The Rajasthan High Court’s division bench of Justices Inderjeet Singh and Sandeep Taneja issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary (Personnel), the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the Central Government.
The notices follow a petition by Shankar Lal Dahiya and a group of Bhil activists that seeks to carve out 9 per cent of the 12 per cent Scheduled Tribe reservation exclusively for the Bhil community.
The petitioners argue that data on the social, economic and educational backwardness of different ST communities is lacking, and that the Meena community has historically dominated the reservation benefits, leaving Bhils underrepresented.
Advocate Manoj Chaudhary appeared for the petitioners, noting that the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had urged the state to adopt a sub‑classification under Article 338A and to implement the Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh, which the state has ignored.
The court has also highlighted the absence of any comprehensive survey of Bhil representation in state services and welfare schemes, and has asked the concerned parties to provide responses by the end of the month.
A decision is expected in early October, after the court reviews the responses and weighs the merits of the sub‑quota claim.