Summary
Challenges to the 103rd Constitutional Amendment enabling reservation for economically weaker sections raised substantial questions of constitutional interpretation requiring a five-Judge Bench. Questions concerned the equality-based basic structure, economic criteria and reservation beyond the asserted 50% ceiling. The Court expressly declined to decide validity at this stage. Related High Court petitions were transferred to the Supreme Court and the batch referred for constitution of the larger Bench.
Issues
- Whether challenges to Articles 15(6) and 16(6) required consideration by a five-Judge Bench.
- Whether related High Court challenges should be transferred to the Supreme Court.
Provisions considered
- Article 145(3), Constitution of IndiaRequired at least five Judges to decide substantial questions concerning constitutional interpretation. (¶¶ 14, 15, 16, 18)
- Order XXXVIII Rule 1(1), Supreme Court Rules, 2013Supported referral of Article 32 petitions raising substantial constitutional questions. (¶¶ 15, 16)
- Article 139A(1), Constitution of IndiaSupported transfer of High Court petitions challenging the same constitutional amendment. (¶¶ 17, 18)
Held
- The challenge to the constitutional amendment raised substantial questions about the equality provisions and basic structure, including the width and identity tests, economic criteria for affirmative action and the asserted 50% reservation limit. These required a five-Judge Bench under Article 145(3) and the applicable Court Rules. (¶¶ 14, 15, 16)
- The Court made no determination of the amendment’s validity or the competing arguments on the merits. Hearing those arguments for the referral question did not amount to resolving the constitutional challenge. (¶¶ 14, 16, 18)
- The identified High Court petitions concerned the same amendment already under challenge before the Supreme Court. Transfer was appropriate to avoid conflicting findings; their records were to be transmitted and the transferred cases included in the reference. (¶¶ 17, 18)
Result
Transfer petitions allowed and the batch, including transferred cases, referred to a five-Judge Bench. Registry directed to place the matters before the Chief Justice for appropriate orders. Constitutional validity left undecided.