JUDGMENT

Leave granted.

2. Short but an important question of constitutional law of the power of the Court to declare a particular tribe to be Scheduled Tribe under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Order, 1950 as amended by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment Act), 1976 (for short, the Act ) is the primary question.

3. The appellants, Assistant Teachers in the service of the State of Bihar belonging to Lohar caste, claimed the status as Scheduled Tribe under the Act and the order and sought promotion on that basis in the quota reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. When the request was not acceded to, the appellants had filed CWJC No.10593/92. The High Court by impugned order dated August 12,1993, dismissed the same.

4. Appellants case is founded on two-fold basis, firstly, Lohar community was included in the Schedule under the Act as

reflected in the Hindi version of the order and that thereby they are entitled to be recognised as Scheduled Tribes. Secondly, it is contended that when similar claim was relied on by one Shambhu Nath and was rejected by CAT, this Court in Shambhu Nath v. State of Bihar1 had held that Lohar community is a Scheduled Tribe under t