Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India

[2008] INSC 613, 6 SCC 1 (2008)

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Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India

India Supreme Court
[2008] INSC 613, 6 SCC 1 (2008)

KS

Facts

The Indian constitution prohibited discrimination based on religion, caste, sex, race, or place of birth. By amendment to the constitution, India clarified that the government could make special provisions to improve the access that social and educationally backward classes, scheduled tribes, and scheduled classes had to institutions of higher education. The amendment was intended to mitigate historic wrongs, including access to and opportunities for higher education. In 2006, government programs to improve access to higher education resulted in reserving approximately half of the seats in higher-education institutions for educationally backward classes, scheduled tribes, and scheduled classes. The other half of the seats were available for all other students. Ashoka Kumar Thakur (plaintiff) challenged as unconstitutional the imposition of reservation and quota systems within higher education by the Indian government (defendant). Thakur argued that the higher-education reservation and quota systems amounted to discrimination prohibited by the Indian constitution.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Pasayat, J.)

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