Legislations and Government Orders

to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India. Article 341: Defining Scheduled Caste: The President may with respect to any State or Union territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Castes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case may be. Article 342: Defining Scheduled Tribe: The President may with respect to any State or Union territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case may be. The Constitution of India aims to establish not only political democracy but also socioeconomic justice to the people to establish a welfare state. With this purpose in mind, our Constitution lays down desirable principle and guidelines in Part IV known as the Directive Principle of State Policy. Directive Principles of State Policy Articles 38, 39, 41, 45, 46 and 47 in Part IV (“Directive Principles of State Policy”) of the Constitution are especially relevant for disadvantaged sections Article 38.1: The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.

Article 38. 2: The State shall, in particular, strive to minimise the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.

Article 39: The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing— a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood; b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good; c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment; d) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength;

e) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment. Article 41: Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases. As instructed in this article, the State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want.

Article 45: Provision for free and compulsory education for children. It says that the State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years. Article 46: Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes and other weaker sections. It says that the State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Article 47: Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health. It says that the State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purpose of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.

Legislations on “Reservations”

The Central Educational Institutions (CEIs) (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 The Central Educational Institutions(CEIs) (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 provides for the reservation of students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs)/ Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) of citizens to the extent of 15%, 7.5% and 27%, respectively, in Central Educational Institutions (CEIs) established, maintained or aided by the Central Government subject to exceptions provided under Section 4 of the Act and subject to special provisions for regions specified in the amendment to the Act in 2012. The implementation of the provisions of the CEI Act, 2006 in Central Educational Institutions is being followed in letter and spirit.

The West Bengal State Higher Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2013 & Rule 2014 The act provides for reservation of seats for admission of the students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes of West Bengal to certain Higher Educational Institutions in the State of West Bengal, established, maintained or aided by the State Government to enable and encourage them to get access to the higher education. As per the provisions in the act, out of the total annual permitted strength in each stream of every Higher