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Constitution of India · Part III: Fundamental Rights · Right to Equality

Article 15: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth

In plain words

The State cannot discriminate against any citizen only on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. No citizen can be denied access to shops, restaurants, hotels and places of entertainment, or the use of wells, tanks, ghats, roads and public places, on those grounds.

  • The State can make special provisions for women and children.
  • It can make special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes and for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, including in admissions to educational institutions, other than minority institutions.
  • It can make special provisions for economically weaker sections, including reservations in admissions up to a maximum of ten per cent of seats, in addition to existing reservations.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Read the in-depth explanation, with key Supreme Court rulings ↓

Official text

(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. [(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.] [(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.] [(6) Nothing in this article or sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 or clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State from making,—

(a) any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5); and

(b) any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5) 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, which in the case of reservation would be in addition to the existing reservations and subject to a maximum of ten per cent. of the total seats in each category.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this article and article 16, "economically weaker sections" shall be such as may be notified by the State from time to time on the basis of family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage.]

Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the official text of the Constitution of India. As amended up to the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023. Text as on 10 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Understanding this article

Article 15 forbids the State from discriminating against citizens only on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, or any of them. It is a specific application of the equality in Article 14. Its later clauses then permit special provisions for women, children, socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and economically weaker sections.

Only on these grounds

The word only matters. A law is not invalid merely because it affects one sex or caste more than another; it is invalid if the distinction rests only on a prohibited ground. Where other factors, such as residence or backwardness, are the real basis, Article 15(1) is not breached.

Horizontal application

Clause (2) goes beyond the State: no citizen may be denied access to shops, public restaurants, hotels, places of entertainment, wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort on these grounds.

Special provisions

  • Clause (3): special provisions for women and children.
  • Clause (4): advancement of socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
  • Clause (5): reservation in admission to educational institutions, including private unaided ones (minority institutions excluded).
  • Clause (6): special provisions, including up to ten per cent reservation, for economically weaker sections.

Sex includes sexual orientation

The Supreme Court has held that discrimination on the ground of sex includes discrimination based on sexual orientation, and that protective laws restricting women's choices out of stereotypes violate Article 15 rather than protect women.

Economic criteria

In 2022 a Constitution Bench, by majority, upheld the reservation for economically weaker sections, holding that reservation based purely on economic criteria does not violate the basic structure, and that the exclusion of classes already covered by other reservations is permissible.

Key Supreme Court rulings

  • Anuj Garg v. Hotel Association of India 2007 INSC 1242

    A law prohibiting employment of women (and men under twenty five) in premises serving liquor violated Articles 14, 15 and 19(1)(g); protective discrimination based on stereotypes cannot be sustained in a changed society.

  • Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India 2022 INSC 1175

    Upheld the 103rd Amendment, which inserted Article 15(6) and Article 16(6) enabling up to ten per cent reservation for economically weaker sections other than those covered by existing reservations.

  • Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India 2018 INSC 790

    Read down section 377 of the IPC; in the judgment it was held that sex in Article 15 includes sexual orientation, so discrimination on that basis is prohibited.

Common mistakes

  • Ignoring the word only in clause (1).
  • Thinking Article 15 binds only the State. Clause (2) also applies to access to public places.
  • Treating all protective laws for women as valid under clause (3) even when based on stereotypes.

Read with: Article 14 Constitution, Article 16 Constitution, Article 46 Constitution

Prepared with AI assistance as a study aid. Every ruling listed was checked against the Supreme Court's own judgments on this site, and quoted words appear in those judgments; linked names open the full judgment. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them. Not legal advice.

Supreme Court judgments citing the article 15