105th Constitutional Amendment Act 2021
Topic: Safeguards for Vulnerable Sections: SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, Women and Children · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The 105th Constitutional Amendment Act 2021 (August 2021) gave back to the states the power to make their own lists of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs). It did this through a new Article 342A(3) and a changed Article 366(26C). It was needed because the 102nd Amendment (2018), which added Article 342A, had been read as leaving this power only with the Centre.
Example
In the Maratha reservation case (Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil, 5 May 2021), the Supreme Court held by 3:2 that after Article 342A only the Centre could identify backward classes. Within months, Parliament passed the 105th Amendment. It undid that reading so that states could again prepare their own SEBC lists.
Don't confuse with
- 102nd Amendment (2018): this gave the NCBC constitutional status (Article 338B) and added Article 342A. The 105th only clarified that states keep their own lists.
Related concepts
- Backward Classes Commission (Article 340)
- Kalelkar Commission
- Other Backward Classes
- OBC reservation
- Ashoka Kumar Thakur case
- Creamy layer
- 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act 2018
- Rohini Commission