R.M. Borde, J.

Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With consent of the parties, the petition is taken up for final disposal at admission stage.

2. The petitioner claims to be belonging to Bhavsar Kshetriya caste which is included in Other Backward Class category. The petitioner is serving as Conductor in Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation. The school record of the petitioner records caste as 'Hindu Maratha'. According to the petitioner, while securing admission in school, his father has erroneously recorded the entry as 'Hindu Maratha'. He further contends that old record pertaining to his father, uncle and other near relatives show that they belong to 'Bhavsar Kehstriya caste'. The petitioner has also been issued caste certificate by the competent authority. The son of the petitioner has also been issued caste certificate by the competent authority certifying that he belongs to 'Bhavsar Kshetriya caste' and his caste claim has been validated by the competent Committee. The petitioner, therefore, tendered application to school where he was studying for onward transmission to the Education Officer (Primary), Zilla Parishad, Osmanabad for issuing directions for affecting necessary corrections. The school authority forwarded the application with favourable recommendation to the Education Officer. The Education Officer (Primary) by his order dated 1st November, 2011 was pleased to reject the application recording that since the petitioner has left the school, the application is not maintainable.

3. The petitioner tendered appeal to the Deputy Director of Education, Latur Division, Latur,which was heard and disposed of by Deputy Director of Education, Latur Division, Latur on 30th January, 2012 and appeal came to be dismissed. The appellate authority has recorded in the order that rule 26.4, Appendix-Six of the Secondary Schools Code2006 does not permit to make correction in the entries in respect of caste in the school record after pupil has left the school. According to the petitioner, reasons recorded by both the authorities for turning down his claim are erroneous and against the provisions of Secondary Schools Code, 2006. Rule 26.4 of the Secondary Schools Code, 2006 prescribe that application for change or correction of date of birth, name, surname, caste etc., as entered in the General Register shall be entertained from or on behalf of a pupil who is attending a school. It further provide that such application shall not be entertained from or on behalf of a pupil, who has left the school, as the same amounts not only to a change in the entries in the General Register but also to a change in the School Leaving Certificate. It has been further prescribed that, however, for the purposes like an admission to another educational institution the School Leaving certificate is relied upon as an evidence for name, surname, caste, date of birth etc., and in bonafide cases where wrong spelling of a word or an obvious mistake of the type mentioned in sub-rule 3 above is noticed any time after issue of the School Leaving Certificate and the same is required to be corrected so as to be consistent with the corresponding entries in the General Register of the school or those in the School Leaving Certificate issued by the previous school, such applications shall be entertained. The procedure to be followed in such cases is laid down in Appendix Six.

4. Rule 26.4 of the Secondary Schools Code, 2006 has been interpreted by the Division Bench of this Court in the matter of Shaikh Shafi Ahmed Khadarsab vs. The State of Maharashtra and others in Writ Petition No. 1138 of 2009 decided on 13th March, 2012.

In paragraph-11 of the judgment cited supra, the Division Bench of this Court has observed thus:

"11. For all these reasons, we hold that the instructions contained in para 26.4 of the S.S.Code that an application for change of an entry in the General Register of a school shall be entertained only on behalf of the pupil who i