RESERVATION AND THE RIGHT TO EQUALITY: A CONSTITUTIONAL DILEMMA

AUTHOR – TEJESHVI SRIVASTAV, STUDENT AT CITY LAW COLLEGE, CHINHUT

BEST CITATION – TEJESHVI SRIVASTAV, RESERVATION AND THE RIGHT TO EQUALITY: A CONSTITUTIONAL DILEMMA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (13) OF 2025, PG. 595-601, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

Alright, so here‟s the deal: The Indian Constitution swears up and down that everyone gets equal treatment—yeah, that‟s Articles 14 to 18 for you. But then, in the same breath, it‟s like, “Oh, by the way, we‟re gonna give some folks a leg up because they‟ve been left behind socially or educationally.” Confused yet? „Cause honestly, that‟s where the mess starts. How can you say you‟re treating everyone the same while handing out special passes to some? This paper dives into that mess. We‟ll poke at the big court cases— remember Indra Sawhney v. Union of India? And the more recent EWS reservation drama? Judges have bent over backward trying to figure out what “equality” even means. The big question—are reservations actually leveling the playing field, or are they just making things more lopsided? In the end, the paper argues we have to walk a tightrope: help the folks falling behind, sure, but don‟t turn reservations into a forever free ride. Justice—not a permanent crutch.

Keywords: Article 14, EWS (Economically Weaker Section), Indra Sawhney case, Indian Constitution