Article 15 of the Indian Constitution prohibits discrimination against any person on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. Discrimination is when a person is distinguished or treated differentially or in a less favorable manner to another person under similar circumstances but discrimination can be made under some circumstances such as In the case of Kathi Raning Rawat v. State of Saurashtra, The court states that all kinds of legislative differentiation are not discriminatory.

Article 15 Clause (3), (4), and (5) itself are an exception to Article 15 Clause (1) and (2). Article 15 Clause (3), (4), and (5) states that the legislature is free to formulate special provisions regarding:-

• women and children,
• advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,
• Admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions.

Clause (3) of Article 15 of the Indian constitution talks about special provisions for women and children to protect them from the bonds of formal equality and it is justified because it compensates for early injustice met by women and children from the male-dominated society. So, the government had to take certain steps in order to protect their benefits such as the Right to free and compulsory education for children under the age of 14 years, section 56 of CPC, the Maternity Benefit Act,2017, etc.
In Choki v. the State of Rajasthan, Mt. Choki and her husband have been prosecuted for the murder of their child, the application of bail was presented before the court on the plea that she is an imprisoned woman and there is no one to look after her young son. The court rejected the application of plea saying that there were no circumstances and the Constitution has no provisions under which leniency could be shown to any person on account of her sex. The same was challenged before the Supreme Court and Supreme Court granted her bail as it is necessary for the state to protect the rights of a child who is depending on them.
Clause 3 of Article 15 also enables the government to frame special laws related to the protection of women and the abolition of sexual harassment. The sexual harassment of women that had become a big problem in society. the supreme court in the famous Vishaka case. This case led to the formulation of the Vishaka guidelines to deal with such problems.

Clause (4) of Article 15 of the Indian constitution allows the state to make laws and provisions relating to the advancement of socially and educationally backward peoples of these classes and for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The phrase “socially and educationally backward classes” under Article 15(4) refers to underprivileged classes of people who have faced discrimination and prejudice from the privileged class.
In Indira Sawhney v. Union of India, AIR 1993 SC 477, the court introduced 27% reservation for the ‘Other Backward Classes’ and put up a limit of 50% as the total percentage of reservation so the right to equality there could not be breached. Supreme Court also provided for the guidelines to exceed the limit of reservation under certain situations.

Article 15 acts as a shield against discrimination, it is an extension of Article 14 which talks about equality among individuals and equality before the law. It means that equals should be treated equally and unequal to be treated unequally, in order to help the Indian society to progress against such a huge diversity and all kinds of sexism, racism, and rigid caste.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

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