105th Amendment Act, 2021: SEBC Identification Power

SEBC states power refers to the authority of state governments and Union territories to identify and maintain their own lists of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) for reservation purposes — a power restored by the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021. The amendment came into force on 15 September 2021 and was Parliament's direct response to a Supreme Court ruling that had read this power out of the Constitution three years after the 102nd Amendment Act, 2018 was passed.

Background: The 102nd Amendment and the NCBC

The question of who identifies backward classes has a long constitutional history. In Indra Sawhney v Union of India (1992), the Supreme Court upheld 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in central government jobs and directed the government to set up a body to identify backward classes on the principles it had laid down. Parliament responded with the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993, which came into force on 1 February 1993 and created a statutory (non-constitutional) commission.

The Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018 upgraded this arrangement by inserting two new provisions into the Constitution:

• Article 338B, giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), with its Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Members appointed by the President.
• Article 342A, empowering the President to notify, by public notification and after consulting the Governor, the socially and educationally backward classes for a state or Union territory. Clause (2) allowed Parliament, by law, to include in or exclude from this list any SEBC.

The stated intent behind Article 342A was to govern the Central List of SEBCs — the list used for central government purposes. It was not meant to strip states of their own, separate power to identify backward classes for state-level reservation.

The Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil Verdict

After the 102nd Amendment came into force, Maharashtra enacted a law recognising the Maratha community as an SEBC and extending reservation benefits to it. This law was challenged before the Supreme Court. In Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil v Union of India (2021), a Constitution Bench, by a 3:2 majority, held that once Articles 338B and 342A had been inserted, the states no longer had an independent power to identify SEBCs. The majority reasoned that after the amendment, "the final word concerning the exclusion or inclusion (or modification) of SEBCs first rests with the President, and thereafter, in case of exclusion or modification from the previously published list, with the Parliament." On this reading, the Maratha reservation law fell outside the states' competence, and the reservation was struck down.

The ruling effectively centralised SEBC identification for all practical reservation purposes, unsettling reservation policies that many states had built and administered on their own for decades, and raising sharp federalism concerns.

What the 105th Amendment Act, 2021 Changed

To undo this centralising effect and restore the states' and Union territories' power to prepare their own SEBC lists, Parliament enacted the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021, with effect from 15 September 2021. It amended Article 342A and the related consultation requirement under Article 338B.

In effect, the amendment created a clear two-list structure: a Central List under Article 342A(1)–(2), notified by the President and amendable only by Parliament, used for Central Government purposes; and separate State/Union territory Lists under the new Article 342A(3), which each state or UT can prepare, maintain and amend by its own law for its own purposes, without needing to match the Central List or consult the NCBC.

Significance

The 105th Amendment restores a long-standing federal practice: states identifying their own backward classes for state-level reservation in education and public employment, a role many states had exercised since well before 2018. By explicitly carving out Article 342A(3) and freeing state lists from mandatory NCBC consultation, Parliament reversed the practical effect of the Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil ruling without directly overruling the judgment — it changed the constitutional text the judgment had interpreted. This is a recognised device in Indian constitutional practice: when a court reads a provision in a way Parliament did not intend, Parliament can amend the provision itself, provided the amendment does not violate the basic structure. The amendment does not touch the Central List mechanism, so identification for central purposes remains with the President and Parliament.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 342A deals with socially and educationally backward classes; inserted by the 102nd Amendment Act, 2018.
• Article 338B gives constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.
• The 105th Amendment Act, 2021 came into force on 15 September 2021.
• The 105th Amendment added clause (3) to Article 342A, empowering states/UTs to maintain their own SEBC lists.

Mains

• Discuss how the 105th Amendment Act, 2021 addresses the federalism concerns raised by the Supreme Court's interpretation of the 102nd Amendment Act in the Maratha reservation case.
• Examine the constitutional method by which Parliament can respond to a judicial interpretation of a provision through subsequent amendment, using the 102nd–105th Amendment sequence as an illustration.

FAQ

Q1. What is the 105th Amendment Act, 2021 about? It restores the power of states and Union territories to prepare and maintain their own lists of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) for their own purposes, separate from the Central List.

Q2. Why was the 105th Amendment needed? Because the Supreme Court, in Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil v Union of India (2021), held that after the 102nd Amendment Act, 2018, states had lost the independent power to identify SEBCs, since the final word rested with the President and Parliament.

Q3. What exactly did the 105th Amendment change in Article 342A? It reworded clause (2) to confine the Central List to Central Government purposes, added an Explanation defining the Central List, and inserted a new clause (3) allowing states/UTs to prepare their own SEBC lists that may differ from the Central List.

Q4. Does the amendment affect the National Commission for Backward Classes' role? A proviso was added to Article 338B(9) so that states are not required to consult the NCBC when preparing their own SEBC lists under Article 342A(3); NCBC consultation continues for the Central List.

Q5. When did the 105th Amendment Act come into force? It came into force on 15 September 2021.

Quick Revision

• 102nd Amendment Act, 2018 → inserted Articles 338B (NCBC) and 342A (Central List of SEBCs).
• Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil v UOI (2021) → 3:2 majority; states lost power to identify SEBCs; Maratha reservation struck down.
• 105th Amendment Act, 2021 → in force 15 September 2021; restored states'/UTs' power via new Article 342A(3).
• Central List = President-notified, Parliament-amendable, for Central Government purposes.
• State/UT List = state-law based, for state purposes, no mandatory NCBC consultation.

Sources

• The Constitution of India — official text, Ministry of Law and Justice
• The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021 — legislative.gov.in
• Indra Sawhney v Union of India, Supreme Court of India (1992) — official judgment records
• Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil v Union of India, Supreme Court of India (2021) — official judgment records

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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