Can State Govt Alter Scheduled Caste List? Here's What Supreme Court Said

Bihar Government deleted the Tanti-Tantwa community from the EBC list and merged it with 'Pan, Sawasi, Panr' under Entry 20 of the list of Scheduled Castes.

Bihar Government deleted the Tanti-Tantwa community from the EBC list

Source : PTI Images

The Supreme Court on Monday held that the Bihar Government had no power to pass the 2015 Resolution through which it merged one community in the Extremely Backward Castes list with another community in the Scheduled Caste list.

The top court ruled that a state government has no authority or power to alter the Scheduled Castes list published under Article 341 of the Constitution.

Bihar Government deleted the Tanti-Tantwa community from the EBC list after the State Backward Commission recommended it. However, the government the merged the “Tanti-Tantwa” with 'Pan, Sawasi, Panr' under Entry 20 of the list of Scheduled Castes.

The top court noted that this move by the Bihar government was nothing short of a mala fide exercise.

"...to merge “Tanti-Tantwa” with 'Pan, Sawasi, Panr' under Entry 20 of the list of Scheduled Castes was nothing short of mala fide exercise for whatever good, bad or indifferent reasons, the State may have thought at that moment."

The top court said that any inclusion or exclusion of any caste, race or tribe or part of or group within the castes, races or tribes has to be, by law made by the Parliament, and not by any other mode or manner.

The matter was presided over by a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Prashant Kumar Mishra.

The Bihar Government in 2015, merged one community in the Extremely Backward Castes list i.e., “Tanti-Tantwa” with another community in the Scheduled Caste list i.e., 'Pan, Sawasi, Panr' for extending the benefit of Schedule Caste List to the Tanti-Tantwa community.

The High Court upheld the notification by the Bihar government. Appeals were then filed in the Supreme Court against the high court order upholding the said notification.

It was argued that the state government had no competence/ authority/power to add a caste or sub-caste to any entry in the Scheduled Castes list notified under the Presidential Order under Article 341 of the Constitution of India.

The top court also held in its verdict that any such amendment, addition, deletion or modification to the list published under the Presidential Order can be made only by law enacted by Parliament and not otherwise.