In Brief
Tamil Nadu's 2016 loan waiver scheme granted crop loan forgiveness exclusively to small and marginal farmers. The Madras High Court struck it down as violating equality rights under the Constitution. The Supreme Court reversed this decision, upholding the scheme as constitutionally valid. The Court held that benefit schemes implementing state welfare policy do not breach equality provisions merely by targeting specific groups. The classification of small and marginal farmers—who face greater economic vulnerability and climate-related hardship—was rationally connected to the scheme's object of relieving rural poverty, satisfying constitutional requirements for reasonable classification.
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