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In Re: Article 334 of the Constitution of India

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In Re: Article 334 of the Constitution of India

This case deals with the validity of the 104th Amendment of the Constitution which extended the period of reservations for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes to 80 years under Article 334 of the Constitution.

Petitioners Arguments
The Petitioners argue that the amendments made to Article 334 are against the basic feature of the Constitution. They argue that democracy has been recognised as one of the essential features of the Constitution by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and that the Amendment Act deprives the democratic rights of the petitioners i.e., the right to freely cast votes in elections, to stand for elections and to choose whom to vote for. Inasmuch as it is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, it deserves to be struck down.
Responders Arguments
Since no hearing has taken place, respondents have not yet put forth their arguments.
Last Listed On
2023-09-20
Start Date
2003-09-02
Card Stage Date
2003-09-02
Review Petition No
W.P. (C) No. 546/2000
Case Status
Pending
Bench Status
To be reconstituted
Subject Matter
Constitution
Pendency
22 years, 9 months, 28 days

5 Judge Bench

Awaiting bench reconstitution

Consider As Stage Of Pendency
true

Date of institution of case

Date of reference to larger Bench

Article 334 of the Constitution grants reservations in the Lok Sabha and State Legislatures to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the Anglo-Indian community. By 2000, the Article was amended five times, through The Constitution (8th Amendment) Act, 1969, The Constitution (23rd Amendment) Act 1969, The Constitution (45th Amendment) Act 1980, The Constitution (62nd Amendment) Act 1989, The Constitution (79th Amendment) Act 1999 . Each of these amendments extended the reservation period by a further 10 years. On 10-07-2000, Mr. Ashok Kumar Jain filed a petition challenging the validity of the 79th Amendment. He argued that the Amendment was against ‘democracy’ - previously held by the Supreme Court to be a ‘basic feature’ of the Constitution - by depriving citizens of their democratic rights, such as the right to freely cast votes in elections, to stand for elections and to choose whom to vote for. He also argued that the Amendment was violative of Right to Equality under Article 14 because it undermined the right to equal representation in government. On 02-09-2003, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court referred the matter to a 5-Judge Bench, because it involved interpretation of the Constitution. In 2009, the reservations were extended further to a period of 70 years through The Constitution (95th Amendment) Act 2009 . Finally, in 2020, the Parliament passed The Constitution (104th Amendment) Act 2019 , extending reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to 80 years. However, reservations for Anglo-Indians were discontinued. On 20-09-2023 , a five judge Bench of the Supreme Court passed an order stating that the case shall not impinge on the legitimacy of the amendments made to the Constitution prior to 2019, and restricts its scope to the validity to the 104th Amendment.

Is the Constitution (104th Amendment) Act 2019 unconstitutional? Was the exercise of the constituent power of amendment to extend the period of reservations for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes to 80 years under Article 334 of the Constitution constitutionally valid?

Constitution (104th Amendment) Act, 2019

The referral order in this case is just one paragraph long and does not contain detailed reasons for why the court deemed it fit to be placed before a Constitution Bench. The only reason alluded to by the Division Bench of the Supreme Court for referring the matter to a five Judge Bench is that the case involves interpretation of the Constitution.

NA

Amarnath Vaish v. Union of India

Date Of Institution Start
2022-11-25
Date Of Tagging
2023-09-20
Case No
T.C.(C) No. 87/2022

Anglo-Indian Representation in the Indian Parliament

Anglo-Indian Representation in the Indian Parliament
Source Of Info
SSRN
Date Of Fr
2022-05-18

Modi govt tables bill to extend reservation of SC/STs in legislatures by another 10 years

Modi govt tables bill to extend reservation of SC/STs in legislatures by another 10 years
Source Of Info
Financial Express
Date Of Fr
2019-12-09

End of Reservation for Anglo Indians?

End of Reservation for Anglo Indians?
Source Of Info
The Hindu
Date Of Fr
2019-12-05

Centre caught by surprise as SC constitution bench agrees to hear Art. 334 SC/ST reservation challenge in legislatures

Centre caught by surprise as SC constitution bench agrees to hear Art. 334 SC/ST reservation challenge in legislatures
Source Of Info
Legally India
Date Of Fr
2016-02-26

Right to Equality and the Reservation Policy

Right to Equality and the Reservation Policy
Source Of Info
JSTOR
Date Of Fr
2000-12-01