Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People

Quick Summary (TL;DR)

Article 330 (Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People): Secures legislative representation and National Commissions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes (Part XVI).

In Simple Citizen Words

Article 330 ('Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People') in Part XVI (Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes) institutionalizes social justice and political representation for historically marginalized communities. It governs reserved seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha (Art 330) and State Assemblies (Art 332), claims in public services (Art 335), and the constitutional National Commissions for Scheduled Castes (Art 338), Scheduled Tribes (Art 338A), and Backward Classes (Art 338B). Specifically: (1) Seats shall be reserved in the House of the People for — (a) the Scheduled Castes; (b) the Scheduled Tribes except the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam; and (c) the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous...

Key Constitutional Provisions

Constitutional Mandate (Art. 330): Directly codifies the legal rule for 'Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People' under Part XVI

Structured across 5 clause(s) and 3 sub-clause(s) with explicit constitutional provisos/safeguards

Any administrative or legislative action violating Article 330 can be challenged before the High Court (Art. 226) or Supreme Court

Exceptions & Reasonable Restrictions

Under Article 341 and Article 342, once the Presidential notification specifying Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes is issued, any inclusion or exclusion can only be done by an Act of Parliament.

Why This Matters in Daily Life

Fulfils Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's vision of political and social democracy by giving marginalized communities a guaranteed voice in legislatures and constitutional commissions with civil-court powers to investigate atrocities.

Want deeper legal & historical context? Explore the official Bare Act or Supreme Court Precedents & CAD Debates:

⚖️

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Sardar Patel & Muniswami Pillai

Drafting & Minorities Sub-Committee • August 24–26, 1949

🏛️ Constituent Assembly Debates (1946–1949)

Core Constitutional Debate & Dilemma

Framing context for Article 330: Guaranteeing political representation and institutional safeguards for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes to overcome centuries of historical exclusion.

“

"Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy... We must bring the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and backward classes into the mainstream of legislative and administrative power."

Assembly Resolution & Final Synthesis

Constitutional resolution in Article 330: Enacted Part XVI (Articles 330–342A) providing legislative reservations for SCs/STs in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies and establishing National Commissions (Arts 338, 338A, 338B).

🏛️ Constitutional Significance: During the Constituent Assembly deliberations, Article 330 was codified as an integral pillar of India's constitutional governance.

Official Constitutional Text (Gazette Bare Act)

Authoritative statutory text as enacted and amended by Parliament • Clause-by-Clause Statutory Breakdown

India Code • Govt. of India Archive

Clause (1)

Seats shall be reserved in the House of the People for —

Sub-clause (a)

the Scheduled Castes;

Sub-clause (b)

the Scheduled Tribes except the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam; and

Sub-clause (c)

the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam.

Clause (2)

The number of seats reserved in any State or Union territory for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes under clause (1) shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats allotted to that State 2 [or Union territory] in the House of the People as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or Union territory or of the Scheduled Tribes in the State or Union territory or part of the State or Union territory, as the case may be, in respect of which seats are so reserved, bears to the total population of the State or Union territory.

Clause (3)

Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2), the number of seats reserved in the House of the People for the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam shall bear to the total number of seats allotted to that State a proportion not less than the population of the Scheduled Tribes in the said autonomous districts bears to the total population of the State.

Explanation —In this article and in article 332, the expression “population” means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published:

Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, be construed as a reference to the 2001 census.

Public Domain & Statutory Authenticity Notice

Under Section 52(1)(q) of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, the Constitution of India, Bare Acts of Parliament, Gazette Notifications, and Judicial Judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts are in the Public Domain. Text is reproduced from the official Legislative Department, Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India (India Code) archives.

Then vs Now: Constitutional Evolution & Visual Diff

Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People

🟡 Textually Amended Since 1950 Baseline: Jan 26, 1950 → Today

ORIGINAL BASELINE (1950)

Enacted on 26 January 1950 by the Constituent Assembly as part of the original 395 Articles (Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People). Subsequently refined through 4 Constitutional Amendment(s) to meet evolving democratic and governance needs.

CURRENT ENFORCEABLE STATUS (TODAY)

Enforceable Today with Amended Clauses: Article 330 (Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People): Secures legislative representation and National Commissions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes (Part XVI).

Key Amendment Milestones & Textual Modifications

23rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1969 — Extended SC/ST Seat Reservation to 1980

Year 1969

Why it happened: Extended the reservation of seats for SCs and STs in Parliament and State Legislatures for another 10 years up to 1980.

                                    Amended (330, 332, 334): Extended SC/ST Seat Reservation to 1980                                

31st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1973 — Increased Lok Sabha Strength from 525 to 545 Seats

Year 1973

Why it happened: Increased the elected seats of the Lok Sabha after the 1971 Census so growing populations had better parliamentary representation.

                                    Amended (81, 330): Increased Lok Sabha Strength from 525 to 545 Seats                                

51st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1984 — Reserved Lok Sabha & Assembly Seats for STs in North-East

Year 1984

Why it happened: Provided reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies of Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram.

                                    Amended (330, 332): Reserved Lok Sabha & Assembly Seats for STs in North-East                                

87th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 — Redrawing of Constituency Boundaries Based on 2001 Census

Year 2003

Why it happened: Allowed internal redrawing of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies within each state using 2001 Census figures without changing a state’s total seats.

                                    Amended (81, 82, 170, 330): Redrawing of Constituency Boundaries Based on 2001 Census                                

Article 329 Ask Nyaya Saarthi AI About This Article Article 331

Emergency Citizen Helplines

Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People

Official Constitutional Text (Gazette Bare Act)

Then vs Now: Constitutional Evolution & Visual Diff

Key Amendment Milestones & Textual Modifications