Members of Limboo-Tamang Tribes of Sikkim moved to top court

Guwahati: The two members of the Limboo and Tamang Scheduled Tribes of Sikkim moved to Supreme Court seeking proportional representation of the tribes in the Legislative Assembly as is guaranteed in the Constitution.

Yehang Subba and Sancha Raj Limboo have filed the petition where it says that the two tribes being recognized as Scheduled Tribes in the Year 2003, they do not have any seats reserved in the Legislative Assembly which is in clear violation of Article 332 of the Constitution.

The petition challenges the notification issue on September 4, 2006 by the Delimitation Commission failed to reserve India and also the Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008 published by the Election Commission of India. The petition also challenges Section 7 of the Representation of People Act as ultra vires the constitution.

The petition states that Sections 8, 9 and 11 of the 2006 order of the Delimitation Commission failed to reserve seats for the Limboo-Tamang Scheduled Tribes in Sikkim Assembly on the basis of the 2001 census in line with 332 of the Constitution and should therefore be set aside to that extent.

The petitioners have also sought directions to the Election Commission of India and the Sikkim Governor to not issue notification for General Election as far as Sikkim is concerned until impugned orders are rectified.

The petition also prays that a Commissioner should be appointed to oversee the entire exercise and ensure its time-bound and expeditious implementation. The petition stresses on the point that the Limboo-Tamag tribes have been recognised as Scheduled Tribes in accordance with Article 342 of the Constitution. Therefore, as provided in Article 332, seats are required to be reserved for recognised tribe of a state in the Assembly keeping in mind the proportion of population of the said tribe to the population of the entire State. In 2001, the population of Limboo and Tamang communities in Sikkim was 20.60 per cent which had increased to 33.8 per cent in the year 2011. The tribes have contended that for almost 16 years, they have been denied proportionate representation, which is also a violation of their right to equality.

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