EWS Reservation Case: Janhit Abhiyan Vs Union of India

Abstract

A bill to create an Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota for the social groups that did not benefit from the prior reservation was introduced in Parliament in 2019. A 10% quota was set aside for persons who may fall within the general category but are economically underprivileged after the 103rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution was approved by the Indian Parliament. This 103rd amendment added new clause 6 with an explanation to Article 15 and clause 6 to Article 16 of the Indian Constitution, providing for a maximum of ten percent reservation in educational institutions and employment for the economically disadvantaged sections of citizens other than the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, and the non-creamy layer of the other backward classes. The 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act was contested before the Apex Court through the filing of several writs’ petitions, SLPs, and transferred cases. The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court confirmed the constitutional validity of the 103rd Amendment with a 3:2 split decision in four distinct rulings under the case Janhit Abhiyan V. Union of India, 2022, dated November 7, 2022. The court had to decide if the EWS reservation would go against the fundamental principles of the Indian Constitution and whether it would exceed the established Supreme Court rulings on the fifty percent cap on reservations. The Supreme Court ruled that the 10% reservation would provide the poor upper caste people the importance and recognition they deserve. These people have long yearned for assistance but have consistently been denied access to government programs because of their upper-caste status. Additionally, this reservation would be a positive step in dispelling the myth that reservations are always awarded based on caste.