JUDGMENT - KAKADE P.V., J.:---The petitioner has moved this writ petition seeking to quash the judgment and order dated 2-1-1989 passed by the respondent No. 1, Scheduled Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Maharashtra State, Pune (hereinafter called as "Committee"), and also the judgment and order passed by the respondent No. 2, Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development, Nashik, in Caste Appeal No. 177/1989, dated 31-3-1990, and to seek declaration that the petitioner is a member of Scheduled Tribe and, as such entitled to the caste certificate to seek admission to the Medical College accordingly.

2. The petitioner is resident of District Jalgaon and belongs to Scheduled Tribe, 'Thakur', and as such, he is said to be entitled to get certificate for the same. He passed his XIIth Standard (H.S.C. Examination) in the year 1989. While he was studying in XIIth Standard, he made an application to the Scrutiny Committee for verification of his caste certificate. The said application dated 4-10-1988 was considered by the Committee in two sittings and he was also given personal hearing in support of his claim, that he belongs to 'Thakur' Community which is Scheduled Tribe Community; he produced as many as 19 documents before the Committee, including the caste certificate that he belongs to Scheduled Tribe, 'Thakur', issued by the Executive Magistrate, Erandol, dated 23-7-1988. The documents also included the caste certificate of his father issued on 23-8-1987 which also specified that he belonged to Schedule Tribe, 'Thakur'. The Scrutiny Committee, according to him, recorded erroneous findings based on a substantive considerations and held that the petitioner was a member of Scheduled Tribe, 'Thakur', but belonged to 'Thakur' Caste which was non-tribal and, therefore, cancelled and confiscated the certificate of Scheduled Tribe issued by the Executive Magistrate.

The petitioner carried the appeal against the said order to the respondent No. 2, Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development, Nashik. However, no interim relief was granted in his favour by the concerned authority. Therefore, he filed Writ Petition No. 1839/1989 before this Court, which issued directions to respondent No. 2 to the effect that it should decide the appeal of the petitioner within a period of three weeks from the date of the order passed by this Court. However, the respondent No. 2 did not decide the appeal within time and finally informed him on 13-10-1989 that the appeal was rejected and full judgment would be made available to him in the first fortnight of October 1989. Eventually, the petitioner had to file contempt petition in December 1989 against the respondent, which is said to be still pending. However, in the meantime, on 11-4-1990, this Court granted interim relief to the petitioner directing respondent Nos. 3 and 4 to give provisional admission to the petitioner in the reserved seat for the Scheduled Tribe, for the academic year 1990-91.

In the meantime, respondent No. 2 passed his judgment on 31st March, 1990 rejecting the appeal and confirming the decision given by the Committee. Hence, the petition.

3. We heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner as well as the respondents at length. At the outset, it may be noted that the perusal of the Committee's order shows that as many as 19 documents were produced by the petitioner in the course of hearing before it, including the certificate issued by the Executive Magistrate to himself, wherein it was categorically stated that he was belonging to Scheduled Tribe, 'Thakur'. The remaining documents including the school leaving certificate of himself, as well as, his father and birth extract of his father and copy of the service book of his father showed that his caste was shown as 'Thakur'. In other words, it is an admitted, as well as, evident position that the petitioner belongs to 'Thakur' community. The members of the Committee in the course of their order, discarded the certificate issued by the

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