Meera Rama Salunkhe v. The State Of Maharashtra Thru Secretary, Tribal Development Dept. And ORS

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 1027 OF 2019 Meera Rama Salunkhe ... Petitioner Vs 1 State of Maharashtra & Ors.

... Respondents Mr. R.K. Mendadkar for the Petitioner.

Mr. V.M. Mali, AGP, for the Respondent-State. CORAM : S.C. DHARMADHIKARI & M.S. KARNIK , JJ.

THURSDAY, 31ST JANUARY, 2019 P.C. :

On 29th January, 2019, we had passed the following order :

"This writ petition is placed at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, 31st January, 2019 in order to enable Mr. Mali, AGP, to seek instructions from the Nandurbar Scrutiny Committee as to why the claim of the petitioner is still pending. The petitioner is going to retire on 30th April, 2019 and hence urgency."

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Today, when this mater is called out, Mr. Mali says that the Nandurbar Scrutiny Committee will require three months' time to dispose of the petitioner's claim. Our order, as communicated to the Committee, is clear. Once the petitioner is retiring on 30th April, 2019, we expect no hardship to be caused to him. In the event the petitioner is held not to be belonging to the Scheduled Caste / Tribe, then, from inception his appointment cannot be protected. Thereafter, there is no question of his receiving the benefits post retirement.

However, in the event the petitioner is held to be belonging to that particular Scheduled Caste or Tribe or Other Backward Class, then, he will immensely suffer because until the validity certificate is received, forwarded to the employer, the pension claim will not be processed and the pension will not be released.

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Hence, we do not accept the request of Mr. Mali that the Committee should be given three months' time from today to decide the claim of the petitioner. We direct the Committee to pass its final orders and communicate them to the petitioner on or before 15th April, 2019. No extension shall be granted. This writ petition is disposed of with these directions. M.S. KARNIK, J.

S.C. DHARMADHIKARI, J.

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