The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs submitted its report on the demand for extension of Sixth Schedule protections to Ladakh. The report acknowledges the constitutional legitimacy of the demand, noting that the tribal composition of Ladakh's population and its geographic and cultural distinctiveness would qualify it for Schedule consideration.
The report recommends that the Government engage in substantive consultations with elected representatives of both Leh and Kargil district councils before proceeding with any constitutional amendment. It also flags that any extension must address the distinctive demands of Buddhist and Muslim tribal communities in the region.
The Meghalaya High Court held that the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council lacks legislative competence to exempt mining operations from the requirements of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Court ruled that environmental protection is a matter covered by concurrent List III and the central legislation prevails over any conflicting Council regulation.
The judgment is significant for the ongoing debate about rat-hole coal mining in the Khasi Hills, which has been banned by the National Green Tribunal but continues in practice. The District Council had argued that mineral regulation in the autonomous districts fell within its Para 3 powers — a position the Court rejected.
Elections to the Bodoland Territorial Council were held in December 2024. The BTC, established under the Sixth Schedule in 2003 following the Bodo Peace Accord, has 46 seats of which 40 are elected. The elections were conducted under the supervision of the Assam State Election Commission following the constitutional mandate for regular elections to Sixth Schedule councils.
Political analysts noted increasing competition among Bodo political parties for the council, with the incumbent BPPF contesting against UPPL and Congress-backed candidates. The results will shape the administration of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts covering approximately 27,000 sq km in western Assam.
In the context of the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, the Central Government suspended two Autonomous District Councils in the hill districts under Para 16 of the Sixth Schedule. The suspension, which allows the Governor to assume the functions of the District Council, was the first exercise of this power in Manipur in over two decades.
Civil society organisations and tribal bodies protested the suspension, arguing it further marginalised tribal self-governance at a time when Council-administered areas needed stronger, not weaker, tribal institutions. The suspension remains in force pending review.
The Supreme Court held that the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, applies to communities living in Sixth Schedule autonomous districts. The ruling resolves a long-standing ambiguity about whether District Council forest regulations under Para 3 displaced the central Forest Rights Act.
The Court applied Para 12 analysis to hold that in the absence of an exclusionary notification, the Forest Rights Act operates in autonomous districts concurrently with Council regulations, and that community forest rights under the FRA must be recognized by both state governments and District Councils.
The outbreak of ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur in May 2023 prompted intense debate about the constitutional framework governing the state. Kuki-Zo leaders pointed to the Sixth Schedule's protection of the hill districts as constitutionally inadequate in the absence of enforcement mechanisms, while Meitei leaders opposed any ST status for their community.
The violence raised broader questions about the gap between the Sixth Schedule's formal protections and its implementation, and renewed calls for a constitutional commission to review the Schedule's adequacy.
The Governor of Meghalaya, acting on Cabinet advice, approved revisions to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council's tax schedule under Para 9 of the Sixth Schedule. The revision, the first comprehensive update in 18 years, increases levies on commercial establishments and introduces a new cess on timber export.
The tax revision is expected to increase the Council's own revenue by approximately 40%, reducing its dependence on state grants and providing resources for development programmes in the Garo Hills area.
A Private Member's Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha proposing the extension of the Sixth Schedule to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration area in Darjeeling. The bill was introduced by the MP from Darjeeling and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
The proposal follows decades of demand from Gorkha political organisations for either statehood, a Union Territory, or Sixth Schedule status as a constitutional accommodation for the hill region. The GTA, created by a 2011 tripartite agreement, has repeatedly demanded greater constitutional protection.
The Tripura High Court held that election rules made by the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council must comply with the constitutional requirements of Part IX-A relating to free and fair elections, overriding any inconsistent provisions of the Council's own election regulations.
The judgment reinforces the subordination of District Council autonomy to broader constitutional standards on democratic governance, consistent with the Supreme Court's approach in earlier decisions on the relationship between the Sixth Schedule and other constitutional provisions.