Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950

The appellant, a co‑employee of Mahesh Deorao Bhivapurkar, challenged a High Court order that had declared Bhivapurkar a member of the Halba Scheduled Tribe and directed the employer to accept his caste certificate. The Supreme Court held that the High Court's decision was unsustainable, did not create res judicata, an…

The State of Kerala appealed a Kerala High Court order that quashed charges under Sections 3(i) and 3(xi) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, on the ground that the victim’s family had converted to Christianity two centuries earlier and therefore ceased to be members of a …

The State of Odisha appealed against a judgment that held the tribe "Kulis" listed in the Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Act, 1976, includes members of the "Kuli" community. The issue was whether the term "Kulis" was a distinct tribe or merely the plural of "Kuli", which had earlier been listed as a Scheduled Caste…

Prabhat Kumar Sharma, a member of the Lohar community in Bihar, claimed Scheduled Tribe status to obtain reservation benefits in the Civil Services examinations. The UPSC initially allowed him to appear as a Scheduled Tribe candidate based on a High Court direction, but later treated him as an Other Backward Class afte…

Sudhakar Vithal Kumbhare, a resident of Madhya Pradesh belonging to the Halba tribe, was promoted to Assistant Engineer in the Maharashtra State Electricity Board under a reserved post. The Board later reverted him to Junior Engineer, arguing that he was not entitled to reservation benefits in Maharashtra. The Supreme …

The Action Committee on Issue of Caste Certificate filed a writ petition under Article 32 challenging Maharashtra's denial of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe benefits to persons who had migrated from other states. The petition argued that the denial violated Articles 14, 15(1), 16(2), 19 and the spirit of Articles …

Anjan Kumar, the son of a Scheduled Tribe mother and a non‑tribal father, obtained a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate on the basis of his mother's status and cleared the Civil Services Examination as an ST candidate, but was denied a final posting. He challenged the Union of India's refusal and the enquiry report that …

The appellant, Priya Pramod Gajbe, secured admission to an MBBS programme under a Scheduled Tribe (ST) seat, claiming membership in the Mana tribe. The Scrutiny Committee rejected her claim on the basis that she failed the Affinity Test and could not prove ancestral residence in the tribe's traditional area; the High C…

The respondent, Suresh Ramkrishna Burde, claimed to belong to the Halba Scheduled Tribe and produced a caste certificate to obtain a clerk position at BHEL, a post reserved for Scheduled Tribes. After complaints, the employer referred the matter to the District Collector and a Scrutiny Committee, which after thorough i…

Kavita Solunke was appointed as a teacher in an aided school in Maharashtra to a post reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, claiming to belong to the Halba tribe. Ten years later, a caste‑verification committee found that her father was a Koshti, a caste not listed as a Scheduled Tribe, and cancelled her caste certi…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Mana community in Maharashtra is a sub‑tribe of the Gond tribe or a distinct Scheduled Tribe, and whether state resolutions could alter the status conferred by the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order. The Court held that the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, as amended by P…