HC stays notification on ST status to Hatti community in Himachal

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday stayed the notification issued by the state government three days back to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to 1.6 lakh Hatti community of Trans Giri area of Sirmaur district.

The order will have bearing on the state government move to grant ST certificates to STs through Deputy Commissioner Sirmaur.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua passed the orders granting stay on both the notifications of September 2022 as well as the state government notification issued on January 1, 2024. The interim stay has been granted by the High court till March 18, 2024, when the matter is listed for replies.

Earlier to this, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs had communicated to the state government about inclusion of the Hattis in the scheduled list of tribals and issuance of notification in this regard.

But, the move has been opposed by scheduled caste community in the area and had filed a petition in the High Court seeking protection of their rights and also questioned the move to grant tribal status to Hattis

The ‘Giripar Anusuchit Jaati Adhikari Sanrakshan Samiti’ and ‘Gujjar Kalyan Parishad’ had moved the High Court in separate petitions against the notification. Later both these petitions were clubbed.

The petitioners had sought to quash Presidential order passed in Month of August 2023 to amend Schedule caste and Scheduled Tribe Act to include Hatti community in the schedule list. It has been alleged in the petition that the said area was declared as a tribal area without population survey.

The members of the community residing in 154 panchayats of the Sirmaur had been struggling for getting ST status, which the Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced during state Assembly polls.