1 REPORTABLE INTHESUPREMECOURTOFINDIA CIVILAPPELLATEJURISDICTION CIVILAPPEALNO.7362OF2013 STATEOFORISSA APPELLANT(S) Versus DASARATHIMEHER RESPONDENT(S) WITH CIVILAPPEALNO.10066OF2018 (@SLP(C)No.13172OF2015) CIVILAPPEALNO.10061OF2018 (@SLP(C)No.13169OF2015) CIVILAPPEALNO.7363OF2013 CIVILAPPEALNO.10065OF2018 (@SLP(C)No.13171OF2015) JUDGMENT [ENTITY],J.
Leave granted in [CASE NUMBER] 2015,SLP [CASE NUMBER].
2. Whether the tribe mentioned as [ENTITY]s in the Scheduled CastesandScheduledTribesOrders(Amendment)Act,1976in ScheduleIIinPartXIIatItemNo.42includespersonsbelonging tothe[ENTITY]community,istheissuewhichneedstobedecided inthepresentgroupofcases.
3. Article342ofthe[ACT]ofIndiareadsasfollows:
342.ScheduledTribes.(1)ThePresidentmaywith respecttoanyStateorUnionterritory,andwhereitis aState,afterconsultationwiththeGovernorthereof, by public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribalcommunitieswhichshallforthepurposesofthis [ACT] be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case maybe.
(2)Parliamentmaybylawincludeinorexcludefrom thelistofScheduledTribesspecifiedinanotification issuedunderclause(1)anytribeortribalcommunity or part of or group within any tribe or tribal community,butsaveasaforesaidanotificationissued under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequentnotification.
4. Itwouldbepertinenttomentionthattheaforesaidarticleis almostidenticaltoArticle341relatingtoScheduledCastes.The onlydifferencebeingthatArticle341dealswithcastes,racesor tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes whereasArticle342dealsonlywithtribesortribalcommunities orpartsoforgroupswithintribesortribalcommunities. This smalldifferencewillnothaveanyeffectwhileinterpretingthetwo articlesonthefactsofthesecases.
5. The stand of the appellant, the State of Odisha (formerly known as Orissa) and the intervenor is that since in the ScheduledCastesandScheduledTribesOrder,thetribewhich has been declared to be a Scheduled Tribe is [ENTITY]s, the members of the [ENTITY]community cannot takebenefitofbeing declared as Scheduled Tribes. It is further submitted that no court including this Court has the power to change or modify whatisstatedinthePresidentialOrderandlaterintheActof Parliamentand,therefore,theHighCourterredinholdingthat [ENTITY]swouldinclude[ENTITY].
6. Beforedealingwiththefactualaspectofthematteritwould bepertinenttoreiteratethelegalpositionandthelimitsofthe power of the court while dealing with these issues. A bare perusal of [SECTION] of the [ACT] clearly shows that the President with respect to any State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, may by public notificationspecifythetribesortribalcommunitiesorpartsofor groupsthereof,whichshallforthepurposesofthe[ACT], bedeemedtobeScheduledTribesinrelationtothatState.After thePresidentissuesanOrderunderArticle341or342,thesaid Order cannot be amended, modified, added to or any caste or tribedeletedtherefrombytheStateorbyanycourtortribunal. It is only the Parliament, which can enact alaw to includeor excludefromthelistsofScheduledCastesorScheduledTribes anycaste,raceortribe.ThepowertoalterthePresidentialOrder liesonlywithParliamentandnootherauthority.Therefore,the notificationissuedbythePresidentisfinalforallpurposesand foralltimesexceptifmodifiedbyalawmadebyParliament.
7. These provisions have been considered in a number of cases.Weneednotrefertoall,exceptthree[ACT]Bench judgmentsofthisCourt.Thefirst[ACT]Benchjudgment [ENTITY].[ENTITY] this case the issue was whether a person belonging to the [ENTITY]castecouldclaimthathebelongedtothe[ENTITY]caste whichhadbeennotifiedasaScheduledCaste.ThisCourtheld thatnormallyitisnotopenforanycourtortribunaltogointo thisquestionortotakeevidencethat[ENTITY]casteisthesame (1965)1SCR316 as[ENTITY]caste.TheCourtheldittobeasettledpositionoflaw that it is not open to any court or tribunal to make any modificationinthePresidentialOrderbyreferringtoevidenceto showthatthoughcasteAaloneismentionedintheorder,caste BisalsopartofcasteAand,therefore,mustbedeemedtobe includedincasteA. ItwasnotedbythisCourtthatwherever thereisonecasteoronetribehavingmorethanonenamethen in the Presidential Order, the other name(s) is normally mentionedinbrackets.Havingheldso,thisCourt,inthefactsof the case, found that it was necessary to go into the question becauseitwasnotdisputedthattherewasnocasteknownas [ENTITY] in the Mysore State before its reorganisation in 1956. FollowingobservationsoftheCourtarerelevant:
Thedifficultyinthepresentcasearisesfromthe fact (which was not disputed before the High Court) that in the Mysore State as it was before the re organisation of 1956 there was no caste known as [ENTITY] at all. The Order refers to a scheduled caste knownas [ENTITY] intheMysoreStateasitwasbefore 1956andthereforeitmustbeacceptedthattherewas some caste which the President intended to include afterconsultationwiththeRajpramukhintheOrder, when the Order mentions the caste [ENTITY] as a scheduled caste. It cannot be accepted that the Presidentincludedthecaste[ENTITY]intheOrderthough therewasnosuchcasteatallintheMysoreStateasit existedbefore1956 Thereafter,thisCourtreferredtothematerialplacedbefore it and came to the conclusion that [ENTITY] caste was earlier knownasthe[ENTITY]caste.ItappearedthatataConferenceof the [ENTITY] Caste,held inJuly,1944,itwasresolvedthatthe name of that caste be changed from [ENTITY] to [ENTITY].
Eventually,theGovernmentalsoacceptedthesaidResolutionby passinganorder.
The matter does not end here. The Government Order directedthatthecommunityknownasVoddawouldinfuturebe calledasBoyiinallGovernmentcommunicationsandrecords.
This Court also considered the issue of change in spellings whereinBoyiwasmentionedintheGovernmentOrderbutthe caste declared to be a Scheduled Caste was [ENTITY].
Furthermore,theGovernmentOrderreferstoVoddaandnotto [ENTITY]. Dealing with the issue of different spellings the [ACT]Benchheldasfollows:
Here again there is force in the contention that where the same caste was spelt differently, the differentspellingshavebeenprovidedintheOrderas illustrated already. But the same difficulty which facedusinconsideringthequestionwhether [ENTITY] caste was meant by the caste [ENTITY] included in the Order arises when we consider the difference in spellings, for it is not in dispute that there was no casteknownas[ENTITY]intheMysoreStateasitexisted in1950whentheOrderwaspassed.AsthePresident could not have included in the Order a nonexistent casteitmeanstheword[ENTITY]relatestosomecastein Mysoreasitwasbefore1956andwehavethereforeto establishtheidentityofthatcasteandthatcanonly be done by evidence. In that connection the High CourthasheldthateversincetheOrderof1946,the [ENTITY] caste has been variously spelt as Boyi, Bovi and[ENTITY]inEnglish,thoughtheKanadaequivalentis oneandthesame. TheHighCourtthereforehasnot attachedanyimportancetothechangeintheEnglish spelling in the peculiar circumstances of this case
8. Thesecond[ACT]Benchjudgmentisinthecaseof BhaiyaLal v. HarikishanSingh2 . Inthiscasetheappellant claimedthathebelongedtoDoharcaste,whichwasasubcaste ofChamarcaste. The[ACT]Benchheldthataninquiry ofsuchakindwasnotpermissible.
9. Thethird[ACT]Benchjudgmentisinthecaseofthe [PRECEDENT]. In this case the notified ScheduledTribewasHalba/[ENTITY].TheHighCourt,relyingupon certainmaterialheldthatHalbaKoshtiwasincludedinHalba AIR1965SC1557 (2001) 1 SCC 4 or [ENTITY]. This Court heldthat itwasnot permissiblefor the courtstodoso.Afterdiscussingtheentirelaw,thisCourtheld asfollows:
36. Inthelightofwhatisstatedabove,thefollowing positionsemerge:
1. Itisnotatallpermissibletoholdanyinquiryor letinanyevidencetodecideordeclarethatanytribe or tribal community or part of or group within any tribe or tribal community is included in the general nameeventhoughitisnotspecifically mentionedin the entry concerned in the [ACT]
2. TheScheduledTribesOrdermustbereadasit is.Itisnotevenpermissibletosaythatatribe,sub tribe,partoforgroupofanytribeortribalcommunity issynonymoustotheonementionedintheScheduled TribesOrderiftheyarenotsospecificallymentioned init.
3. [SECTION], specifying Scheduled Tribes, can be amended onlybylawtobemadebyParliament.Inotherwords, any tribe or tribal community or part of or group withinanytribecanbeincludedorexcludedfromthe list of Scheduled Tribes issued under clause (1) of Article342onlybyParliamentbylawandbynoother authority.
4. ItisnotopentoStateGovernmentsorcourtsor tribunalsoranyotherauthoritytomodify,amendor alter the list of Scheduled Tribes specified in the notificationissuedunderclause(1)ofArticle342.
5. DecisionsoftheDivisionBenchesofthisCourt in BhaiyaRamMundav.AnirudhPatar4 and Dinav.
NarainSingh5didnotlaydownlawcorrectlyinstating thattheinquirywaspermissibleandtheevidencewas (1970) 2 SCC 825 38 ELR 212; (1968) 8 DEC 329 admissible within the limitations indicated for the purposeofshowingwhatanentryinthePresidential Order was intended to be. As stated in Position (1) abovenoinquiryatallispermissibleandnoevidence canbeletin,inthematter. It would be pertinent to mention that in [ENTITY] case (supra),the[ACT]Benchreaffirmedtheratiooftheearlier two[ACT]Benchjudgments.
10. ItisthusobviousthatthepoweroftheCourtisverylimited andtheCourtcannotmodify,alter,addtoorsubtractfromthe PresidentialOrderorthe notificationissuedbyParliament. At thesametime,theCourthastoensurethattheorderisreadin such a manner that no caste or tribe, which is intended by PresidentorbyParliamenttobeincluded,isactuallyexcluded.
11. Mr. [ENTITY], learned counsel appearing for the Statesubmitsthatinviewofthejudgmentdeliveredin[ENTITY] case (supra), no court orauthority hasany jurisdictiontoadd anytribeorcaste.Accordingtohim,sincethetribe,whichhas been declared to be a Scheduled Tribe is [ENTITY]s, the courts cannot give an interpretation that persons belonging to [ENTITY] community are also entitled to the benefit of being declared ScheduledTribe. OntheotherhandMr.[ENTITY],learnedsenior counselsubmitsthatitisbutobviousthat[ENTITY]sisonlyaplural for[ENTITY]andnotaseparatecaste.
12. Coming to the facts of the present case, the first Order whichhasbeenplacedonrecordisthe[ACT](Scheduled Tribes)Order,1950andinPartVItheSchedule,dealingwiththe State of Odisha at Item No. 31, the tribe [ENTITY]s has been declaredtobeaScheduledTribefortheentireStateofOdisha. The next relevant document is the Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribesLists(Modification)Order,1956andinPartIX ofScheduleI,dealingwiththeStateofOdisha,[ENTITY]hasbeen declaredtobeaScheduledCasteinSambalpurdistrictonly.In theverysameorderinPartIXofScheduleIII,[ENTITY]scontinued to be declared to be a Scheduled Tribe throughout the State ofOdisha.
13. The Parliament replaced the Presidential Orders by the [ACT] ThisActwasenactedforthepurposesofinclusion andexclusionfromthelistsofScheduledCastesandScheduled Tribesofcertaincastesandtribes.ThePresidentialOrderswere replacedbythisAct.InScheduleIatPartXIIIdealingwiththe State of Odisha, the caste [ENTITY] no longer finds mention. In [SECTION] dealing with the Scheduled Tribes, the tribe[ENTITY]sisnotifiedtobeaScheduledTribeforthewholeof theStateofOdisha. TheHindiversionofthisOrderdescribes thetribe[ENTITY]() asaScheduledTribe.
14. Persons belonging to the [ENTITY] community have for long beenclaimingthattheyarepartofthe[ENTITY]stribeandtheHigh CourtofOdishahasalwaysheldthattheterm[ENTITY]sisnothing butapluralfortheterm[ENTITY]andhasconsistentlyheldthat [ENTITY]arepartandparcelof[ENTITY]stribe.Thefirstjudgmentin this regard was delivered in Sebaram Meher v. The State of Orissa6.ADivisionBenchoftheHighCourtheldthatthereisno difference betweenthe terms[ENTITY]and[ENTITY]sbecauseitwas not disputed that there is no separate community known as [ENTITY]sintheStateofOdisha.Thisviewwasfollowedinalarge numberofjudgmentsincludingthejudgmentunderappeal.The StateofOdishadidnotchallengetheearlierjudgments. Those [CASE NUMBER] judgments became binding as far as the State of Odisha is concerned.
15. Mr. [ENTITY] submits that since those judgments were rendered before the [ACT] Bench judgment in [ENTITY] case (supra), they were not challenged by the State of Odisha. This submission is wholly without merit. In [ENTITY] case (supra) this Court has only reiterated what was said in [ENTITY] caseandin [ENTITY] case(supra)and manyothercases. Therefore,wecannotaccepttheexplanation oftheStateinthisregard.
16. Wehaveevenotherwisegoneintothemeritsofthematter. DespitepointedqueriesputbytheCourt,learnedcounselforthe appellantandtheintervenorcouldnotplaceanymaterialbefore us to show that there is a separate community by the name [ENTITY]s. Timeandagain,thedocumentswhichwerereferredto were the documents relating to the period when [ENTITY] were declared to be Scheduled Caste in the district Sambalpur whereas[ENTITY]sweredeclaredtobeatribeintheentireState. Thedocumentsreferredtobyboththepartieswhicharemorein the nature of reports, indicate that [ENTITY] is a community of weavers who were earlier forest dwellers. This community is engagedintheweavingofverycoarsetypeofcloth. Innoneof thedocumentscouldwefindanymaterialtoshowthat[ENTITY]or [ENTITY]s are two different castes or tribes dealing with some differentvocations. Inallthedocumentstheyhavebeendealt withsynonymously.
17. In1962,inastudyconductedbytheScheduledCastesand ScheduledTribesResearchandTrainingInstitute,thefollowing remarksweremade:
The [ENTITY] As a Tribe The [ENTITY] are fully integrated with the castehierarchy of the Hindu society. They acceptthesuperiorityoftheBrahman,havefunctional relationshipwithothercastesandhavearigidlyfixed casteoccupation.TheyworshipthegodsoftheHindus andhavenoseparategodsorgoddesses.Theydonot take such food and indulge in such practices which are prohibited for Hindus. Rather they behave like highcastesinthisrespect.
Conclusion On the basis of the above findings the followingconclusionsmaybedrawn: (1) There is no reason to justify the [ENTITY] being treatedasatribe.
(2) The[ENTITY]havethestatusofaScheduledCaste but in that capacity they occupy a position superior to other Scheduled Castes. A slight stigma of untouchability is now attached to thembuttheyarelikelytobeclearedupofthis innearfuture.
Recommendation It is therefore recommended that the [ENTITY]s shouldbetreatedasaScheduled Castein bothSambalpurandBolangirdistricts. Theymaybe descheduledafteraperiodoffiveyearsbywhichtime theywouldhaveachievedastatusequivalenttoOther BackwardClasses.
(emphasissupplied)
18. In1979,inanotherstudy,thefollowingobservationswere made:
The[ENTITY]s tillnowfollowthetraditionaloccupationof weaving. They have absolutely no other occupation exceptafewfamilieswhopracticecultivation. 1%of the[ENTITY]ownlandandinnocasetheholdingismore than2acres. The [ENTITY]s havebeenhardhitbecause theyspecializeincoarseandinferiortypeofclothing which is generally used by the poorer section. Moreover, hand woven cloth has gradually been replacedbythemillmadecloth.Asaresulttheylive onhandtomoutheconomy.
xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
It is therefore recommended that [ENTITY] should neither be treated as Scheduled Caste nor as ScheduledTribeinOrissa. Howevertheyshouldbe provided with all the benefits by the Govt. as an economicallybackwardclass. (emphasissupplied)
19. InacommunicationsenttotheGovernmentin1979 7,itwas mentionedthattheCensusof1971distinguishesthe[ENTITY]caste from[ENTITY]tribeindifferentdistrictsasfollows;
Sl. Distict Population No. [ENTITY]Caste [ENTITY]Tribe 1. Sambalpur 3554 936 4086 1892 Total
20. In1981,acommunicationwassentbytheCommissioner and Secretaryof the HarijanandTribalWelfareDepartmentof theGovernmentofOdishatotheUnionofIndia,makingsome proposalsonbehalfoftheStateofOdishaforamendmentstothe list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In respect of [ENTITY]s, it was mentioned that they are weavers by profession, Vide Letter No.1489 dated 26.07.1979 mainlyfoundinBolangir,Sambalpurand[ENTITY]districts. It was submitted that they do not possess tribal characteristics and,therefore,maybedeletedfromthelistofScheduledCastes andScheduledTribes.
21. Relyinguponthesedocuments,[ENTITY] and the [ENTITY] are separate and members of the [ENTITY] communitycannotbetreatedas[ENTITY]s. Wefailtounderstand howthiscanbededucedfromtheaforesaiddocuments. Inthe statement showing the population, both communities are described as [ENTITY] but while describing the occupation, the membersofthecommunityaredescribedas[ENTITY]sandithas been recommended that [ENTITY] should neither be treated as ScheduledCastenorasScheduledTribe.Thisshowsthatthere wasonlyonecommunityknownas[ENTITY],whichwastreatedas ScheduledCasteforsometimeinthedistrictofSambalpurbut wastreatedasScheduledTribefortheentireStateofOdisha.In noneofthedocumentsplacedbeforeusbytheState,thereisany indicationtoshowthatthereisaseparatecasteortribebythe name[ENTITY]s.
22. Wemaynowrefertothe24thReportoftheCommissionerfor Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In this Report, preparedinDecember,1977,dealingwiththeStateofOdisha,it hasbeenobserved8asfollows:
Incaseof Orissa,the[ENTITY]communitywhichwas earlier declared as Scheduled Caste in Sambalpur district has been deleted from the list as [ENTITY]s are alreadydeclaredasScheduledTribesthroughoutthe State In this Report, it is clearly indicated that the [ENTITY] communityhasbeendeletedfromthelistofScheduledCastesin Sambalpur as [ENTITY]s are already declared as Scheduled Tribe throughout the State. This clearly indicates that the Commissionerwasoftheviewthat[ENTITY]communitywhichwas one of the communities declared to be Scheduled Castes in Sambalpur district, would now fall in the category of ScheduledTribe.
23. TheStatehasfailedtoshowthatthereisanycommunity casteortribe,knownas[ENTITY]s. Thecommunity isknown as [ENTITY]. Further,itisapparentthattheterm[ENTITY]susedinthe At Para 2.8, Page 16 Orderisinthenatureofpluralfor[ENTITY]. Thisbecomeseven more apparent from the various documents referred to above wherein the terms [ENTITY]s and [ENTITY] have been used interchangeablyandthoughthecasteortribehasbeendescribed as [ENTITY], the members of the community, when dealt with together, have been described as [ENTITY]s. Furthermore, in the HindiversionoftheAmendmentActof1976,theScheduledTribe hasbeendescribedas[ENTITY]andnot[ENTITY]s.
24. In [ENTITY] case,the[ACT]Benchofthis Court held that caste [ENTITY] includes people of the [ENTITY] caste mainly on the ground that prior to reorganisation of the StateofMysore,therewasnocaste[ENTITY]and,therefore,the PresidentialOrdercouldnotbesetatnaughtbyexcludingwhat wasintendedtobeincludedinthelistofScheduledCastes.The presentcaseisverysimilar.Asheldabove,theStatehasfailed toplaceanymaterialonrecordtoshowthatthereisanycasteor tribebythename[ENTITY]s.Itis,therefore,apparentthatbothin thePresidentialOrderandintheAct,theterm[ENTITY]swasused aspluralfortheterm[ENTITY].
25. Wearefullyconsciousofthelimitationsonthepowersof thisCourt. Wecannotaddtoalterormodifythenotifiedlistof SchedulesCastesandScheduledTribes.Wearealsoawarethat wecannottakeintoconsiderationanyevidenceinthisregard.At thesametime,weareoftheconsideredviewthatwecannotgive suchaninterpretationtoaCasteorTribementionedinthelist of notified Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes which would havetheeffectofnullifyingtheintentionoftheParliament. In thepresentcase,earlierthePresidentandlaterParliamenthad included[ENTITY]sinthelistofScheduledTribe.Ithasbeenfound thatthereisnocommunitybythename[ENTITY]sintheStateof Odisha. The only community is [ENTITY]. If we do not include [ENTITY] in [ENTITY]s, the net result would be that we would be deletingaTribefromthelistofScheduledTribes. Thisalsono CourtorTribunalisentitledto. Wehavetoreadtheentriesin thelistinamannerwhichisconsistentwiththeintentionofthe Parliament. According to us, earlier the President and later Parliament while using the term [ENTITY]s only intended it to be used as plural for the word [ENTITY]. Any other interpretation would mean that nobody would be able to take benefit of belongingto[ENTITY]stribe.
26. Takingalltheabovefactsintoconsideration,inthepeculiar factsandcircumstancesofthecase,weareoftheviewthatthe term[ENTITY]sintheEnglishversionwillincludemembersofthe [ENTITY] community. The appeals are accordingly dismissed. Application for intervention is also dismissed. Pending application(s),ifany,shallstanddisposedof.
J. ([ENTITY]) J. ([ENTITY]) NewDelhi September27,2018