Article 15(4) is a crucial constitutional provision that functions as an exception to the fundamental right against discrimination guaranteed under Article 15(1). It is an enabling provision that empowers the State to make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens (SEBCs) or for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs).
This clause was not part of the original Constitution but was introduced by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, which came into effect on June 18, 1951. The amendment was necessitated by the Supreme Court's judgment in State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan (1951). In that case, the Court struck down the Madras government's Communal G.O. providing for caste-based reservations, holding that the Directive Principles of State Policy (like Article 46) could not override the Fundamental Rights, specifically the prohibition of discrimination in Article 15(1) and Article 29(2). The insertion of Article 15(4) solved this problem by constitutionally validating the State's power to implement affirmative action.
The mechanism of Article 15(4) explicitly overrides the non-discrimination clauses of Article 15 and Article 29(2), stating that "Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State" from making special provisions. This power is primarily used to provide reservation of seats for SCs, STs, and SEBCs in public educational institutions.
The concept is intrinsically linked to Article 16(4), which provides for reservation in public employment and was also inserted by the First Amendment Act, 1951. While the core text of Article 15(4) remains unchanged, the overall framework of Article 15 has been supplemented by subsequent amendments. For instance, Article 15(5) was added later to extend the special provision to admissions in private educational institutions (except minority institutions), and Article 15(6) was introduced to allow special provisions for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).