BALAKRISHNAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE short question that arises for consideration in these petitions is whether the caste Palluvan mentioned in the Schedule to the scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976 (Act No. 108 of 1976) takes in Pulluvan.

(2.) IN the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, 'pulluvan' was included as one of the Scheduled Castes. (This fact is admitted in paragraph 2 of the counter affidavit ). But when it was amended in 1956 and the list of scheduled castes was revised, the community's name was entered as talluvan'. IN the Schedule to the 1976 order also the community that was included is Talluvan'. Petitioners would contend that there is no community by name Talluvan' in the State of Kerala and the community that is included by the orders of 1956 and 1976 can only be tulluvan'. The name shown in the order as Talluvan' is a mistake for the word tulluvan'.

(3.) HISTORY of Pulluvan community is traced in the books like "castes and Tribes in Southern India" by Edgar Thurston, travancore Manual' by T. K. Velu Pillai,'castes and Tribes of Cochin State' by ananthakrishna Iyer etc. Edgar Thurston has observed: "pulluvan of Malabar are astrologers, Medicine-men, priests and singers in snake groves. The name is derived from hawk, because pulluvan is clever in curing the disorders which pregnant women and babies suffer from through the evil influence of these birds. The Pulluvan are some-times called 'vaidyans'. " From these treatises it is evident that Tulluvan' is a socially and educationally backward community and they are treated to be untouchables. It is worthwhile to note that no book makes any reference to a community by name Talluvan'.