Addition without Adjustment: The Constitutional Problem with the EWS Reservation Model

The enactment of the Constitution (One Hundredth and Third Amendment) Act, 2019, is a paradigmatic shift in the jurisprudence of the Indian Constitution. Affirmative action was moved from being a mechanism of redress for past injustice to a method of economic redistribution. This article provides a critical examination of the "additive" nature of the 10% Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota. Specifically, the author argues that the way in which this quota has been implemented on top of already existing reservations, with no adjustment made to the overall structure of reservations, has undermined the Basic Structure of the Constitution by exceeding the 50% limit of reservations established by Indra Sawhney. In doing so, the State has effectively converted the right to equality into a zero-sum game that will be disproportionately disadvantageous to unreserved citizens. Additionally, this research proposes that the "Addition Without Adjustment" model has created a new category of disenfranchised citizens referred to here as "State Orphans." These individuals are excluded from caste-based quotas based on their birth status and denied EWS benefits based upon arbitrary asset thresholds, creating a situation where they will be forced to compete against each other for a dwindling merit pool with out constitutional protections. Furthermore, the paper argues that treating the 50% cap as flexible to allow for political expediency (constitutional populism) rather than the requirement of administrative efficiency outlined in Article 335 is also damaging to the concept of meritocracy in the Republic. Finally, the paper concludes that if the judiciary approves of the additive model, it could transform the Constitution from a document of equality into a guidebook for competitive exclusion. Rather than continued infinite expansion, the paper supports "rationalisation," specifically the strict application of the creamy layer exclusion across all categories of reservation and adherence to the 50% cap, in order to restore the Open Category to an integral part of the Constitution and protect the meritocratic ideals of the Republic.