MADHAVI Vs. SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHETHER the State Government, KIRTADS, or the Scrutiny committee have got the power to include in or exclude from or substitute or declare synonyms to be a scheduled caste or parts thereof or group of such caste, is the question that has come up for consideration.

(2.) THE State Government, KIRTADS and the Scrutiny committee have taken the view that Peruvannan is a synonym of Perumannan and declared that the caste known by Vannan, Mannan, Perumannan and Peruvannan are one and the same, consequently all those castes including Peruvannan be treated as scheduled castes. THE Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976 refers to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the Constitution (Andaman and Nicobar Island s ) Scheduled tribe Order, 1959 made by the President under Arts. 341 and 342 of the constitution of India. Part VIII of the First Schedule deals with State of Kerala . S1. No. 37 Mannan is considered as scheduled caste as per the Presidential order. SI. No. 53 is Perumannan and SI. No. 65 is Vannan. Presidential order 1950 treats all those castes as scheduled castes. THE Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Orders (Second Amendment) Act, 2002. Act 61 of 2002 was enacted by the Parliament and the castes Mannan, Perumannan, Vannan and Velan were shown in SI. No. 37 and hence scheduled castes. THE community Perumannan is treated as Other Backward community in the State of Kerala. List I of First Schedule to the Kerala State and Subordinate Services rules 1958, part II, deals with scheduled castes in the State of Kerala . SI. No. 37 in the said schedule is Mannan treated as scheduled caste. SI. No. 53 is Perumannan and SI. No. 65 is Vannan. All the three communities are treated as scheduled caste. However, Perumannan is included in List III as other backward class in the State of Kerala .

(3.) REPORT of KIRTADS states that Mannan, Vannan, perumannan and Perumannan are the same and Perumannan is only a caste status. We are of the view the Presidential order takes in only Perumannan and not perumannan. Unless the Presidential order is got amended, only Perumannan could be treated as scheduled caste. There is no ambiguity in the Presidential order. Presidential order has excluded Perumannan and included only Mannan and Vannan as SI. No. 37 in Act 61 of 2002. Perumannan is not included in the 1950 presidential order or the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976 or in the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Orders (Second amendment) Act, 2002. In such circumstances, the reasoning of the Scrutiny committee that Perumannan is a synonym of Mannan cannot be sustained. We reject the same and hold that Perumannan cannot be treated as scheduled caste community unless the Presidential order is amended.