{"id":12274,"date":"2025-11-26T05:42:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T05:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/?p=12274"},"modified":"2025-11-26T05:46:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T05:46:16","slug":"equality-vs-equity-in-india-constitutional-basis-reservations-social-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/equality-vs-equity-in-india-constitutional-basis-reservations-social-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Equality vs Equity in India: Constitutional Basis, Reservations &amp; Social Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"equality-or-equity\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Equality_or_Equity\"><\/span>Equality or Equity?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In a democracy such as India, the establishment of the notion of equality is an ongoing fight among many individuals and cultures. Yet, in a country marked by deep-rooted social, economic, and caste-based hierarchies, formal equality cannot achieve real equality. The challenge, therefore, is not simply guaranteeing \u201cequal treatment\u201d but ensuring equitable outcomes so that historically disadvantaged groups can meaningfully enjoy the rights that the Constitution promises.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/equality-vs-equity-in-india-constitutional-basis-reservations-social-justice\/#Equality_or_Equity\" >Equality or Equity?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/equality-vs-equity-in-india-constitutional-basis-reservations-social-justice\/#Existing_Inequalities_and_the_Struggle_for_Rights\" >Existing Inequalities and the Struggle for Rights<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/equality-vs-equity-in-india-constitutional-basis-reservations-social-justice\/#Constitutional_Basis_for_Equitable_Measures\" >Constitutional Basis for Equitable Measures<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/equality-vs-equity-in-india-constitutional-basis-reservations-social-justice\/#Responsibility_of_the_State_to_Ensure_Equality\" >Responsibility of the State to Ensure Equality<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/equality-vs-equity-in-india-constitutional-basis-reservations-social-justice\/#Reservation_Policy_for_Upliftment\" >Reservation Policy for Upliftment<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/equality-vs-equity-in-india-constitutional-basis-reservations-social-justice\/#References\" >References:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h3 id=\"existing-inequalities\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Existing_Inequalities_and_the_Struggle_for_Rights\"><\/span>Existing Inequalities and the Struggle for Rights<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We must improve laws, regulations, and social services to combat inequality in society. There have been several instances of untouchability faced in the past by people belonging to lower sections of society. So how can we implement equality in a place where so many inequalities already exist? And where most of the people are not aware of their rights and suffer the ill effects of exploitation?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Applying equality in literal terms might increase present inequalities.<\/li>\n<li>There is a need to uplift less advantaged people and make them equal in society.<\/li>\n<li>Only then can equality be ideally implemented as intended by the constitutional drafters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By this, we can understand that India does not follow \u201cAbsolute Equality\u201d but the concept of \u201cEquity\u201d by considering various sections of the society (the underprivileged and backward situations) and has interpreted equality in a way that allows certain inequalities (<strong>in the form of reservations<\/strong>) to promote the very concept of equality in the long run.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"constitutional-basis\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Constitutional_Basis_for_Equitable_Measures\"><\/span>Constitutional Basis for Equitable Measures<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Article<\/th>\n<th>Provision \/ Beneficiaries<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>15(4) &amp; 15(5)<\/td>\n<td>Special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes, SCs &amp; STs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>16(4)<\/td>\n<td>Reservation in government employment for backward classes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>46<\/td>\n<td>Promotion of educational &amp; economic interests of SCs, STs, and weaker sections<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>By the face of it, it may seem as inequality and sheer violation of Article 14 of the constitution however by applying various rules of interpretation and keeping in mind the ground level reality of India, the way \u201cequality\u201d is implemented has been changed by the competent courts for the benefit of the people belonging from socially and educationally backward classes, other backward classes, SC and ST, etc and for the ultimate development of India as a country.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court has clarified that Article 14 does not mandate absolute equality, but permits reasonable classification based on intelligible differentia and rational nexus (State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar, 1952). This interpretation allows the State to treat unequals differently to achieve substantive fairness. In other words, the Right to Equality has been implemented in a practical sense so that no one is deprived of their rights.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"responsibility-of-state\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Responsibility_of_the_State_to_Ensure_Equality\"><\/span>Responsibility of the State to Ensure Equality<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It is the responsibility of the state to ensure equality for all its citizens in all aspects. However, there are various sections in society that do not have the basic resources to compete with the upper class. They have been suppressed for generations either by the Britishers or by the upper cast themselves.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"reservation-policy\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Reservation_Policy_for_Upliftment\"><\/span>Reservation Policy for Upliftment<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Provides a level playing field to disadvantaged communities.<\/li>\n<li>Ensures government and professional jobs are not limited to privileged groups.<\/li>\n<li>Enables socially and economically backward classes to explore opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To provide those people with a level playing field, the policy of reservation was adopted by the constitutional drafters for the upliftment of SC, ST, and OBC so that the government and professional jobs do not remain limited to the well-to-do people in the society, and the socially and economically backward class of people can also explore such options.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"References\"><\/span>References:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>kanoongpt.in\/bare-acts\/constitution-of-india\/articles-part-iii-right-to-equality-article-14-158cb417a5f61c97<\/li>\n<li>https:\/\/kanoongpt.in\/bare-acts\/constitution-of-india\/articles-part-iii-right-to-equality-article-15-90247a8de59a1514<\/li>\n<li>https:\/\/kanoongpt.in\/bare-acts\/constitution-of-india\/articles-part-iii-right-to-equality-article-16(4)bec08bc5700cfd21<\/li>\n<li>https:\/\/kanoongpt.in\/bare-acts\/constitution-of-india\/articles-part-iv-article-46-66388fa0068dfe3e<\/li>\n<li>State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar, AIR 1952 SC 75<\/li>\n<li>State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas, (1976) 2 SCC 310<\/li>\n<li>Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, 1992 Supp (3) SCC 217<\/li>\n<li>M. Nagaraj v. Union of India, (2006) 8 SCC 212<\/li>\n<li>Jarnail Singh v. Lachhmi Narain Gupta, (2018) 10 SCC 396<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Equality or Equity? In a democracy such as India, the establishment of the notion of equality is an ongoing fight among many individuals and cultures. Yet, in a country marked by deep-rooted social, economic, and caste-based hierarchies, formal equality cannot achieve real equality. The challenge, therefore, is not simply guaranteeing \u201cequal treatment\u201d but ensuring equitable<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"two_page_speed":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[775,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-12274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-constitutional-law","7":"tag-constitutional-law","8":"tag-top-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/813"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}