BANOATH SAMLA Vs. STATE OF AP

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners belong to a community called 'Lambada'. They purchased an extent of Ac.4.16 gts. and 2.10 gts. respectively in a village called Kawal, Jannaram Mandal, Adilabad District sometime in the year 1985. On 16-11-1992, the 3rd respondent suo motu issued a notice purporting to be one under A.P. Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation, 1970 (sic. 1959) calling upon the petitioners to show-cause as to why they should not be evicted from the above described lands on the ground that the lands purchased by them are in contravention of the above mentioned Regulation. After the service of the notice, the respondents (sic. petitioners) filed their objections and personal hearing was granted, evidence was taken and an order dated 28-3-1995 came to be passed holding that the purchase by the petitioners of the above mentioned property is in contravention of the above referred Regulation and consequentially they are required to be evicted from the lands. Aggrieved by the same, the present writ petition is filed.

(2.) The case of the petitioners is that the petitioners are 'Lambadas' which is one of the Scheduled Tribes notified under the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 in exercise of the power under Article 342 (1) of the Constitution of India. Article 342(1) enables the President to specify the tribe or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes and tribal communities which shall for the purposes of the Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to a specified State or Union Territory as the case may be. Sub-article (2) authorizes the Parliament to include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Tribes notified by the President under Article 342(1). The order issued under Article 342 (1) in the year 1950 insofar as it relates to Andhra Pradesh did not specify 'Lambadas' to be a Scheduled Tribe with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh or any part thereof. However, in exercise of the power under sub-article (2), the Parliament made an enactment in the year 1977 known as The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976 (Act 108 of 1976) by which certain amendments were made to the Order issued by the President in the year 1950. Relevant in the context of the present case is that insofar as the State of Andhra Pradesh is concerned, the list was amended by including Sugalis, Lambadis in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The case of the petitioners is that by the date of the purchase of the land in issue by each of the petitioners, the community to which they belonged i.e., 'Lambadis' community was declared under law made by the Parliament to be a Scheduled Tribe in the Territory of Andhra Pradesh and therefore there was no illegality in their acquiring the land in the Scheduled Areas of the State of Andhra Pradesh.

(3.) Scheduled Areas in the State of Andhra Pradesh are governed by Article 224 read with V Schedule of the Constitution. Para 5 of the Fifth Schedule authorizes the Governor to make regulations for the peace and good government of any area of the State which is for the time being a Scheduled Area. The Constitution more specifically authorizes the Governor to make regulations in the following matters: