SALEK CHAND JAIN Vs. MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Article 14, 21, 16(4), 38, 46 of the Constitution of India has been filed with the following prayers:

(2.) It is the contention of the Petitioner that the members of the De-notified Nomadic Tribes, Semi-Nomadic Tribes and Nomadic Tribes like Banjare, GadiaLuhar, Bawaria, Nat, Kalbelia, Bopa, Sikligar, Singiwal,Kuchbanda, Kalander etc. are being neglected and have not been properly brought into the mainstream. It is stated that prior to Independence,under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, the members of the abovementioned tribes were named in the said Act and were treated like criminals by birth for the reason that they participated in the first War of Independence in the year 1857. It is stated that, due to this fact, these tribes were not allowed to settle at one place and were forced to move from one place to another. It is stated that the impression which is generated regarding members of these tribes is that they are criminals and indulge in crimes. It is stated that even though after Independence in the year 1952, theCriminal Tribes Act, 1871 has been abolished and the Tribes mentioned in that Act have been de-notified, but the perception amongst people that members belonging to these tribes are criminals has yet not changed. It is stated that several Committees and Commissions like the Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee, 1947; the Ayyangar Committee have been have been constituted and they have given suggestions for improvement of the conditions of the members of these tribes. The Kalelkar Commission which was constituted in 1953, gave its report in 1955; the Lokur Committee was formed in 1965; the Mandal Commission; Justice Venkatachaliah Commission etc. were constituted for suggesting measures to ameliorate the hardships faced by the members of these tribes. It is stated that a Commission called National Commission for De-Notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes has also been constituted on 14/3/2005 which gave its report on 30/6/2008. It is stated that despite the recommendations of these Commissions and Committees, constitutional and legal rights, as guaranteed in the Constitution of India, have not been provided to the members belonging to these tribes and, therefore, the present petition has been filed for a writ, order or direction to the Respondentsformulating appropriate schemes for the members of these tribes. The Petitioner also prays for a direction for these tribes to be included in the Scheduled Tribes so that they can be brought into the mainstream.

(3.) Notice in the instant petition was issued on 12/2/2020. A counter affidavit has been filed. In the said affidavit it has been stated that the Government, both at Union and State level, are implementing schemes for the welfare of De-Notified Tribes. It is further submitted that a welfare scheme namely Scheme for Economic Empowerment of De-Notified Tribes (hereinafter referred to as "SEED") with a budget of Rs.200.00 Crore for next 5 years starting from Financial Year 2021-22 has been approved by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment and it is likely to be launched very soon. It is stated that the scheme has the following components, (i) Good quality coaching for De-Notified Tribes candidates to enable them to appear in competitive examinations (ii) Health Insurance (iii) Facilitate livelihood initiative at community level and (iv) Financial assistance for construction of houses for members of these communities. It is further stated that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has constituted Development and Welfare Board for De-notified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (hereinafter referred to as "DWBDNC") for welfare of De-notified Tribes on 21/2/2019 for a period of three years, which is extendable upto 5 years, with following terms of reference:-