Article 14 of the Constitution of India mandates that State shall endeavour to accord equal treatment to all its citizens, and it shall not discriminate on the grounds of caste, sex, creed etc. Through a catena of decisions, the Supreme Court held that the principle of equity underlying Article 14 of the Constitution of India applies to the cases of distribution of largesse, apart from the matters of admission into Educational Institutions and employment into public service. While equity is the rule, reservation is an exception. Even where reservation is permitted under the Constitution itself, or any law made thereunder, hardly there exists any uniformity in the pattern. It would depend on the characteristics of the category in favour of which the reservation is sought to be made, as well as the nature of protection which is required to be extended. There are instances where the Supreme Court held that treating unequals as equals or according the same treatment to the persons not similarly situated, amounts to violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. It is for the authority, vested with the power in this regard, to keep relevant criteria in view
