Article 15 of the Constitution of India

Article 15 of the Constitution of India forbids discrimination on grounds only of: 
1. religion, 
2. race, 
3. caste, 
4. sex, or 
5. place of birth

It applies Article 14's general principle of equality in specific situations by forbidding classifications made on protected grounds. 

While prohibiting discrimination based on prejudice, the Article is also the central issue in a large body of judicial decisions, public debate, and legislation revolving around affirmative action, reservations, and quotas. 

As of the 103rd Amendment of the Constitution of India, Article 15 has five clauses. 

General prohibition against state discrimination 
Clause (1) prohibits discrimination against citizens on protected grounds. 

(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people are also protected by Article 15, as discrimination against them is discrimination on the basis of 'sex' as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

Horizontal prohibition of denial of access

Clause (2) mandates that citizens may access various public or commercial spaces or utilities without discrimination on protected grounds. 

(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to: 

(a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and palaces of public entertainment; or 

(b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public

Clauses 3-6: Special provisions for disadvantaged groups
Clauses (3)-(5) create exceptions or 'special provisions' for these general prohibitions, by allowing the State to create special provisions for women, children, socially and educationally backward classes, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

Women and children

(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.

Socially and educationally backward classes

(4) Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

Reservations in educational institutions

(5) Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of Article 19 shall prevent the State from making any special provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes insofar as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private education institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of Article 30.

Economically weaker sections

(6) Nothing in this article or sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 or clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State from making— 

(a) any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5); and 

(b) any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5) in so far as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30, which in the case of reservation would be in addition to the existing reservations and subject to a maximum of ten per cent. of the total seats in each category.

Explanation — For the purposes of this article and article 16, "economically weaker sections" shall be such as may be notified by the State from time to time on the basis of family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage.

Ref: Wikipedia: 20210819
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