JUDGMENT :

URMILA JOSHI-PHALKE, J.

1. Heard learned counsel Ms. P.D. Rane for petitioners, learned counsel Shri Abhijit Deshpande for respondent No. 4 and learned counsel Shri N.S. Autkar for respondent No. 1.

2. By this petition, petitioners take exception to order dated 6.9.2022 passed by respondent No. 1-Scrutiny Committee, Amravati (the Committee) invalidating tribe claim of petitioners as belonging to caste “Thakur” Scheduled Tribe.

3. The petitioners are real sisters and they are pursuing their education. They claim to be of caste “Thakur” Scheduled Tribe.

4. A proposal of petitioner No. 1 for validating her caste claim was forwarded to the Committee along with necessary documents on 7.10.2020. Whereas, a proposal of petitioner No. 2 was forwarded in the year 2020. The petitioners relied upon eleven documents, out of them five documents were pre-constitutional. As per family tree submitted by petitioners, “Balwant” is great-grandfather whose caste is recorded as “Thakur.” There are consistent entries in the name of their forefathers recording them as “Thakur.”

5. Learned counsel Ms. P.D. Rane for petitioners, submitted that as per the family tree, caste of “Balwant” who is great-gr