JUDGMENT :

R.N. Laddha, J.-

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with the consent of learned Counsel for parties.

2. These petitions are directed against the decision and order dated 23 July, 2019 of the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Nandurbar (for short “the respondent Committee”), respondent No. 1 in these petitions, invalidating the Caste Certificate dated 21 July, 1979 issued to Amarnath, original petitioner (since deceased) in Writ Petition No. 9625 of 2019 and the Caste Certificate dated 27 June, 1979, issued to Raghavendra, petitioner in Writ Petition No. 9611 of 2019, by the Executive Magistrate, Jalgaon, certifying that they belonged to the ‘Thakur, Scheduled Tribe’, notified in terms of the Constitution, (Scheduled Tribe) Order, 1950. Petitioners Amarnath and Raghavendra were real brothers.

3. Shorn of unnecessary details, the background facts, which led to these petitions, can be summarized as under :

In Writ Petition No. 9625 of 2019 the original petitioner Amarnath (deceased) was appointed as Art A Electrician by the M.S.R.T.C., respondent No. 2 herein, against a post reserved for Scheduled Tribe whereas the petitioner Raghvendra, in