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REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 10829-10830 OF 2010 PUDUCHERRY S.C. PEOPLE WELFARE ...APPELLANT(S) ASSOCIATION

VERSUS CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVT.,      ...RESPONDENT(S) UNION TERRITORY OF PONDICHERRY & ORS.

J  U  D  G  M  E  N  T

R.M. LODHA, C.J.I.

The appellant is an association representing  the Scheduled Caste residents who have permanent  residence/place  of  abode  in  Puducherry.  The  association filed two Writ Petitions before the  High Court challenging the two Government Orders  being  G.O.Ms.No.11/2005/Wel(SCW  II)  [for  short,  

'G.O.M. 11/2005'] and G.O.Ms.No.12/2005/Wel(SCW II)  [for  short,  'G.O.M.  12/2005']  both  dated  05.08.2005. G.O.M. 11/2005  relates to reservation  benefits in promotion and employment to Group C &  D posts and the other G.O.M. 12/2005 relates to  reservation benefits in professional courses.

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:2: 2. The  High  Court  was  not  persuaded  by  the  arguments of the writ petitioner and dismissed the  two  Writ  Petitions  by  a  common  order  dated  21.07.2008. 3. The present Civil Appeals, by special leave,  arise from the above common judgment. 4. Both  Government  Orders  take  note  of  the  Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order,  1964 and also the judgment of this Court in  S.  Pushpa and others  Vs. Sivachanmugavelu and others1  

and then provide for extension of reservation only  to  the  Scheduled  Castes  origins  of  the  Union  Territory. 5. Para 5 of G.O.M. 11/2005 reads as follows :-

“Having  examined  the  demand  made  by  various  Welfare  Associations  and  Scheduled  Castes  (origin)  people  of  the  Union  Territory  of  Pondicherry  and  taking  into  account  the  observations made by the Hon'ble Supreme Court  at  para  21  of  the  said  judgment  dated  11.02.2005, the Lieutenant Governor, Pondicherry  is  pleased  to  order  that  the  reservation  benefits in promotion, employment to Group 'C'  and 'D' posts shall henceforth be extended only  to  the  Scheduled  Caste  origins  of  the  Union  Territory  as  notified  in  the  Constitution  (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964 read

1   (2005) 3 SCC 1

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:3: with the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order  (Second Amendment) Act, 2002 (Central Act 61 of  2002).”

6. Similarly, para 5 of  G.O.M. 12/2005 reads as  follows :-

“Having  examined  the  demand  made  by  various  Welfare  Associations  and  Scheduled  Castes  (origin)  people  of  the  Union  Territory  of  Pondicherry  and  taking  into  account  the  observations made by the Hon'ble Supreme Court  at  para  21  of  the  said  judgment  dated  11.02.2005,  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  Pondicherry  is  pleased  to  order  that  the  reservation benefits in the field of education  and welfare shall henceforth be extended only  to the Scheduled Caste origins of this Union  Territory  as  notified  in  the  Constitution  (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964 read  with the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order  (Second Amendment) Act, 2002 (Central Act 61 of  2002).”

7. Leave  was  granted  in  these  matters  on  13.12.2010 and it was ordered that these matters  be tagged with Civil Appeal No. 4494 of 2006.   8. It  so  happened  that  subsequently  by  order  dated October 7, 2010, Civil Appeal No. 4494 of  20062, came to be referred to a 3-Judge Bench as  the 2-Judge Bench,  inter alia, observed that in  Subhash  Chandra  Vs.  Delhi  Subordinate  Service  

Selection Board3, the 2-Judge Bench could not have

2  (2010) 12 SCC 794,  State of Uttaranchal Vs. Sandeep Kumar Singh and  Others 3  (2009) 15 SCC 458

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:4: held that the decision rendered in S. Puspha1 case  is obiter and not binding.   9. Civil  Appeal  No.  4494  of  20062 has  been  dismissed by us yesterday (August 6, 2014) without  answering the reference as it was not necessary in  view  of  paragraph  4  of  the  impugned  judgment  therein. 10. In the present case also, it is not necessary  to  answer  the  question  raised  in  the  reference  only in Civil Appeal No. 4494 of 20062 as we find  that  the  impugned  Government  Orders  cannot  be  sustained on the short ground, viz., they being  not  in  consonance  with  the  Presidential  Order,  1964. 11. The  Presidential  Order,  1964  reads  as  follows :-

“THE CONSTITUTION (PONDICHERRY) SCHEDULED CASTES  ORDER, 1964

(C.O. 68) In exercise of the powers conferred by clause  

(1)  of  article  341  of  the  Constitution  of  India, the  President is  pleased to  make the  following Order, namely:- 1. The Order may be called the Constitution  (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964.

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:5:

2. The castes, races or tribes or parts of  or  groups  within  castes,  races  or  tribes  specified in the Schedule to this Order shall,  for the purposes of the Constitution, be deemed  to be Scheduled Castes in relation to the Union  Territory  of  Pondicherry  so  far  as  regards  members  thereof  resident  in  that  Union  territory.

Provided that no person, who professes a  religion different from the Hindu or the Sikh  religion, shall be deemed to be a member of a  Scheduled Caste.

THE SCHEDULE 1. Adi Andhra   9.  Pallan 2. Adi Dravida   10. Parayan, Sambavar 3. Chakkiliyan   11. Samban 4. Jambuvulu   12. Thoti 5. Kuravan   13. Valluvan 6. Madiga   14. Vetan 7. Mala, Mala Masti   15. Vettiyan 8. Paky”

12. It  will  be  seen  from  para  2  of  the  above  Presidential  Order  that  the  castes,  races  or  tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races  or tribes (15 in all) specified in the Schedule  appended thereto are deemed to be Scheduled Castes  for the purposes of the Constitution in relation  to the Union Territory of Pondicherry so far as  regards members thereof are resident in the Union  Territory.

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:6: 13. The Government Orders, however, have confined  reservation benefits to Scheduled Castes origins  of the Union Territory of Pondicherry. It would be  seen that the Presidential Order does not speak of  “origins” of the Union Territory of Pondicherry,  it only speaks of “resident”. 14. Article  341  of  the  Constitution  of  India  provides as under:-

“341. Scheduled Castes.-(1) The President may  with respect to any State or Union territory,  and  where  it  is  a  State,  after  consultation  with  the  Governor  thereof,  by  public  notification,  specify  the  castes,  races  or  tribes  or  parts  of  or  groups  within  castes,  races or tribes which shall for the purposes of  this  Constitution  be  deemed  to  be  Scheduled  Castes  in  relation  to  that  State  or  Union  territory, as the case may be. (2) Parliament may by law include in or exclude  from the list of Scheduled Castes specified in  a  notification  issued  under  clause  (1)  any  caste, race or tribe or part of or group within  any caste, race or tribe, but save as aforesaid  a  notification  issued  under  the  said  clause  shall  not  be  varied  by  any  subsequent  notification.”

15. It is important to bear in mind that it is by  virtue  of  the  notification  of  President  under  Article 341(1) that the Scheduled Castes come into  being. The  members  of the Scheduled Castes are

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:7: drawn from castes, races or tribes, they attain a  new status by virtue of Presidential Order. Clause  (2) of Article 341 empowers Parliament alone by  law  to  include  or  exclude  from  the  list  of  Scheduled  Castes  specified  in  a  notification  issued under Clause (1) by the President. By no  executive  power,  the  amendment,  modification,  alteration or variance in the Presidential Order  is permissible. It is not open to the executive to  do anything directly or indirectly which may lead  to  any  change  in  the  Presidential  Order.  Once  Presidential Order has been issued under Article  341(1)  or  Article  342(1),  any  amendment  in  the  Presidential  Order  can  only  be  made  by  the  Parliament by law as provided in Article 341(2) or  Article  342(2),  as  the  case  may  be,  and  in  no  other manner.  The interpretation of “resident” in  the Presidential Order as “of origin” amounts to  altering the Presidential Order. 16. Thus, we find that the impugned Government  Orders  -  G.O.M. 11/2005  and G.O.M. 12/2005 -  not being in conformity and consonance with the

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:8: Presidential  Order, 1964  cannot be  sustained in  law  and  have  to  be  set  aside.  We  order  accordingly. 17. Civil Appeals are allowed as above with no  order as to costs.

............................CJI. (R.M. LODHA)

..............................J. (MADAN B. LOKUR)

NEW DELHI; ...............................J. AUGUST 7, 2014 (KURIAN JOSEPH)