SC refuses to consider plea for enumeration of denotified nomadic tribe on census

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to consider a plea for a distinct enumeration of the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribe (DNT) communities in the 2027 census.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said, the classification/ sub-classification sought by the petitioners in the enumeration process essentially falls within the policy domain.

The bench said that India is a very unique country and instead of developing a casteless society, “we want to create more and more classifications." 

The court was hearing a plea filed by Dakxinkumar Bajrange, a DNT community leader, and others. It was argued that even the Ministry of Social Justice supported enumerating DNTs.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing the petitioners, contended that these communities suffered historic injustice as the British criminalised them. He said the petitioners sought a separate classification in the census so they can be distinctly identified.

It was argued that the enumeration form only included the categories Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) and others, and that there should be an option to mark these communities as people from the Denotified tribes.

The court was informed that the last time the DNT communities were enumerated was in the census of 1913.

The bench, however, said it was a matter within the domain of expert policy decision.

The counsel contended that the government is not averse to this idea, but due to some oversight, the enumeration form skipped a reference to them.

The bench, however, said that this is a deep-rooted move to divide society. It added that these agencies are not from within India, and an enquiry would reveal their source.

On hearing submissions, the bench observed that it was not a justiciable issue and disposed of the matter, allowing the petitioners to pursue the cause before the executive authorities.