In Brief
The Supreme Court was petitioned to declare The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 unconstitutional. The Amendment added Articles 15(6) and 16(6), permitting up to ten percent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs for economically weaker sections (EWS). Petitioners argued this violated the Constitution's basic structure—particularly the equality code—and contradicted prior rulings requiring backwardness determinations based on social criteria. The Court held that these issues constitute substantial questions of constitutional interpretation requiring a five-judge Constitutional Bench. Without deciding the merits, the Court referred the matter to a larger bench and transferred similar writ petitions from various High Courts to the Supreme Court for consolidated hearing.
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