Article 16 (4) of the Indian constitution provides that the State can enact legislation for the reservation of posts in the government sector or jobs in favour of the backward classes of citizens, which the State considers to have not been adequately represented in the services of the State.

In the past seven decades of constitutional jurisprudence on reservations, the Supreme Court of India has consistently referred to the notions of “efficiency” and “merit,” while adjudicating the validity of various reservation policies.

The Court has held in several judgments — Indra Sawhney v Union of India 1993; M Nagaraj v Union of India 2006,etc., — that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4) of the Constitution would be limited by Article 335, which provides for “maintenance of efficiency of administration,” while considering the claims of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the making of appointments to public services and posts.

Article 335 states that the claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State. This Article, has however, not defined the expression ‘efficiency of administration’.Thus the Constitution does not define the term “efficiency of administration.”

However, the judiciary has filled this gap in interpretation through B K Pavitra (II) v Union of India case,
2019 wherein the judiciary held that “efficiency of administration in the affairs of the union or of a
state must be defined in an inclusive sense, where diverse segments of society find representation as
a true aspiration of governance by and for the people.”

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUES . Consider the following statements: UPSC 2023

Statement-I: The Supreme Court of India has held in some judgements that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India would be limited by Article 335 for maintenance of efficiency of the administration.

Statement-II: Article 335 of the Constitution of India defines the term ‘efficiency of administration’.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statements-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement- II is the correct explanation for
Statement-I

(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for
Statement-I

(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

(d) Statement -I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Ans (c)