A.B. Chaudhari, J.

1. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Learned Adv. Mr. K.P. Sadavarte waives service on behalf of respondent no. 1, and learned AGP Mr. N.R. Patil, for respondent nos. 2 and 3. With the consent of rival parties, this Writ Petition is taken up for final hearing.

2. Being aggrieved by the impugned orders dated 14th December, 2011 passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Malkapur, in the matter of refusal to issue Caste Certificates to the petitioners, and confirmed in appeals by the Appellate Authority vide its orders dated 18th February, 2014, the petitioners have approached this Court by present petition.

3. In support of the Writ Petition, learned counsel for the petitioners made the following submissions:-

[a] The petitioners belong to Thakur, Scheduled Tribe enlisted at Sr. No. 44 in Part-IX [Maharashtra] of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.

[b] All the petitioners applied to Sub-Divisional Officer, Malkapur, for issuance of Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificates to them with relevant documents in support of their claim as belonging to Thakur, Scheduled Tribe.

[c] The Sub-Divisional Officer made a long-drawn order in respect of each