JUDGMENT

PATHAK, J.:— This and the connected writ petitions raise the important question whether the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 is constitutionally invalid on the ground that only Hindu or Sikh members of the castes enumerated in the Schedule to that Order are deemed to be Scheduled Castes for the purposes of the Constitution of India.

2. The petitioner Soosai (in Writ Petition No. 95% of 1983) states that he belongs to the Adi-Dravida Community and is a convert to Christianity. He is a cobbler by profession and works on the roadside at one of the crossroads in Madras. In May, 1982, the officers of the Tamil Nadu Khadi and Village Industries Board surveyed the sites on which cobblers were working, including the place occupied by the petitioner, and subsequently on July 27, 1982 several cobblers were allotted bunks free of cost by the Regional Deputy Director, Khadi and Village Industries Board. The petitioner was not. On enquiry the petitioner came to know that the allotment of bunks. free of cost was consequent to a proposal under the Special Central Assistance Scheme of the Government of India for the welfare of Scheduled Castes. The funds for the purpose were pro