Patanjali Civil Services Academy

Supreme Court on Religion-Neutrality of OBC Reservation

Tags: Prelims Current events of national and international importance

Source: The Hindu

Recent judgment (15 October 2026): SC held that a Hindu OBC individual loses OBC reservation entitlement upon conversion to another religion, reasoning that the entitlement is linked to the Hindu social order and the source of social backwardness.
OBC classification: Generally religion-neutral; communities are assessed using social, educational and economic backwardness indicators.
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992): Upheld OBC reservations; caste cannot be the sole criterion for identifying OBCs.
Key issue: Whether backwardness persists after religious conversion and whether its source must be linked to the social structure of the original religion.

OBC, SC and ST: Religion Criterion

OBCs: No general religion-based exclusion; backwardness is assessed through prescribed criteria.
Scheduled Castes (SCs): Eligibility is governed by the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which specifies eligible religious communities.
Scheduled Tribes (STs): Identification is not restricted by religion; eligibility depends on the notified tribe and applicable constitutional provisions.

Prelims Facts

Article 15(4): Enables special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes, SCs and STs.
Article 16(4): Enables reservation in public employment for backward classes inadequately represented in State services.
Article 340: Provides for appointment of a commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes.

Q1. With reference to the constitutional framework governing reservations in India, consider the following statements:

Article 15(4) empowers the State to make special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Article 16(4) provides reservation in public employment for every socially and educationally backward individual, irrespective of whether the relevant backward class is inadequately represented in State services.
The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, makes religious affiliation relevant to eligibility for Scheduled Caste status.
Scheduled Tribe status is subject to the same general religious restriction as Scheduled Caste status under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(d) All four

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is Correct: Article 15(4) enables special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes, SCs and STs.
Statement 2 is Incorrect: Article 16(4) concerns backward classes that, in the State's opinion, are inadequately represented in State services. It does not guarantee reservation to every individual who is backward.
Statement 3 is Correct: The 1950 Order specifies the religious eligibility conditions for Scheduled Caste recognition.
Statement 4 is Incorrect: Scheduled Tribe identification is not subject to the same general religious restriction. Eligibility depends on the notified tribe and the applicable constitutional framework.