1. The petitioner, a Mala Arayan, a member of a Scheduled Tribe (a hill tribe), prays for a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, direction or order striking down the Kerala Hillmen Rules, 1964 framed for the protection, advancement, treatment and management of hill tribes under S.76 (a) of the Kerala Forest Act and also directing the Government and the officers of the Forest Department to forbear from acting on these rules. The main contention of the petitioner, who is a member of a registered society called Vanavarga Maha Sabha, is that the said rules are beyond the competence of the State Legislature and the State Government as the rules deal with a subject which is not included either in the State List or in the Concurrent List of Schedule VII of the Constitution. He also contends that the subject falls within the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.

2. Art.244 of the Constitution provides that the Fifth Schedule shall apply to the administration and control of the Scheduled Areas and the Scheduled Tribes in any State other than the State of Assam. Then there are Articles like 338 providing for the appointment of a Special Officer for the Scheduled Castes