Specification of Scheduled Castes under Article 341

Article 341 establishes the constitutional process for identifying the communities treated as Scheduled Castes for each State or Union territory. The status is territorial: a community is specified in relation to a particular State or Union territory, rather than through one automatically applicable all-India list.

Constitutional meaning

Under Article 366(24), Scheduled Castes are the castes, races, tribes, or parts or groups within them that are deemed to be Scheduled Castes under Article 341 for constitutional purposes.

Initial specification by the President

• Under Article 341(1), the President specifies Scheduled Castes through a public notification.
• The notification may cover an entire caste, race or tribe, or only a part or group within it.
• For a State, the President must consult its Governor before issuing the notification.
• The specification is made separately in relation to a State or Union territory, and may relate to the whole or a particular part of that territory.

Subsequent inclusion or exclusion

• Under Article 341(2), only Parliament by law may include a community in, or exclude it from, the notified list.
• Once the notification has been issued, it cannot be varied through another Presidential notification.
• This division ensures that initial identification follows the constitutionally prescribed executive process, while later alteration requires parliamentary legislation.

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