Article 15 is a provision in Part III (Fundamental Rights) of the Constitution of India, guaranteeing the right to equality by prohibiting discrimination. It was created when the Constitution was adopted in 1950 to address the historical problem of social and religious discrimination, particularly against lower castes and women, by applying the general principle of equality (Article 14) to specific situations.
The core mechanism is laid out in Article 15(1), which mandates that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. Article 15(2) extends this prohibition to both the State and private individuals regarding access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels, and the use of public wells and roads.
However, the Article contains exceptions that permit what is known as "protective discrimination" or affirmative action. Article 15(3) allows the State to make special provisions for women and children. The most significant changes have involved the introduction of clauses for reservation. Article 15(4) was inserted by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, to enable the State to make special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs). This was a direct response to the Supreme Court's ruling in State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan (1951), which invalidated caste-based reservations under the original Article 15(1).
Later, Article 15(5) was added by the Constitution (Ninety-Third Amendment) Act, 2005, allowing the State to make special provisions for the admission of SCs, STs, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) into educational institutions, including private unaided ones (except minority institutions).
Most recently, Article 15(6) was inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019, which allows the State to make special provisions, including up to 10% reservation, for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in educational institutions. This amendment was upheld by the Supreme Court in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India (2022), extending the basis of affirmative action beyond social and educational backwardness to include purely economic criteria. Article 15 is closely connected to Article 16, which deals with equality of opportunity in public employment, and both are central to the concept of social justice and reservation policy in India.