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

(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

(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 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.

(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.

VERSION 1

Article 292, Draft Constitution of India 1948

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

(a) The Muslim community and the Scheduled Castes;

(b) The scheduled tribes in every State for the time being specified in Part I of the first Schedule; and

(c) The Indian Christian community in the States of Madras and Bombay, according to the scale prescribed in sub-clause (b) of clause (5) of article 67 of this Constitution.

VERSION 2

Article 330, Constitution of India 1950

(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 tribal areas of Assam; and

⁠(2) The number of seats reserved in any State 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 in the House of the People as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or of the Scheduled Tribes in the State or part of the State, as the case may be, in respect of which seats are so reserved, bears to the total population of the State.

SUMMARY

Draft Article 292 (Article 330 of Constitution of India 1950) was discussed in the Constituent Assembly on 23 August 1949 and 24 August 1949. It granted reservation of seats for Muslims, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) (from British provinces) and Indian Christians (from Madras and Bombay) in the Lok Sabha.

The Drafting Committee Chairman proposed to replace this Draft Article to only provide reservation of seats for SCs, STs (excluding Tribes from Assam) and STs from autonomous districts in Assam in the Lok Sabha. Reservation of seats would be proportional the population of SCs and STs in each state. The amendment was introduced to implement the recommendation of the Advisory Committee to abolish reservation of seats for minorities except SCs and STs.

A Member supported the amendment to provide reservation for SCs and STs due to their adverse socio-economic conditions. However, he was concerned that the SCs in Assam would not have any representation due to the decrease in their population after partition. The President clarified that there was no requirement of having a minimum population.

Another Member proposed that reserved seats should be allotted to constituencies that have a relatively high population of SCs and STs in the concerned state. He believed that the apprehension in the minds of SCs and STs regarding their welfare can be fully addressed only if a more SCs and STs have a more influential voice in electing their representative. This could be achieved by having SC and ST MPs from constituencies with a large SC or ST population.

A Member wanted to clarify that members of the SC and ST community could contest in unreserved seats as well. The Drafting Committee Chairman responded by stating that the law on elections would address this issue. On the other hand, another Member wanted to prohibit STs from Assam contesting in unreserved seats.

A Member objected to criticism levied against reservation for the SC and ST community and stated that it was merely a measure to atone for the undemocratic conduct of the upper caste community.

There were several minor amendments moved that were opposed by the Drafting Committee Chairman.

All the amendments except the Drafting Committee Chairman’s proposal were either withdrawn or rejected.

The Draft Article as amended by the Drafting Committee Chairman was adopted on 24 August 1949.

Article 330 was amended in 1956, 1973 and 2001 to include Union Territories, calculation of reserved seats in autonomous districts of Assam and the meaning of population. Reserved seats for STs in autonomous districts of Assam would be calculated based on the ratio of the population of STs in these districts to the total population of Assam. Population would mean the population according to the last preceding census.