NARENDRA KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner claims to be a public spirited citizen. He holds the post of State General Secretary, All India Confederation of SC/ST Organization (Regd.), Bihar State Committee, Patna. His prayer in the writ petition is for quashing the resolution dated 30th August, 2007 contained in Memo No. 2950, whereby the State, Government has taken decision to constitute a 'Rajya Maha Dalit Aayog '. The petitioner has also prayed for quashing the consequential order/notification dated 20th September, 2007 appointing the Chairman and members of that Commission.

(2.) THE whole thrust of argument of the counsel for the petitioner is that sub -classification or micro -classification of the Scheduled Castes notified in the Presidential Order is impermissible. Reliance is placed upon the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of E.V. Chinnaiah vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and Others, (2005)1 SCC 394. It needs no elaboration that Article 341 of the Constitution of India indicates that"there can only be one list of Scheduled Castes with regard to the State and that list should include the specified castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups notified in the Presidential list. An amendment of the President 'sOrder made under clause (i) of Article 341 can be made only by legislation by Parliament. Whenever, we talk of Scheduled Castes or wherever the reference is made to Scheduled Castes in the Constitution, it only refers to the list prepared by the President under Article 341 of the Constitution of India and there is no reference to any sub -classification or division in the said list.

(3.) IN the backdrop of the aforesaid legal position when we consider the resolution dated 30th August, 2007, what transpires therefrom is that the State Government has constituted a Commission entitled 'Rajya Maha Dalit Aayog ', Bihar comprising of one Chairman and four Members. The Aayog (Commission) has been constituted for the purposes of; (i) identification of the weakest amongst the Scheduled Castes in the State of Bihar from amongst the list notified in the Presidential Order: (ii) finding out the cause of the backwardness of such Scheduled Castes after studying their social and educational status and to make recommendations for eradication of their backwardness and (iii) upliftment of social and educational status of such Maha Dalits and for providing employment to them.