Divya Shashikant Ramod Thr The Natural Guardian Shashikant D. Ramod v. The State Of Maharashtra And Another

2025:BHC-AUG:20842-DB WP-9497-2025.odt

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY

BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 9497 OF 2025 Divya d/o Shashikant Ramod Age: 16 years, Occu. Student, Through the natural Guardian i.e. Father, Shashikant s/o Dattatray Ramod, Age: 52 years, Occu.: Service (Peon), R/o. Jarikot, Tq. Dharmabad, Dist. Nanded, At present R/o. Karkeli, Tq. Dharmabad, Dist. Nanded ... PETITIONER

VERSUS

1.

The State of Maharashtra Through its Secretary, Tribal Development Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai - 32 2.

Scheduled Tribe Certificate Verification Committee, Kinwat, Headquarter Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Plot No.265, N-1 Sector-C, Town Center, Beside Kala Ganpati Temple, Jalgaon Road, CIDCO, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dist. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Through its Deputy Director (Research) and Member Secretary ...RESPONDENTS ....

Mr. C. R. Thorat, Advocate for the Petitioner Mr. R. K. Ingole, AGP for the Respondents - State ....

CORAM : MANISH PITALE AND Y. G. KHOBRAGADE, JJ.

DATE : 04.08.2025

(( 2 )) ORDER (Per: Y. G. Khobragade, J.) :- 1.

Heard learned counsel for the Petitioner and the learned AGP for the Respondents.

2.

Since the Petitioner's "Mannervarlu" Scheduled Tribe caste claim has been invalidated by Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee under order dated 01.07.2025, the Petitioner shown extreme urgency for her educational purpose, therefore, the matter is being decided at the stage of admission.

3.

By the present Petition, the Petitioner takes exception to the order dated 01.07.2025, passed by Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee, thereby invalidated "Mannervarlu" Scheduled Tribe claim of the Petitioner.

4.

Indeed, this Court vide order dated 31.01.2025, passed in Writ Petition No. 1513 of 2025 (Sainath s/o Dattatray Ramod Vs. The State of Maharashtra and others) and one another Writ Petition, directed the Scrutiny Committee to issue conditional validity certificate to the Petitioners of belonging to "Mannervarlu" Scheduled Tribe in the prescribed format, subject to outcome of matters which the Respondent Committee has decided to re-open.

(( 3 )) 5.

The Petitioner is the daughter of Shashikant Dattatray Ramod. Since the father of the Petitioner and her paternal blood relatives are having conditional validity certificates, the Petitioner is also entitled to have the said certificate, which shall be subject to outcome of the matters which Respondent No.2 Committee has decided to re-open. Therefore, taking into consideration the law laid down in the cases of Mah. Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors.; AIR 2023 SC 1657, Shweta Balaji Isankar Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors., 2018 SCC Online Bom. 10341, Apoorva Vinay Nichale Vs. Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee No.1 and Ors., 2010(6) Mh.L.J. 401, wherein it has been concluded that when the biological father, biological siblings, biological uncle etc., are granted validity certificates, a candidate so related to them, cannot be deprived of a validity certificate, the present Petitioner is entitled to have a certificate of validity.

6.

The parity lies in favour of the Petitioner to have "Mannervarlu" Scheduled Tribe validity certificate. However, the Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee has passed the impugned order

(( 4 )) invalidating the caste claim of the Petitioner without cogent and substantial reason. Therefore, the present Petition deserves to be partly allowed and impugned order dated 17.01.2025, passed by Respondent No.2 Committee, needs to be quashed and set aside. Accordingly, we proceed to pass the following order:-

O R D E R

(i) The Writ Petition is partly allowed.

(ii) The impugned order dated 17.01.2025, passed by Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee is hereby quashed and set aside. (iii) Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee shall issue "Mannervarlu" Scheduled Tribe validity certificates in favour of the Petitioner within a period of two weeks from today, which shall be subject to following conditions:- (a) The caste validity certificate shall be subject to the outcome of the re-verification of the validity certificates of her blood relatives proposed by the Scrutiny Committee. (b) The Petitioner shall not claim any equity. (c) The Petitioner shall cooperate with the Scrutiny Committee. [ Y. G. KHOBRAGADE, J. ] [ MANISH PITALE, J. ] SMS