{"id":29883,"date":"2026-08-12T08:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T08:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/?p=29883"},"modified":"2026-08-12T08:14:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T08:14:30","slug":"janhit-abhiyan-v-union-of-india-ews-reservation-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/janhit-abhiyan-v-union-of-india-ews-reservation-supreme-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India: Supreme Court Upholds EWS Reservation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/span>Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India: Constitutional Validity of EWS Reservation<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the landmark decision of Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India<\/em>, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019, which introduced reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). The majority opinion, authored by Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, Bela M. Trivedi, and J.B. Pardiwala, dismissed the challenge to the 103rd Amendment, while the dissenting view of Justice S. Ravindra Bhatt did not prevail. This 3:2 verdict marked the first instance of the Court sanctioning reservation grounded purely in economic status, thereby affirming poverty as a legitimate basis for affirmative action. The judgment further clarified that classes already covered under Articles 15(4), 15(5), and 16(4) stand excluded from EWS benefits, and held that the 50% reservation ceiling laid down in Indra Sawhney<\/em>[1]<\/a> is not an inviolable rule, but may be exceeded in exceptional circumstances.<\/p>

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