AIR 1966 CALCUTTA 141

Calcutta High Court

Hon'ble Judge(s): P. N. Mookerjee, Dilip Kumar Basu , JJ

(A) Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (1950) , Part XIII(2) Item.40— (as amended in 1956) - "Sunri excluding Saha" - Meaning of - 'Saha' is excluded from Scheduled Caste. When the Scheduled Caste 'Saha" is described in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (1950) as "Sunri excluding Saha" the caste emphasis is "Sunri", or. in other words, the caste meant is 'Sunri' with a reservation or exception "excluding Saha", denoting that the 'Sahas', would have, but for this phrase, come within the 'Sunri' caste. They are not members of a separate caste 'Saha' but form a group within the Sunri caste, be it a sub-caste, strictly so-called, or otherwise. Amongst the Sunri caste or community, there is a distinct and well-defined group, distinguished by bearing the surname Saha'. This surname is the hall-mark of their distinction and identification. They carry that insignia to proclaim themselves as a separate and distinct group, within the same Sunri caste. They may not, strictly speaking, comprise a sub-caste, Art. 311(1) in the Constitution under which the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950, has been promulgated, permits and contemplates exclusion of groups or parts within a caste from the Scheduled Castes enumeration. The excluding phrase "excluding Saha" may well apply to the Saha group, within the Sunri Caste, and, as a matter of fact it can apply to....