Adivasis for Social and Human Rights Action vs Union of India & Ors.
Background
In 1977, the entire Sundargarh district of Orissa (Odisha) was declared a "Scheduled Area" under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, a special protective framework for tribal-majority regions. A tribal-welfare society challenged, by writ petition, the presence and voting/electoral rights of non-tribal residents in that area, arguing that only Scheduled Tribe members had a right to settle there, that non-tribals were unlawful occupants with no right to vote, and that every legislative constituency in the area should be reserved exclusively for Scheduled Tribes. It also argued that no central or state law (such as the Representation of the People Act, 1950) could apply to a Scheduled Area unless the Governor specifically notified it as applicable. The Orissa High Court dismissed the petition, leading to this appeal before the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that the correct legal position is the reverse of what the appellant argued: all central and state laws that apply to a state as a whole continue to apply to its Scheduled Areas by default, unless the Governor specifically issues a notification excluding or modifying a particular law for that area: the Governor's Fifth Schedule power is one of exclusion/modification, not one of blanket inapplicability requiring affirmative notification for every law. The Court also held that the Fifth Schedule cannot override citizens' fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution, so non-tribals retain their Article 19(1)(e) fundamental right to reside and settle in a Scheduled Area, and their statutory right under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to vote if ordinarily resident there. It further rejected the demand that every constituency in a Scheduled Area be reserved for Scheduled Tribes, holding that reservation under Articles 330 and 332 is governed by specific constitutional/statutory provisions, not a blanket area-wide rule. Finding no merit in the appeal, the Court dismissed it, declining to impose costs only in view of the appellant-society's tribal welfare work.
Lesson Learnt
Declaring a region a constitutionally protected "Scheduled Area" for tribal welfare does not strip non-tribal residents of their basic constitutional rights to reside, settle, and vote there: special protections for tribal communities operate alongside, not in place of, the fundamental rights guaranteed to all citizens.