A.B. Chaudhari, J.

By the present Writ Petition, the petitioner Anand Katole has put to challenge the order dated 17th April, 2013 passed by the respondent no. 1 Scheduled Tribes Caste Certificates Scrutiny Committee, Amravati, with a further prayer to declare that the petitioner Anand belongs to Halba/Halbi, a Scheduled Tribe.

2. Heard learned Senior Adv. Mr. S.V. Manohar for the applicant-intervener in Civil Application No. 2459 of 2013, and learned Adv. Mr. Vikas Kulsunge for applicants-interveners in Civil Application No. 658 of 2014. Considering the reasons stated in both the Civil Applications, the Civil Applications are allowed and disposed of.

FACTS:

3. The present litigation has a chequered history. The Petitioner is B.E., and was appointed by order dated 16th March, 1998 as a Field Officer in the category of Scheduled Tribe on the establishment of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, and was ultimately confirmed in service. On 4th November, 2003, his employer issued a notice of termination for failure to produce the Caste Validity Certificate of he belonging to Halba/Halbi, Scheduled Tribe. The petitioner filed Writ Petition No. 4688 of 2003 and by order dated 2nd December, 2003, this Court allowed the Writ Petition and directed the respondent no. 1 Committee to decide his tribe claim within eight weeks, and, in the meanwhile, the termination order was kept in abeyance. The respondent no. 1 - Committee thereafter on 20th March, 2004, decided the tribe claim of the petitioner and rejected it. The petitioner filed Writ Petition No. 1687 of 2004 in this Court, and by Judgment and Order dated 5th May, 2004, this Court dismissed the Writ Petition and confirmed the order passed by the respondent no. 1.

Committee. The petitioner went ahead and filed an appeal in Supreme Court vide Civil Appeal No. 6340 of 2004. The Apex Court decided the said Appeal by Judgment and Order dated 8th November, 2011, and set aside both, the Judgment of this Court as well as the order of Scrutiny Committee and remitted the matter to the respondent no. 1 Scrutiny Committee for a fresh decision. The Committee, after taking sufficient time, finally took the decision by the order, which is impugned in the present petition and rejected the tribe claim of the petitioner. Hence this Writ Petition again.

ARGUMENTS:

4. Learned Senior Adv., Mr. M.G. Bhangde appearing for the petitioner made the following submissions:-

[a] The counsel for the respondent-Scrutiny Committee had raised the Preliminary objection before this Court in the present Writ Petition seeking dismissal of this Writ Petition on the Preliminary objections, which were heard by this Court, and this Court recorded an order on 30th January, 2014, holding in para 18 of the said order that the Preliminary objection, as raised by the Committee, was overruled being without any substance and was, thus, rejected. The respondent went to the Apex Court against the said order dated 30th January, 2014 and the Apex Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition and hence according to Mr. Bhangde, the order rejecting the Preliminary Objection stands confirmed and cannot now be reopened and this Court will have to proceed with hearing of the petition on merits.

[b] Turning to the merits of the case, the learned Senior Adv., for the petitioner submitted that after remand of the matter from the Apex Court to the Respondent No. 1.

Scrutiny Committee, a fresh Vigilance Cell Report was called by the Committee, which was served on the petitioner along with a Show-cause-Notice dated 13th December, 2012. The petitioner filed his reply to the said report vide reply dated 12th February, 2013.

Thereafter, the petitioner was never called for any hearing or for asking any explanation and almost after two months, the impugned order came to be passed.

[c] The petitioner was granted conditional Validity Certificate on 30th June, 1990, which was then issued because of pendency of the main matter before the Apex Court, i.e., M