CEIRA Act: Sapling of Bitter Fruits of Caste Based Reservations: Part 6

Section 4

Bare Act Provision

4. Act not to apply in certain cases. —The provisions of section 3 of this Act shall not apply to—

¹ * * * * *

(b) the institutions of excellence, research institutions, institutions of national and strategic importance specified in the Schedule to this Act:

Provided that the Central Government may, as and when considered necessary, by notification in the Official Gazette, amend the Schedule;

(c) a Minority Educational Institution as defined in this Act;

(d) a course or programme at high levels of specialisation, including at the post-doctoral level, within any branch of study or faculty, which the Central Government may, in consultation with the appropriate authority, specify.

Footnote to Bare Act

1. Cl. (a) omitted by s. 4, ibid. (w.e.f. 19-6-2012).

Explanation

Clause (a)

Section 4 provided for certain exclusions and exemptions from the reservation policy, specifically clause (a) which dealt with institutions established in tribal areas as referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.

The criticism surrounding Section 4 arises from the functional ambiguity and limitations it created, which eventually led to its amendment. The 2012 Amendment Act specifically omitted clause (a) of Section 4. This omission was part of a larger legislative effort to replace rigid exemptions with the more flexible “provisos” in Section 3, which allowed for regional demographic adjustments in the “Specified north-eastern region.” The interpretation of the law suggests that the original Section 4 was too narrow, as it only protected tribal areas under the Sixth Schedule, leaving other North-Eastern states like Manipur, which also had high tribal populations, struggling to reconcile national reservation quotas with local aspirations. By omitting the specific exemption in Section 4 and simultaneously introducing the “Specified north-eastern region” definition and Section 3 provisos, the legislature moved away from total exemption toward a customized reservation math that prioritized local Scheduled Tribe populations over the standard national percentages.

As special status is being given by law to the North East regions, specifically tribal areas under Sixth Schedule, and as the people of this nation are unaware of many laws, the people of these region are still not assimilated with rest of the nation. We are living in an Independent Country which is going to complete 8th decade of its independence, but still people categorized by the statute are not assimilated with each other. If this issue is debated many will blame the statutory provisions giving special status to certain castes and groups.

Clause (b)

There cannot be any reservations in respect of super specialities and institutions imparting education of highly complex subjects. The example of All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been given. In terms of Section 4(b) of the Act certain educational institutions have been excluded from the operation of the Act. As per proviso of the said Section, on an appropriate case being presented and established before the Central Government that the Institution is of excellence and/or a research institute and/or an institution of national and strategic importance, the Central Government can amend the Schedule and include such institution in the Schedule. [1]

Clause (c)

It is criticized that by placing the minority educational institutions based on religion on a special footing and exempting it from bearing the common burden of reservation for SC, ST and OBC, the CEIRA Act is unconstitutional and shall be declared void and null. [1] Section 4 lists “Exemptions,” including minority educational institutions. This was criticized as being inconsistent with the objective of providing reservation to all disadvantaged groups and for creating a conflict between Article 15(4) and Article 15(5).

CEIRA Act, 93rd Constitutional Amendment, Article 15(5) collectively will lead to a situation where the State would not be in a position to give reservation to SCs, STs and OBCs even in aided minority institutions which have got protection under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. Article 15(5) is having an exclusionary clause excluding the operation of the rest of the Article 15, and hence would result in a conflict to the extent of inconsistency. [1]

As a Hindu I was told frequently that Christianity and Islam do not have caste systems and are true religions of equality. The castes from Christianity and Islam mentioned in various reports including those of Mandal Commission and Sachar Committee, are creating doubt of authenticity about these two faiths in many Hindus like me. If education institutions of the religious minorities are not bound to impart education to the backward persons or claimed lower caste persons following same faith, then what is sense to get converted in those religions? Well this is the matter of debate at large and prima facie I just know that the claim of being “Religion of Equality” is being hammered by such provisions.

Clause (d)

Section 4(d) acts as an exemption clause. It allows the Central Government to exclude specific “high-level” courses, particularly post-doctoral programs, from the 27% OBC, 15% SC, and 7.5% ST reservation mandates.

The Supreme Court ruled that in “specialty” and “super-specialty” areas (like advanced medical fellowships or high-end research), merit must be the primary consideration. The Court relied on the logic from Indra Sawhney to state that at very high levels of education, the need to maintain world-class standards outweighs the requirement for reservation. This judgment essentially protects the government’s power to use Section 4(d) to keep elite research and super-specialty medical seats purely merit-based. [2]

The phrase “high levels of specialisation” is not defined anywhere in the Act. This gives the Central Government immense discretionary power. What one administration considers “high level,” another might consider “routine postgraduate work.” Without a clear legal test or objective criteria, the government can arbitrarily decide which courses are exempt, leading to “executive whim” rather than a stable legal standard. This is actually happening while giving fellowship stipend to the Junior Research Fellow.

Reference

[1] Ashoka Kumar Thakur vs Union Of India And Ors [(2007) 2 SCT 655]

[2] Faculty Association of AIIMS v. Union of India [AIR 2017 SUPREME COURT 1590]