Allahabad HC quashes 3 UP government orders notifying 18 OBC sub-castes as SCs

PRAYAGRAJ: Ruling that only the Centre has the power to include a caste in the list of Scheduled Castes, the Allahabad high court on Wednesday cancelled three government orders, issued between 2016 and 2019, through which 18 sub-castes from other backward classes (OBCs) were notified as SCs in UP.
The first two notifications were issued by the SP government on December 21-22, 2016, while the BJP government issued the third one on June 24, 2019. The court quashed the three on the grounds that "it is the central government which is empowered to bring a caste in the ambit of SCs and the state government has no power in this regard".
The two notifications issued by the SP government in 2016 adding some OBC sub-castes to the list of Scheduled Castes were challenged through a PIL filed by Dr BR Ambedkar Granthalaya Evam Jan Kalyan, Gorakhpur, and others, arguing that they were without authority as provided under Article 341 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to specify castes, races or tribes that are to be classified as Scheduled Castes. While hearing the PIL, the court had earlier passed an interim order in favour of the petitioner and directed the state government not to issue any caste certificate on the basis of these notifications.
However, during the pendency of the PIL, the Yogi Adityanath issued its notification on June 24, 2019. This notification was also challenged, and similarly, in this case, an interim order directing the state government not to issue any caste certificate on the basis of the notification was passed.
The sub-castes which the SP and BJP governments intended to include in the SC category were Majhwar, Kahar, Kashyap, Kevat, Mallah, Nishad, Kumhar, Prajapati, Dheevar, Bind, Bhar, Rajbhar, Dhiman, Batham, Turha, Godia, Manjhi and Machchhua.
Among these, sub-castes like Kevat, Mallah, Bind, Nishad and Manjhi broadly come under the Nishad community, which has been demanding SC status for a long time. Nishad Party, which claims to be representing the community, is part of the NDA alliance since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Before that it was an ally of the SP.
The issue of inclusion of certain OBC sub-castes in the SC list has been lingering for the past 18 years. It was in 2004 that the Mulayam Singh Yadav government amended the UP Public Services Act, 1994 to include as many as 17 OBC sub-castes in the SC category. The Allahabad high court, however, quashed the decision, declaring the move unconstitutional and void as it was taken without the consent of the Centre. The issue was revived when the SP came to power again in 2012.
SP on Wednesday alleged that reservation to the 18 most backward communities got cancelled due to the "ineffective" action in court by the BJP government.