Article 14: A Balancing Act

In JJS 2020, a question asked: 'Article 14 does not permit the state to treat persons unequally if there exists a rational basis for such differentiation. Discuss.' Now, this one's a trap for many students. The correct approach is to break it down into two parts: first, we need to understand the concept of 'rational basis' and what constitutes a reasonable classification under Article 14. This is where many students get it wrong – they start by talking about 'reasonable classification' without defining what that means.

To approach this question correctly, recall the Supreme Court's rulings in cases like State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar and Keshavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala. Note the emphasis on 'classification' and 'impugned law' being the key factors to focus on.