Article 342A

Central and State Lists of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs)

Official heading: “Socially and educationally backward classes”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XVI, Article 342A, printed page 203
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

Open official PDF at this article Report a text or source error

AI-assisted source comparisons are noted with the citations below; the check date remains pending until a human confirms the link. The report link opens your email app; you choose whether to send it.

1. In One Sentence

Provides for the Presidential specification of the Central List of backward classes, while preserving the independent power of States and Union territories to maintain State OBC lists.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018 and significantly clarified by the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021, Article 342A structures the constitutional identification of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs/OBCs).

Under clause (1), the President, after consultation with the Governor of a State, specifies the socially and educationally backward classes in the Central List for the purposes of the Central Government.

Under clause (2), only Parliament can amend the Central List to include or exclude any backward class.

Following the Supreme Court’s interpretation in the Maratha Reservation case (Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil, 2021), Parliament enacted the 105th Amendment to insert clause (3). This restores and explicitly protects the power of every State and Union territory to prepare and maintain its own distinct State list of socially and educationally backward classes for state-level reservations.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A State Legislature passes an enactment adding a regional backward caste to its state OBC reservation roster for state government jobs.

Core takeaway: Under Article 342A(3) (inserted by the 105th Amendment), States have independent constitutional power to maintain their own state OBC lists without needing presidential approval.

Illustrative Notice: For central government posts and central educational institutions, only the Central List maintained under Article 342A(1) and (2) applies.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 342A balances national standardization with federal diversity in backward class identification.

Central List: Notified by the President and modifiable solely by Parliament for Union purposes.
State autonomy restored: Clause (3) empowers States to prepare, maintain, and modify their own SEBC lists for state public employment and college admissions.
Federal harmony: Reconciles national oversight through the NCBC with state-level federal affirmative action powers.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) The President may with respect to any State or Union territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the socially and educationally backward classes in the Central List which shall for the purposes of the Central Government be deemed to be socially and educationally backward classes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case may be. (2) Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the Central List of socially and educationally backward classes specified in a notification issued under clause (1) any socially and educationally backward class, but save as aforesaid a notification issued under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequent notification. Explanation.—For the purposes of clauses (1) and (2), the expression "Central List" means the list of socially and educationally backward classes prepared and maintained by and for the purposes of the Central Government. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in clauses (1) and (2), every State or Union territory may, by law, prepare and maintain, for its own purposes, a list of socially and educationally backward classes, entries in which may be different from the Central List.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

•
Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XVI, Article 342A, printed page 203 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource