In his ruling Justice Gavai also referred to the case of Manipur, where a 2023 High Court direction to the state to consider inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list triggered unrest among the Kuki community and led to ethnic conflict between the communities. Later, pursuant to a review petition, the High Court direction was subsequently deleted.In the petition, the petitioner said that the Are-Katika (Khatik) is a community of Hindu butchers and holds a lower status in the caste hierarchy.While in some states (northern), the community falls under the SC category, in others, it falls under the Other Backward Classes category. As per the petitioner, this results in a situation, where if a community member transfers (due to marriage, profession, etc.) from a state that gives SC status to one that does not, the members lose their SC status and their children are deprived of the same.The petition also mentioned that the proposal for inclusion of the community in the SC Category was considered for the first time by the Office of Registrar General of India in 2006, but not supported citing lack of proper ethnographic data.In 2021, the petitioner sent a request to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Government of India, and thereafter, several reminders, however its proposal was not approved.
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