor
icall
yreiter
atedit
spr i
orstandthat"Creamy
Layer
"shouldbeexcl udedfrom theambi tofreserv
at i
onpolicyandprivateinst
itut
ionsar
ealso
nottobeincl
udedi n.Thev erdi
ctproducedmi xedreactions.Several
cri
teriatoidenti
fycr
eamy
l
ayerhasbeenr ecommended, whichareasf oll
ows:[1]

Thosewi t
hf ami l
yincomeabov eRs250,000ay earshouldbei ncreamylayer,andexcl
uded
fr
om thereser vati
onquot a.Also,chi
l
drenofdoctors,engineers,
charter
edaccountants,
actors,
consult
ants,medi aprofessionals,wr
it
ers,
bureaucrat
s, defenceoffi
cersofcolonel
and
equiv
alentrankorhi gher,highcourtandSupremeCour tjudges,allcent
ralandstat
e
governmentCl assAandBof fi
cial
s.Thecour
thasr equest edParl
iamenttoexcludeMPs’ and
MLAs’ chi
ldren,too.

Judgment

1.TheConstit
uti
on(Ni
nety-
Thir
dAmendment )Act
,2005doesnotvi
olat
ethe"
basicstr
ucture"
oftheConsti
tuti
onsofarasitr
elat
est
othestatemaintai
nedi
nst
it
uti
onsandaidededucati
onal
i
nstit
uti
ons.Questi
onwhethert
heConsti
tut
ion(Ni
nety-
Thir
dAmendment)Act
,2005woul dbe
const
it
uti
onal
lyval
i
dornotsof
aras"pri
vat
eunai
ded"educat
ional
inst
it
uti
onsar
econcer
ned,
is
l
eftopentobedeci
dedi
nanappropr
iat
ecase.

2."
Creamyl ayer"pri
ncipl
eisoneoft
hepar ameter
stoi
dent
if
ybackwar
dcl
asses.Ther
efor
e,
pri
ncipall
y,the"Creamylayer
"pri
nci
plecannotbeappl
i
edtoSTsandSCs,
asSCsandSTsar e
separateclassesbyt hemsel
ves.

3.Pref
erabl
ythereshoul
dbear
evi
ewaf
tert
eny
ear
stot
akenot
eoft
hechangeof
ci
rcumstances.

4.Ameregr
aduat
ion(
nott
echni
cal
graduat
ion)orpr
ofessi
onal
deemedt
obeeducat
ional
l
y
for
war
d.

5.Pr
inci
pleofexcl
usi
onofCr
eamyl
ayerappl
i
cabl
etoOBC'
s.

6.TheCent ralGover
nmentshallexami neastot hedesi
rabil
i
tyoff i
xi
ngacutof fmarksi
n
respectofthecandidatesbel
ongingt otheOtherBackwardCl asses(OBCs)t
obalance
reservat
ionwi t
hothersoci
etali
nterestsandtomai nt
ainstandardsofexcel
lence.Thi
swoul
d
ensurequalityandmeritwouldnotsuf f
er.I
fanyseatsremainv acantaft
eradopti
ngsuchnor
ms
theyshallbef i
l
ledupbycandidatesfrom generalcat
egori
es.

7.Sofarasdet erminati
onofbackwar dclassesi sconcer ned, aNot ifi
cat
ionshoul dbei ssuedby
theUnionofI ndia.Thiscanbedoneonl yafterexclusionoft heCr eamyl ayerf orwhich
necessarydat amustbeobt ainedbytheCent ralGover nmentf rom t heSt
at eGov er
nment sand
UnionTer r
it
ories.SuchNot ifi
cati
onisopent ochal l
engeont hegr oundofwr ongfulexclusionor
i
nclusi
on.Nor msmustbef ixedkeepinginv i
ewt hepecul i
arf eaturesindifferentStatesand
UnionTer r
it
ories.Therehast obepr operidentif
icati
onofOt herBackwar dCl asses( OBCs. )
.For
i
dentif
y i
ngbackwar dclasses,theCommi ssionsetuppur suantt ot hedir
ect i
onsoft hisCour ti
n
I
ndraSawhney1hast owor kmor eeffect
ivel
yandnotmer el
ydeci deappl icationsforinclusi
on
orexclusi
onofcast es.

8.TheParl
iamentshouldfixadeadl
inebywhichtimef r
eeandcompul soryeducat i
onwil
lhave
reachedev
erychild.Thi
smustbedonewi thi
nsixmont hs,astherightt ofreeandcompul sor
y
educati
onisperhapsthemostimportantofal
lthefundament alr
ights( Art.
21A) .Forwi
thout
educati
on,
itbecomesext r
emelydif
fi
cultt
oexerciseotherfundament al r
ights.

9.I
fmateri
alisshownt otheCentralGovernmentthattheInstit
uti
ondeserv
est obei ncl
udedin
theSchedule(inst
itut
eswhi chareexcludedfrom r
eservations)ofTheCentralEducati
onal
I
nstit
uti
ons( Reservat
ioninAdmi ssi
on)Act ,
2006(No.5of2007) ,t
heCentralGovernmentmust
takeanappropr i
atedecisi
onont hebasisofmat er
ialsplacedandonexami ningtheconcerned
i
ssuesast owhet herInsti
tuti
ondeservestobeincludedint heSchedul
eoft hesaidactas
provi
dedinSec4oft hesai dact
.

10.Hel
dthatt
hedeter
minati
onofSEBCsi sdonenotsolel
ybasedoncast
eandhence,
the
i
denti
fi
cat
ionofSEBCsisnotvi
olat
iveofArt
icl
e15(1)oftheConst
it
uti
on.
17.IndraSawhneyv
.Uni
onofIndi
a,AI
R2000SC498(
Ker
alaCr
eamyLay
erCase)
(Justi
ceK.J.
Thomascommissi
on)

Keralaignoredcr
eamyl ayerpar
tofIndraSawhney1judgement–SChel dKeral
aGov ti
n
contempt–2mont hsnot i
ce-TheKeralaAct11of1995)tothatef
fect(
stat
ingcreamylayerwi
l
l
notbeexcl udedf
rom quotas)–Petiti
onfil
edincour
t–SCf ormedKJThomasJ.commi ssi
on–
gaver epor
tident
if
yingcreamylayer–SCdi rect
edSt
ateGovttoimplementJusti
ceKJThomas
report
.

18.AshokaKumarThakurv
.St
ateofBi
har(
1995)5SCC403

InAshokKumarThakurv .Stat
eofBihar,unreasonablecondi
ti
onswereprescri
bedtoidenti
fy
thecreamylayer
.Unli
kei
nI ndr
aSawhneycasewher ei
nitwasstatedt
hatchil
drenofanyIASor
IPSoffi
cerwouldbedeni
edt hebenefi
tofreservati
on,inAshokKumarThakurv .St
ateofBihar
anadditi
onalcondi
ti
onwasl ai
ddownt hattheIASorI PSoffi
cershoul
dalsobeearninga
mini
mum sal ar
yofRs.10000permont h,whichcondi t
ionwasquashedasdiscrimi
nator
y.

19.Gul
shanPr
akashv
.St
ateofHar
yana,
2009(
14)SCALE290:
AIR2010SC2888

Heldthatci
ti
zensbelongingtobackwar
dcl
asses,i
ncl
udi
ngscheduledcast
es(SCs)and
scheduledt
ri
bes(STs),coul
dnotforcet
hegover
nmenttopr
ovi
det hem r
eserv
ation.

At hr
ee-
judgebenchcompr i
singChi
efJusti
ceK.G.
Balakrishanan,
Justi
ceP.Sat
hasi
vam and
Justi
ceJ.M.Panchalnotedthatt
hegovernmentwast hebestjudgetotakeadeci
sionon
reser
vat
ionanditcouldnotbeclai
medasamat t
eroff undamentalr
ight
.

Dismi
ssi
ngpetit
ionseeki
ngadi rect
iontotheHaryanagover
nmenttoprov
idereser
vat
iontoSCs
andSTsinpostgraduat
emedi calcourses,t
hebenchpoint
edoutt
hatitwasforthest
ate
gover
nmenttodecidewhethertoprovidereser
vat
ionornot.

Ever
ystatecantakeitsowndeci
sionwi
thr
egar
dtor
eser
vat
iondependi
ngonv
ari
ousf
act
ors,
thebenchobser
v ed:

Arti
cl
e15( 4)doesnotmakeanymandat
oryprov
isi
onf
orreser
vati
onandt
hepowertomake
reser
vat
ionunderarti
cle15(
4)i
sdi
scret
ionar
yandwri
tcanbeissuedt
oef
fectr
eser
vat
ion,
the
benchheld.

Thebenchaccept
edt hecontenti
onoft hestat
egover
nmentt
hatar
ti
cle15(4)-whi
chprovi
de
forr
eserv
ati
onineducationali
nsti
tuti
ons-wasmerel
yan"
enabli
ngpr
ovisi
on"whichent
it
ledthe
thegover
nmenttoprovideforreserv
ati
on.
Thought
hejudgmentper
tai
nedtor
eser
vati
onineducat
ional
inst
it
uti
ons,Ar
ti
cle16(4)
,whi
ch
pr
ovi
dedforr
eser
vati
oninpubl
i
cemployment,
wasalsocouchedinsi
milarl
anguage.

Thebenchspecifical
lyrecordedinit
sjudgmentthatsubclause(4)i
nboththearti
cles15and16
i
sonl yanenabli
ngpr ovi
sionforthestat
egovernmentt obri
ngforwardl
egi
slat
ionorpassan
executi
veorderforthebenef i
tofsoci
all
yandeducational
lybackwardcl
assesofcit
izensand
fortheschedul
edcast esandscheduledtri
bes

Thus, apoli
cydeci
siontoprovi
dereserv
ation,unl
essunreasonabl
e,wouldbeprot
ectedby
arti
cles15(4)and16(4)f
rom bei
ngassailedbefor
ecourt
sbutapet it
ioncoul
dnotbef i
l
edto
forcethegov er
nmenttoprovi
dereserv
ationastheprov
isiondidnotprovi
deformandator
y
reservat
ion.

Holdi
ngthatArti
cle15(4)didnotmakeamandat orypr
ov i
sionf
orreser
vation,
thebench
poi
ntedoutthatthepri
nciplebehi
ndtheprov
isi
onwast hatpref
erent
ial
treatmentcanbegi
ven
val
i
dlywhent hethesocial
lyandeducati
onal
lybackwar
dclassneedit

I
tfur
theraccept
edthecont
entiont
hatt
hest
ategov
ernmentwast
hecompet
entaut
hor
it
yto
deci
dethereser
vat
ioni
nstates.

I
nK.Dur
aisamyandAnotherv
s.Stat
eofT.N.andOthers,athr
ee-JudgeBench,whi
l
edeali
ng
wi
tht
hereser
vat
ionatt
hePost-Gr
aduat
elevelandsuper-
speci
alt
ylevel
,obser
vedasfol
l
ows:-

Thatt heGov er
nmentpossessest her ightandaut hor i
tytodeci def rom whatsour cesthe
admi ssionsi neducat i
onal i
nst i
tutionsort opar ticulardisci
plinesandcour sestherei
nhav etobe
madeandt hattooi nwhatpr opor t
ion, i
swel lestabl ishedandbynowapr opositi
onwel l
settl
ed,
too.Ithasbeent heconsi stentand aut horitati
v elyset tl
edviewoft hisCour tthatatthesuper -
specialtylevel,i
npar ti
cul
ar ,andev enatt hepost gr aduatelevel, reservat
ionsoft hekindknown
as"pr ot
ect iv
edi scrimination"i nfav oroft hoseconsi deredbackwar dshoul dbeav oidedasbei ng
notper missible.Reser vation, eveni fitbecl aimedt obesoi nt hiscase, forandi nfavourofthe
i
n-serv i
cecandi dat es,cannotbeequat edort r
eat edonparwi thcommunal r
eservati
ons
envisagedunderAr ticl
es15( 4)or16( 4)andext endedt hespeci al mechani csoftheir
i
mpl ement ati
ont oensur esuchr eservationst obet hemi ni
mum bynotcount ingthoseselected
i
nopencompet itionont hebasi soft heirownmer itasagainstt hequot areservedon
communal consi derati
ons. "

I
nAII
MSSt
udent
’sUni
onv
s.AI
IMSandOt
her
s,whi
l
econsi
der
ingt
hesi
mil
ari
ssue,
itwashel
d
t
hat
:-

Whenpr otect
ivediscri
minati
onf orpromotionofequali
zati
onispleaded,theburdenisont he
partywhoseekst ojusti
fytheexf aci
edeviati
onfrom equal
ity
.Thebasicr ul
eisequalit
yof
opportuni
tyforeverypersoninthecountry,whichisaconstit
uti
onalguarantee.Acandidate
whoget smor emar ksthananotherisenti
tledtopref
erenceforadmission.Meritmustbet he
testwhenchoosingt hebest,accordi
ngtot hi
sruleofequalchanceforequal marks.This
propositi
onhasgr eaterimport
ancewhenwer eachthehi gherlevelsandeducat ionlike
postgraduatecourses.Reservat
ion,asanexcept i
on,maybej usti
fiedsubjecttodi schargi
ngthe
burdenofpr ovingj
ustifi
cat
ioninfavoroftheclasswhi chmustbeeducat ionall
yhandi capped--
thereservati
ongear eduptogettingovert
hehandi cap.Ther at
ionaleofreser vat
ionint hecase
ofmedi calstudent
smustber emov al
ofregionalorclassinadequacyorl ikedisadv antage.Even
therethequant um ofreser
vati
onshouldnotbeexcessi v
eorsoci etalinj
urious.Thehi gherthe
l
ev elofthespecial
tythelessertherol
eofr eserv
ati
on."

Permi ssi
blereservationatthel owestorpr i
mar yr ungisast epi nt hedirectionofassi mi lati
ng
thelesserfortunat
esi nthemai nst ream ofsoci et ybybr i
ngingt hem tot hel evelofother swhi ch
theycannotachi eveunl esspr otectivelypushed.Oncet hatisdonet hepr otect i
onneedst obe
withdrawni ntheowni nter
estofpr otect eessot hattheydev elopst rengthandf eelconf identof
steppingonhi gherrungsont heirownl egssheddi ngthecrutches.Pushi ngt hepr ot
ect i
onof
reservati
onbey ondt hepr i
mar ylev elbet raysthebi gwigs’desiret okeept hecr i
ppledcr ippled
forever.Anyreservation,apartfrom bei ngsust ainableont heconst i
tuti
onal anvi
l,mustal sobe
reasonabletobeper mi ssi
ble.Inassessi ngt hereasonabi l
ity,
oneoft hef act orstobet akeni nto
considerati
onwoul dbe, whethert hechar acterandquant um ofr eservationwoul dstallor
accelerateachievi
ngt heult
imat egoal ofexcel l
enceenabl i
ngt henat ionconst antl
yrisingt o
higherlevel
s.Intheer aofglobal i
zat i
on, wher ethenat ionasawhol ehast ocompet ewi thother
nationsofthewor ldsoast osur vive, excellencecannotbegi venanunr easonabl ego- byand
certai
nlynotcompr omi sedinitsent i
rety"

I
nAj
i
tSi
ngh(
II
)v.St
ateofPunj
ab,
theCour
thel
dthat
:

TheAr t
icl
e16(4)oftheConst i
tut
ionconf ersdi scr
etionand doesnotcr eateanyconstit
uti
onal
dutyandobli
gati
on.LanguageofAr ti
cle15( 4)isidenti
cal,t
hatamandamuscanbei ssued
ei
thertoprovi
deforreservati
onorf orrelaxationisnotcor r
ectandr unscount
ertojudgmentsof
earl
ierConst
it
uti
onBenchesand, therefore,thesetwo j udgmentscannotbehel dtobelayi
ng
downt hecor
rectlaw.Inthesecir
cumst ances, nei
thertherespondentinthepresentcasecoul
d
havesoughtforadirecti
onnorcoul dtheHi ghCour thavegrantedthesame.

InSt
ateofPunj
abvs.Day
anandMedicalCol
legeandHospi
tal
and Others,
wherei
nsi
mil
ar
cont
enti
onasproj
ect
edbefor
ethecour
tbythecounsel
fort
heappel
lantswasrai
sed.

InthejudgmentinPreeti
Srivastavacase,
itwasclarif
iedbytheSupremeCourtthatonl
ypay i
ng
att
entiontothequesti
onoff i
xinglowermini
mum qual if
ying marksforreservedcategory
candidates.I
nthesamedeci si
on, i
twasstat
edt hatsuchquesti
onmustbedecidedbyt he
MedicalCouncilofI
ndia,si
ncei taf
fect
sthestandardofPost-gr
aduatemedical
education.

I
nAj i
tSinghandOthers(I
I)v
s.StateofPunjabandOther
s,Consti
tut
ionBenchhashel dthat
Art
icl
e16( 4)i
sonlyanenabl
ingprovi
sion,
whichreadsasunder:
"Onthefaceofit
,theabov e
l
anguagei neachofArt
icl
es16(4)and16(4-A)i
sinthenatur
eofanenablingprovi
sionandit
hasbeensohel di
njudgmentsrenderedbyConsti
tuti
onBenchesandin othercasesrightf
rom
1963."
InthecaseofUni
onofIndiaVs.R.Rajeshwaran.AsArti
cle16(4)
,Ar
ticl
e15(4)conf
ersa
discr
eti
onanddoesnotcreat
eanyconst it
uti
onaldutyorobli
gati
on,
theref
ore,nomandamus
canbeissut
edeit
hert
opr ovi
deforreservati
onorforrel
axati
oninadmissi
oninUniver
sit
ies.

Thusther
ightt
oreser
vat
ioni
snotaf
undament
alr
ightandi
tcannotbeenf
orcedagai
nstt
he
st
ate.

21.M.Nagr
ajv
.Uni
onofI
ndi
a(2006)8SCC212

Facts:
Petit
ioner
shaveinvokedArti
cle32oftheConstituti
onf orawr itint
henat ureofcer
ti
orar
i
toquashtheConstit
uti
on(Eight
y-Fi
ft
hAmendment ]Act,2001i nsert
ingArti
cle16( 4A)oft
he
Consti
tut
ionretr
ospecti
vel
yfrom 17.
6.1995provi
dingreservationinpr omoti
onwi th
consequenti
alseni
ori
tyasbeingunconsti
tut
ional
andv iolat
iveoft hebasicstructure.

Thei mpugnedconst i
tuti
onal amendment sbywhi chArti
cles16(4A)and16( 4B)hav ebeen
i
nser tedfl
owf rom Articl
e16( 4).Theydonotal t
erthestruct
ureofArti
cle16( 4)
.Theyr etai
nt he
controll
ingfactorsorthecompel l
i
ngr easons,namely,backwardnessandi nadequacyof
representati
onwhi chenablest heSt atestoprov i
deforreserv
ationkeepinginmi ndtheov erall
effi
ciencyoftheSt ateadmi nistrati
onunderAr ti
cle335.Theseimpugnedamendment sar e
confinedonlytoSCsandSTs.Theydonotobl i
terat
eanyoft heconstit
utionalr
equirement s,
namel y,cei
li
ng-li
mitof50%( quant i
tati
velimit
ati
on),theconceptofcreamyl ayer(qual
itati
ve
exclusion),
thesub- cl
assifi
cationbet weenOBCononehandandSCsandSTsont heot herhand
ashel dinIndraSawhney1992Supp.( 3)SCC217, theconceptofpost-basedRost erwithin-
buil
tconceptofr eplacementashel dinR.K.Sabharwal (
1995)2SCC745.

Wer eiter
atethatthecei
li
ng-l
i
mitof50%, t
heconceptofcreamylayerandthecompell
ing
reasons,namely,backwardness,inadequacyofrepr
esentat
ionandov er
all
admini
str
ativ
e
effi
ciencyareallconst
it
uti
onalrequir
ement swi
thoutwhichthestr
uctureofequal
i
tyof
oppor t
unit
yinAr t
icl
e16wouldcol l
apse.

Howev er,i
nthi
scase, asstated,themai nissueconcernsthe"ext
entofreservat
ion".Inthi
s
regardt heconcernedStatewi l
lhavetoshowi neachcaset heexi
stenceofthecompel l
ing
reasons, namely,
backwar dness, i
nadequacyofr epr
esentati
onandov er
alladminist
rativ
e
effi
ciencybeforemaki ngprov i
sionforreservat
ion.Asstatedabove,t
heimpugnedpr ovi
sioni
s
anenabl i
ngprovi
sion.TheStat eisnotboundt omaker eservat
ionforSC/STinmat terof
promot ions.

Howev eriftheywi shtoexerci

set heirdi
screti
onandmakesuchpr ovi
sion,t
heStatehasto
coll
ectquant i
fiabledatashowingbackwar dnessoft heclassandinadequacyofr epr
esentat
ion
ofthatclassinpubl icemploymenti nadditi
ontocompl ianceofArticl
e335.Itismadeclearthat
eveniftheSt atehascompel li
ngr easons,asstatedabov e,t
heStatewillhav
et oseethati
ts
reserv
ationpr ovisi
ondoesnotl eadt oexcessi
venesssoast obreachtheceili
ng-
limi
tof50%or
obli
terat
et hecr eamylayerorextendt hereservat
ionindefi
nit
ely
.
Subjecttoabove,weuphol
dtheconstit
uti
onalv
ali
dit
yoftheConsti
tut
ion(Sevent
y-Seventh
Amendment )Act
,1995,
theConsti
tut
ion(Ei
ghty
-Fi
rstAmendment)Act,2000,
theConst i
tut
ion
(Ei
ghty-SecondAmendment)Act,
2000andt heConsti
tut
ion(
Eight
y-Fi
fthAmendment )Act,
2001..

23.Bennet
tCol
eman&Co.v
.Uni
onofI
ndi
a,AI
R1973SC106

(i
)Const ituti
on-f r
eedom ofspeechandexpr ession-Impor tsandExpor ts(Cont r
ol)Act,1947,
Sections3and4- AofImpor tCont r
olOr der,1955, Newspr intCont r
ol Order,1962, Secti
on3of
Essential Commodi ti
esActandAr ti
cles13, 14,19and358ofConst it
utionofI ndi
a-
Const i
tutionalvali
dit
yofImpor tPoli
cyf orNewspr i
ntfor1972- 73al ongwi t
hNewspr intControl
Order,1962i ssuedunderSect i
on3ofEssent i
alCommodi t
iesActchal lenged-abov eprov i
sions
barredtaki ngoutediti
onsbycommonowner shipunit,r
igidi mpositionoft enpages, baron
i
nterchangeabi li
tywithincommonowner shi
puni tandal lowanceof20%i ncreaset onewspaper s
below10pages-Cour topinedt hatfr
eedom ofspeechandexpr essioni snotonl yinvolumeof
ci
rculationbutal soinvolumeofnewsandvi ews-pr esshasr i
ghtt ofreepr opagat i
onandf ree
ci
rculationwi t
houtanypr ev iousrestr
aint-lawi mposi ngpr ohibi
tivebur densonpr ess
compel li
ngi ttoseekgov ernmentai dwasv iolati
veofAr ticle19( 1)(a)-suchpr ovisi
onsf al
l
outsider easonablerestri
ctionsofAr ti
cle19( 2)
.

(i
i)Proclamationofemer gency-ImportPoli
cyof1972-73notpr otect
edfrom at
tackunder
Arti
cle19( 1)evenduringprocl
amat i
onofemer gency-execut
iveact i
onwhichwas
unconstituti
onalr
ightfrom st
artcannotbeimmunef rom chal
lengedur i
ngemergency-
procl
amat i
onofemer gencydoesnotaut hor
iseexecuti
veacti
ont hataff
ectsArt
icl
e19wi t
hout
anylegislat
iveauthor
ity.

(ii
i
)Testofdir
ectef
fect-testof'pi
thandsubstance'and' objectsofl
egisl
ati
on'i
rr
elev
antto
quest
ionofinf
ri
ngementoff undamentalri
ghts(FR)-truetestf ori
nfr
ingementofFRis'di
rect
eff
ect
' ofi
mpugnedStateactiononparti
cularFR-FRofci tizensarenotlostwhentheyforma
company-whencompany 'sright
sareaffectedshareholders'ri
ghtsnecessar
il
ygetaff
ected.

Fact
s:

Complai
nantclai
medt hattheNewspr intOrder
,whi chf
ixedthemaximum numberof
publ
i
shablepages,vi
olatedtheprovisionsofArti
cle19(1)(a)and14oftheConstit
uti
onofIndi
a.
Remember,theseArti
clesrespect
ivelyprovi
deciti
zenswi t
hf r
eedom ofspeechandexpr
ession
andri
ghttoequali
tybeforelaw.

Thegov ernmentofIndi
aar guedthatthemeasur ewastakentogiveanopport
uni
tyt
osmal l
newspaper stogrowandt opr ev
entthemonopol yofbi
gnewspapercompanies.However
, t
he
courtheldthatt
heNewsPr intPoli
cyviol
atedtheprovi
sionsofArt
icl
e19,oft
heConsti
tut
ionof
Indi
aandbr eachedtheplainti
ff’
sri
ghtofcircul
ati
onandr i
ghtofpagesgr
owth.
Ci
tat
ions

I
nRomeshThaparv .Stat
eofMadras,Patanj
aliShast
ri,
CJobser ved:“Fr
eedom ofspeechand
oft
hepressl
ayatthefoundat
ionofalldemocrati
corganisati
ons,forwit
houtfr
eepolit
ical
di
scussi
onnopubli
ceducati
on,soessential
fortheproperfunct
ioningoftheprocessofpopul
ar
gover
nment,
ispossibl
e.

InIndi
anExpressv.UnionofI ndi
a, i
thasbeenhel dthatthepressplaysaver
ysignif
icantrol
ein
thedemocraticmachinery.Thecour t
shav edutytouphol dt
hef r
eedom ofpr
essandi nval
idat
e
all
lawsandadmi ni
strati
veact i
onsthatabridgethatfreedom.Freedom ofpr
esshast hree
essenti
alel
ements.Theyar e:
1.freedom ofaccesst oallsour
cesofi nf
ormat
ion,2.f
reedom of
publi
cati
on,and3.fr
eedom ofci rcul
ation.

I
nSakalPaper
sLtd.v
.UnionofIndi
a,
[8]t
heDai
lyNewspaper
s(Pri
ceandPage)Or der,
1960,
whi
chfi
xedthenumberofpagesandsizewhi
chanewspapercouldpubl
ishatapricewashel
d
t
obeviol
ati
veoffr
eedom ofpr
essandnotareasonabl
erest
ri
cti
onundertheArt
icle19(2)
.

InthecaseofBr i
jBhushanv .St
ateofDelhi(
AIR1950SC129) ,thev ali
dit
yofcensorship
previ
oust othepublicat
ionofanEngli
shWeeklyofDel hi,t
heOrganiserwasquest i
oned.The
courtstr
uckdownt heSecti
on7oft heEastPunjabSaf et
yAct,1949, whichdi
rect
edt heeditor
andpublisherofanewspaper“ t
osubmi tf
orscrutiny,
indupli
cate,beforethepubli
cation,ti
ll
the
furt
herorders,al
l communal matt
ersallt
hemat tersandnewsandv i
ewsaboutPakist an,
i
ncludingphotographs,andcart
oons”,onthegroundt hati
twasar est r
icti
ononthelibertyofthe
press.

TheBankNat i
onal i
sationcase( supr a)hasest abli
shedt hev i
ewt hatt hef undament alri
ght sof
shar ehol
dersasci t
izensarenotl ostwhent heyassoci at
et oform acompany .Whent heir
fundament alrightsasshar ehol dersar eimpai r
edbySt at
eact i
ont heirright sasshar ehol dersare
protected.Ther easoni sthatt heshar eholders'ri
ghtsar eequallyandnecessar il
yaf fectedifthe
ri
ght softhecompanyar eaf fected.Ther ightsofshar eholderswithr egardt oAr ticl
e19( 1) (
a)are
projectedandmani f
estedbyt henewspaper sownedandcont roll
edbyt heshar eholderst hrough
themedi um oft hecor poration.Inthepr esentcase, theindivi
dual ri
ght soff r
eedom ofspeech
andexpr essionofedi t
ors,Directorsandshar eholdersareal l
exercisedt hr ought heir
newspaper st hroughwhi cht heyspeak.Thepr essreachest hepubl i
ct hrought heNewspaper s.
Theshar eholder sspeakt hrought heireditOrs.Thef actthatthecompani esar et hepet i
tioners
doesnotpr ev entthisCour tfrom gi v
ingr eli
eftotheshar eholders,editors, printerswhohav e
askedf orprotect i
onoft heirfundament alri
ghtsbyr easonoft heef fectoft hel awandoft he
actionupont heirrights.Thel ocusst andi oftheshar eholderpeti
ti
oner si sbey ondchal l
enge
aftertheruli
ngoft hisCourti ntheBankNat i
onali
sationcase
24.Secr
etar
y,Mi
nist
ryofI&B,
Stat
eofW.Bv
.Cr
icketAssoci
ati
on(
1995)2SCC161

I
nSecr et
ar yMinist
ryofI nf
ormat i
onandBr oadcastingGovernmentofI ndiaandOthersv.Cricket
Associat
ionofBengal andOt her
s( 1995)2SCC161t hisCourtconsideredthequesti
onoft he
ri
ghttotelecastaspor tsevent.TheCour treferr
edtoArti
cle10oft heEuropeanConv enti
onon
HumanRi ghtswhi chinterali
astates:“10.1Ev er
yonehastherighttof r
eedom ofexpressi
on.
Thisr
ightshall i
ncl
udef reedom toholdopi ni
onsandt orecei
veandi mpar ti
nfor
mationand
i
deaswi t
houti nter
fer
encebypubl i
caut hori
tyandregardl
essoff r
ontiers.
”

Thereaft
er ,theCour tsummar i
sedt helawont hefreedom ofspeechandexpr essionunder
Arti
cle19(1) (a)asrestri
ctedbyAr ti
cle19(2)thus:-“Thefreedom ofspeechandexpr ession
i
ncludest her ightt
oacqui reinformat i
onandt odisseminateit
.Freedom ofspeechand
expressi
oni snecessaryf orself-
fulf
ilment.Itenablespeopl et
ocont r
ibutetodebat eonsoci al
andmor al issues.Itisthebestwayt ofindat ruestmodel ofanyt
hing, si
nceitisonl ythroughit
thatthewi destpossi bl
erangeofi deascanci rcul
ate.Iti
st heonl
yv ehicl
eofpol i
ticaldiscourse
soessent i
al todemocr acy .Equall
yi mportantisther ol
eitplaysi
nf acil
it
ati
ngar t
isticand
scholarl
yendeav oursofal lsor
ts.”

TheCour
tdeal
swi
tht
her
ightoft
elecastand(
inpar
agr
aph75)asf
oll
ows:
-

“I
nat eam eventsuchascr i
cket,footbal
l,hockeyetc.
,thereisbothindivi
dualandcollecti
ve
expression.Itmaybet r
uet hatwhati sprotectedbyArti
cle19(1)(
a)isanexpr essionofthought
andf eeli
ngandnotoft hephy sicalorint
ellect
ualprowessorskill
.Itisalsotr
uet hataperson
desi
ringt otelecastsportsevent swhenhei snothimselfaparti
cipantinthegamedoesnot
seekt oexercisehisrightofsel f
-expr
ession.Howev er,
ther i
ghttofreedom ofspeechand
expressionalsoi ncl
udest herighttoeducat e,toi
nfor
m andt oentertai
nandal sotherighttobe
educat ed,i
nformedandent ert
ained.The

formeristher i
ghtoft hetelecasterandt helatterthatoftheviewers.Theri
ghtt otel
ecast
sporti
ngev entwi l
ltheref
oreal soincludet her i
ghtt oeducateandinformthepr esentandt he
prospecti
vespor tsmeni nterestedint hepar t
iculargameandal sot
oi nf
orm andent ert
ainthe
l
ov er
soft hegame.Hence, whenat elecasterdesirestot el
ecastasporti
ngev ent,i
tisincorr
ect
tosaythatt hefree-speechel ementi sabsentf rom hisright.
"

TheCour
tther
eaf
ter(
inpar
agr
aph82)hel
d:-

"Tr
uedemocr acycannotex istunl
essall ci
tizenshav ear ightt oparti
cipat eintheaffair
soft he
poli
tyofthecount r
y.Ther ighttoparti
cipateint heaf f
airsoft hecountr yismeani nglessunless
theciti
zensarewel li
nformedonal l
sidesoft heissues, i
nr espectofwhi cht heyar
ecal l
edupon
toexpresstheirvi
ews.One- si
dedinfor
mat ion, di
sinformat i
on, misi
nformat ionandnon-
i
nformat i
onallequall
ycr eateanuniformedci ti
zenrywhi chmakesdemocr acyafarcewhent he
medium ofinformationismonopol i
sedei t
herbyapar ti
sancent ral
aut hor i
tyorbypr iv
ate
i
ndividual
sorol i
garchi
cor ganisat
ions.Thisi spar t
icularl
ysoi nacount rylikeourswher eabout
65percentoft hepopul ati
oni si
ll
it
erateandhar dly1%oft hepopul ati
onhasanaccesst ot
he
pr
intmedi
awhi
chi
snotsubj
ectt
opr
ecensor
shi
p.”

TheCour
tal
soobser
ved–"
asuccessf
uldemocr
acyposi
tsan'
awar
e'ci
ti
zenr
y".

Ifther ighttot elecastandr ighttov iewt ospor tgamesandr ighttoi mpar tsuchi nformat i
onis
consi deredt obepar tandpar celofAr t
icle19( 1)(a),wef ailtounder standwhyt her ightofa
citi
zen/ voter–al i
ttleman–t oknowaboutt heant ecedent sofhi scandi datecannotbehel dto
beaf undament alrightunderAr t
icl e19( 1) (
a).Inourv i
ew, democr acycannotsur vi
v ewi t
hout
freeandf airelect i
ons, wi t
houtf r
eeandf airl
yinformedv oters.Vot escastbyuni nformedv oters
i
nf avourofXorYcandi datewoul dbemeani ngless.Asst atedint heaf oresaidpassage, one-
sidedi nformat ion, disi
nf ormat i
on, mi si
nf ormat i
onandnon- infor
mat ional l
equallycr eatean
uninf ormedci t
izenr ywhi chmakesdemocr acyaf arce.Ther ef or
e, cast i
ngofav oteby
mi sinformedandnon- informedv ot erorav oterhav ingone- sidedi nformat i
ononl yisboundt o
affectt hedemocr acyser i
ously.Fr eedom ofspeechandexpr essioni ncludesrightt oimpar tand
recei veinformat ionwhi chincludesf reedom t ohol dopi nions.Ent er t
ainmenti simpl i
edi n
freedom of' speechandexpr ession' andt hereisnor easont oholdt hatfreedom ofspeechand
expr essionwoul dnotcov errighttogetmat eri
alinfor mationwi t
hr egardt oacandi dat ewhoi s
cont estingel ectionf orapostwhi chi sofut mosti mpor tancei nthedemocr acy.

Deci
si
on:

Thepet i
tioner s( CABandBCCI )t
her efor ehav ear ightt oor gani secr icketmat chesi nI ndia,
whet herwi thorwi t
houtt hepar ti
cipat i
onoff oreignt eams.Butwhatt heyar enowseeki ngisa
l
icenset otel ecastt hei rmat chest hr oughanagencyoft hei rchoi ce-af orei gnagencyi nbot h
thecases- andt hr ought elecastingequi pmentbr oughti nbysuchf or ei
gnagencyf rom out side
thecount ry.Int hecaseofHer oCupMat chesor gani sedbyCAB, t heywant edupl i
nki ng
facili
tytoI NTELSATt hr ought hegov er nmentagency VSNLal so.I nt hecaseof l at er
i
nt ernati
onal mat chesor gani sedbyBCCIt heydi dnotaskf ort hisf acili
tyf ort her easont hat
theirforeignagenthasar r
angeddi rectupl inkingwi tht heRussi ansat ell
iteGor izon.I n bot h
cases, theywant edt heper mi ssiont oi mpor tthet elecast ingequi pmental ongwi tht he
per sonnel tooper atei tbymov i
ngitt opl acesal lov ert hecount rywher ev ert hemat ches wer e
tobepl ay ed.Theycl aimedt hisli
cense, orper missi on, asi tmaybecal led, asamat terofr ight
saidt o bef lowingf rom Ar ticle19( 1)(a)oft heConst it
ut ion.Theysayt hatt heaut hor itiesar e
boundt ogr antsuchl icense/per mi ssion, withoutanycondi tions, allthatt heyar eent itledt odo,
i
ti ssubmi t
ted, i
st ocol l
ectt echnical f
eeswher ev erthei rser vicesar eav ailed, l
iket heser vices
ofVSNLi nt he caseofHer oCupMat ches.Thi spl eai si npr inciplenodi fferentf r om t her i
ght
toest abli
shandoper atepr ivat e tel ecast ingst ations.I npr inciple, t
her eisnodi ffer ence
bet weenaper manentTVst at i
onandat empor aryone; simi larlytherei snodi stinctioni n
principl
ebet weenast ationar yTVf aci li
tyandamobi leone; soal soist her enodi stinct ion
bet weenar egul arTVf acil
ityandaTVf acilit
yf oragi venev entorser iesofev ent s.Ift her ight
claimedbyt hepet i
tioner s( CABandBCCI )i sheldt obe const i
tutionallysanct ionedone, t
hen
eachandev eryci t
izenoft hiscount rymust al sobeent i
tledt ocl aim si mi larrighti nr espectof
hisev entorev ents,ast hecasemaybe.Iam oft heopi ni ont hatnosuchr ightf l
owsf rom Ar ti
cle
19(
1)(
a).

(b)Air wavesconst itutepublicpr opertyandmustbeut ili

sedf oradv anci ng publ icgood.No
i
ndi vidual hasar i
ghtt outili
set hem athi schoiceandpl easur eandf orpur posesofhi schoice
i
ncl udi ngpr ofit
.Ther i
ghtoff r
eespeechguar ant eedbyAr t
icle19( 1)(a)doesnoti ncludet he
ri
ghtt ouseai r
wav es,whichar epubl icproperty.Theai rwaves canbeusedbyaci tizenf orthe
pur poseofbr oadcast i
ngonl ywhenal l
owedt odosobyast atuteandi naccor dance wi t
hsuch
statut e.Airwav esbei ngpubl i
cpr operty
,iti
st hedut yoftheSt at etoseet hatairwav esar eso
util
isedast oadv ancet hef reespeechr i
ghtofthe ci t
izenswhi chisser ved byensur i
ng
plural i
tyanddi v ersity ofv iews, opini
onsandi deas.Thi sisimper ativei nev er
ydemocr acy
wher ef r
eedom ofspeechi sassur ed.Thef r
eespeechr i
ghtguar anteedt o ev erycitizen oft hi
s
count rydoes notencompasst her i
ghttouset heseai r
wav esathi schoosi ng.Concedi ngsuch
ar i
ghtwoul dbedet ri
ment al t
ot hef r
eespeechr ightsoft he bodyofci ti
zensi nasmuchasonl y
thepr i
v i
l
egedf ewpower ful economi c,commer ci alandpol i
tical i
nterests-woul dcomet o
domi natet hemedi a.Bymani pulat i
ngthenews, views andi nformat ion,byi ndulging in
mi sinformat ion anddi si
nf ormat ion,t
osuitthei rcommer ci
al orot herinterests,theywoul dbe
har mi ngandnotser v
ing-thepr i
ncipleofpluralityanddi versit
yofv i
ews, news, i
deasand
opini ons..

(c)
Broadcasti
ngmediaisinherent
lydi
fferentfr
om Pressorothermeansof
communi cat
ion/i
nfor
mati
on.Theanal ogyofpressismisleadi
ngandinappr
opri
ate.Thi
sisal
so
thevi
ewexpr essedbysev
er al
Constit
utionalCour
tsincl
udingthatoft
heUnit
edSt at
esof
America.

(d)Imustcl ari
fywhatIsay ;iti
st hatther i
ghtclaimedbyt hepet it
ioners(CABandBCCI )-which
i
nef fectisnodi fferentinpr i
nciplefrom ar i
ghttoest abli
shandoper at
eapr i
vateTVst ation-
doesnotf l
owf rom Ar ti
cle19( 1)(a);t
hatsuchar i
ghtisnotImpl ici
tinit.Thequest ionwhet her
suchr i
ghtshoul dbegi vent otheci t
izensofthiscount ryisamat t
erofpol i
cyf orthe
Parli
ament .Hav ingr egardt other evol
ut i
onininformationtechnologyandt hedev elopment sal
l
around, Parl
iamentmay ,ormaynot ,decidetoconf ersuchr i
ght.Ifitwishestoconf ersucha
ri
ght,itcanonl ybebywayofanActmadebyPar li
ament .TheActmadeshoul dbeconsi stent
withther i
ghtoff reespeechoft heci t
izensandmusthav et ocont ai
nst r
ictprogrammeand
othercont r
ols.Thi sistheimpl icitcommandofAr ti
cle19(1)(a)andi sessentialtopr eserveand
promot eplurali
tyanddi versit
yofv i
ews, news,opini
onsandi deas.

(e)Therei saninsepar
ableinter-
connect i
onbetweenf r
eedom ofspeechandt hest
abil
it
yofthe
society,i
.e.,
stabil
i
tyofanation-State.Theycontr
ibutetoeachother.Oursi
sanascentrepubl
ic.
Wear eyettoachievethegoal ofast abl
esociet
y.Thiscountrycannotal
soaffor
dtoreadinto
Arti
cle19( 1)(
a)anunrestr
ictedrighttoli
censi
ng( ri
ghtofbroadcast
ing)ascl
aimedbythe
peti
tionersherein.

(
f)Inthecasebef
oreus,
bot
hthepet
iti
oner
shavesol
dthei
rrighttotelecastthematchest
oa
f
oreignagency
.Theyhav
epart
edwit
htheri
ght
.Theri
ghttotelecastthemat ches,
incl
udi
ngthe
ri
ghttoimport,
inst
all
andoper atet herequi
sit
eequipmentisthusreal
l
ysoughtbythef or
eign
agenci
esandnotbyt hepetit
ioners.Hence, t
hequesti
onofv i
olat
ionofthei
rri
ghtunderArti
cle
19(1)
(a)resul
ti
ngfrom r
efusaloflicense/permissi
ontosuchforei
gnagenciesdoesnotarise.

2.TheGov er
nmentmonopol yofbr oadcastingmedi aint hiscount ryistheresultofhi storical
andot herfactors.Thisi strueofev eryothercount r
y,tost artwith.ThatI ndi
awasnotaf ree
count rytil
l1947andi tscitizensdi dnothav econst it
utionallyguarant eedfundament alfreedoms
ti
ll1950coupl edwi ththef actt hatourConst i
tuti
onisj ustaboutf ort
yf i
vey earsintooper ati
on
explaint heGov er
nmentmonopol y.Aspoi ntedouti nt hebodyoft hejudgment ,br oadcast i
ng
medi awasamonopol yoft heGov ernment ,tostar
twi th,ineverycount ryexceptt heUni ted
Stateswher eaconsci ousdeci sionwast akenatt hev erybeginningnott ohav eStat emonopol y
overt hemedi um.Unt i
l recent l
y,thebr oadcastingmedi ahasbeeni nthehandsof
public/ st
atutorycorpor ati
onsi nmostoft heWestEur opean count ri
es.Pr i
vate br oadcast ing
i
scompar ati
v elyarecentphenomenon.Theexper iencei nItal
yofal l
owingpr iv
atebr oadcast i
ng
at l ocal l
evel (whil
epr ohibiti
ngi tatnat i
onal l
evel)hasl eftmucht obedesi r
ed.I thasgi ven
ri
set opower ful mediaempi reswhi chdev el
opmenti scer t
ainlynotconduci v etofreespeech
ri
ghtoft hecitizens.

3( a) .I thasbeenhel dbyt hi
sCour t-andr ight l
y-t hatbr oadcast ingmedi ai saf f
ectedbyt he
freespeechr ightoft heci ti
zensguar ant eedbyAr ti
cle19( 1)(a) .Thi si s al sot hev i
ewexpr essed
byal ltheConst it
ut i
onal Cour tswhoseopi nionshav ebeenr efer redt oi nt hebodyoft he
j
udgment .Oncet hisis so, monopol yoft hismedi um ( broadcast ingmedi a),whet herby
Gov ernmentorbyani ndiv i
dual ,bodyorOr gani sationi sunaccept abl e.Cl ause( 2)ofAr ti
cle19
doesnotper mitamonopol yint hemat teroff reedom ofspeechandexpr essi onas i s
per mi ttedbycl ause( 6)of Ar ticle19v is-à-vist her ightguar ant eedbyAr ticle19(1)(g).(b)The
ri
ghtoff reespeechandexpr essi onincl udest her i
ghtt or ecei v eandi mpar ti
nformat ion.For
ensur ingt hef r
eespeechr ightoft heci tizensoft hiscount ry,itisnecessar yt hattheci ti
zens
hav et hebenef itofpl uralityofv iewsandar angeofopi nionsonal lpubl ici ssues.Asuccessf ul
democr acyposi t
san' awar e' citi
zenr y.Di versityofopi nions, views, ideasandi deologiesi s
essent ialtoenabl et heci ti
zenst oarriveati nformedj udgmenton al lissuest ouchingt hem.
Thiscannotbepr ov i
dedbyamedi um cont rolledbyamonopol y-whet hert hemonopol yi sof
theSt ateoranyot heri ndividual ,grouporOr gani sation.Asamat teroff act,privatebroadcast ing
stat i
onsmayper hapsbemor epr ejudicialtof reespeechr ightoft heci tizenst hanthe
gov ernmentcont r ol
ledmedi a,asexpl ainedi nt hebodyoft hej udgment .Thebr oadcast ing
medi ashoul dbeundert hecont roloft hepubl icasdi stinctf rom Gov ernment .Thisist he
commandi mplicitinAr ticle19( 1)(a).Itshoul dbeoper atedbyapubl icst atutorycorpor ationor
cor por ations,ast hecasemaybe, whoseconst itutionandcomposi tionmustbesuchast o
ensur ei t
s/theirimpar t
ialit
yi npol it
ical,economi candsoci al mat tersandonal lot
herpubl ic
i
ssues.I t
/ t
hey mustber equi redbyl awt opr esentnews, viewsandopi nionsi nabal ancedway
ensur ingpl ur
alism anddi versityofopi nionsandv iews.I t/theymustpr ovideequal accesst oall
theci tizensandgr oupst oav ailoft hemedi um.
4.TheIndianTel egraphAct ,1885i stot al
lyinadequat etogov ern animportantmedi um l ikethe
radi
oand t elevisi
on, i
.e.,broadcast i
ngmedi a.TheActwasi ntendedforanal t
ogetherdi fferent
purposewheni twasenact ed.Thi sist heresul tofthelawi nt hiscountr
ynotkeepi ngpacewi t
h
thetechnologicaladvancesi nthef i
eldofi nfor mationandcommuni cati
ons.Whi leal lthe
l
eadingdemocr ati
ccount ri
eshav eenact edlawsspeci f
icallygov er
ningthe broadcast ingmedi a,
thelawinthiscount ryhasst oodst i
ll
, rootedi ntheTelegr aphActof1885.ExceptSect i
on4( 1)
andt hedef i
niti
onoft elegraph, noot herpr ov i
sionoftheActi sshownt ohav eanyr elevancet o
broadcasti
ngmedi a.Itis,therefore,i
mper ati
v ethatthepar li
amentmakesal aw pl acing t he
broadcasti
ngmedi aint hehandsofapubl ic/statutor
ycor por ateorthecorporat
ions, ast he
case.maybe.Thi sisnecessar yt osaf eguardt heinterestsofpubl i
candt heinter
est sofl awas
alsotoavoiduncer tai
nt y,confusionandconsequentl i
tigati
on.

5.TheCABdi dnotev erapplyfora licenseunder t hefirstpr ovi

sot oSecti
on4oft he
TelegraphActnordi d i t
sagent s ev ermakesuchanappl i
cat i
on.The permi ssi
ons,
clearancesorexempt ionobtainedbyi tfrom t hesev eraldepar t
ment s(mentionedinj
udgment )
arenosubst it
uteforal i
censeunderSect ion4( 1)pr ovi
so.I ntheabsenceof suchal i
cense,t
he
CABhadnor i
ghtinlawt ohav eit
smat chest el
ecastbyanagencyofi tschoice.The
l
egalityorvali
dit
yoft heorderspassedbySr iN. Vithal
,Secr etarytot heGovernmentofIndia,
Telecommuni cati
onsDepar t
mentneednotbegonei ntosi ncei thasbecome, academi c.I
n
thefactsandci r
cumst ancesoft hecase, thechar geofmal afidesorofar bit
raryand
authorit
ari
anconductat tri
butedtoDoor darshanandMi nistryofI nformati
onandBr oadcasti
ng
i
snotaccept able.Noopi nionneedbe expr essedont heal l
egat i
onsf i
l
edbyBCCIi nthese
mat t
ers.I t
sinterv
ent i
onwasconf i
nedt ol egal questionsonl y .

6.Nowt hequestionar ises, whati st hepositi

ont il
ltheCent ralGov ernmentort hePar l
iament
takesstepsascont em-pl atei nPar a(4)ofthesummar y,i
.e.
,ifanyspor ti
ngev entorot her
eventist obetelecastf rom t heI ndiansoil?Theobv iousanswerf l
owi ngf rom thej udgment[ and
Paras ( 1)and( 4)oft hissummar yisthattheor gani serofsuchev enthast oappr oacht he,
nodal Minist
ryasspeci fi
edi nt hede-ci si
on oft heMeet ingoft heCommi t t
eeofSecr et ar i
es
heldonNov ember12, 1993.Ihav enor easontodoubtt hatsuchar equestwoul dbe
consideredbyt henodal Mi nistryandt heAI RandDoor darshanoni tsmer its,keepinginv iew
thepublic i nterest.Incaseofanydi ffer
enceofopi nionordisput er egardingt hemonet ary
termsonwhi chsucht elecasti st o bemade, mat tercan al way s ber efer r
edt oanAr bitrator
orapanel ofArbitr
ators.I ncase, t
henodal Ministryort heAI RorDoor dar shan f ind
suchbr oadcast/telecastnotf easible,thentheymayconsi dert hegrantofper missiont ot he
organiserstoengageanagencyoft heirownf ort hepur pose.Ofcour se,itwoul dbeequal ly
opent othenodal Ministry(Gov ernmentofI ndia)t oper mitsuchf oreignagencyi nadditiont o
AIR/Door darshan, i
ftheyar eoft heopi nionthatsuchacour seiscal l
edf ori nt he
cir
cumst ances.
32.ManekaGandhi
v.Uni
onofI
ndi
a,AI
R1978SC597

Theconceptof‘ personal l
iberty
’fir
stcameupf orconsi der ationoft heSupr emeCour tinA. K.
Gopalan’scase.I nthiscase, thePet i
tionerhadbeendet ainedunderPr ev enti
veDet entionAct ,
1950.Thepet iti
onerchal l
engedt hev ali
dit
yofhi sdet ent ionont hegr oundt hatitwasv i
olati
veof
hisRighttof reedom ofmov ementunderAr t
.19( 1)(d),whi chi st hev er yessenceofper sonal
l
ibert
yguar ant eedbyAr t
.21oft heConst i
tuti
on.Hear guedt hatt hewor ds‘ personal l
iberty
’
i
ncludet hefreedom ofmov emental soandt hereforet hePr ev enti
veDet enti
onAct ,1950must
alsosatisf
yt her equirement sofAr t.19( 5)
.Itwasf urtherar guedt hatAr t.21andAr t.19shoul d
bereadt ogetherasAr t.19lai
doutt hesubst antiverightswhi l
eAr t
.21pr ovi
dedpr ocedur al
ri
ghts.Itwasal soar guedt hatthewor ds“procedur eest abl ishedbyl aw”act uallymeant“ due
processofl aw”f r
om t heAmer i
canConst i
tutionwhi chi ncludespr i
nci plesofnat ur
al j
usticeand
theimpugnedl awdoesnotsat i
sfythatr equirement .

Rejecti
ngbot hthecont entions,Supr emeCour t,bythemaj orit
y,usingthemeani nggiv entot he
phrase‘ personal li
bert
y’byDi cey, heldt hatthephr ase‘per sonalli
berty’inArt.21meantnot hing
mor ethant heliber t
yoft hephy sical body ,t
hatis,freedom f r
om arrestanddet enti
onwi thoutt he
authorityoflaw.Accor dingt omaj orit
y, t
heterm‘ l
iberty’waswi derinmeani ngandscopet han
‘
personal l
i
berty’.Hence, while‘l
iber ty’couldbesai dtoi ncludeAr t.19wi thi
nitsambit, ‘
personal
l
iberty’hadt hesamemeani ngasgi vent otheexpr ession“ li
bertyoftheper son”underEngl ish
l
aw.Hence, t
hemaj ori
tytookt hev i
ewt hatArt.19andAr t.21deal wit
hdi ff
erentaspectsof
l
iberty.TheCour tfur
therinterpretedt het erm‘ l
aw’ as‘Stat emadel aw’ andreject
edt heplea
thatthet erm‘law’ inArt.21meantj usnat ural
eorpr i
nciplesofnat uralj
ust i
ce.

I
tisper t
inentt
oment ionher et hatinA.K.Gopalan’scase,
theattenti
onoftheSupr emeCour t
wasdr awnt othelegi
slativehistoryofArt.21whi chshowedwhyt heexpression“duepr ocess
oflaw”wasr eplacedby“ procedur eest
ablishedbyl aw”
.However ,
iti
sunfortunat
et hatthe
l
egislat
ivehist
oryofAr t.22,andpar ti
cularl
yofclauses(1)and(2),wherebythesubst anceof
“dueprocess”wasr ei
nt roduced, wasnotbr oughttotheatt
ent
ionoft heSupremeCour t.

Butthisrest
rict
iveinterpr
etati
onoftheexpr ession‘personall
iber
ty’hasnotbeenfol
lowedby
theSupremeCour tinit
slaterdeci
sions.Likeforexampl e,
inKharakSingh’
scase,i
twasheld
that“
personal l
i
ber t
y”wasnotonl ylimit
edt obodilyrestrai
ntbutwasusedascompendi ous
termincl
udingwi thi
ni t
selfal
lthevari
eti
esofr ightswhi chgotomakeupt heper
sonalli
ber
tyof
manot herthanthosedeal twithi
nAr t
.19(1).

POST-
MANEKAGANDHI
:NEW DI
MENSI
ON

I
nManekaGandhi ’
scase, themeaningandcont entoft
hewor ds‘personall
iber
ty’
againcame
upfortheconsi
derat
ionoft heSupremeCour t
.Inthi
scase,thepetit
ioner’
spassporthadbeen
i
mpoundedbyt heCent r
al Governmentu/s10( 3)(
c)ofthePassportAct,1967.Here,t
he
SupremeCourtnotonlyov err
uledA.K.Gopalan’scasebutal
sowi denedt hescopeofwords
‘
personall
i
berty
’considerably
.Bhagwat i
,J.observed:
“Theexpr
essi
on‘ personall
i
bert
y’inArt
icl
e21i sofwi
destamplit
udeanditcoversavari
etyof
ri
ghtswhi
chgot oconst i
tut
ethepersonall
ibert
yofmanandsomeoft hem haverai
sedtothe
stat
usofdist
inctfundamentalr
ightsandgivenaddi
ti
onalpr
otecti
onunderArti
cle19.
”

Withrespectt
otherel
ati
onshi
pbetweenArt
.19andAr t
.21,t
heCourthel
dthatAr
t.21is
contr
oll
edbyAr t
.19,i
.e.
,i
tmustsat
isf
ytherequi
rementofArt
.19.TheCour
tobserved:

“Thelawmustt hereforenowbeset t
ledthatAr t
icle21doesnotexcludeArti
cle19andt hateven
i
fthereisalawpr escribingapr
ocedur efordepriv
ingapersonofpersonalli
bert
y,andthereis
consequentl
ynoi nfr
ingementofthef undament alri
ghtconf
err
edbyAr ti
cle21suchalawi nso
farasitabr
idgesort akesawayanyf undament alri
ghtunderArt
icl
e19woul dhavet omeetthe
chall
engesofthatAr ti
cle.”

Thusal
aw“ depr
ivi
ngapersonof‘per
sonal
li
ber
ty’
hasnotonlyt
ostandt
het
est
”ofAr
ti
cle21
buti
tmuststandthet
estofArt.19andArt
.14oftheConst
it
uti
on.

Ri
ghtt
oEducat
ion(
Art
icl
e21A)

I
ncaseofMohiniJai
nVStateofKar
nataka,t
heSupremeCour
thel
dthatr
ightt
oeducat
ioni
s
f
undament
alr
ightunderAr
ti
cle21oftheConst
it
uti
on.

Therightt
oeducationspri
ngsfr
om ri
ghttol
i
fe.Ther
ightt
oli
feunderArti
cle21andthedigni
ty
oftheindi
vi
dualcannotful
lybeappr
eciat
edwit
houtt
heenjoy
mentofrighttoeducat
ion.The
Courtobserv
ed:

#Righttolif
eiscompendiousexpr essi
onf orallt
hoserightswhicht heCourt
smustenf orce
becausetheyarebasict
ot hedignifi
edenjoymentoflife.I
textendst otheful
lyrangeofconduct
whichtheindiv
idual
isfr
eet opursue...
..Therighttol
if
eunderAr t
icl
e21andt hedigni
tyoft he
i
ndivi
dualcannotbeassuredunlessi ti
saccompani edbyt heri
ghtt oeducati
on.TheSt ate
Governmentisunderanobl i
gat
iont oprovi
deeducat i
onal f
aci
li
tiesatalll
evel
st oit
scitizens.

I
ncaseofUnni Kri
shanVSt ateofAndhr aPr adeshtheSupremeCourtwasaskedt oexami ne
thedecisionofMohi niJain'
scase.Inthepr esentcasetheApexCourtpartl
yoverr
uledgivenin
theMohi ni Jai
ncase.TheCour theldthat,
ther i
ghttoeducati
onisimpli
citi
ntheri
ghtt ol
ifeand
personallibert
yguaranteedbyAr t
icl
e21andmustbei nter
pret
edintheli
ghtoftheDirect
ive
Pri
ncipl
eofSt atePol
icycontai
nedi nArti
cles41, 45and46.

TheApexCour
t,howev
er,
li
mit
edt
heSt
ateobl
i
gat
iont
opr
ovi
deeducat
ional
faci
l
iti
esasf
oll
ows.

(
i)Ev
eryCi
tizenoft
hisCount
ryhasar
ightt
ofr
eeeducat
ionunt
ilhecompl
etest
heageof
f
ourt
eenyears;

(
ii
)Beyondthatst
age,
hisr
ightt
oeducat
ioni
ssubj
ectt
othel
i
mit
soft
heeconomi
ccapaci
tyof
t
hestate.
FurthertheSupremeCour tinM.C.Meht aVSt ateofTami lNadut heSupr emeCour tobser
ved
that,todevel
opthef ullpotenti
alofthechil
drentheyshoul dbepr ohi
bit
edt odohazar douswork
andeducat i
onshoul dbemadeav ai
labl
etothem.I nthisregar dtheCour theldthat,t
he
gov ernmentshoul
df ormul ateprogr
ammeof feri
ngjobor i
ent ededucationsot hattheymayget
educat i
onandthetimi ngsbesoadj ustedsot hattheiremploy mentisshoul dnotbe
affected.
AgaininBandhuaMut i
Mor chaVUni onofIndi a,JusticeK.RamaswamyandJust ice
Sagi rAhmad,observed, i
ll
i
teracyhasmanyadv erseeffectsinademocr acygov ernedbyrul
eof
l
aw.Educat edciti
zenscoul dmeani ngful
lyexerci
sehi spolit
icalri
ghts,dischargesocial
responsibi
li
ti
essatisfactoril
yanddev el
opspritoftoleranceandr eform.

TheGov ernmentofI
ndiabyConstit
uti
onal(86thAmendmentAct )Act,
2002hadaddedanew
Art
icl
e21Awhi chprovi
desthat"t
hestateshallprov
idefreeandcompulsor
yeducat
iont
oall
chi
ldr
enoft heageof6t o14yearsasthestatemay ,byl
awdet er
mine"
.Andfur
ther
str
engthenedthi
sArti
cle21Abyaddingclause( K)t
oAr t
icl
e51-A

[
Art51-
A(k)whoi
sapar
entorguar
diant
oprov
ideopport
uni
ti
esforeducat
iont
ohi
schi
l
dor
,as
t
hecasemaybe,war
dbet
weentheageofsi
xandfourt
eenyear
s.

Pr
otect
ionagai
nstar
restanddet
ent
ion(
Art
icl
e22)

34.
D.K.Basuv
.St
ateofWestBengal
(1997)1SCC416

Courtlai
ddowncer
tai
ngui
del
i
nest
obef
oll
owedi
nal
lcasesofar
restt
opr
eventcust
odi
al
vi
olence

(
i)Accur
ate,v
isibl
e&cleari
dent
if
icat
ion&namet
agsw/desi
gnat
ion.namesofal
lper
sonal
mustberecordedinr
egist
er

(
ii
)Memoofar
rest
.Si
gnedbyonewi
tness(
memberoff
ami
l
yorr
espect
abl
eper
sonofl
ocal
i
ty)

(
ii
i)Ar
rest
edper
son-r
ightt
ohav
eonef
rnd/
rel
ati
vei
ntr
stdi
nhi
swel
far
einf
ormedofar
rest

(i
v)Time,placeofarr
est&v enueofcust
odytobenoti
fi
edbyPoli
cewhrnextfr
ndorr
elati
ve
l
ivesoutsidedist
ri
ct/t
ownt hrghLegAidOrg&thepoli
cestoft
heareaconcer
nedwi
thina
peri
odof8t o13hrsfrm ar
rest

(v
)Personarr
estedmustbemadeawar
eoft
hisr
ightt
ohvsmeonei
nfor
medofhi
sar
restor
detent
ionatt
imeofar
rest/
det
ent
ion

(v
i)Diar
yEnt
rymadeatpl
aceofdet
enti
onrgdngar
restofpersonwhi
chshal
alsodi
scl
osename
ofnextfr
ndofper
sonwhohsbeeninf
ormed ofthearrest
.
(v
ii
)Arrest
eeshldwhrhesor equestsshldbeexami
nedatthetimeofhisar
rest&anymajor&
minori
njur
ies,
ifpr
sntinbodymustber ecor
dedatt
htti
me.Inspecti
onmemot obesignedbot
h
byarr
estee&thepoli
ceoffi
cereffecti
ngthearr
est&it
scopyprovidedt
oarr
estee

(v
ii
i)Arrest
eeshldbesubj
ectedt
omedicalexaminat
ionbyatrai
neddoctorev
ery48hrsdur
ing
hi
sdet enti
onincust
odybyadoctoronthepanel
ofapproveddoctorappt
dbyDirect
orHeal
th
Servi
cesoft heSt
ateorUTconcr
nd.Suchpanelf
rallTehsi
l
s&Di str
ict
saswell
.

(
ix)Copiesofal
ldocsincl
thememoofar
rest
,ref
err
edt
oabov
e,shl
dbesentt
otheI
ll
aqa
Magist
ratefrhi
srecor
d.

(
x)Ar
rest
eemaybeper
mit
tedt
omeethi
slawy
erdur
ingi
nter
rogat
ion,
thoughntt
hroughout
.

(xi
)APCRshl dbeprov i
dedatal
ldi
stri
ct&st at
eheadqrt
rswhralli
nfor
gdngarr
est&placeof
custodyofthearr
esteeshal
lbecommuni catedbytheoff
rcausi
ngthearr
est
,wit
hin12hrsof
eff
ectingt
hearrest&atthepoli
cecontr
ol r
oom itshl
dbedispl
ayedonaconspi
cuousnoti
ce
board.

37.
Seshammal
v.St
ateofTami
lNadu(
1972)2SCC11

TheTamilNaduHi
nduReligi
ousandCharit
abl
eEndowmentsAct(Tami
l Nadu12of1959)as
amendedbyAmendingActof1970,ss.2855,
56and116--
Heredi
tar
yri
ghtofsuccessi
onto
off
iceofAr
chakaabol
ished—Ifvi
olat
iveof Art
s.25and26ofConsti
tuti
on.

Sect i
on55oft heTami l
NaduHi nduRel igious.andChar i
tableEn-dowment sAct ,1959, gav ethe
trusteeofat empl et hepowert oappoi ntt heof ficerholdersorser vant
soft het empleandal so
prov i
dedt hatwher et heof f
iceorser vi
cei sher edi t
ary,t
heper sonnexti nthel i
neofsuccessi on
shal lbeent itl
edt osucceed.I nonlyexcept i
onal casest het r
ust eewasent i
tledt odepar t f r
om
thepr inci pleofnext -in-t
helineofsuccesi on, butev enso, thet rusteewasunderanobl igat i
ont o
appoi ntaf i
tper son t oper formt heser viceaft erhav i
ngduer egar dtothecl aimsoft he
member soft hefami ly
.Sect i
onI I6( 2)( xxii
i)oft heActgav epowert otheGov ernmentt omake
rulespr ov idingf ort hequal if
icationst obepossessedbyt heof fi
cersand ser v ant
sandt hei r
condi ti
onsofser vice.TheSt ateGov ernmentf ramedt heMadr asHi nduRel i
gi ousI nst
itutions
(Off i
cer sand Ser v ants)ServiceRul es, 1964.Rul e12pr ov i
dedt hatanAr chaka, whet her
her editaryornonher editar
ywhosedut yitist oper form Pujas,shal l,bef
or e succeedi ngt othe
officeorappoi ntmentt otheOf fice,obt ainacer ti
ficateoffitnessf orperformi ngt hedut iesof
his of fice f rom t heheadofani nsti
tut i
oni mpar ti
ng,i
nstruct i
onsi nAgamasorf rom the' head
ofamat hr ecogni sedbyt he'Commi ssioneror frontsuchot herper son-asmaybedesi gnat edby
theCommi ssioner .
TheActwasamendedbyt heAmendingActof1970.The Amendi ngActdidawaywiththe
her
edit
aryri
ghtofsuccessiont
otheoffi
ceofArchaka.Thepet
it
ionerswhower eAr
chakasof
sai
vi
teandVaishnavit
etemplesandMathadhi
patistowhoseMat hstemplesar
eatt
achedfir
m
wri
tpeti
ti
onsinthi
sCour tcont
endingt
hattheamendment svi
olatedArt
s.25and26ofthe
Const
it
uti
on.Dismissi
ngthepetit
ion

HELD: (
1)Thepr otectionofAr ts,
25and26oft heConst i
tut
ionisnotlimitedtomat tersof,
doctri
neorbel iev
e, t
heyext endalsot o''
actsdonei npur suanceofr el
igionandt herefore
containaguar anteeforr i
tualsandobser vanceset c.whi char etheint
egral par
tsofr el
igi
on.
Whatconst i
tutesaf tessentialpartofareligionorr eli
giouspr acti
cehast obedeci dedbyt he
Courtswi t
hr eferencet othedoctrineofatpar ticulartelii
ncludingpr
act i
ceswhi char e
regardedbythecommuni tyasapar tofit
sr eli
gion.

(2)Wi t
ht heestablishmentoft emplesandthe, insti
tuti
onofAr chakasi nt hetempl es,treati
ses
onr i
tualswer ecompi l
edknownasAgamas.Ther itual
shav eat wof oldaspect ,t
oat tractthe
l
aywor shippersandt opr eservetheimageoft heDei t
yfrom poll
ution,def i
lementordesecr ati
on.
Poll
ut i
onordesecr ati
onmayt akeplaceinav ar i
etyofway sandaccor dingt otheAgamas, an
i
magebecomesdef i
led ifthereisanydepar tureorv i
olati
onoft herulesr elati
ngt owor ship.
Further,i
nal lt
het empl esinwhi chi
magesar econsecr atedtheAgamasi nsistedt hatonl ythe
qualif
iedAr chakashal lstepinsidethesanctum sanct orum aft
erobser vingcer tai
ndi scipli
nes
i
mposedbyt heAgamas.Hencet heArchakaofsuchat emple,besidesbei ngpr ofi
cienti nthe
ri
tualsappr opri
atet othewor shipoftheparticularDeity,mustalsobel ong t oapar ti
cul ar
denomi nat i
on;because, anAr chakaofadi f
fer entdenomi nati
onwoul ddef il
et heimagebyhi s
touch.

(3)Thehereditar
ypri
nci
plei
ntheappointmentofanAr chakahadbeenadoptedandaccept ed
from ant
iquit
yandhadalsobeenfull
yrecognisedintheunamendeds.55.Butthechange
effect
edbyt heamendmenttos.55,namely,the,abol
it
ionoft
hepri
ncipl
eofnext -
in-
the-
li
ne
ofsuccessionishowever
,noti
nval
id,because,theusageisasecul
arandnotar el
igi
oususage.

(a)Anar chakahasnev erbeenr egardedasaspi rit

ualheadhowev eraccompl ishedandwel l
-
versedi ntheagamasandr i
tualshemaybe.Hei saser vantoft hetempl esubj ectt othe
discipli
neandcont rol ofthet r
usteeasr ecogni
sedbyt heunamendeds.' 56oft heAct .That
beinghi spositi
ont heactofhi sappoi ntmentbyt hetr
usteei sessent i
all
ysecul ar ,
't
houghaf ter
appoi ntmentheper formssomer eli
giousfunctions.Thataf terhisappoi ntmentheper forms
wor shipisnogr oundf orholdingt hathisappointmenti seitherar el
igiousPract iceoramat ter
ofreligion.Heoweshi sappoi ntmentt oasecularaut hori
ty.Anyl ayfounderofat empl emay
appoi nthim andtheShebai t
sandManager soft emples.exer ci
seanessent i
allysecul arfuncti
on
i
nchoosi ngandappoi nti
ngt heAr chaka.Thefactt hatinsomet empl estheher editaryprinci
ple
wasf ol
lowedi nmaki ngt heappoint mentwouldnotmaket hesuccessi veappoi ntment s
anythingbutsecul ar.
(b)Thepowergi vent ot het rusteeundert heamendedsect iont oappoi ntanybodyasan
Archakasol ongashepossessedaf i
tnesscer t
if
icateunderr .12wasnotanunqual i
fiedpower ,
becauset hepowerhadt ober eadwi thS.28oft heActwhi chcont roll
edi t.Sect ion28di r
ects
thet r
usteet oadmi nistertheaf f
ai r
soft hetemple,inaccordancewi tht het ermsoft het rustor
usageoft hei nst
itution.Ther ef
or e,theappoi ntmentoft heAr chaka' willhav et obemadef r
om
thespeci f
ieddenomi nat i
on, sectorgr oupinaccor dancewi t
ht hedi rectionsoft heAgamas
gov er
ningt het empl e.Inv iewof .theamendeds.55( 2).
,thechoi ceoft het rust eei n.themat ter
ofappoi ntmentofanar chakai snol ongerl i
mitedbyt heOper ati
onofnext -in-l
ineofsuccessi on
i
nt empl eswher etheusagewast oappoi nttheArchakaont heher editarypr inciple.Tot hat
extentthet rusteei sr el
easedf rom theobl i
gati
oni mposedonhi m bys.28t oadmi nisterthe
affair
sinaccor dancewi t
ht hatpar toft heusageofat emplewhi chenj oinedher editary
appointment s.Butt hel egislati
oni nt hisfactdoesnoti nter
ferewi thanyr eligiouspr act i
ce.

(
4)Theotherchangesef
fect
edi
ntheot
herpr
ovi
sionsoftheActar
emer
elyconsequent
ial
,and
t
her
efor
e,theAmendmentActasawholemustberegar
dedasv al
i
d.

(5)Ther ulemaki ngpoweri sconf err

edbys.116ont heGov ernmentwi thav i
ewt ocar ryoutt he
purposesoft heActwhi char eessent iall
ysecul ar.TheActnowher egi vestheindicat i
ont hatone
ofitspur posesi stoeffectachangei nt her i
tualsandcer emoni esf oll
owedi nthet empl es.
Section105and107, ont hecont rary,emphasi zet hatthereshall notbeanycont rav enti
onoft he
ri
ghtsconf er
redonany r el
igiousdenomi nat i
onsofanysect iont hereof,byArt.26oft he
Const i
tution.Rule12st il
lholdst hefieldandt herei snor easont ot hinkthattheSt ate
Gover nmentwoul dframer ulest orevoluti
oni set empl ewor shipbyi ntr
oducingmet hodsof
worshi pnot cur renti nthesev er
al t
empl es.I fanysuchr uleisf ramedbyGov ernmentwhi ch
purpor t
st ointerf
erewitht heritualsandcer emoni esofthet empl es, i
twillbeli
ablet obe
chall
engedbyt hosewhoar einterestedint het empl ewor shi
p.

38.N.Adi
thay
anv
.Tr
avancor
eDev
aswom Boar
d(2002)8SCC106

Appoi
ntmentofnon-
Brahmi
nasSant
ikar
an(
Pri
est
)int
empl
esi
nKer
ala-Chal
l
engeof
-

Held,I
nt heabsenceofanyspeci
fi
ccustom orusagetothecontrar
y,appoi
ntmentofaproperl
y
tr
ainedandqual i
fi
ednon-Br
ahminSanti
karanisnotvi
olat
iveoftheConsti
tut
ional
provi
sions-
TravancoreCochinHinduRel
igi
ousInst
it
utionAct
,1950;Secti
on31.

Hi
nduLaw:

Sour
cesofLaw-Custom orUsage-
Clai
m ofri
ght
s-Requi
rementsof-Held,anycust
om orusage
coul
dnotbecountenancedassourceoflawtocl
aim anyri
ghti
fitvi
olates'humanri
ght
s,digni
ty,
soci
alequal
i
ty,
provi
sionsin

theConst
it
uti
onoranyot
herl
awmadebyPar
li
ament
-Const
it
uti
onofI
ndi
a,1950-
Prot
ect
ionof
Civi
lRi
ght
sAct,1955.
Thequesti
onwhicharoseinthi
sappeal waswhet hert
heappoint
mentofanon-Brahmin
Malayal
aas`Santi
kar
an'or`Poojari
'(Pri
est)oft
heSivaTempleatavi
ll
agei
nKer alaSt
ate,
is
vi
olat
iveoft
heConsti
tuti
onalstatut
or yr
ightsoft
heappell
ant
,aMalayal
aBrahmin.

I
twascont endedfortheappel
lantthatonlyNamboodr iBr
ahmi nscouldperf
orm pooja/dai
l
y
ri
tual
sattemplesinKeralaandsuchacust om cannotbet hrownov eri
nv i
ewofAr t
icles25and
26oftheConst i
tut
ionandSection31oft heTravancoreCochinHinduReli
giousI
nstituti
onAct,
1950;andthatappoint
mentofSant i
karanwasnotasecul araspectandithasbeendeal twithby
theDevaswom Boar dagai
nstthewishesofwor shipper
s.

I
twascontendedfortheStatethatappointmentofonl
yMalayal
aBrahminsasSanti
karansi
n
Templewouldviol
ateArt
icl
es14, 15and16oft heConsti
tut
ionofI
ndia;
andthatappoint
mentof
afull
yqual
i
fiedandtrai
nedpersoni r
respecti
veofi
tscast
e/communitywoul
dnotinfr
inge
Art
icl
es25and26oft heConstituti
on.

Onbehalfoftherespondents,i
twascontendedt hatt
heappell
antfai
l
edtoestabli
shanyusage,
asclai
med; andthatt
her i
ghtsandclaimsbaseduponAr ti
cle25havetobeviewedinproper
andcorrectper
specti
veinthelightofArt
icl
es15, 16and17oftheConsti
tut
ionandthe
prov
isi
onscont ai
nedintheProtecti
onofCivil
RightsAct.

1.1.Itisnowwel l settledt hatArticle25secur est oev eryper son, subjectofcour setopubl ic

order, healthandmor alit
yandot herpr ov i
sionsofPar t-I
ll
,includingAr t i
cle17f r
eedom t o
entertainandexhi bitbyout wardact saswel l aspr opagat eanddi ssemi natesuchr eli
giousbel i
ef
accor dingt ohi sj udgmentandconsci encef ort heedi fi
cat i
onofot hers.Ther ightoftheSt ateto
i
mposesuchr est ricti
onsasar edesi redorf oundnecessar yongr oundsofpubl icorder, health
andmor ali
tyisi nbui l
tinAr ticl
es25and26i tsel f.Ar ticl
e25( 2) (
b)ensur est her i
ghtoft heSt ate
tomakeal awpr ov idingf orsocial wel f
ar eandr ef orm besi dest hrowi ngopenofHi ndur eligious
i
nst i
tut i
onsofapubl i
cchar actertoal lclassesandsect ionsofHi ndusandanysuchr i
ght sof
theSt ateoroft hecommuni ti
esorcl assesofsoci et ywer eal soconsi der edt oneeddue
regulat i
onint hepr ocessofhar moni zingt hev ar i
ousr i
ghts.Thev isionoft hefoundingf ather sof
Const ituti
ont ol iber atet hesoci etyfrom bl indandr i
tualisti
cadher encet omer etradit
ional
super stit
iousbel iefssansr easonorr ational basi shasf oundexpr essioni nthef orm ofAr ticle
17.Thel egal posi t i
ont hatt hepr otectionunderAr ticles25and26ext endaguar anteef orr i
tuals
andobser vances, ceremoni esandmodesofwor shi pwhi char eint egral part
sofr eli
gionandas
towhatr eallyconst it
ut esanessent ialpar tofr eligiouspr acti
cehast obedeci dedbyt heCour t
s
withr eferencet ot hedoct rineofapar t
icularr el i
gi onorpr acticesr egar dedaspar tsofr eli
gion,
camet obeequal lyf i
rml ylaiddown.

1.2.Onl
yaqual i
fi
edper sonwell
v er
sedandproperl
ytrai
nedforthepurposealonecanperf
orm
poojasi
nt heTempl esincehehasnotonlytoent
erintothesanctum sanct
orum butal
sotouch
theidol
instal
ledtherei
n.Whatisrequi
redandexpectedofonetoper f
ormther i
tual
sand
conductpoojasistoknowt heri
tualst
obeperformedandmant ras,asnecessary,t
oberecit
ed
f
ort
hepar
ti
cul
ardei
tyandt
hemet
hodofwor
shi
por
dai
nedorf
ixedt
her
efor
e.

1.
3.I ftr
adi
ti
onall
yorconventi
onal
ly
, i
nanyTemple,al
lalongaBr ahminal onewasconducti
ng
poojasorperfor
mingthejobofSanthi
karan,i
tmaynotbebecauseaper sonotherthanthe
Brahminisprohi
bit
edfrom doi
ngsobecausehei snotaBrahmin, butthoseother
swer enoti
na
positi
onand,asamatteroffact
,wereprohibi
tedf
rom l
earni
ng,
r eciti
ng

ormast eri
ngVedi cli
ter
ature,ri
tesorper f
ormanceofr itual
sandwear ingsacr edt hreadby
getti
nginiti
atedintotheorderandt herebyacquirether i
ghttoperfor
m homaandr it
ual
isti
c
formsofwor shi
pinpublicorprivateTempl es.Consequent l
y,ther
eisnoj usti
ficationtoinsi
st
thataBr ahminorMal ayal
aBr ahmi n,
alonecanper formt herit
esandr i
tualsint heTempl es,as
partoftherightsandf r
eedom guar anteedunderArt i
cle25oft heConstit
utionandt hatany
deviat
ionwoul dtantamounttov i
olat
ionofanysuchguar anteeundertheConst it
ution.

1.4.Aslonganyonewel l v
er sedandpr oper l
yt r
ainedandqual ifi
edt oper formt hepoojaina
mannerconduci veandappr opriatetothewor shipofthepar t
iculardeity,isappoi nt
edas
Sant hi
karandehor shispedi greebasedoncast e,nov alidorlegal l
yjustifi
ablegr i
evancecanbe
madei naCour tofLaw.Ther ehasbeennopr operpleaorsuf fi
cientpr oofalsoi nthi
scaseof
anyspeci fi
ccust om orusagespeci all
ycreatedbyt heFounderoft heTempl eort hosewhohav e
theexclusiver i
ghttoadmi nistertheaf f
air
s-r eli
giousorsecul aroft heTempl einquestion,l
eave
alonethel egali
ty,propr
ietyandv ali
dit
yoft hesamei nt hechangedl egal positi
onbr oughtabout
byt heConst i
tuti
onandt helawenact edbyPar l
iament .TheTempl eal sodoesnotbel ongtoany
denomi nationalcategorywi thanyspeci al
izedf orm ofwor shi
ppecul i
art osuchdenomi nat
ionor
toitscredit.I
tbecomesev enunnecessar yt opr onounceupont heinvalidit
yofanysuchpr acti
ce
beingv i
olativ
eoft heConst i
tuti
onal mandadecont ainedi nArticles14t o17and21oft heCoI.

2.1.Intheinstantcase,
itisonr ecor
dthatani nst
it
utionhasbeenst art
edtoi
mpar tt
rai
ningt
o
studentsjoi
ningtheinst
itut
ioninallr
elevantVedictexts,r
ites,rel
igi
ousobser
vancesandmodes
ofwor shi
pbyengagi ngreputedscholarsandThant hr
isandt hest udent
s,whoul
timatel
ypass
throughthetests,ar
ebeingi ni
ti
atedbyperformingthei nv
est i
ture

ofsacredt hr
eadandgay
atri
.Thatapart
,evenamongsuchqual i
fiedpersons,sel
ect i
onsbased
uponmer i
taremadebytheCommi tt
ee,whichi
ncludesamongot herscholar
sar eputed
Thanthrialsoandt
hequali
tyofcandi
dateaswellast heeli
gibi
li
tytoperformther i
tes,r
eli
gious
observancesandmodesofwor shi
pareonceagaint estedbefor
eappoi ntment.

Whilethatbet hepositi
ontoi nsistthatt
hepersonconcer
nedshouldbeamemberofa
part
icularcastebornofpar t
icularparentsofhi
scastecannei
therbeaninsi
stenceuponan
essenti
al r
eli
giouspracti
ce,rite,ri
tual
,obser
vanceormodeofwor shi
pnoranyproperor
suff
ici
entbasisf orassert
ingsuchacl ai
m hasbeenmadeouteitheronfact
sorinlaw.

2.2.Noneoftheear
li
erdeci
sionsrenderedbef
oreSeshammal
'scaser
elat
edtoconsi
derat
ionof
anyright
sbasedoncasteori
ginandev enSeshammal'
scasedeal
twit
honlyt
hefacetofri
ghts
cl
aimedont hebasi
sofheredit
arysuccessi
on.
Anycust om orusagei r
respect
iveofevenanyproofoft heirexi
stenceinpreconst
it
utional day
s
cannotbecount enancedasasour ceoflawtoclaim anyrightswheni ti
sfoundtoviol
at e
humanr i
ght s,
digni
ty,soci
alequali
tyandthespecif
icmandat eoftheConsti
tut
ionandl awmade
byParli
ament .Nousagewhi chisfoundtobeper ni
ciousandconsi deredtobeinderogationof
thelawoft helandoropposedt opubli
cpoli
cyorsoci al
decencycanbeaccept edoruphel dby
Courtsi
nt hecountry.

39.Commi
ssi
onerofPol
i
cev
.Achar
yaJagadi
shwar
anandaAv
adhut
a(2004)12SCC
770

Inthefi
rstroundofl i
ti
gationquest i
onr aisedbef or
et hi
sCour twaswhet herper for
manceof
Tandavadancei npubli
cisanessent ialpract
iceofAnandaMar giorderornot.Thiscour ti
n
AcharyaJagdi shwarandaAv adhuta&Ot hersv .TheCommi ssionerofPolice,Calcut
ta&Anot her,
(1983)4SCC522, (
Fir
stAnandaMar gicase),heldthatTandav adancei npubl i
cisnotan
essenti
alrit
eofAnandaMar gif
aith.Subsequentt othefir
stcase, i
tappear sthatAnandaMur t
i
Jifounderoft hatorderprescri
bedt oper form Tandav adancei npublicasanessent ialrel
igious
pract
iceinCar yaCarya,abookcont aini
ngt her el
evantdoctrines.Basedont his,AnandaMar gis
soughtpermi ssionoftheCommi ssionerofPol icetoperform Tandav adancei npubli
c.The
Commi ssioneraccordedper missiont otakeoutTandav adancewi t
houtknife,li
vesnake, t
rident
orskull
.Thiswaschal lengedbyt heRespondent sherei
nbef orethisCourtbyf i
li
ngWr itPetit
ion

Af
tert
aki
ngi
ntoaccountofal
lther
elev
antf
act
s,i
ncl
udi
ngt
heabov
e,t
hisCour
thel
d:

AnandaMar gaasar eli

giousor derisofrecentor i
ginandTandav adanceasapar tofrel
igious
ri
tesoft hatorderi
sst i
l
lmor erecent .Iti
sdoubt ful ast owhet herinsuchci rcumst ances
Tandavadancecanbet akenasanessent i
alreli
giousr it
eoft heAnandaMar gis.Even
concedingt hati
sso, i
tisdiff
iculttoacceptMr .Tar kunde'sar gumentt hattakingoutr eli
gious
processionswi t
hTandav adancei sanessent ialreligiousriteofAnandaMar gisOnt hebasisof
theli
teratureoftheAnandaMar gadenomi nationi thasbeencont endedt hatthereis
prescri
ptionofperformanceofTandav adancebyev eryfoll
owerofAnandaMar ga.Ev en
concedingt hatTandavadancehasbeenpr escribedasar eli
giousrit
ef oreveryf oll
oweroft he
AnandaMar gaitdoesnotf ol
lowasanecessar ycor ollar
yt hatTandav adancet obeper formed
i
nt hepubl i
cisamat terofreli
giousr it
e”

Bytheabov efi
ndingthisCour twascat egori
calinit
'sjudgmentt hatTandav adanceinpublicis
notanessentialpar
tofr eligiousritesofAnandaMar gifai
th.Theconcl usionar r
ivedatbythis
Courtregardi
ngthenonessent ial
nat ureofTandav adancet oAnandaMar gifai
thwas
pri
ncipal
lybasedont hef actt hattheor derit
selfisofrecentor igi
nandt hepr acti
ceofdancei s
sti
ll
mor erecent
.Cour tev enwentt ot heextentofassumi ngt hatTandav adancewaspr escri
bed
asar i
teandthenarri
v edatt heconcl usionthattaki
ngoutTandav adancei npublicisnot
essenti
altoAnandaMar gi fait
h.Af terarri
vi
ngatt heabov eratio,theCourtf ur
theraddedthat
"I
nfact
,ther
eisnojusti
fi
cati
oninanyofthewri
ti
ngsofShr
iAnandaMur
tit
hatTandav
adance
mustbeperfor
medi npubli
c.Atl
eastnonecoul
dbeshowntousbyMr.Tar
kundedespit
ean
enqui
rybyusinthatbehal
f.
"

Thisobservati
oncannotbeconsi deredasacl uetoreopent hewholefi
ndi
ng.Bymaki ngt hat
observati
ontheCour twasonlybut t
ressi
ngthef i
ndi
ngt hatwasalreadyar
rivedat.Thelearned
j
udgesoft heHi ghCour twronglyproceededont heassumpt iont
hatthefi
ndingoft hi
sCour t
regardi
ngthenon- essenti
alnatureofTandav adancetot heAnandaMar gifait
hisduet othenon
-
av ai
labi
li
tyofanyl i
terat
ureorpr escri
pti
onsbythefounder .TheHighCourtisunderthewr ong
i
mpr essi
ont hatanessent i
alpartofreli
gioncouldbealteredatanysubsequentpointoftime.

Theprotecti
onguar anteedunderAr t
icl
es25and26oft heConstitut
ionisnotconfinedto
matter
sofdoct ri
neorbel i
efbutext
endstoactsdonei npursuanceofr el
igi
onand, ther
efor
e,
contai
nsaguar anteef orri
tuals,
observ
ances,ceremoniesandmodesofwor shi
pwhi chare
essenti
alorintegral partofrel
igi
on.Whatconstit
utesani nt
egr
al oressenti
alpartofrel
igi
onhas
tobedetermi nedwi thr ef
erencetoit
sdoctr
ines,pract
ices,t
enets,hi
stori
calbackgroundetc.of
thegiv
enr el
igion.

Whati smeantby' anessent i

alpartorpr acticesofar el
igion'isnowt hemat t
erf orel ucidat i
on.
Essent ialpartofar el i
gionmeanst hecor ebel ief
suponwhi char eligionisfounded.Essent i
al
pract i
cemeanst hosepr acti
cest hataref undament altof oll
owar eligiousbelief.Itisupont he
corner stoneofessent ial part
sorpr acticest hesuper structureofr eligionisbui l
t.Wi thoutwhi ch,
arel i
gionwi llbenor eli
gion.Testt odet erminewhet herapar torpr act i
ceisessent i
al t
ot he
rel
igioni st ofindoutwhet hert henatureofr eli
gionwi l
lbechangedwi thoutthatpar torpr actice.
Ifthet akingawayoft hatpar torpracticecoul dresultinaf undament alchangei nt hechar acter
oft hatreligi
onori ni tsbel i
ef,thensuchpar tcoul dbet reatedasanessent i
alori ntegral part.
Ther ecannotbeaddi t
ionsorsubt r
actionst osuchpar t
,becausei ti st heveryessenceoft hat
rel
igionandal ter
ationswi l
lchangei t
sf undament al
char acter.I
tissuchper manentessent i
al
parti swhati sprotect edbyt heConst it
ut i
on.Nobodycansayt hatessent i
alpar torpr act i
ceof
one' sreli
gionhaschangedf rom apar ticulardat eorbyanev ent.Suchal t
erablepar t
sor
pract i
cesar edefinitelynott he' cor
e'ofr el
igionwher ethebel iefisbasedandr eligi
oni sf ounded
upon.I tcouldonl ybet reatedasmer eembel l
ishment stot henon-essent i
alpartorpr actices.

40.Bi
j
oeEmmanuel
v.St
ateofKer
ala(
1986)3SCC615

Theappel lants-
threechil
drenbelongt oasectcalledJehov ah'sWi tnesseswhowor shi
ponly
Jehovah- t
heCr eatorandnoneot her
.Theyrefusedt osingt heNat ionalAnthem: 'JanaGana
Mana' because, accordi
ngt othem, i
tisagainstthet enetsoft heirreli
giousfai
th-notthewords
ort het houghtsoft heNationalAnthem-butthesingi ngofi t
.Theydesi st
edfrom actualsi
nging
onlybecauseoft hei
raforesaidhonestbeli
efandconv i
cti
onbutt heyusedt ostandupi n
respectfulsil
encedai l
y,duringthemor ni
ngassembl ywhent heNat i
onalAnthem wassung.A
Commi ssionwasappoi ntedt oenquir
eandr eport,andi tr
epor tedthatt hechi
ldrenwere" l
aw
abiding"andt hattheyshowednodisrespecttot
heNat
ionalAnt
hem.However,
underthe
i
nst r
uctionsofDeput yInspect
orofSchools,t
heHeadMist
ressexpel
l
edtheappel
l
antsfrom
school from July26,1985.

Arepresentati
onbyt hefatherofthechi l
drent
ot heEducat i
onAut hori
ti
esrequestingthatthe
chi
ldrenmaybeper mitt
edt oattendtheschool pendingordersf
rom t heGov er
nmenthav ing
fai
l
ed, t
heappel l
antsfi
ledaWr i
tPeti
tionintheHi ghCourtseeki
nganor derrestr
ainingt
he
authori
ti
esfrom preventi
ngt hem fr
om at t
endi
ngt heschool.AsingleJudgeandt henaDi visi
on
Benchrejectedtheprayeroft heappellant
s.Al
lowi ngtheappealbySpeci alLeave,tothi
sCourt.

HELD: 1.1.TheFundament al Rightsoft heappel lantsunderArt.19(1)(a)and25( 1)hav ebeen

i
nfri
ngedandt heyareent i
tledt obepr ot ected.Theex pulsi
onoft hethreechildr enf r
om the
school f
orther easonthatbecauseoft hei rconscienti
ouslyheldreli
giousfaith, theydonotj oi
n
thesi
ngi ngoftheNat i
onal Anthem int hemor ningassembl ythought heydost andr espectf
ull
y
whent heNat i
onal Anthem issung, i
sav iolat
ionoft hefundament alr
ighttof reedom of
conscienceandf r
eelytopr ofess,practiceandpr opagatereli
gion.Therefore,thej udgmentof
theHighCour tissetasi deandt herespondentaut horit
iesaredirect
edt or e-admi tthechil
dren
i
ntotheschool , t
oper mitthem t opursuet heirstudi
es wi t
houthi ndranceand t ofacil
i
tate
thepursuitoftheirstudiesbygi v i
ngt hem t henecessar yfaci
li
ties.

1.2Thereisnopr ov i
sionofl awwhi chobli
gesany onet osing theNat i
onal Anthem nori sit
disr
espectfultotheNat i
onal Anthem ifaper sonwhost andsupr espectfull
ywhent heNati
onal
Anthem issungdoesnotj oi
nt hesi ngi
ng.Properr espectisshownt ot heNat ional Anthem by
standi
ngupwhent heNat ional Anthem issung.Itwi llnotberightt
osayt hatdisrespectis
shownbynotj oi
ningint hesi nging.Standi
ngupr espect f
ull
ywhent heNat i
onalAnt hem issung
butnotsingingonesel fclearlydoesnotei therprev entthesingingoftheNat i
onal Anthem or
causedisturbancet oanassembl yengagedi nsuchsi ngingsoast oconst i
tutetheof fence
ment i
onedinsec3oft hePr eventionofInsultstoNat ionalHonourAct .

2.1Ar t
icle19( 1)(a)oft heConst i
tuti
onguar anteest oallcit
izensfreedom ofspeechand
expression, butAr ti
cle19( 2)providest hatnot hi
ngi nAr t
icle19(1)(a)shal
lpreventaSt at
ef rom
maki nganyl aw, i
nsof arassuchl awi mposesr easonabl erestri
cti
onsont heexer ci
seoft he
saidr i
ght .Art.25(1)guar anteestoallper sonsf reedom ofconsci enceandt herightfreel
yto
profess, practiseandpr opagatereli
gion,subj ecttoor der,morali
tyandhealthandt otheother
provisionsofPar tIIIoftheConst i
tuti
on.Ar t.51-A( a)oftheConst it
utionenj
oinsadut yonev ery
ci
t i
zenofI ndia"toabi debyt heConstituti
onandr espectitsideal
sandi nsti
tuti
ons, t
heNat ional
Flagandt heNat ional Anthem".

2.
2Whileont heonehand,Art.25(1)it
selfexpresslysubject
stherightguaranteedbyittopubl i
c
or
der,
mor ali
tyandhealt
handt otheot herprovisi
onsofPar tI
II
,ont heotherhand, t
heSt at
ei s
al
sogiventheliber
tyt
omakeal awt oregulateorrestr
ictanyeconomi c,f
inancial
,pol
iti
calor
ot
hersecularacti
vi
tywhichmaybeassoci atedwithreli
giouspract
iceandt oprovideforsocial
wel
far
eandr ef
orm,evenif suchr egulati
on,restr
ict
ionorprovisi
onaf f
ectstheright
guaranteedbyAr t
.25( 1)
.Ther efore,whenevertheFundament alRighttofreedom ofconsci ence
andt opr ofess,pr
act i
seandpr opagatereli
gionisinvoked,theactcompl ainedofasof fending
theFundament alRightmustbeexami nedtodiscov erwhethersuchacti stoprotectpublic
order,
mor al
ityandheal t
h, whetheritistogiveeffecttotheotherprovisi
onsofPar tI
IIofthe
Constit
utionorwhet heritisauthor i
sedbyal awmadet oregulat
eorr estr
ictanyeconomi c,
fi
nancialpol i
ti
calorsecul aractivi
tywhichmaybeassoci atedwithrel
igiouspractiseorto
provi
def orsocialwel f
areandr eform.

2.3Anylawwhichmaybemadeundercl auses2to6ofAr t
.19tor
egulat
et heexer
ciseofthe
ri
ghttothefr
eedomsguaranteedbyArt
.19(1)
(a)t
o(e)and(g)mustbe'alaw'havi
ngstatut
ory
forceandnotamereexecuti
veordepar
tmentali
nstr
uct
ions.

Thet woci rcularsonwhi chtheDepar tment ,i

nthei nstantcase, hasplacedr eliancehav eno
stat
ut or ybasi sandar emer edepar tment ali
nstruct i
ons.Theycannot , t
herefore, f
ormt he
foundat ionofanyact ionaimedatdeny ingtocitizensFundament alRightunderAr t.19( 1)
(a).
Furtheri ti
snotpossi bletohol dthatt hetwoci rcularswer eissued'i
nt hei nterestoft he
soverei gntyandi ntegrit
yofI ndia,t
hesecur i
tyoft heSt at
e,friendl
yrelati
onwi t
hf oreignst at
es,
publicor der ,decencyormor al
ity,
ori nr el
ati
ont ocont emptofcour t
,defamat i
onori nci
tement
toanof fence' andifnotsoi ssued, theycannotagai nbei nvokedt odenyaci ti
zen's
Fundament al Ri
ghtunderAr t.19(1)(a).Ifthetwoci r
cular
sar et obesoi nterpretedast ocompel
eachandev erypupiltojoininthesi ngingoft heNat ionalAnthem despi t
ehi sgenui ne,
consci entiousr eli
giousobjection,thensuchcompul sionwoul dcl
earl
ycont r
av enet her i
ghts
guarant eedbyAr t
.19(1)(a)andAr t.25( 1)
.

3.TheKeral
aEducati
onActcontainsnoprovisionofr
elevanceandt heappell
antsint
hepresent
casehaveneverbeenfoundguil
tyofmisconductsuchast hatdescri
bedinChapterI
X,Rul
e6
oftheKeral
aEducati
onRules.Ontheotherhand, t
her
epor toftheCommi ssi
on,istotheef
fect
thatt
hechil
drenhavealwaysbeenwell
-behav ed,l
aw-
abidingandr espect
ful
.

4.Thequest i
onisnotwhet herapart
icularr el
i
giousbeli
eforpracticeappealstoourreasonor
senti
mentbutwhet herthebeliefi
sgenui nelyandconscienti
ouslyheldaspar toftheprofession
orpracti
ceofr el
igi
on.Per
sonal vi
ewsandr eacti
onsareirrel
evant.Ift
hebeliefisgenuinelyand
conscient
iousl
yhelditatt
ractsthepr
ot ectionofArt.25butsubject,ofcourse,totheinhibit
ions
contai
nedt her
ein.

I
nt heinstantcase,whatthepet i
ti
oner str
uly andconscient
iousl
ybel
iev
eisnoti ndoubt.They
donothol dtheirbel
ief
sidlyand t heirconductisnottheoutcomeofanyperversi
ty.The
peti
ti
onershav enotassertedthosebel ief
sforthefir
stti
meoroutofanyunpat ri
oti
csent i
ment
Jehovah'sWi t
nesses, ast heycallthemselves,appeartohaveal
waysexpressedandst oodup
forsuchbel i
efsallt
hewor l
dov er.
42.I
slami
cAcademyofEducat
ionv
.St
ateofKar
nat
aka,
JT2003(
7)SC1

A5judgebenchClar
if
iedt
hedoubt
sinTMAPai
case(maj
ori
tydeci
sion):
-Fol
l
owi
ngquest
ions
ar
oseforconsi
der
ati
on.

1)whet
hert
heeducat
ional
inst
it
uti
onsar
cent
it
ledt
ofi
xthei
rownf
eest
ruct
ure;

Obser vedt hatTMAPai j

udgmentv erycleari
nt hi
scase.Heldthatt her
ecanbenof i
xingofa
ri
gidf eest r
uct ur
ebythegov ernment.Eachinstit
utemusthav ethef r
eedom tofixit
sownf ee
structuretakingintoconsiderati
ontheneedt ogeneratefundstor untheinsti
tut
ionandt o
providef acili
ti
esnecessaryforthebenefitofthestudent
s.Theymustal sobeabletogener at
e
surpluswhi chmustbeusedf orthebett
ermentandgr owthoft hateducationali
nsti
tut
ion.

2)whet
hermi
nori
tyandnonmi
nor
it
yeducat
ional
inst
it
uti
onsst
andont
heSAMEf
oot
ingand
havet
hesameri
ghts;

Hel
dinaf
fi
rmat
ive.

Art
icl
e30(1)i sasortofguaranteeorassurancetot heli
nguist
icandreli
giousminori
ty
i
nstit
uti
onsoft hei
rri
ghttoestabli
shandadmi ni
stereducati
onalinst
it
uti
onsoft hei
rchoi
ce.
Secular
ism andequali
tybeingtwooft hebasicfeaturesoftheConstit
uti
on, Ar
ti
cle30(1)
ensuresprotect
iontotheli
nguisti
candr el
i
giousmi nori
ti
es;

Fur
ther
mor
e,t
hepr
inci
plesofequal
i
tymustnecessar
il
yappl
ytot
heenj
oymentofsuchr
ight
s.

Nol awcanbef ramedthatwil

ldi
scr
iminat
eagainstsuchmi norit
ieswithr egardsothe
establi
shmentandadmi ni
str
ati
onofeducati
onalinst
it
uti
onsv is-
a-visothereducati
onal
i
nstituti
ons.Anylaworrul
eorregul
ati
onthatwouldputtheeducat ional i
nsti
tuti
onsrunbythe
minor i
ti
esatadisadvant
agewhencompar edtotheinsti
tut
ionsrunbyt heotherswil
l hav
etobe
str
uckdown.Att hesameti
me, t
her
ealsocannotbeanyr eversediscriminati
on.

Obser
v edinStXavier
sCol l
egecase,atpage192,t
hat"t
hewhol eobjectofconf
err
ingt
heright
onminorit
iesunderArti
cle30istoensurethatt
her
ewi l
lbeequali
tybetweenthemajor
ityand
theminori
ty.I
ftheminori
tiesdonothavesuchspecial
protect
ion,t
heywi l
lbedeni
edequali
ty.
"

3)whet
herpri
vat
eunai
dedprof
essi
onal
col
l
egesar
eent
it
ledt
ofi
l
lint
hei
rseat
s,t
otheext
entof
100%andifnott
owhatext
ent;
and

Stat
ewoul ddeter
mi nethequotasforst
udentst
obeadmit
tedbytheManagementoft
he
unai
dedmi nori
typrofessi
onalcol
legeskeepi
ngi
nmind,
apartf
rom l
ocal
needs,t
heparamount
i
nterest
/needofthatcommuni tyintheStat
e.
4)whet
herpr
ivat
eunaidedprof
essionalcol
legesareent
it
ledtoadmi
tstudent
sbyev
olv
ingt
hei
r
ownmethodofadmission;
-Heldthatint
ersemer i
ttobetakeni
ntoaccount.

43.T.
M.A.Pai
Foundat
ionv
.St
ateofKar
nat
aka,
AIR2003SC355

An11j udgebenchoft heSupr emeCour theadedbyChi efJusticeB.

N.Kr i
palheldt
hatt hest at
e
government sanduni v
ersiti
escannotr egul
atetheadmi ssionpoli
cyofunaidededucational
i
nstituti
onsrunbyl i
nguisti
candr eli
giousminorit
ies,butstategover
nment sanduniversiti
escan
specifyacademi cquali
fi
cationsforstudentsandmaker ulesandregulati
onsformaintaining
academi cstandards.Thesamepr i
ncipleappli
esinappoi ntmentofteachersandotherst aff
.An
unaidedmi nori
tyeducationalinst
it
utionwouldbef reetohi r
easitpleasedaslongassome
essentialqual
if
icati
onswer eadher edto.

PowerandPr
ocedur
etoamendt
heConst
it
uti
on;

Li
mit
ati
onsonamendi
ngPower-
Doct
ri
neofBasi
cFeat
ure/
Str
uct
ure;
(Kesav
anandaBhar
ti

JudicialRev i
ewofLegi sl
ationsincludedi ntheNinthSchedule-TheNi nthScheduletot he
Const i
tutionprov i
desal i
stofl awswhi charenotamenabl etoj udicialrevi
ewandi nt er
msof
otherpr ovisi
onsoft heConst i
tuti
on, t
heselawscannotbei nvali
dat edongr oundsofv i
olat
ionof
af undament al r
ight.Typicall
ythesel awsconst i
tutethosewhi chrel at
et olandacquisit
ionand
thoser elati
ngt orightofaci ti
zentohol dpr
operty.Anine-j
udgebenchoft heSupremeCour ti
n
I
.R.Coel hov .StateofTami lNadu[ (2007)2SCC1]decl ar
edt hatdespi tethesai dst
ipulati
on,i
n
viewoft hedoct rineofbasi cstructure(whichincludes'j
udici
al rev
iew')i twasopent othe
Supr emeCour ttoexami net hevali
di t
yofsuchl aws.

50.I
.R.Coel
hov
.St
ateofTami
lNadu,
AIR2007SC861:
(2007)2SCC1

TheConst i
tuti
onbenchof5j udgesreferr
edt
hecasetohigherbench.Theproblem t
hatdr
ew
attent
ionbef oretheninej
udgebenchwaswhet hersuchevasi
onofjudici
alrevi
ew,usingt
he
constituti
onaldeviceofArt
icl
e31B, vi
olat
est
hebasicstr
uctur
e,ther
eforemakingtheexer
cise
ofAr t
icle31Br /wArti
cle368(post-
1973),av
iol
ati
onofbasicstr
ucture.Theabovejudgments
drewt heat t
enti
onoft heni
nejudges.

OnJanuary112007whiledel
iv
eri
ngthej
udgmentt he9JudgeConstit
uti
onalBenchofthe
SupremeCourthel
dthatAl
lamendmentstotheConstit
utionmadeonorafter24t
hApr i
l1973
bywhicht
heNi nt
hSchedul
eisamendedbyinclusi
onofv ari
ousl
awstherei
nshallhavetobe
test
edonthetouchst
oneofthebasi
coressent
ialfeat
uresoftheConst
it
uti
onasr efl
ect
edin
Ar
ti
cl
e21r
eadwi
thAr
ti
cle14,
Art
icl
e19,
andt
hepr
inci
pleunder
lyi
ngt
hem.

Toputitdi
ff
erent
lyev
ent houghanActi
sputintheNinthSchedul
ebyaConstit
utional
Amendment,it
sprovi
sionwouldbeopentoatt
ackont hegroundt
hatt
heydestroyordamage
thebasi
cstr
uctur
eifthefundament
alri
ghtorr
ight
sis/aret
akenawayorabrogatedpertai
nsor
pert
aintot
hebasicst
ructure.

TheSupr emeCour tf
urtherstatedt hatiftheval
idi
tyofanyNi nt
hSchedul
el awhasal readybeen
uphel dbyt hi
sCour t,
itwouldnotbeopent ochall
engesuchlawagainont heprinci plesdeclar
ed
byt hisjudgment .Howev er
,ifal awhel dtobev i
olati
veofanyr i
ght
sinPartIIIoftheConst it
uti
on
i
ssubsequent lyi ncorporat
edi nt heNinthScheduleafter24thApri
l1973,suchav iolation/
i
nfr acti
onshall beopent ochallengeont hegroundthatitdestr
oysordamagest hebasi c
structureasindi catedinAr t
icle21r eadwi t
hArti
cle14,Art
icl
e19,andthepr i
nciplesunder l
yi
ng
ther eunder.

Majori
tyj
udgmentinKesavanandaBhart
icasereadwithIndi
raGandhicaserequi
restheval
i
dit
y
ofeachConsti
tut
ionalamendmenttobejudgedonitsownmer it
s.I
mpacttest(whetheri
t
destr
oysthebasi
cstruct
ure)woul
ddeterminetheval
idi
tyofthechal
lenge.

Justi
fi
cati
onf orconfer
ringprotecti
on,notbl
anketpr
otect
iononthelawsincludedint
heIXt
h
SchedulebyConst i
tuti
onalAmendment sshal
lbeamat t
erofConsti
tut
ionaladjudi
cat
ionby
examini
ngt henature&ext entofinfr
acti
onofaFRbyast atut
e.

Theconsti
tuti
onalval
idi
tyoft
heNinthScheduleLawsont hetouchstoneofbasicstr
ucture
doct
ri
necanbeadj udgedbyappl
yi
ngt hedirectimpactandef fectt
est,i
.e.
,ri
ght
stest,which
meansthef or
m ofanamendmenti snottherelevantf
actor,buttheconsequencethereofwoul
d
bedeter
minativef
actor.

Acti
ontakenandt
ransact
ionsf
inal
i
zedasar
esul
toft
hei
mpugnedAct
sshal
lnotbeopent
o
chal
lenge.

51.Kesav
anandaBhar
ati
v.St
ateofKer
ala,
AIR1973SC1461

SC->'Theor
yofBasi
cStruct
ure'
-notamendabl
ebyPar
li
amentbyexer
ciseofi
tsconst
it
uent
powerunderAr
ti
cle368

24th,25t
hand29thammendmentstot
heConsti
tut
ionofI
ndiachal
lenged-mainquest
ions
rel
atedtonat
ure,
ext
ent&scopeofamendi
ngpowerofParl
iamentundertheConst
it
uti
on

Vi
ewoft
hemaj
ori
ty

(
1)L.C.Golaknat
hvsStat
eofPunj
abAIR1967SC1643(
whichhadhel
dthatf
undament
alr
ight
s
wer
ebey ondamendingPower
softhePar
li
ament
)wasover
rul
ed;
(2)TheConst
it
uti
on(24t
hAmendment
)Act1971(
giv
ingpowert
oPar
li
amentt
oamendanypar
t
oftheConst
it
uti
on)wasval
i
d;

(3)Art
icl
e368asamendedwasvali
dbuti
tdidnotconf
erpowerontheParli
amenttoalt
erthe
basicstr
uct
ureorfr
amewor
koftheConst
it
uti
on;Thecour
t,howev
erdidnotspell
outinany
exhausti
vemannerast
owhatt
hebasicst
ructur
e/f
rameworkwsexceptthatsomejudgesgave
afewexampl es

(
4)TheamendmentofAr
ti
cle368(
4)excl
udi
ngj
udi
cial
rev
iewofaconst
it
uti
onal
amendment
wasunconst
it
uti
onal
.

(
5)TheamendmentofAr t
icl
e31Ccont ai
ningthewords"andnolawcont
aini
ngadecl
arat
ion
t
hati
tisf
orgiv
ingef
fecttosuchpoli
cyshal l
becall
edinquesti
oninanycour
tonthegr
ounds
t
hati
tdoesnotgi
veeffecttosuchpol
icy"washeldinval
i
d;

Basi
cst
ruct
uremaybesai
dtoconsi
stoft
hef
oll
owi
ng(
SM Si
kri
CJ.
)

(
i)Supr
emacyoft
heconst
it
uti
on

(
ii
)Republ
i
cananddemocr
ati
cfor
msofGov
ernment
;

(
ii
i)Secul
archar
act
erofconst
it
uti
on

(
iv)Separ
ati
onofpowerbet
weent
hel
egi
slat
ure,
theexecut
iveandt
hej
udi
ciar
y;

(
v)Feder
alchar
act
eroft
heconst
it
uti
on

(
Landmar
kcase:
-13Judgesgav
e11di
sti
nctopi
nions)

I
twashel
dint
hiscase(
wrtPr
eambl
e):

a.t
hatt
hePr
eambl
etot
heConst
it
uti
onofI
ndi
aisapar
tofConst
it
uti
on

b.t
hatt
hePr
eambl
eisnotasour
ceofpowernorasour
ceofl
i
mit
ati
ons

c.t
hePreambl
ehasasignif
icantr
olet
opl ayi
nthei
nter
pret
ati
onofst
atues,
alsoi
nthe
i
nter
pret
ati
onofpr
ovi
sionsoftheConsti
tuti
on.

53.L.Chandr
aKumarv
.Uni
onofI
ndi
a,AI
R1997SC1125

I
ssues

1.Whet herthepowerconf er
redupontheParl
iamentbyAr t
icle323-A(2)(d)orupont heStat
e
Legisl
aturebyAr t
icl
e323-B( 3)(
d)oftheConsti
tut
ionofI
ndi a,t
ototall
yexcludethejuri
sdict
ion
of‘all
courts’,
exceptthatoftheSupr
emeCour tunderArt
icl
e136, inrespectofdisputesand
compl ai
ntsrefer
redtoinAr t
icl
e323-
A( 1)orwit
hregardt
oal loranyoft hemattersspecif
iedin
Ar
ti
cl
e323-B(2)
,runscontr
arytothepowerofjudi
cial
reviewconfer
redontheHighCourtunder
Ar
ti
cl
es226/227andont heSupremeCourtunderArti
cle32oftheConsti
tut
ionofIndi
a?

2.WhethertheTribunal
sconst
it
utedeit
herunderArt
icl
e323AorunderAr
ti
cle323Boft
he
Consti
tut
ion,possessthecompetencet
otesttheconsti
tut
ional
val
i
dit
yofastat
utor
ypr
ovi
sion
orrul
e?

3.Whet hertheTri
bunals,
astheyar efunct
ioningatpresent
,canbesaidt
obet heef
fect
ive
substi
tutesfortheHighCourti
ndi schargi
ngt hepowerofjudi
cial
revi
ew?Ifnot,
whatar
ethe
changesr equi
redtomaket hem conformtot heirf
oundingobj
ecti
ves?

Rat
io

-Powerofjudi
cialr
evi
ewoverl
egisl
ati
veacti
onvest
edi
ntheHighCourt
sandtheSupreme
CourtunderAr
ti
cles226and32respect
ivel
yist
hebasi
cst
ruct
ureoftheConst
it
uti
on.

-Powerofj
udi
cial
super
int
endenceoverdeci
sionsofal
lcour
tsandTr
ibunal
swi
thi
nthei
r
j
uri
sdi
cti
onist
hebasicstr
uct
ureoftheConsti
tuti
on

-Judici
alr
eviewoflegi
slat
iveact
ioninexer
ciseofpowerbysubor
dinat
ejudici
aryorTribunals
creat
edunderor di
nar
ylegi
slat
ioncannotbetotheexcl
usi
onoftheHighCour t
sandt he
SupremeCour t
.Howev ert
heycanperfor
m supplement
al–asopposedt osubsti
tut
ional–r ol
e
i
nt hi
srespect.

-Tribunalsconst i
tutedunderArt
icl
es323Aand323Bhav ethepowertotestvi
resof
subor di
natelegisl
ationexceptvi
resofthei
rparentstat
utes.Al
li
tsdeci
sionswouldbesubjectt
o
scrutinybeforeDiv i
sionBenchofthei
rrespecti
veHighCourtsunderAr
ti
cles226/227.No
appeal wouldliedirectl
ytotheSupremeCour tunderArt
icl
e136.Thesaiddir
ecti
onwould
oper ati
veprospect i
vely.

-Appoi
ntmentofAdmi
nist
rat
ivemember
sneednotbest
opped.

-Ti
llawholl
yindependentbodyissetfort
hepurposeofov
erseei
ngt
heworki
ngoft
heTr i
bunal
s,
al
lsuchTri
bunalswillbeundersi
nglenodalmi
nistr
ywhosememberswoul
dbeappropr
iatel
ybe
aMinist
ryofLaw.