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DNT leaders move Supreme Court seeking distinct enumeration in 2027 Census

March 15, 2026 5 min read Social Issues Polity & Governance GS Paper 1 (Society) GS Paper 2 (Social Justice Vulnerable Sections)
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What Happened

  • Leaders of Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) approached the Supreme Court of India, seeking a court direction to ensure a distinct and separate enumeration category for DNTs in the 2027 Census.
  • The Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) had agreed, following a Social Justice Ministry recommendation, to include DNTs in the 2027 Census's caste enumeration exercise; the petition seeks to make this legally enforceable and ensure a dedicated column rather than absorption into existing SC/ST/OBC categories.
  • DNT communities are currently scattered across SC, ST, and OBC classifications without a unified enumeration, making it impossible to assess their actual population and socio-economic conditions.
  • The last national commission on DNTs (the Renke Commission) identified approximately 1,200 such communities.
  • The petition is part of a broader demand for constitutional recognition of DNTs through a separate Schedule in the Constitution, akin to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and OBCs.
  • August 31 — when the Criminal Tribes Act was repealed and communities were "denotified" in 1952 — is observed as Vimukti Diwas (Liberation Day) by DNT communities.

Static Topic Bridges

Colonial Criminal Tribes Act — History of Stigmatisation

The Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, was a colonial legislation that empowered the British administration to notify entire communities as "criminal by birth," subjecting them to mandatory registration, restrictions on movement, surveillance, and forced settlement in reformatory colonies. It was one of the most severe forms of collective criminalisation of marginalised communities in modern history.

  • The Act was first applied in North India (1871), extended to Bengal Presidency (1876), and eventually covered most of British India.
  • At the time of Indian Independence (1947), approximately 13 million people across 127 communities were subject to the Act.
  • The Act was repealed on August 31, 1952, when these communities were "denotified." However, many states replaced it with the Habitual Offenders Act, 1952, which continued surveillance of the same communities under a different label.
  • Communities designated as criminal tribes included pastoral, artisan, hunter-gatherer, and trading communities — many of whom had resisted colonial authority.
  • Vimukti Diwas (August 31) celebrates the formal denotification, though the stigma and economic marginalisation persisted for decades after.

Connection to this news: The demand for separate Census enumeration is rooted in the fact that denotification in 1952 did not come with any positive welfare framework or constitutional recognition. Without reliable population data, it has been impossible to design or evaluate targeted interventions for these communities.

The Census of India is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. The 2027 Census — delayed from 2021 due to COVID-19 — is expected to include a caste enumeration exercise for the first time since 1931 (when the last British-era caste census was conducted).

  • Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 collected caste data but was not released as a full caste census.
  • Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe data is collected in every decennial Census, as these classifications are constitutionally defined and tied to reservations.
  • OBC enumeration has been a long-standing demand; the Mandal Commission (1980) used 1931 Census data to estimate OBC population at 52%.
  • The 2027 Census's inclusion of caste data is expected to generate updated estimates for reservation policy and targeted welfare planning.
  • For DNTs to benefit from a separate enumeration, the RGI must create a distinct enumeration category; otherwise, individual DNT members continue to be counted under whatever SC/ST/OBC/general classification they hold.

Connection to this news: The Supreme Court petition seeks to convert the RGI's administrative agreement to include DNTs into a legally binding direction, ensuring that the enumeration is conducted rigorously and results in usable data — rather than being subsumed within broader categories.

Renke Commission and Policy Framework for DNTs

The National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes was constituted by the Government of India in 2005 under the chairmanship of Balkrishna Renke (Renke Commission). It submitted its report in 2008, identifying approximately 1,200 communities and recommending specific welfare measures.

  • The Renke Commission recommended the creation of a National DNT Finance and Development Corporation (NDFDC) for economic empowerment, a separate budget allocation, and inclusion of DNT welfare in the Five-Year Plan framework.
  • The NDFDC was established in 2019 under the Social Justice Ministry.
  • The Commission found that most DNT communities are misclassified — some appear as SCs, others as STs, others as OBCs — meaning they collectively draw welfare benefits in a fragmented and inadequate way.
  • The Idate Commission (2017) — a second national commission — reconfirmed the Renke findings and added new recommendations, including a constitutional amendment to create a separate DNT Schedule.
  • The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended repeal of the Habitual Offenders Act, 1952; the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has also called for its repeal.

Connection to this news: The Supreme Court petition builds on a two-decade institutional consensus — two national commissions, NHRC recommendations, RGI agreement — that DNTs require distinct recognition. The judicial route is being used to enforce administrative commitments that have not yet translated into practice.

Key Facts & Data

  • DNT full form: Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes
  • Estimated communities: approximately 1,200 (Renke Commission, 2008)
  • Criminal Tribes Act repealed: August 31, 1952 (Vimukti Diwas)
  • Replaced by: Habitual Offenders Act, 1952 (still in force in some states)
  • Population at time of denotification (1947): approximately 13 million across 127 communities
  • RGI has agreed to include DNTs in 2027 Census enumeration
  • NDFDC established: 2019, under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • Renke Commission report: 2008; Idate Commission report: 2017
  • Last full caste census: 1931 (British era)
  • Key demand beyond Census: constitutional recognition through a separate Schedule