Holding

The term "Kulis" in the Scheduled Tribes Order is to be read as the plural of "Kuli" and thus includes the Kuli community.

Summary

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 in Sambalpur district. The Court examined the 1950 Presidential Order, the 1956 Modification Order, and the 1976 Act, and noted that no separate community called "Kulis" existed in Odisha. Relying on earlier Constitution Bench decisions that courts cannot alter the list of Scheduled Castes or Tribes but must interpret it to give effect to the intention of the President and Parliament, the Court concluded that "Kulis" is the plural form of "Kuli" and therefore includes the Kuli community. Consequently, the appeals were dismissed, confirming that members of the Kuli community are entitled to Scheduled Tribe benefits.

Issues considered

Whether the tribe "Kulis" mentioned in the Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976, includes persons belonging to the "Kuli" community.
Whether a court can modify or reinterpret the list of Scheduled Tribes or Castes beyond the intention of the Presidential Order and the Parliament.

Legislation cited

Subjects

Scheduled TribesScheduled CastesConstitution Article 342Kuli communityKulis tribePlural interpretationPresidential OrderParliamentary amendmentJudicial limitation

Judgment

[2018] 13 S.C.R. 443 443

STATE OF ORISSA A
v.
DASARATHI MEHER
(Civil Appeal No. 7362 of 2013)
SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 B
[MADAN B. LOKUR AND DEEPAK GUPTA, JJ.]
Constitution of India – Arts.341 and 342 – 1950 Presidential
Order declared “Kulis” to be Scheduled Tribe in the appellant-State
– However, 1956 Presidential Order declared “Kuli” to be Scheduled C
Caste in Sambalpur District only while also continued declaring
“Kulis” to be Scheduled Tribe in the State – Said Presidential Orders
replaced by 1976 Act in which caste “Kuli” was not mentioned,
however,”Kulis” was notified as Scheduled Tribe – Issue as to
whether the tribe mentioned as “Kulis” in the 1976 Act includes
persons belonging to the “Kuli” community – Held: After the D
President issues Order u/Art.341 or 342, specifying the tribes or
tribal communities or parts of or groups thereof, which shall for the
purposes of the Constitution, be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in
relation to that State, the said Order cannot be amended, modified,
added to or any caste or tribe deleted therefrom by the State or by E
any court or tribunal – Only the Parliament can enact a law to
include or exclude any caste, race or tribe from the list of Scheduled
Castes or Scheduled Tribes– However, the Court has to ensure that
the order is read in such a manner that no caste or tribe, which is
intended by President or by Parliament to be included, is actually
excluded – In the present case, earlier the President (in the F
Presidential Order) and later Parliament (in the 1976 Act) had
included “Kulis” in the list of Scheduled Tribe – However, the State
has failed to show that there is any community caste or tribe, known
as “Kulis” in the State of Odisha – Thus, there was only one
community known as “Kuli” which was treated as Scheduled Caste G
in Sambalpur District for some time but was treated as Scheduled
Tribe for the entire State – Term “Kulis” used in the Order is in the
nature of plural for “Kuli” –”Kulis” and “Kuli” have been used
interchangeably – Thus, if “Kuli” is not included in “Kulis”, the
net result would be deleting a Tribe from the list of Scheduled Tribes
H
443
444 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2018] 13 S.C.R.

A – This also no Court or Tribunal is entitled to – Any other
interpretation would mean that nobody would be able to take benefit
of belonging to “Kulis” tribe– Term “Kulis” will include members
of the “Kuli” community – Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976– Schedule II, Part XII– Constitution
(Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950– Part VI– Scheduled Castes and
B
Scheduled Tribes Lists (Modification) Order, 1956– Part IX,
Schedule I, Part IX, Schedule III.

Dismissing the appeals, the Court

HELD: 1.1 Despite pointed queries put by the Court, the
C appellant and the intervenor could not place any material to show
that there is a separate community by the name “Kulis”. Time
and again, the documents which were referred to were the
documents relating to the period when “Kuli” were declared to
be Scheduled Caste in the district Sambalpur whereas “Kulis”
D were declared to be a tribe in the entire State. The documents
referred to by both the parties which are more in the nature of
reports, indicate that “Kuli” is a community of weavers who were
earlier forest dwellers. This community is engaged in the weaving
of very coarse type of cloth. In none of the documents could one
find any material to show that “Kuli” or “Kulis” are two different
E castes or tribes dealing with some different vocations. In all the
documents they have been dealt with synonymously. [Para 16]
[4520-H; 453-A-C]

1.2 In the statement showing the population, both
communities are described as “Kuli” but while describing the
F
occupation, the members of the community are described as
“Kulis”. This shows that there was only one community known
as “Kuli”, which was treated as Scheduled Caste for some time
in the district of Sambalpur but was treated as Scheduled Tribe
for the entire State of Odisha. In none of the documents placed
G by the State, there is any indication to show that there is a separate
caste or tribe by the name “Kulis”. [Para 21] [455-D]

1.3 In the 24th Report of the Commissioner for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes, it is clearly indicated that the “Kuli”
community has been deleted from the list of Scheduled Castes in
H
STATE OF ORISSA v. DASARATHI MEHER 445

Sambalpur as “Kulis” are already declared as Scheduled Tribe A
throughout the State. This clearly indicates that the Commissioner
was of the view that “Kuli” community which was one of the
communities declared to be Scheduled Castes in Sambalpur
district, would now fall in the category of Scheduled Tribe.
[Para 22] [455-E-H]
B
1.4 The State has failed to show that there is any community
caste or tribe, known as “Kulis”. The community is known as
“Kuli”. Further, it is apparent that the term “Kulis” used in the
Order is in the nature of plural for “Kuli”. This becomes even
more apparent from the various documents referred wherein the C
terms “Kulis” and “Kuli” have been used interchangeably and
though the caste or tribe has been described as “Kuli”, the
members of the community, when dealt with together, have been
described as “Kulis”. Furthermore, in the Hindi version of the
Amendment Act of 1976, the Scheduled Tribe has been described
as “Kuli” and not “Kulis”. [Para 23] [456-A-B] D

1.5 The power of the Court is very limited and the Court
cannot modify, alter, add to or subtract from the Presidential Order
issued under Article 342 or the notification issued by Parliament.
One is fully conscious of the limitations on the powers of this
Court. Court cannot add to, alter or modify the notified list of E
Schedules Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Court cannot take into
consideration any evidence in this regard. At the same time,
Court cannot give such an interpretation to a Caste or Tribe
mentioned in the list of notified Scheduled Castes or Scheduled
Tribes which would have the effect of nullifying the intention of F
the Parliament. In the present case, earlier the President and
later Parliament had included “Kulis” in the list of Scheduled
Tribe. It has been found that there is no community by the name
“Kulis” in the State of Odisha. The only community is “Kuli”. If
“Kuli” is not included in “Kulis”, the net result would be of
deleting a Tribe from the list of Scheduled Tribes. This also no G
Court or Tribunal is entitled to. The entries in the list are to be
read in a manner which is consistent with the intention of the
Parliament. Earlier the President and later Parliament while using

H
446 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2018] 13 S.C.R.

A the term “Kulis” only intended it to be used as plural for the
word “Kuli”. Any other interpretation would mean that nobody
would be able to take benefit of belonging to “Kulis” tribe. The
term “Kulis” in the English version will include members of the
“Kuli” community. [Paras 10, 25 and 26] [451-D-E; 456-E-H;
457-A-B]
B
B. Basavalingappa v. D. Munichinnappa [1965] 1 SCR
316 ; Bhaiya Lal v. Harikishan Singh AIR 1965 SC
1557 : [1965] 2 SCR 877; State of Maharashtra v.
Milind (2001) 1 SCC 4 : [2000] 5 Suppl. SCR 65 ;
C Sebaram Meher v. The State of Orissa 58 (1984) CLT
562 – referred to.

Case Law Reference

[1965] 1 SCR 316 referred to Para 7
D
[1965] 2 SCR 877 referred to Para 8

[2000] 5 Suppl. SCR 65 referred to Para 9

58 (1984) CLT 562 referred to Para 14
E
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 7362
of 2013

From the Judgment and Order dated 12.09.2011 of the High Court
of Orissa at Cuttack in W.P. (C) No. 18140 of 2011
F
WITH

Civil Appeal No. 7363 of 2013, Civil Appeal Nos.10066, 10061
and 10065 of 2018.
G V. Giri, Sr. Adv., Shibashish Misra, Ashish Kumar Sinha, Chandan
Kumar Mandal, Ms. Anindita Pujari, Ms. Kavita Bhardwaj, S. K. Patri,
S.K. Rajora, Mohd. Gayasuddin, R.P. Goyal, Rameshwar Prasad Goyal,
Soumyajit Pani, Ms. Svadha Sankar, Chittaranjan Singh, Sunil Kumar
Jain, Vinodh Kanna B., Shibashish Misra, Ms. Renuka Sahu, Jay Savla
H Advs. for the appearing parties.
STATE OF ORISSA v. DASARATHI MEHER 447

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by A
DEEPAK GUPTA, J. 1. Leave granted in SLP (C) No. 13172
of 2015, SLP (C) No. 13169 of 2015 and SLP (C) No. 13171 of 2015.
2. Whether the tribe mentioned as “Kulis” in the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976 in Schedule II in
Part XII at Item No. 42 includes persons belonging to the “Kuli” B
community, is the issue which needs to be decided in the present group
of cases.
3. Article 342 of the Constitution of India reads as follows:
“342. Scheduled Tribes.- (1) The President may with respect C
to any State or Union territory, and where it is a State, after
consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification,
specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within
tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes of this
Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that
State or Union territory, as the case may be. D
(2) Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of
Scheduled Tribes specified in a notification issued under clause
(1) any tribe or tribal community or part of or group within any
tribe or tribal community, but save as aforesaid a notification issued
under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequent E
notification.”
4. It would be pertinent to mention that the aforesaid article is
almost identical to Article 341 relating to Scheduled Castes. The only
difference being that Article 341 deals with “castes, races or tribes or
parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes” whereas Article 342 F
deals only with “tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within
tribes or tribal communities”. This small difference will not have any
effect while interpreting the two articles on the facts of these cases.
5. The stand of the appellant, the State of Odisha (formerly known
as ‘Orissa’) and the intervenor is that since in the Scheduled Castes and G
Scheduled Tribes Order, the tribe which has been declared to be a
Scheduled Tribe is “Kulis”, the members of the “Kuli” community cannot
take benefit of being declared as Scheduled Tribes. It is further submitted
that no court including this Court has the power to change or modify
H
448 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2018] 13 S.C.R.

A what is stated in the Presidential Order and later in the Act of Parliament
and, therefore, the High Court erred in holding that “Kulis” would include
“Kuli”.
6. Before dealing with the factual aspect of the matter it would be
pertinent to reiterate the legal position and the limits of the power of the
B court while dealing with these issues. A bare perusal of clause (1) of
Article 342 of the Constitution clearly shows that the President with
respect to any State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, may
by public notification specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of
or groups thereof, which shall for the purposes of the Constitution, be
deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State. After the
C President issues an Order under Article 341 or 342, the said Order cannot
be amended, modified, added to or any caste or tribe deleted therefrom
by the State or by any court or tribunal. It is only the Parliament, which
can enact a law to include or exclude from the lists of Scheduled Castes
or Scheduled Tribes any caste, race or tribe. The power to alter the
D Presidential Order lies only with Parliament and no other authority.
Therefore, the notification issued by the President is final for all purposes
and for all times except if modified by a law made by Parliament.
7. These provisions have been considered in a number of cases.
We need not refer to all, except three Constitution Bench judgments of
E this Court. The first Constitution Bench judgment was rendered in B.
Basavalingappa v. D. Munichinnappa1. In this case the issue was
whether a person belonging to the “Voddar” caste could claim that he
belonged to the “Bhovi” caste which had been notified as a Scheduled
Caste. This Court held that normally it is not open for any court or
tribunal to go into this question or to take evidence that “Voddar” caste
F is the same as “Bhovi” caste. The Court held it to be a settled position
of law that it is not open to any court or tribunal to make any modification
in the Presidential Order by referring to evidence to show that though
caste “A” alone is mentioned in the order, caste “B” is also part of caste
“A” and, therefore, must be deemed to be included in caste “A”. It was
G noted by this Court that wherever there is one caste or one tribe having
more than one name then in the Presidential Order, the other name(s) is
normally mentioned in brackets. Having held so, this Court, in the facts
of the case, found that it was necessary to go into the question because
it was not disputed that there was no caste known as “Bhovi” in the
1
H (1965) 1 SCR 316
STATE OF ORISSA v. DASARATHI MEHER 449
[DEEPAK GUPTA, J.]

Mysore State before its reorganisation in 1956. Following observations A
of the Court are relevant:
“.........The difficulty in the present case arises from the fact (which
was not disputed before the High Court) that in the Mysore State
as it was before the re-organisation of 1956 there was no caste
known as Bhovi at all. The Order refers to a scheduled caste B
known as Bhovi in the Mysore State as it was before 1956 and
therefore it must be accepted that there was some caste which
the President intended to include after consultation with the
Rajpramukh in the Order, when the Order mentions the caste
Bhovi as a scheduled caste. It cannot be accepted that the
President included the caste Bhovi in the Order though there was C
no such caste at all in the Mysore State as it existed before
1956........”
Thereafter, this Court referred to the material placed before it
and came to the conclusion that “Bhovi” caste was earlier known as the
“Voddar” caste. It appeared that at a Conference of the Voddar Caste, D
held in July, 1944, it was resolved that the name of that caste be changed
from “Voddar” to “Bhovi”. Eventually, the Government also accepted
the said Resolution by passing an order.
The matter does not end here. The Government Order directed
that the community known as ‘Vodda’ would in future be called as ‘Boyi’ E
in all Government communications and records. This Court also
considered the issue of change in spellings wherein ‘Boyi’ was mentioned
in the Government Order but the caste declared to be a Scheduled Caste
was “Bhovi”. Furthermore, the Government Order refers to ‘Vodda’
and not to “Voddar”. Dealing with the issue of different spellings the F
Constitution Bench held as follows:
“......Here again there is force in the contention that where the
same caste was spelt differently, the different spellings have been
provided in the Order as illustrated already. But the same difficulty
which faced us in considering the question whether Voddar caste G
was meant by the caste Bhovi included in the Order arises when
we consider the difference in spellings, for it is not in dispute that
there was no caste known as Bhovi in the Mysore State as it
existed in 1950 when the Order was passed. As the President
could not have included in the Order a non-existent caste it means
H
450 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2018] 13 S.C.R.

A the word ‘Bhovi’ relates to some caste in Mysore as it was before
1956 and we have therefore to establish the identity of that caste
and that can only be done by evidence. In that connection the
High Court has held that ever since the Order of 1946, the Voddar
caste has been variously spelt as Boyi, Bovi and Bhovi in English,
though the Kanada equivalent is one and the same. The High
B
Court therefore has not attached any importance to the change in
the English spelling in the peculiar circumstances of this case........”
8. The second Constitution Bench judgment is in the case of
Bhaiya Lal v. Harikishan Singh2 . In this case the appellant claimed
that he belonged to ‘Dohar’ caste, which was a sub-caste of ‘Chamar’
C caste. The Constitution Bench held that an inquiry of such a kind was
not permissible.
9. The third Constitution Bench judgment is in the case of the
State of Maharashtra v. Milind3. In this case the notified Scheduled
Tribe was Halba/Halbi. The High Court, relying upon certain material
D held that “Halba-Koshti” was included in “Halba” or Halbi”. This Court
held that it was not permissible for the courts to do so. After discussing
the entire law, this Court held as follows:
“36. In the light of what is stated above, the following positions
emerge:
E
1. It is not at all permissible to hold any inquiry or let in any evidence
to decide or declare that any tribe or tribal community or part of
or group within any tribe or tribal community is included in the
general name even though it is not specifically mentioned in the
entry concerned in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
F
2. The Scheduled Tribes Order must be read as it is. It is not
even permissible to say that a tribe, sub-tribe, part of or group of
any tribe or tribal community is synonymous to the one mentioned
in the Scheduled Tribes Order if they are not so specifically
mentioned in it.
G
3. A notification issued under clause (1) of Article 342, specifying
Scheduled Tribes, can be amended only by law to be made by
Parliament. In other words, any tribe or tribal community or part
of or group within any tribe can be included or excluded from the
2
AIR 1965 SC 1557
H 3
(2001) 1 SCC 4
STATE OF ORISSA v. DASARATHI MEHER 451
[DEEPAK GUPTA, J.]

list of Scheduled Tribes issued under clause (1) of Article 342 A
only by Parliament by law and by no other authority.
4. It is not open to State Governments or courts or tribunals or
any other authority to modify, amend or alter the list of Scheduled
Tribes specified in the notification issued under clause (1) of Article
342. B
5. Decisions of the Division Benches of this Court in Bhaiya
Ram Munda v. Anirudh Patar4 and Dina v. Narain Singh5 did
not lay down law correctly in stating that the inquiry was
permissible and the evidence was admissible within the limitations
indicated for the purpose of showing what an entry in the
Presidential Order was intended to be. As stated in Position (1) C
above no inquiry at all is permissible and no evidence can be let in,
in the matter.”
It would be pertinent to mention that in Milind’s case (supra), the
Constitution Bench reaffirmed the ratio of the earlier two Constitution
Bench judgments. D
10. It is thus obvious that the power of the Court is very limited
and the Court cannot modify, alter, add to or subtract from the Presidential
Order or the notification issued by Parliament. At the same time, the
Court has to ensure that the order is read in such a manner that no caste
or tribe, which is intended by President or by Parliament to be included, E
is actually excluded.
11. Mr. Shibashish Misra, learned counsel appearing for the State
submits that in view of the judgment delivered in Milind’s case (supra),
no court or authority has any jurisdiction to add any tribe or caste.
According to him, since the tribe, which has been declared to be a
F
Scheduled Tribe is “Kulis”, the courts cannot give an interpretation that
persons belonging to “Kuli” community are also entitled to the benefit of
being declared Scheduled Tribe. On the other hand Mr. V. Giri, learned
senior counsel submits that it is but obvious that “Kulis” is only a plural
for “Kuli” and not a separate caste.
12. Coming to the facts of the present case, the first Order which G
has been placed on record is the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order,
1950 and in Part VI the Schedule, dealing with the State of Odisha at
Item No. 31, the tribe “Kulis” has been declared to be a Scheduled Tribe
4
(1970) 2 SCC 825
5
38 ELR 212; (1968) 8 DEC 329 H
452 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2018] 13 S.C.R.

A for the entire State of Odisha. The next relevant document is the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Lists (Modification) Order, 1956
and in Part IX of Schedule I, dealing with the State of Odisha, “Kuli”
has been declared to be a Scheduled Caste in Sambalpur district only.
In the very same order in Part IX of Schedule III, “Kulis” continued to
be declared to be a Scheduled Tribe throughout the State of Odisha.
B
13. The Parliament replaced the Presidential Orders by the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976.
This Act was enacted for the purposes of inclusion and exclusion from
the lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of certain castes and
tribes. The Presidential Orders were replaced by this Act. In Schedule
C I at Part XIII dealing with the State of Odisha, the caste “Kuli” no
longer finds mention. In Schedule II at Part XII dealing with the
Scheduled Tribes, the tribe “Kulis” is notified to be a Scheduled Tribe
for the whole of the State of Odisha. The Hindi version of this Order
describes the tribe “Kuli” (A2@ ) as a Scheduled Tribe.
D 14. Persons belonging to the “Kuli” community have for long been
claiming that they are part of the “Kulis” tribe and the High Court of
Odisha has always held that the term “Kulis” is nothing but a plural for
the term “Kuli” and has consistently held that “Kuli” are part and parcel
of “Kulis” tribe. The first judgment in this regard was delivered in
E Sebaram Meher v. The State of Orissa6. A Division Bench of the
High Court held that there is no difference between the terms “Kuli”
and “Kulis” because it was not disputed that there is no separate
community known as “Kulis” in the State of Odisha. This view was
followed in a large number of judgments including the judgment under
appeal. The State of Odisha did not challenge the earlier judgments.
F Those judgments became binding as far as the State of Odisha is
concerned.
15. Mr. Misra submits that since those judgments were rendered
before the Constitution Bench judgment in Milind’s case (supra), they
were not challenged by the State of Odisha. This submission is wholly
G without merit. In Milind’s case (supra) this Court has only reiterated
what was said in Basavalingappa’s case and in Bhaiya Lal’s case
(supra) and many other cases. Therefore, we cannot accept the
explanation of the State in this regard.
16. We have even otherwise gone into the merits of the matter.
H Despite pointed queries put by the Court, learned counsel for the appellant
STATE OF ORISSA v. DASARATHI MEHER 453
[DEEPAK GUPTA, J.]

and the intervenor could not place any material before us to show that A
there is a separate community by the name “Kulis”. Time and again, the
documents which were referred to were the documents relating to the
period when “Kuli” were declared to be Scheduled Caste in the district
Sambalpur whereas “Kulis” were declared to be a tribe in the entire
State. The documents referred to by both the parties which are more in
B
the nature of reports, indicate that “Kuli” is a community of weavers
who were earlier forest dwellers. This community is engaged in the
weaving of very coarse type of cloth. In none of the documents could
we find any material to show that “Kuli” or “Kulis” are two different
castes or tribes dealing with some different vocations. In all the
documents they have been dealt with synonymously. C
17. In 1962, in a study conducted by the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute, the following remarks
were made:
“The Kuli As a Tribe – The Kuli are fully integrated with the
caste hierarchy of the Hindu society. They accept the superiority D
of the Brahman, have functional relationship with other castes
and have a rigidly fixed caste occupation. They worship the gods
of the Hindus and have no separate gods or goddesses. They do
not take such food and indulge in such practices which are prohibited
for Hindus. Rather they behave like high castes in this respect. E
Conclusion – On the basis of the above findings the following
conclusions may be drawn:-
(1) There is no reason to justify the Kuli being treated as a
tribe.
F
(2) The Kuli have the status of a Scheduled Caste but in that
capacity they occupy a position superior to other
Scheduled Castes. A slight stigma of untouchability is now
attached to them but they are likely to be cleared up of
this in near future.
G
Recommendation – It is therefore recommended that the Kulis
should be treated as a Scheduled Caste in both Sambalpur and
Bolangir districts. They may be descheduled after a period of
five years by which time they would have achieved a status
equivalent to Other Backward Classes”.
(emphasis supplied) H
454 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2018] 13 S.C.R.

A 18. In 1979, in another study, the following observations were
made:
“The Kulis till now follow the traditional occupation of weaving.
They have absolutely no other occupation except a few families
who practice cultivation. 1% of the Kuli own land and in no case
B the holding is more than 2 acres. The Kulis have been hard hit
because they specialize in coarse and inferior type of clothing
which is generally used by the poorer section. Moreover, hand
woven cloth has gradually been replaced by the mill made cloth.
As a result they live on hand to mouth economy.
xxx xxx xxx
C
xxx xxx xxx
It is therefore recommended that Kuli should neither be
treated as Scheduled Caste nor as Scheduled Tribe in
Orissa. However they should be provided with all the benefits
by the Govt. as an economically backward class.”
D
(emphasis supplied)
19. In a communication sent to the Government in 19797, it was
mentioned that the Census of 1971 distinguishes the “Kuli” caste from
“Kuli” tribe in different districts as follows;

E Sl. No. Di sti ct Population
Kuli Caste Kuli Tribe
1. Sambalpur 3554 936
2. Balangir 522 657

F 3. Phulbani 10 172
4. Kalahandi - 2
5. Ganjam - 40
6. Dhenkanal - 19
7. Mayurbhanj - 37
G
8. Sundargarh - 29
4086 1892
Total

7
H Vide Letter No.1489 dated 26.07.1979
STATE OF ORISSA v. DASARATHI MEHER 455
[DEEPAK GUPTA, J.]

20. In 1981, a communication was sent by the Commissioner and A
Secretary of the Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department of the
Government of Odisha to the Union of India, making some proposals on
behalf of the State of Odisha for amendments to the list of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In respect of “Kulis”, it was mentioned
that they are weavers by profession, mainly found in Bolangir, Sambalpur
B
and Phulbani districts. It was submitted that they do not possess tribal
characteristics and, therefore, may be deleted from the list of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
21. Relying upon these documents, it is urged that the “Kulis” and
the “Kuli” are separate and members of the “Kuli” community cannot
be treated as “Kulis”. We fail to understand how this can be deduced C
from the aforesaid documents. In the statement showing the population,
both communities are described as “Kuli” but while describing the
occupation, the members of the community are described as “Kulis”
and it has been recommended that “Kuli” should neither be treated as
Scheduled Caste nor as Scheduled Tribe. This shows that there was D
only one community known as “Kuli”, which was treated as Scheduled
Caste for some time in the district of Sambalpur but was treated as
Scheduled Tribe for the entire State of Odisha. In none of the documents
placed before us by the State, there is any indication to show that there
is a separate caste or tribe by the name “Kulis”.
E
22. We may now refer to the 24th Report of the Commissioner for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In this Report, prepared in
December, 1977, dealing with the State of Odisha, it has been observed 8
as follows:
“.....In case of Orissa, the Kuli community which was earlier
declared as Scheduled Caste in Sambalpur district has been deleted F
from the list as Kulis are already declared as Scheduled Tribes
throughout the State.....”
In this Report, it is clearly indicated that the “Kuli” community
has been deleted from the list of Scheduled Castes in Sambalpur as
“Kulis” are already declared as Scheduled Tribe throughout the State. G
This clearly indicates that the Commissioner was of the view that “Kuli”
community which was one of the communities declared to be Scheduled
Castes in Sambalpur district, would now fall in the category of
Scheduled Tribe.
8
At Para 2.8, Page 16
H
456 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2018] 13 S.C.R.

A 23. The State has failed to show that there is any community
caste or tribe, known as “Kulis”. The community is known as “Kuli”.
Further, it is apparent that the term “Kulis” used in the Order is in the
nature of plural for “Kuli”. This becomes even more apparent from the
various documents referred to above wherein the terms “Kulis” and
“Kuli” have been used interchangeably and though the caste or tribe has
B
been described as “Kuli”, the members of the community, when dealt
with together, have been described as “Kulis”. Furthermore, in the Hindi
version of the Amendment Act of 1976, the Scheduled Tribe has been
described as “Kuli” and not “Kulis”.
24. In Basavalingappa’s case, the Constitution Bench of this
C Court held that caste “Bhovi” includes people of the “Voddar” caste
mainly on the ground that prior to reorganisation of the State of Mysore,
there was no caste “Bhovi” and, therefore, the Presidential Order could
not be set at naught by excluding what was intended to be included in
the list of Scheduled Castes. The present case is very similar. As held
D above, the State has failed to place any material on record to show that
there is any caste or tribe by the name “Kulis”. It is, therefore, apparent
that both in the Presidential Order and in the Act, the term “Kulis” was
used as plural for the term “Kuli”.
25. We are fully conscious of the limitations on the powers of this
E Court. We cannot add to alter or modify the notified list of Schedules
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. We are also aware that we cannot take
into consideration any evidence in this regard. At the same time, we are
of the considered view that we cannot give such an interpretation to a
Caste or Tribe mentioned in the list of notified Scheduled Castes or
Scheduled Tribes which would have the effect of nullifying the intention
F of the Parliament. In the present case, earlier the President and later
Parliament had included “Kulis” in the list of Scheduled Tribe. It has
been found that there is no community by the name “Kulis” in the State
of Odisha. The only community is “Kuli”. If we do not include “Kuli” in
“Kulis”, the net result would be that we would be deleting a Tribe from
G the list of Scheduled Tribes. This also no Court or Tribunal is entitled to.
We have to read the entries in the list in a manner which is consistent
with the intention of the Parliament. According to us, earlier the President
and later Parliament while using the term “Kulis” only intended it to be
used as plural for the word “Kuli”. Any other interpretation would mean
that nobody would be able to take benefit of belonging to “Kulis” tribe.
H
STATE OF ORISSA v. DASARATHI MEHER 457
[DEEPAK GUPTA, J.]

26. Taking all the above facts into consideration, in the peculiar A
facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the view that the term
“Kulis” in the English version will include members of the “Kuli”
community. The appeals are accordingly dismissed. Application for
intervention is also dismissed. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand
disposed of.
B

Divya Pandey Appeals dismissed.

C

D

E

F

G

H