The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act of 2019 introduced a 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) class in India. The EWS is a subcategory of people with a family annual income of less than 8 lakhs. To qualify for this category, the applicant must meet all the EWS economic requirements and not fall under the SC, ST, or OBC categories. Only applicants from the general category are eligible for the 10% reservation if they meet the criteria.

History:

The 10% EWS reservation was implemented by the government to help economically weak individuals. In January 2019, the Indian government approved the bill for the One Hundred and Third Amendment Act, which passed in parliament. On January 12, 2019, the President approved the bill, and the 103rd Constitutional Amendment came into effect on January 14, 2019.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act of 2019 amended Article 15(6) and 16(6) of the Indian Constitution to authorize 10% reservations for the EWS category. The amendment increased the total reservation quota to 59.5% from 49.5%, breaching the 50% reservation ceiling limit set by the Supreme Court in Indira Sawhney & Others v. Union of India case. In 2019, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court of India to challenge the EWS quota, but the court refused to stay the reservation and agreed to hear the challenging petition.

In November 2022, a five-judge constitutional bench headed by former CJI UU Lalit upheld the EWS reservation in government jobs and education by a majority view of 3:2 in the verdict of Janhit Abhiyan vs Union of India.

Effects of the 103rd Constitutional Amendments:

The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act of 2019 amended Articles 15(6) and 16(6) of the Indian Constitution to permit 10% reservations for the EWS category. Article 15(6) allows for special provisions for the advancement of economically weaker sections and their admission to educational institutions. The article applies to private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the state, and would be in addition to existing reservations, subject to a maximum of 10% of the total seats in each category. The eligibility of economically weaker sections is determined by the state based on family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage.

Article 16(6) allows for the reservation of appointments or posts in favor of economically weaker sections, in addition to existing reservations, subject to a maximum of 10% of the posts in each category.

Eligibility Criteria:

To be eligible for the EWS reservation, the applicant must fall under the general category, with an annual family income below 8 lakhs, agricultural land less than 5 acres, and a residential flat area less than 1000 square feet. The EWS reservation is not applicable to those falling under the SC, ST, or OBC categories.

CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS

The EWS reservation has breached the 50% reservation limit set by the Supreme Court's nine-judge bench in the Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India case. The current reservation quota is 59.5%, and there is no defined reservation boundary. It is imperative that the government or the Supreme Court define the limits of reservation to avoid exceeding them in the future.

The government has set a high limit of Rs. 8 lakh per annum for family income, which applies to more than 90% of families as reported by NSSO and IT department. The limit needs to be revised to alleviate congestion in the EWS reservation.

Reservations have been the solution to eliminate inequality in Indian society, and the government introduces new reservation policies with each new administration. There are four classes of reservation in India, namely SC, ST, OBC, and EWS reservation of the recent past. There is uncertainty on whether there will be another future reservation policy.

CONCLUSION

The debate about the reservation policy has been ongoing, but it is clear that it is now a significant part of Indian society. The reservation policy has progressively increased over time to exceed all established limits. The new government brings fresh reservation concepts to address the inequality in the country. The recent Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 introduced a 10% reservation for the economically weaker section class to support the underprivileged general category. However, there are still challenges for the EWS to overcome to secure their path in reservation.

[1] Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India AIR 1993 SC 477, 1992 Supp 2 SCR 454

[2] Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India Writ Petition (C) NO.55 of 2019

[3] INDIA CONST. art. 15, cl 6, amended by The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019

[4] INIDA CONST. art. 16, cl 6, amended by The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019