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B. R. GAVAI, SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA, K. VINOD CHANDRAN
Yogesh Madhav Makalwad – Appellant
Versus
State of Maharashtra – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. overview of the appellant's historical documentation. (Para 1) |
| 2. background of appellant's caste claim. (Para 2 , 3 , 4) |
| 3. arguments regarding probative value of evidence. (Para 5 , 6) |
| 4. court's analysis on caste claims and affinity test. (Para 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15) |
| 5. court's final decision and directive. (Para 16 , 17 , 18) |
JUDGMENT :
B.R. GAVAI, CJI.
FACTUAL ASPECT
1. Leave granted.
2. The present appeal challenges the judgment and final order dated 23rd July, 2024 passed by the learned Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad1[Hereinafter referred to as “the High Court”] in Writ Petition No. 8702 of 2019. Vide the impugned judgment and final order, the High Court dismissed the petition challenging the order dated 24th June, 2019 passed by the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad Division, Aurangabad2[Hereinafter referred to as “the Scrutiny Committee”] confiscating and invalidating the Caste Certificate of the appellant and his father for the Scheduled Tribe – Koli Mahadev.
3. The facts, in brief, leading to the filing of the present appeal are as under:
3.1. Way back in the year 1943, the
Historical documents, particularly pre-Independence records, hold greater evidentiary value in validating caste claims than modern evidence; the affinity test must not solely determine caste validity....
The importance of pre-independence documents in establishing caste claims and the affirmation that the affinity test is not a sole criterion for rejecting a claim.
Caste validation must prioritize historical documentary evidence over outdated affinity tests, reaffirming established rights of recognized tribes.
The old documentary evidence from the pre-independence era holds probative value and should be relied upon to establish tribe claim. The affinity test is not a sole criteria for establishing the link....
The importance of older documents in establishing caste claim and the need to consider the broad perspective of caste claim genuineness.
The court emphasized that the burden of proof lies with the claimant to establish tribal status, and reliance on the affinity test is not conclusive in validating caste claims.
The probative value of pre-independence documents and the relevance of the affinity test in determining caste claims.
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