JUDGMENT

Dalveer Bhandari, J. —

1. The 93rd Amendment to the Constitution directly or indirectly affects millions of citizens of this country. It has been challenged in a number of writ petitions. This Court heard these petitions intermittently over the course of several months. Appearing on behalf of petitioners and respondents, the country’s finest legal minds assisted us.

2. The fundamental question that arises in these writ petitions is: Whether Article 15(5), inserted by the 93rd Amendment, is consistent with the other provisions of the Constitution or whether its impact runs contrary to the Constitutional aim of achieving a casteless and classless society?

3. On behalf of the petitioners, Senior Advocate Mr. F.S. Nariman, eloquently argued that if Article 15(5) is permitted to remain in force, then, instead of achieving the goal of a casteless and classless society, India would be converted into a caste-ridden society. The country would forever remain divided on caste lines. The Government has sought to repudiate this argument. Petitioners’ argument, however, echoes the grave concern of our Constitution’s original Framers.

4. On careful analysis of the Constituent Assembly