New Delhi: A former Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court judge moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking de-notification of the Banjara community from the list of Scheduled Tribes on the ground that its members had been illegally claiming reservation benefits since 1976 despite being socially and educationally advanced.

The petition, filed by Justice B. Chandra Kumar through advocate Ramesh Allanki, is yet to come up for hearing.

The petition complained that there had been a phenomenal increase in the population of the Banjaras from a few dozen in 1976 to 15 lakh in the state of Telangana in 2017.

Most of them have migrated from states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, the petition said.

"The Lambadas/Sugalis (other names of the Banjaras) were not originally tribes. As per authoritative anthropological studies, it is well recognised that they belonged to the Kshatriya community and were businessmen," the petition said.

"The studies also depict that they fought against the Mughal emperors and after their defeat, they ran into the jungles and converted themselves into wanderers," the petition added.

It urged the apex court to direct the Centre to produce all records pertaining to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976, recognising the Banjaras as a Scheduled Tribe in the Telangana area of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

The petition also appealed to the court to declare as unconstitutional the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976, recognising the Banjaras as a Scheduled Tribe.

According to the petitioner, the 1976 amendment was illegal and in violation of Article 342 of the Constitution, dealing with the rights of STs, as no proper inquiry regarding the backwardness of the community was conducted.

"...Banjaras... who are not originally Scheduled Tribes and who have not been treated as Scheduled Tribes in the Telangana region of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh and who have migrated to the Telangana state from the other states, have cornered the benefits which are meant for the other Scheduled Tribes," the petition said.