Article 14 of the Constitution of India says that state shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of laws within the territory of India. Explain it. Refer the relevant Judgements.

Article 14 of the Constitution of India provides that "the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India". As is evident, Article 14 guarantees to every person the right to equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws. The expression 'equality before the law' which is borrowed from English Common Law is a declaration of equality of all persons within the territory of India, implying thereby the absence of any special privilege in favour of any individual. Every person, whatever be his rank or position is subject to the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts. The expression "the equal protection of the laws" directs that equal protection shall be secured to all persons within the territorial jurisdiction of the Union in the enjoyment of their rights and privileges without favouritism or discrimination. Article 14 applies to all persons and is not limited to citizens. A corporation, which is a juristic person, is also entitled to the benefit of this Article ( Chiranjit Lal Chowdhurary v. Union of India, AIR 1951 SC 41 ). The right to equality is also recognised as one of the basic features of the Constitution ( Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, AIR 2000 SC 498 ). A right conferred on persons that they shall not be denied equal protection of the laws does not mean the protection of the same laws for all. It is here that the doctrine of classification steps in and gives content and significance to the guarantee of the equal protection of the laws. To separate persons similarly situated from those who are not, legislative classification or distinction is made carefully between persons who are and who are not similarly situated. The Supreme Court in a number of cases has upheld the view that Article 14 does not rule out classification for purposes of legislation. Article 14 does not forbid classification or differentiation which rests upon reasonable grounds of distinction. The Supreme Court in the case of State of Bihar v. Bihar State 'Plus-2' lectures Associations, (2008) 7 SCC 231 held that now it is well settled and cannot be disputed that Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law and confers equal protection of laws. It prohibits the state from denying persons or class of persons equal treatment; provided they are equals and are similarly situated. It however, does not forbid classification. In other words, what Article 14 prohibits is discrimination and not classification if otherwise such classification is legal, valid and reasonable.