Only Parliament can exclude Lambadas from ST list, says HC

Making it clear that any inclusion in or exclusion from the list of Scheduled Tribes can be made only by Parliament, a division bench of the High Court has dismissed a petition, urging the court.

HYDERABAD:  Making it clear that any inclusion in or exclusion from the list of Scheduled Tribes can be made only by Parliament, a division bench of the High Court has dismissed a petition, urging the court to remove Lambadas from the ST list, as unconstitutional according to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976 which recognised Banjaras (Lambadas and Sugalis) as STs in Telangana.

Since Parliament, in exercise of its power under Article 342(2) of the Constitution, included Lambadas and Sugalis in the list of Scheduled Tribes, the power is conferred only on Parliament even for exclusion of Lambadas and Sugalis from the list, it said. The bench has passed this order recently on a petition filed by Gondwana Welfare Society, Adilabad, represented by its president A Hanmantha Rao, challenging the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amend) Act, 1976 in recognising Lambadas and Sugalis as STs in TS.

Besides, the petitioner society sought directions to the respondent authorities - state principal secretary to panchayat raj, state election commissioner, Adilabad district collector not to reserve any post of sarpanch/ward members under ST category to Lambadas and Sugalis in ensuing gram panchayat polls in the district.

The bench dismissed the petition, saying that it was Parliament alone which can exercise its power to make a law to exclude them from the list of Scheduled Tribes, and refused to grant the relief sought by the petitioner society. When the petitioner’s counsel sought grant of permission to make a representation to the Centre on the issue, the bench made it clear that its order shall not disable the petitioner from making a representation to the Centre.

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