Supreme Court agrees to remove observations made in judgment describing Sikkimese Nepalis as "immigrants"

The Supreme Court today accepted the Central Government's plea seeking review of observations made in a January 2023 judgment on tax, describing the majority community of Sikkimese Nepalis as "immigrants".

These observations had triggered massive protests in the state. Accordingly, the Union of India, the State of Sikkim, and some other third parties filed applications before the court seeking modifications.

The controversial portion of the said judgment authored by Justice Nagarathna reads as follows:

"Therefore, there was no difference made out between the original inhabitants of Sikkim, namely the Bhutia-Lepchas and the persons of foreign origin settled in Sikkim like the Nepalis or persons of Indian origin who had settled down in Sikkim generations back."

On January 13, the Supreme Court had passed a judgment stating that Sikkimese women who marry persons outside their state shall not be excluded from availing tax benefits. The bench had said that women are not chattel and on account of marriage, they cannot be excluded from tax exemptions that may otherwise be available to them under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The said judgment had also upheld the arguments of the petitioners declaring the explanation to Section 10(26AAA) of the Income Tax Act as ultra vires, according to which tax benefits were only made available to those persons whose names were recorded in the “Sikkim subject register” at the time of the merger of the state in 1975.

Notably, the said judgment defines the ethnic communities such as Bhutias and Lepchas as “original inhabitants of Sikkim”.

These comments of the Supreme Court stirred a controversy that led to massive protests. Some violent incidents were also reported in the state.