Himachal High Court clubs the writ petition of the Hatti community reservation case
Himachal Pradesh High Court today clubbed the writ petition filed by the Schedule Tribe Chamba Gujjar community with on ongoing Petition of Anchuchit Jati Sarakhshan Sangarsh Smiti passing adjourning the matter till December 18 now.
Anchuchit Janjati Gujjar community has moved today against the Union of India and Himachal Pradesh Government in a Civil Writ Petition filed against the provision of Reservation to the Hatti community living in the trans giri area of Sirmour district.
The petition was heard by the division bench of Chief Justice M. S. Ramachandra Rao and Jyotsna Rewal Dua today and issued notice to the Union of India and the state of Himachal Pradesh.
According to the counsel for the petitioners the Division bench decided to club the new writ petition with the similar Civil Writ Petition moved by the Girpar Anusuchit Jaati Adhikari Sanrakashan Samiti challenged the provision of Reservation to the Hati community of the Transgiri area before the high court on November 1.
According to the Anchuchit Janjati Gujjar community of Chamba district, there is no scheduled tribe or caste registered in the Revenue record of the state and central government, and the Hatti community was extended provision of reservation without falling in the basic scheme of SC &SCT Reservation list.
Passing order in the court case Chief Justice said that the court would hear this matter with the Civil Writ Petition now along with
Girpar Anusuchit Jaati Adhikari Sanrakashan Samiti v/s Union of India and others case on December 18.
According to the Reservation policy in the country the Schedule caste and Other Backward Classes are already getting 15 pc and 27 pc reservations under the existing law but with the amendment in the SC and ST act all people of the Transgiri area of Sirmour district in Himachal Pradesh including SCs and OBCs are included in the Schedule Tribe list which would get only 7.5 percent reservation in the Government recruitment and Admission in the Government educational and technological institutions.
According to the Petitioner, they would have to compete with the upper and economic well off community, and reservations in the Panchayat Raj and Urban bodies institutions would be designated to ST in place of Schedule caste communities.
It is worthwhile to mention here that a Presidential order was passed in August 2023 to amend the Schedule caste and Schedule Tribe Act to include the Hatti community in the schedule list.
The Union Cabinet announced tribal status to the Hatti community of Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh in September 2022.
“The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill 2022” also passed by the Parliament to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs) of Himachal Pradesh,”
The Hatee community of the Transgiri area of the Sirmour district was provided this extraordinary right in August this year by the presidential order.
The people belonging to various heterogeneous communities including the upper caste have been seeking tribal status to Hatti for the last two decades and the BJP had made the promises in the 2014 Lok Sabha election in its party manifesto.
Though the decision was taken by the RGI to award the tribal status to the Hatti community earlier, it had been denied that the Hatti is not a tribal community.
