Article 16 – Equality of Opportunity in Public Employment

Article 16 – Equality of Opportunity in Public Employment 

Clause (1)

• Equality of opportunity for all citizensin matters of:
  • Employment or appointment to any office under the State

Clause (2)

• No discrimination or ineligibility only on grounds of:
  • Religion
  • Race
  • Caste
  • Sex
  • Descent
  • Place of birth
  • Residence

Clause (3)

• Parliament may prescribe residence requirementsfor certain classes of employment or offices:
  • Under State Government, local authority, or Union Territory

Clause (4)

• State may provide reservation in appointments or postsfor:
  • Backward classes of citizens
  • If inadequately represented in State services

Clause (4A)

• State may provide reservation in promotion with consequential seniorityfor:
  • Scheduled Castes (SCs)
  • Scheduled Tribes (STs)
• If inadequately represented in State services

Clause (4B)

• Unfilled reserved vacancies (backlog)of a year:
  • Can be carried forward to subsequent years
  • Treated as a separate class
  • Not counted for 50% ceiling of the current year

Clause (5)

• Laws requiring a person to profess a particular religion or denominationfor offices connected with:
  • Religious or denominational institutions remain unaffected

Clause (6)

• State may provide reservation in appointments or postsfor:
  • Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)
  • Other than classes under clause (4)
• Reservation:
  • In addition to existing reservations
  • Maximum 10% of posts in each category