Indian constitution | Page 9

before
law.
1Ins. by the Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1971, s. 2.

15. (1) The State shall not discriminate against any
citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place
of birth or any of them.
(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
places 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.
(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from
making any special provision for women and children.
1[(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.]
2[(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 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.]
16. (1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all
citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment
to any office under the State.
(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of
them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect
of, any employment or office under the State.
(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament
from making any law prescribing, in regard to a class or
classes of employment or appointment to an office
THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
(Part III.—Fundamental Rights.—Arts. 15-16.)
Prohibition of
discrimination on
grounds of
religion, race,
caste, sex or place
of birth.
7
Equality of
opportunity in
matters of public
employment.
1Added by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, s. 2.2Ins. by the Constitution (Ninety-third Amendment) Act, 2005, s. 2 (w.e.f. 20-1-2006).

1[under the Government of, or any local or other authority
within, a State or Union territory, any requirement as to
residence within that State or Union territory] prior to
such employment or appointment.
(4) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from
making any provision for the reservation of appointments
or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which,
in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented
in the services under the State.
2[(4A) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State
from making any provision for reservation 3[in matters
of promotion, with consequential seniority, to any class]
or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour
of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which,
in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented
in the services under the State.]
4[(4B) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State
from considering any unfilled vacancies of a year which
are reserved for being filled up in that year in accordance
with any provision for reservation made under clause (4)
or clause (4A) as a separate class of vacancies to be filled
up in any succeeding year or years and such class of
vacancies shall not be considered together with the
vacancies of the year in which they are being filled up for
determining the ceiling of fifty per cent. reservation on
total number of vacancies of that year.]
(5) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of
any law which provides that the incumbent of an office
in connection with the affairs of any religious or
denominational institution or any member of the
governing body thereof shall be a person professing a
particular religion or belonging to a particular
denomination.
17. “Untouchability” is abolished and its practice in
any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability
arising out of “Untouchability” shall be an offence
punishable in accordance with law.
18. (1) No title, not being a military or academic
distinction, shall be conferred by the State.
(2) No citizen of India shall accept any title from any
foreign State.
THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
(Part III.—Fundamental Rights.—Arts. 16—18.) 8
1Subs. by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch., for “under
any State specified in the First Schedule or any local or other authority within its territory, any
requirement as to residence within that State”.
2Ins. by the Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995, s. 2.3Subs. by the Constitution (Eighty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2001, s. 2, for certain words
(w.e.f. 17-6-1995).
4Ins. by the Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment) Act, 2000, s. 2 (w.e.f. 9-6-2000).
Abolition of
Untouchability.
Abolition of titles.

THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
(Part III.—Fundamental Rights.—Arts. 18-19.)9
(3) No person who is not a citizen of India shall,
while he holds any office of profit or trust under the
State, accept without the consent of the President any
title from any foreign State.
(4) No person holding any office of profit or trust
under the State shall, without the consent of the President,
accept any present, emolument, or office of any kind
from or under any foreign State.
Right