Miss Saakshi Nilesh Gaikwad v. All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Societys Institute Of Information Technology And ORS

Sharayu Khot.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 1092 OF 2021 Miss Saakshi Nilesh Gaikwad

...Petitioner

Versus

All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society's & Ors.

...Respondents

---------- Mr. Tejas D. Deshmukh for the Petitioner.

Mr. Prathmesh Bhargude a/w Mr. Sumit Sonare for the Respondent No. 1.

Mr. V.M. Mali, AGP for Respondent Nos. 3 and 4-State. ---------- CORAM :

R.D. DHANUKA & R.I. CHAGLA, JJ.

DATE :

4 August 2021 ORDER :

1.

Rule.

2.

Learned AGP waives service on behalf of Respondent Nos. 3 and 4. Learned Counsel Mr. Bhargude appearing for Respondent No. 1 waives service. Inspite of being served, none appeared on behalf of Respondent No. 2 and 1/9

Respondent No. 5.

3.

Heard fnally by consent of the parties.

4.

By this Petition fled under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Petitioner is seeking directions against Respondents to admit the Petitioner to second year of Engineering course in Respondent No.1- College for academic year 2020 - 2021.

5.

It is the case of the Petitioner that the Petitioner had obtained admission in the Respondent No. 1-College by submitting her application on 29th June 2018 and pursuant to which admission had been granted by Respondent No. 1 for the year 2018-2019.

6.

The Petitioner had applied for validation of her caste certifcate on 12th June 2018 before the Scrutiny Committee, Solapur. The Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-Notifed Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward 2/9

Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verifcation of) Caste Certifcate Act, 2000 had been amended in the year 2018 and Section 4A had inserted after Section 4. It was provided that the Applicant seeking admission to professional courses for the academic year 2018-2019 shall produced caste validity certifcate to the admission authorities on or before such date as may be specifed by the Admissions Regulating Authority in consultation with the State Government.

7.

It is an admitted position that the Caste Scrutiny Committee, Solapur had validated the caste certifcate of the Petitioner on 17th August, 2020. Respondent No. 1- College had granted admission to the Petitioner prior to that and the Petitioner had completed one year of engineering course in Respondent No. 1-College. The Petitioner inspite of applying to the Respondent No.1 - College within a few days of being granted the Caste Validity Certifcate, the Petitioner had not granted admission to the second year of engineering course in Respondent No. 1-College for the academic year 2020-2021 in view of the caste validity certifcate being validated only on 17th August, 2020. The Petitioner being aggrieved thereof has fled the present Petition.

3/9

8.

The learned Counsel for the Petitioner has submitted that due to no fault of the Petitioner, the Caste Scrutiny Committee had validated the caste certifcate of the Petitioner on 17th August, 2020. The Petitioner had in fact applied for validation of the caste certifcate on 12th June 2018 before the Caste Scrutiny Committee, Solapur i.e. well before the admission having been granted to the Petitioner. Respondent No. 1-College had also not insisted on the Petitioner submitting her caste validity certifcate prior to being granted admission in the frst year of engineering course for the academic year 2018-19 under the centralised admission process. The provision of Section 4A of the said Act read thus:- "4A. (1) The provisions of this section shall apply in respect of admission to the professional courses for the academic year 2018-2019.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, a person possessing a Caste Certifcate and who has applied for or on whose behalf an application is made by the educational institution for verifcation of Caste Certifcate and issue of validity certifcate, and the same is pending before the Scrutiny Committee shall be eligible for participating in the admission process on the basis of Caste Certifcate, subject to the 4/9

following conditions, namely :- (i) he shall produce a proof to the effect that he has made an application for issue of validity certifcate to the Scrutiny Committee or that such application has been made on his behalf to the Scrutiny Committee; (ii) he shall produce his validity certifcate to the admission authorities on or before such date as may be specifed by the Admissions Regulating Authority in consultation with the State Government:

Provided that, the date referred to in clause (ii) shall be before the date of closure of admission process in respect of the admission to the concerned professional course for the academic year 2018-2019.

(3) Upon failure to produce validity certifcate on or before such date specifed by the Admissions Regulating Authority under sub-section (2), the provisional admission secured, if any, against reserved seat, shall be deemed to be cancelled.

(4) Nothing in sub-section (3) shall be construed as preventing the relevant authority for considering such person eligible for admission to the professional course, from the open category in accordance with the law for the time being in force."

9.

The learned Counsel for the Petitioner has submitted that it is clear from the said provision that the 5/9

Applicant seeking admission to professional courses shall produce validity certifcate to the admission authorities on or before such date as may be prescribed by the Admissions Regulating Authority in consultation with the State Government. The proviso thereto made it clear that the date shall be before the closure of admission process for academic year 2018-19. He has submitted that the admission was granted to the Petitioner subject to the production of the caste validity certifcate. He has submitted that in view of the Petitioner having been granted admission for the frst year of engineering course in Respondent No. 1-College in the year 2018-2019 and the Petitioner having completed the frst year and thereafter the caste validity certifcate was granted, the Petitioner is entitled to be admitted to the second year of the engineering course in the Respondent No. 1-College for the subsequent academic year upon having submitted the caste validity certifcate.

10.

Learned Counsel for the Respondent No. 1 has submitted that on 7th July 2021 he had sought time of this Court to take instructions as to whether Respondent No. 1 had no objection if the Petitioner is admitted in the academic year 6/9

2021-2022 commencing in the month of August 2021. The learned AGP for Respondent Nos. 3 and 4 was also to make a statement whether they have any objection if the caste validity certifcate issued to the Petitioner on 17th August 2020 is accepted on record and admission for the aforesaid academic year be granted to the Petitioner on the basis of caste validity certifcate or not. Pursuant to the said order, learned AGP for Respondent Nos. 3 and 4 had on 28th July, 2021 informed this Court that CET would be the concerned party to make the statement whether they have any objection or not. In view thereof, the Petitioner was by order dated 28th July, 2021 permitted to implead the CET as Respondent No. 5 and CET was to make statement as to whether they had any objection, if on the basis of the caste validity certifcate issued to the Petitioner on 17th August 2020 and which is now accepted on record, admission for the academic year 2021-2022 could be granted to the Petitioner. Thereafter, the Petitioner has brought the said CET on record as Respondent No. 5.

11.

It is noted that inspite of the CET having been brought on record as Respondent No.5 and served with the proceedings, none appears on behalf of the CET. 7/9

12.

Learned Counsel appearing for Respondent No. 1 on instructions states that he has no objection, if the Petitioner is granted admission for the academic year 20212022 since the academic year 2021-2022 is already closed and that the academic year 2021-2022 is commencing in the month of August 2021. Statement is accepted.

13.

Learned Counsel for the Petitioner also on instructions states that the Petitioner has no objection, if admission is granted by the Respondent No. 1-College for the second year engineering course for the academic year 20212022. Statement is accepted. 14.

Respondent No. 1- College shall accept the caste validity certifcate issued to the Petitioner on 17th August 2020 as the basis for granting the fnal admission to the Petitioner retrospectively from the year 2018-2019. The Respondent No.1 shall grant admission to the Petitioner for the second year engineering course for the academic year 2021 - 22.

8/9

15.

In view thereof, the Petition is disposed of in the above terms.

16.

Rule is made absolute. There shall be no order as to costs.

[R.I. CHAGLA J.] [R.D. DHANUKA, J.] 9/9