Civil Appeal No 2229 of 1978
From the Judgment and Order dated 12 10 1978 of the Bombay High Court in Election Petition No 278
NN Keshwani and Ramesh N Keshwani for the Appellant
AK Ganguli for the Respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by VENKATARAMIAH J
This appeal is filed under section 116 A of the Representation of the People Act 1951 Act No 43 of 1951 hereinafter referred to as the Act  against the judgment of the High Court of Bombay Nagpur Bench in Election Petition No 2 of 1978 by which the election of the appellant to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the Armori Constituency No 151 in Chandrapur District at the general election held in February 1978 was set aside
1137 The Armori Constituency was reserved for Scheduled Tribes
The appellant and respondents Nos 1 to 4 were the candidates at the election
As the appellant secured the highest number of votes he was declared as having been elected by the Returning Officer
In his nomination paper the appellant declared that he belonged to Mana  community
Respondents Nos 1 2 and 4 declared themselves as belonging to Pradhan  community and respondent No 3 claimed that he belonged to Raj Gond  community
After the result of the election was declared respondent No 1 who had secured the next highest number of votes at the election filed an election petition under section 81 of the Act before the High Court of Bombay calling in question the election of the appellant
One of the grounds urged in the petition was that the appellant did not belong to any of the Scheduled Tribes specified in Part IX of the Schedule to the Constitution Scheduled Tribes Order 1950 hereinafter referred to as the Order  as it stood at the time of the election and was not therefore qualified to be chosen to fill the seat which was reserved for Scheduled Tribes
It was alleged that the appellant belonged to Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana community and not to the Mana  community referred to in Entry No 18 of Part IX of the Schedule to the Order
Respondent No 1 also claimed that in the event of the appellant s election being declared as void the Court should make a declaration that he respondent No 1 himself had been duly elected
The High Court upheld the contention of respondent No 1 that the appellant did not belong to any of the Scheduled Tribes referred to in Part IX of the Schedule to the Order and declared his election as void
The other prayer made by respondent No 1 that he should be declared as elected was however rejected
Aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court the appellant has come up in appeal to this Court
It should be mentioned at this stage that in the general election held in the year 1967 the appellant was declared as a successful candidate from the very same constituency which was a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes at that time also and that on an election petition being filed against the appellant the High Court held that he did not belong to any of the Scheduled Tribes mentioned in the appropriate part of the Schedule to the Order at that time and therefore he was not qualified to contest the election
Accordingly his election was set aside
In the appeal filed before this Court the judgment of the High Court was affirmed vide Dina vs Narayan Singh1 In the course of the decision of this Court it was held that the appellant belonged to Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana  community and not to the Mana  community 1138 referred to in Entry No 12 of Paragraph 5 of Part VII A of the Schedule to the Order as it stood at the time of the said election for the reasons to which we shall advert hereafter
In the election petition out of which this appeal arises respondent No 1 pleaded that the appellant belonged to Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana  community which was not a tribe mentioned in the Schedule to the Order and that the appellant was not a member of the Mana  community referred to in Entry No 18 of Part IX of the Schedule to the Order as it stood at the time of the election in question
It was further alleged that the said Mana  community was a sub tribe of Gond tribe and it had no relationship with the Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana  community to which the appellant belonged
The appellant denied the above allegation that there were two types of Manas viz a Mana  a sub tribe of Gond  referred to in Entry No 18 of Part IX of the Schedule to the Order and b Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana  community
He further contended that the Mana  community to which he belonged had been included in that Entry after the Schedule to the Order was amended by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Order Amendment Act 1976
In order to appreciate the rival contentions it is necessary to make a brief survey of the law bearing on the question
Article 332 of the Constitution provides that seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes except the Scheduled Tribes in the tribal areas of Assam and Nagaland in the Legislative Assembly of every State and that the number of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes so reserved shall bear as nearly as may be the same proportion to the total number of seats in the Assembly as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or of the Scheduled Tribes in the State or part of the State as the case may be in respect of which seats are so reserved bears to the total population of the State
The expression Scheduled Tribes  with which we are concerned in this case is defined in clause 25 of Article 366 of the Constitution as such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of the Constitution
Article 3421 of the Constitution provides that the President may with respect to any State or Union territory and where it is a State after consultation with the Governor thereof by public notification specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes of the Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union Territory as the case may be
It was in pursuance of this constitutional provision that 1139 the President issued the Order specifying the tribes or tribal communities which should be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to the several parts of India
Article 3422 of the Constitution confers the power on the Parliament to modify by law the order issued under Article 3421 by including in or excluding from the list of Scheduled Tribes specified therein any tribe or tribal community or part of or group within any tribe or tribal community
Section 5a of the Act provides that a person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislative Assembly of a State unless in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes of that State he is a member of any of those tribes and is an elector for any Assembly constituency in that State
The area in which the appellant and respondents Nos
1 to 4 are residing is situate within the area known as Gadchiroli and Sironcha Tahsils of the Chandrapur District of the State of Maharashtra
Prior to the amendment made in 1956 Entry No 12 in the relevant part of the Schedule to the Order read as Gond including Media Maria and Mudia Muria
By the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Amendment Act 63 of 1956 the said Entry No 12 was substituted by Entry No 12 in Paragraph 5 of Part VII A of the Schedule to the Order which was as follows 12
Gond including Arakh or Arrakh Kandra Agaria Kalanga Asur Khatola Badi Maria or Koitar Bada Maria Koya Bhatola Khirwar or Khirwara Bhimma Kucha Maria Bhuta Koilabhut Kuchaki Maria or Kollabhuti Bhar Madia Maria Bisonhorn Maria Mana Chota Maria Mannewar Dandami Maria Moghya or Mogia or Monghya Dhuru or Dhurwa Mudia Muria Dhoba Nagarchi Dhulia Nagwanshi Dorla Ojha Gaiki Raj Gatta or Gatti Sonjhari Jhareka Gaita Thatia or Thotya Gond Gowari Wade Maria or Vade Maria
 Hill Maria The 30th tribe amongst the tribes included within the broad classification of Gond  tribe is Mana  tribe
As mentioned earlier the claim of the appellant that he belonged to the said tribe in the previous case 1140 was negatived
In August 1967 a Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha proposing to amend the Schedule to the Order
By that Bill it was proposed to substitute the Schedule to the Order as it stood then by a new Schedule
Part VIII of the new Schedule related to Maharashtra
Entry No 22 in that Part read as follows ___________________________________________________________ Tribe Synonym Sub tribe __________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 ___________________________________________________________ 22
Gond Koitur Arakh Kalanga Bada Madia Kandra Bhatola Koya Chhota Madi Khirwar Dandami Mad Kucha Madia Dhulia Kuchaki Madia Dhuru or Dwa Machalir Madia Dhoba Mana Dorla Mannewar Gaiki Mudia Gaita Nagarchi Gatta or Gi Nagwanshi Naikpod Ojha Sonjhari Jharekha Thatia or Thotia _________________________________ __________________________ In the proposed Entry Mana  community was shown as a sub tribe of Gond  tribe
With the concurrence of the Rajya Sabha the Bill was referred to a Joint Committee of the Parliament presided over by Shri Anil K Chanda
The Report of the Joint Committee on the Bill was presented to the Lok Sabha on November 17 1969
In so far as the amendments proposed to the Schedule to the Order were concerned the Joint Committee inter alia observed at Paragraph 20ii thus 20ii
The Committee feel that the proposal to specify the tribes the synonyms and the sub tribes in three separate columns will not be appropriate
As in the case of Schedule Castes Orders the Committee are of the view that it would be best to follow the wording of article 3421 of the Constitution and specify
The tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities
Each of the Scheduled Tribes Orders have been modified accordingly and in the lists of Scheduled Tribes the main tribe name is written first followed by the synonyms and subtribes in alphabetical order 1141 The Joint Committee also recommended that the Mana sub tribe referred to in the Bill should be excluded from the Schedule to the Order altogether
Thereafter the matter was again considered by the Parliament
In the Statement of Objects and Reasons dated May 12 1976 attached to the Bill it was stated as follows Under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders some communities have been specified as Scheduled Castes or as Scheduled Tribes only in certain areas of the State concerned and not in respect of the whole State
This has been causing difficulties to member of these communities in the areas where they have not been so specified
The present Bill generally seeks to remove these area restrictions
However in cases where continuance of such restrictions were specifically recommended by the Joint Committee on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders Amendment Bill 1967 no change is being effected
The Committee had also recommended exclusion of certain communities from the lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
These exclusions are not being made at present and such communities are being retained in the lists with the present area restrictions
Such of the communities in respect of which the Joint Committee had recommended exclusion on the ground that they were not found in a State are however being excluded if there were no returns in respect of these communities in the censuses of 1961 and 1971   Thereafter the Act No 108 of 1976 was passed by the Parliament and it had come into force before the election in question was held
By the above Act the entire Schedule to the Order as it stood prior to the amendment was substituted by a new Schedule consisting of XVI parts
Part IX of the new Schedule relates to the State of Maharashtra
Entry No 18 of Part IX of the new Schedule corresponds to Entry No 22 of the Bill referred to above and to Entry No 12 in Paragraph 5 of Part VII A of the Order as it stood prior to the amendment
Entry No 18 of Part IX of the Schedule to the Order after the amendment reads thus 18
Gond Rajgond Arakh Arrakh Agaria Asur Badi Maria Bada Maria Bhatola Bhimma Bhuta Koilabhuta Koilabhuti Bhar Bisonhorn Maria Chota Maria Dhandami Maria Dhuru Dhurwa Dhoba Dhulia Dorla Gaiki Gatta Gatti Gaita Gond Gowari Hill Maria Kandra Kalanga 1142 Khatola Koitar Koya Khirwar Khirwara Kucha Maria Kuchaki Maria Madia Maria Mana Mannewar Moghya Mogia Monghnya Mudia Muria Nagarchi Naikpod Nagwanshi Ojha Raj Sonjhari Jhareka Thatia Thotya Wade Maria Vade Maria
 It is seen from the above Entry that Mana  community is one of the communities included in the group of communities headed by Gond community
It appears that the recommendation of the Joint Committee to exclude it from the Schedule to the Order was not accepted by the Parliament
If the Schedule to the Order had not undergone any change there would not have been any room for argument that the appellant was a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe eligible to contest as a candidate at an election to fill a seat from the reserved constituency as the question was conducted by the judgment of this Court in Dina s case supra
Mr M M Phadke learned counsel for the appellant however argued that a comparison of Entry No 12 as it stood prior to the amendment and Entry No 18 as it stood on the date of the election in question would show that the Parliament while substituting the Schedule by a new Schedule by Act No 108 of 1976 intended to make a departure from the old law and that every person who belonged to any Mana  community whether it had any affinity with Gond tribe or not would be entitled to the privilege of contesting at the election from the reserved constituency
The question for consideration before us therefore is whether by reason of the amendment made in the year 1976 persons belonging to the Mana community to which the appellant belonged and which was not a Scheduled Tribe before such amendment can be considered as persons belonging to a Scheduled Tribe after such amendment
Apart from Article 36625 of the Constitution there is no other definition of the expression Scheduled Tribes
Scheduled Tribes are therefore only those which are deemed under Article 342 of the Constitution to be Scheduled Tribes
Hence in order to find out whether a community is a Scheduled Tribe or not we have only to see the order which is made under Article 342 of the Constitution
Mr M N Phadke learned counsel for the appellant drew the attention of the Court to the omission of the word including  which according to him had been used in Entry No 12 of the Schedule as it stood prior to the amendment to indicate that the communities mentioned after it were those having affinity with the Gond  tribe from the new Entry No 18 of Part IX of the Schedule to the Order and 1143 contended that the group of communities mentioned in Entry No 18 need not necessarily be those having mutual affinity amongst them
On the above basis it was urged on behalf of the appellant that a person belonging to any Mana  community should be treated as a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe even though it had no affinity with the Gond  tribe
We find it difficult to agree with the submission made by him
Sometimes the word including  is used in a definition to give an extended meaning also to the word defined
In Dilworth vs Commissioner of Stamps1 Lord Watson observed that when the word include  is used in an interpretation clause to enlarge the meaning of words or phrases in a statute these words or phrases must be construed as comprehending not only such things as they signify according to their natural import but also those things which the interpretation clause declares that they shall include
Sometimes the word includes  is used as a synonym for means  and not as a word of extension but limitation
This again is clear from the following observations of Lord Watson in the decision referred to above But the word include  is susceptible of another construction which may become imperative if the context of the Act is sufficient to show that it was not merely employed for the purpose of adding to the natural significance of the words or expressions defined
It may be equivalent to mean and include  and in that case it may afford an exhaustive explanation of the meaning which for the purposes of the Act must invariably be attached to these words or expressions In South Gujarat Roofing Tiles Manufacturers Association  Anr
vs State of Gujarat  Anr2 this Court interpreted the expression includes  found in Entry No 22 which had been included in Part I of the Schedule to the by the Gujarat Government as being equivalent to means 
It is significant that even when it was possible to give an extended meaning to the expression Mana  appearing in Entry No 12 in the Order before the amendment relying on the presence of the word including  in that Entry this Court gave a restricted meaning to it and held that only that Mana  community which had affinity with the Gond community could be considered as a Scheduled Tribe and that Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana community to which the appellant belonged could not be treated as a Scheduled Tribe
Now that the word including  has been omitted from the present Entry No 18 is it open to construe it as including communities which had no affinity with the principal tribe Gond  mentioned first in that Entry 1144 We do not think that it is possible to do so
Even though the proceedings of the Joint Committee cannot be relied upon for the purpose of construing the Order they may be looked into to ascertain the circumstances in which the several communities were grouped under one Entry or the other
The extract from the proceedings of the Joint Committee quoted above shows that in order to avoid confusion the Committee recommended to follow the words in Article 342 of the Constitution and to enlist the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities under specific Entries
It also recommended that the main tribe should be mentioned first in any Entry followed by its synonyms and its sub tribes in alphabetical order
Even without the aid of the proceedings of the Joint Committee it is possible to arrive at the same conclusion in the context in which the word Mana  is found in Entry No 18
Part IX of the Schedule to the Order as it stands today contains 47 Entries
In certain entries only one community is mentioned and in certain others
two or more communities are mentioned
It is obvious that certain communities have been grouped together under a single entry in the light of Article 342 of the Constitution which requires parts of or groups within a tribal community also to be specified in the order issued thereunder
It is therefore reasonable to hold that the communities mentioned against any specific entry are those which have mutual affinity amongst them
It is also not possible to hold that by replacing the Schedule to the Order by a new Schedule by the  the Parliament intended to treat persons belonging to Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana  community also as Scheduled Tribes
If really that was the intention the Parliament would have mentioned Mana  community under an independent entry
The inclusion of the Naikpod  community amongst the group of communities in Entry No 18 for the first time also is of no special significance since the appellant has admitted in the course of his evidence that Naikpod  is also a tribe found alongwith other Scheduled Tribes in that area and it is not stated that the said tribe has no affinity with them
It may have been omitted from the order earlier due to oversight
A reading of the Schedule to the Order also shows that where there are two communities with the same name one having affinity with a tribe and the other not having anything to do with such tribe and both are treated as Scheduled Tribes the community which has affinity with another tribe is shown alongwith it in the same group against a single entry and the other is shown against a different entry
This is illus 1145 trated by the inclusion of the koya  community having affinity with Gonds  in Entry No 18 and the koya  community having no such affinity in Entry No 33 of Part IX of the Schedule to the Order
If the Parliament intended to treat the appellant s community also as a Scheduled Tribe it would have shown Mana  community under a separate entry
No such entry is found in the Schedule
Some arguments were addressed at the Bar on the basis of the difference in the punctuation marks used in Entry 12 and in entry 18
It is well known that punctuation marks by themselves do not control the meaning of a statute when its meaning is otherwise obvious
Hence we do not feel that we should deal with it in greater detail having regard to the nature of this case
We are therefore of the view that the Mana  community included in Entry No 18 can only be that which has affinity with Gonds  and any other community which also bears the name Mana  but does not have any such affinity cannot be deemed to fall within the scope of Mana  in Entry No 18
The appellant has categorically admitted in the course of his evidence that there was no connection between his community and Gonds
His evidence is We have no concern with the Gond community also
The customs and traditions with regand to marriage of our community are different from those of the Gonds
He has also stated in his deposition that I have no concern whatsoever with Gonds
There are sub castes amongst Gonds
Some of them are Arak Gowari Raj gond Bada Magia Madia Ojha and Wanjari
It is not true that Mana is a sub caste of the Gonds
There is no community known as Gond 
That the appellant was a member of the Mana  community which has the qualification of Kshatriya  is established by his admission in his deposition that he was a member of the Kshatriya Mana Shikshana Sahayak Mandal Chandrapur
Although in another part of his statement of objections there are some contradictory statements the following plea in para 9 of the said statement makes it obvious that there is a community called Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana community 9 As to Para 11  It is admitted that the respondent No 1 was the Vice President for some time and also an active worker of the Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana Shikshana Sanastha
The object of the said institution was not limited to spread education amongst the boys belonging to Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana community and it is denied that the said 1146 society has been founded in order to give educational facilities to the students belonging to this community only
In the appeal filed by the appellant where the question was whether he belonged to a Scheduled Tribe or not this Court observed That there are sub tribes amongst the Gonds is not denied
Names of some of those sub tribes are included in Entry 12 of Item 5 of Part VII A of the Schedule is also a matter which is beyond dispute
The customs manners form of worship and dress of the members of the Maratha Mana community are all different from the customs manner form of worship and dress of the Gonds
No rational explanation has been suggested why the Parliament should have while including under Entry 12 several sub tribes of Gonds specified Mana under that entry if Manas had no affinity at all with Gonds
The appellant was uncertain about the claim that he was making
In the nomination paper filed by him he claim to be a Gond Mana
His subsequent explanation that he did so because the rules so required cannot be accepted as true
He relied upon the status of a Mana in the belief that all Manas were intended to be given the benefit of the privileges conferred by the Scheduled Tribes Order
He described himself as a Gond Mana
Realizing thereafter that his community had no affinity with the Gonds he stated that he was not a Gond that he had nothing to do with the Gonds and that his community had also nothing to do with the Gonds
He rested his claim solely upon the description in Entry 12 in item 5 of Part VIIA of the Schedule
But the form in which the entry is made prima facie indicates that in the view of the Legislature Mana was a sub tribe of Gonds and a Mana who was a member of the sub tribe of Gonds alone was entitled to the privileges conferred by the Schedule to the Scheduled Tribes Order
We therefore agree with the High Court that the appellant merely because he belonged to the Mana community amongst the Marathas is not eligible to stand as a candidate for election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the reserved seat of the Armori constituency in Gadchiroli tahsil of Chanda District
 The position has not since changed even though the Schedule to the Order is substituted by a new Schedule
There has only been a 1147 re arrangement of the Schedule with slight modification which has no effect on the question at issue in this case
The High Court was therefore right in rejecting the case of the appellant that he belonged to a Scheduled Tribe and in setting aside his election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In the result the appeal fails and is hereby dismissed with costs
PBR Appeal dismissed


Summary:
Entry 12 of Part IX of the Schedule to the Constitution Scheduled Tribes Order 1950 prior to its amendment in 1956 read as Gond including Media Maria and Mudia Muria
By the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Amendment Act 63 of 1956 the said Entry was substituted by Entry 12 in Paragraph 5 of Part VII A of the Schedule to the Order
It read as 12 Gond including Arakh or Arrah Mana  Mana was the 30th community amongst the communities included in that Entry
In 1976 the entire Schedule to the order as it stood prior to the amendment was substituted by a new Schedule
Entry 18 of Part IX of the new Schedule corresponding to Entry 12 prior to the amendment showed Mana  community as one of the communities included in the group of communities headed by Gond community
In the election to the State Assembly held in February 1978 the appellant was declared successful from a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes
In his election petition impugning the appellant s election respondent No 1 who was the unsuccessful candidate challenged the election on the ground that the appellant did not belong to any of the Scheduled Tribes specified in Part IX of the Schedule to the 1950 Order as it stood at the time of the election and was therefore not qualified to be chosen to fill the seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes
The High Court set aside the appellant s election
In appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appellant that while the word including in Entry 12 of the 1950 Order as it stood after its amendment in 1956 showed that the communities referred to therein were those having affinity with the Gond Tribe and its omission in Entry 18 as amended in 1976 showed that the group of communities mentioned in this Entry need not necessarily be those having mutual affinity amongst them so that a person belonging to any Mana community should be treated as a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe even though it had no affinity with the Gond tribe
Dismissing the appeal  HELD 1
The High Court was right in setting aside the appellant s election on the ground that he did not belong to a Schedule Tribe
1147 B 1136 2
a Even when the Order before its amendment in 1976 used the term including this Court giving a restricted meaning to Mana held that only Mana  community which had affinity with the Gond  community could be considered as a Scheduled Tribe and that Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana  community to which the appellant belonged could not be treated as a Scheduled Tribe
1143F G b A reading of Part IX of the Schedule to the Order shows that certain communities had been grouped together under a single Entry in the light of Article 342 of the Constitution which requires part of or groups within a tribal community also to be specified in the Order
Therefore the communities mentioned against any specific Entry are those which have mutual affinity amongst them
1144C E c Merely because a new Schedule had been substituted for the old one it cannot be said that Parliament had intended to treat persons belonging to Kshatriya Bidwaik Mana community also as a Scheduled Tribe
Where there are two communities with the same name one having affinity with a tribe and the other not having anything to do with it and both are treated as Scheduled Tribes the community which has affinity with another tribe is shown along with it in the same group against a single Entry and the other is shown against a different Entry
Therefore the Mana community included in Entry 18 can only be that which has affinity with Gonds  and any other community which also bears the name Mana  but does not have any such affinity cannot be deemed to fall within the scope of Mana  in Entry 18
1144H 1145C D 3
The term including is sometimes used in a definition to give an extended meaning to the word defined
Sometimes it is used as a synonym for means and not as a word of extension but limitation
1143C D Dilworth vs Commissioner of Stamps 1899 AC 99 at pp
105 106 South Gujarat Roofing Tiles Manufacturers Association  Anr
vs State of Gujarat  Anr
   referred to