Supreme Court Overrules Bihar's 2015 Caste Notification

The Supreme Court has invalidated a 2015 Bihar government notification that merged the 'Tanti-Tantwa' caste with 'Pan/Sawasi' in the Scheduled Castes list. The court ruled the state had no authority to change the Scheduled Castes list, which can only be amended by Parliament.

The Supreme Court has invalidated a 2015 notification from the Bihar government that deleted 'Tanti-Tantwa' caste from the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) and merged it with 'Pan/Sawasi' caste in the Scheduled Castes list.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prashant Kumar Mishra ruled that only Parliament has the authority to amend or alter the Scheduled Castes list under Article 341 of the Constitution, not state governments.

The court termed the state government's 2015 resolution as patently illegal and de hors constitutional provisions, highlighting that any inclusion or exclusion of castes in such lists must be through a law made by Parliament.

(With inputs from agencies.)