Bombay High Court
Gajanan Tukaram Ingle, Buldana vs Committee Of Scrutiny & Caste Verfn.Of ... on 21 July, 2017
Author: Swapna Joshi
Bench: R.K.Deshpande, Swapna Joshi
wp.1822.02
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT NAGPUR, NAGPUR.
...
WRIT PETITION NO.1822/2002
Gajanan Tukaram Ingle
major, Service in Land Records
at DeulgaonRaja R/o Dongarshewli
Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana. ..PETITIONER
v e r s u s
1) The Committee of Scrutiny and Caste
Verification of Tribe Claims, Amraoti.
2) State of Maharashtra
Through Secretary
Social and Welfare Department
Mantralaya, Bombay-32.
3) Deputy Director,
Land Records, Amraoti Division,
Amraoti. ..RESPONDENTS
...........................................................................................................................
Mr. A.P. Kalmegh, Advocate for the petitioner
Mr. N.S.Rao, Assistant Government Pleader for respondents
............................................................................................................................
CORAM: R.K.DESHPANDE &
MRS . SWAPNA JOSHI, JJ
.
DATE OF RESERVING: 28.06.2017
DATE OF PRONOUNCEMENT:21.07.2017
JUDGMENT:(PER MRS.SWAPNA JOSHI, J.) By this petition, the petitioner has challenged the decision of the respondent no.1-Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny ::: Uploaded on - 21/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 22/07/2017 00:34:22 ::: wp.1822.02 2 Committee, dated 19.11.2001, by which the caste certificate of the petitioner as belonging to 'Thakur', which is recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in the State of Maharashtra, is invalidated.
2. The petitioner is working as a Peon in the office of the Taluqa Inspector of Land Records at Deulgaonraja, Buldana. The caste certificate issued by the competent Authority in favour of the petitioner was forwarded to the respondent no.1-Committee for verification, along with as many as 39 documents. Some of them were of pre-Constitutional era having probative value, however, the caste claim of the petitioner was invalidated by the Scrutiny Committee.
3. Shri A.P. Kalmegh, learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the petitioner had submitted the documents of pre- Constitutional era in order to show that the petitioner belongs to 'Thakur' Scheduled Tribe. However, those documents were not considered by the respondent no.1-Committee. The learned counsel placed reliance upon the Government Resolution dated 22.08.2007 which lays down that if the validity certificate is issued by the appropriate Authority in favour of any blood relation from paternal side, ::: Uploaded on - 21/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 22/07/2017 00:34:22 ::: wp.1822.02 3 then there is no need to to ask for any other document and the Scrutiny Committee should complete the inquiry within one month. He further urged that in respect of his real cousin Chatarsingh, the Divisional Commissioner, Amravati vide order dated 25.2.1989, has held that he belongs to 'Thakur' Scheduled Tribe. It is further submitted that since this Court has directed the Scrutiny Committee to issue validity certificate to the daughters of Chatarsingh, who is the real cousin of the petitioner, namely, Vaishali and Rupali in Writ Petition Nos. 2506 and 2505 both of 2005, there is no hurdle in granting validity certificate in favour of the petitioner. The learned counsel placed reliance upon the judgment in the case of Apoorva Nichale vs. Divisional Caste Scrutiny Committee, reported in 2011 (2) BCR 824. Paragraph no.9 thereof, reads as follows:-
"9............. The matters pertaining to validity of caste have a great impact on the candidate as well as on the future generations in many matters varying from marriage to education and enjoyment (employment), and therefore where a committee has given a finding about the validity of the caste of a candidate another committee ought not to refuse the same status to a blood relative who applies. A merely different view ::: Uploaded on - 21/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 22/07/2017 00:34:22 ::: wp.1822.02 4 on the same facts would not entitle the committee dealing with the subsequent caste claim to reject it. There is, however, no doubt as observed by us earlier that if a committee is of the view that the earlier certificate is obtained by fraud it would not be bound to follow the earlier caste validity certificate and is entitled to refuse the caste claim and also in addition initiate proceedings for cancellation of the earlier order. In this view of the matter, we are of the view that the petition must succeed. Rule is made absolute in above terms. The Caste Scrutiny Committee is directed to furnish the caste validity certificate to the petitioner."
4. Shri N.S.Rao, the learned Assistant Government Pleader does not dispute the law laid down in Apoorva's case (supra).
5. Since the claim of 'Thakur' Scheduled Tribe in respect of blood relations i.e. petitioner's cousin, namely, Chatarsingh has been validated by the Divisional Commissioner, Amravati, as also the nieces of the petitioner, who are the daughters of Chatarsingh, namely Vaishali and Rupali, have been granted validity certificates in view of the order passed by Division Bench of this Court and in view of authoritative pronouncement in Apoorva Nichale's case (supra), in our considered ::: Uploaded on - 21/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 22/07/2017 00:34:22 ::: wp.1822.02 5 view, the petitioner is entitled for the reliefs claimed. Hence, the following order :-
ORDER
(i) The impugned order dated 19.11.2001 passed by the Scrutiny Committee is hereby quashed and set aside.
(ii) The respondent no.1-Scrutiny Committee is directed to furnish caste validity certificate in favour of the petitioner in view of the law laid down by this Court in Apoorva Nichale's case (supra), within a period of four weeks.
(iii) Rule is made absolute in the aforesaid terms. No costs.
JUDGE JUDGE
sahare
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