NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking the inclusion of the Are-Katika (Khatik) community in the Scheduled Castes category across the country and said that only Parliament has the power to do so.
Reportedly, a bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih heard the matter and dismissed the petition as withdrawn and told the petitioner that the courts do not have the power to make additions or alterations to the SC list.
While hearing the matter and listening to the arguments by the petitioner’s counsel, Justice Gavai said, “How is such a petition tenable? The issue is so concluded by so many judgments of the Supreme Court. You should think at least...we can’t even make an alteration...we can’t even insert a comma...”
When the petition was sought to be withdrawn with liberty to approach the High Court, Justice Gavai shot back that the HC also does not have jurisdiction to grant the relief sought.
“It is only the Parliament that can do it...so well settled...comma, entry nothing can be changed [by us],” he said.
In his ruling Justice Gavai also referred to the case of Manipur, where a 2023 High Court direction to the state to consider inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list triggered unrest among the Kuki community and led to ethnic conflict between the communities. Later, pursuant to a review petition, the High Court direction was subsequently deleted.
In the petition, the petitioner said that the Are-Katika (Khatik) is a community of Hindu butchers and holds a lower status in the caste hierarchy.
While in some states (northern), the community falls under the SC category, in others, it falls under the Other Backward Classes category. As per the petitioner, this results in a situation, where if a community member transfers (due to marriage, profession, etc.) from a state that gives SC status to one that does not, the members lose their SC status and their children are deprived of the same.
The petition also mentioned that the proposal for inclusion of the community in the SC Category was considered for the first time by the Office of Registrar General of India in 2006, but not supported citing lack of proper ethnographic data.
In 2021, the petitioner sent a request to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Government of India, and thereafter, several reminders, however its proposal was not approved.