In the case of Indra Sawhney versus Union of India, the Supreme Court in 1992 found that it was not invalid to identify a group by any criteria like occupation, social, educational or economic situations.
However, it noted that social and educationally backward class under Article 340 had to be construed in a limited sense and did not have the wide sweep as under the fundamental right guaranteed to backward classes in Article 16(4). This provision empowers the government to make reservations in appointments in favour of “any backward class of citizens”.
