Prachi D/O Santosh Thakar v. The State Of Maharashtra Dept. Of Tribal Development, Thr. Its Secretary And ANR.

77-WP-1427-2026 (C).doc

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 1427 OF 2026 Prachi D/o Santosh Thakar

...Petitioner

Versus

The State Of Maharashtra Dept. Of Tribal Development, Through Its Secretary And Anr.

...Respondents

.....

Adv. Saurabh P. Tandale h/f Adv. Sushant C. Yeramwar, for Petitioner. Ms. Tejas Jayprakash Kapre, AGP for the Respondent-State .....

CORAM : MADHAV J. JAMDAR & PRAVIN S. PATIL, JJ.

DATE : 30th APRIL, 2026.

P.C. :

1.

Heard.

2.

In the present matter, the petitioner, who is a student, has referred his caste claim to the Respondent No. 2 - the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Pune Division, Pune, in the year 2024, as he was aspirant to take admission to the curriculum of his choice. However, there is no response from the Respondent No.2- Caste Scrutiny Committee. As such, according to the petitioner, his education is on stake.

ZIP

77-WP-1427-2026 (C).doc 3.

In such circumstances, considering the limited prayer made by the petitioner and the fact that his caste claim is pending on the file of the Respondent No.2 - Caste Scrutiny Committee since the year 2024, and the mandate of law is that the claim should be decided as expeditiously as possible and preferably within a period of 90 days, the Respondent No.2 - Caste Scrutiny Committee is hereby directed to decide the caste claim of the petitioner within a period of 12 weeks from the date of production of this order.

4.

All issues raised by the petitioner are expressly kept open. 5.

The petition is disposed of with above directions. [ PRAVIN S. PATIL, J.] [MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J.] ZIP