Vedanti S/O Ravindra Dharne, Thr. Her Legal Guardian Father, Ravindra S. Dharne v. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Chandur Railway, Amravati

2026:BHC-NAG:5932-DB 1 J-WP No.3152.2026.odt

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY,

NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.

WRIT PETITION NO. 3152 OF 2026 Vedanti S/o Ravindra Dharne, Aged about 17 years, Occ.-Student, through her legal guardian father Ravindra S/o Shankarrao Dharne, Aged about 52 years, Occ.-Agriculturist, R/o. At-Post - Bori, Tah. Chandur (Rly), Distt. Amravati.

.... PETITIONER // VERSUS // The Sub-Divisional Officer, Chandur Railway, Amravati.

.... RESPONDENTS ______________________________________________________________ Ms. Preeti Rane, Advocate for the Petitioner. Ms. H. N. Jaipurkar, Assistant Government Pleader for the Respondent.

______________________________________________________________ CORAM : SMT. M.S. JAWALKAR, AND NANDESH S. DESHPANDE, JJ.

DATE : 17 th APRIL, 2026 .

ORAL JUDGMENT : (Per : SMT. M.S. JAWALKAR, J.) 1.

Heard learned Counsel for the Petitioner and learned Assistant Government Pleader for the Respondent. 2.

RULE. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with the consent of the learned Counsel appearing for the parties.

2 J-WP No.3152.2026.odt 3.

By this Petition, the Petitioner is seeking direction to the Respondent to issue Caste Certificate to the Petitioner of 'Mana' Scheduled Tribe.

4.

It appears that the application for issuance of Caste Certificate as "Mana" Scheduled Tribe is submitted by the Petitioner on 06.03.2026, before the Respondent. Along with the said application, the Petitioner has placed on record Form "C" certificate of her father. So also, School Leaving Certificate in respect of her relative as well as Birth Register Extract of Bhiva Mana dated 27.11.1923 is also submitted. However, it appears that the Sub-Divisional Officer, Chandur Railway, directed the petitioner to add the documents such as, Family Tree and Home Enquiry Report. It is surprising that these documents are not at all required in view of the documents submitted by the Petitioner. Even though, the petitioner is ready to submit the Family Tree. However, the home enquiry report can only be issued after vigilance conducted an enquiry. The vigilance enquiry is to be conducted when the validity of the caste claim is to be verified. The direction to submit these documents is without jurisdiction. In view thereof, the Communication dated 25.03.2026 is required to

3 J-WP No.3152.2026.odt be quashed and set aside. Accordingly, we proceed to pass the following order :

(i) The writ petition is allowed.

(ii) The Communication dated 25.03.2026 (Annexure-6) is hereby quashed and set aside.

(iii) The Respondent Sub-Divisional Officer, Chandur Railway, District Amravati is hereby directed to issue the Caste Certificate of 'Mana' Scheduled Tribe in Form "C" to the Petitioner, within a period of three weeks.

5.

Rule made absolute in the above terms. No order as to costs.

(NANDESH S. DESHPANDE, J.) (SMT. M.S. JAWALKAR, J.) Kirtak Signed by: Mr. B.J. Kirtak Designation: PA To Honourable Judge Date: 17/04/2026 18:21:07