CAN’T EXCLUDE BANJARAS FROM ST LIST, SAYS HC
The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition seeking to declare as illegal, a law which recognises Banjaras (Lambadas and Sugalis) as Scheduled Tribes. The court said both communities form a distinct class and their inclusion in Schedule II to the Central Act No. 108 of 1976, has not been shown to be violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice J. Uma Devi said: “Since Parliament has exercised its power, under Article 342 (2) of the Constitution, to make the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976 (Central Act 108 of 1976) including Lambadis and Sugalis in the list of STs, it is Parliament alone which can exercise its power to make a law to exclude them from the list of STs.”
The bench was dismissing a petition filed by the Gondwana Welfare Society of Adilabad represented by its president Ada Hanmanth Rao challenging the Act as illegal and violative of Article 342 (which relates to Scheduled Tribes) of the Constitution. He had challenged the recognition accorded to Banjaras (Lambadis and Sugalis) as STs in the Telangana area of the erstwhile undivided AP.
The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition seeking to declare as illegal a law which recognises Banjaras (Lambadas and Sugalis) as Scheduled Tribes.
The court agreed with the contention of the petitioner that the unrest in the Scheduled Areas of Adilabad district was because other STs were aggrieved that the benefits extended to them were being cornered by Lambadis and Sugalis. It said: “Fact remains that these are not matters of judicial review, since the power of inclusion in, or exclusion from, the list of STs is conferred only on Parliament.”
Mr K. Anji Reddy, counsel for the petitioner, urged the court to permit the petitioner society to put forth their grievance before the Centre and ask it to take necessary steps to amend Act 108 and to exclude Lambadis and Sugalis from the list of STs.
The bench said: “Suffice it to make it clear that the order now passed by us shall not disable the petitioner from making a representation to the government of India requesting them to consider their grievance.”