The court emphasized the importance of pre-constitutional documents in validating caste claims and condemned arbitrary administrative decisions lacking proper verification.

JUDGMENT :

(Per – Smt. M.S.Jawalkar, J.)

Heard.

2. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties. Though served, none appears for the respondent No.3.

3. By this petition, the petitioner is challenging the order dated 20/08/2024 passed by the respondent No.2-Caste Scrutiny Committee, thereby invalidating the caste claim of the petitioner of belonging to 'Halbi' Scheduled Tribe, even though his father is declared to be Scheduled Tribe by the judgment of this Court dated 07/11/2023 in Writ Petition No.597 of 2021 (Anand Dattatraya Kumbhare v. The Scheduled Tribes Certificates Verification Committee, Amravati).

4. The Petitioner is a student and his proposal was forwarded to the respondent No.2-Committee through the office of the Principal, Vasantrao Naik Krushi Secondary and Higher School Bitragaon Taluka Umarkhed, vide letter dated 29/03/2023. In support of his caste claim, the petitioner submitted following documents of pre-constitutional period:

5. It is submitted by the petitioner that, the Scheduled Caste Verification Committee Amravati, invalidating the caste claim of the father of the petitioner vide its order dated 03/11/2020 by holding that he does not belong to Halba Scheduled Tribe. Against the said order, the father of the petitioner preferred Writ Petition No.597 of 2021 before this Court. This Court by judgment dated 07/11/2023 validated the caste claim of the father of the petitioner of belonging to "Halbi" Scheduled Tribe.

6. In the meanwhile, the Police Vigilance Cell conducted inquiry and submitted its report to the respondent No.2-Committee, whereby the petitioner was issued a show cause notice on 30/07/2024 by the respondent No.2-Committee. The petitioner appeared before the Committee and submitted his detailed explanation on 05/08/2024. After considering the vigilance report as well as the documentary evidence submitted by petitioner, the respondent No.2-Committee, by its order dated 20/08/2024, invalidated the tribe claim of the petitioner, which is the subject matter of the present petition.

7. Our attention is drawn to the order passed by the same Scrutiny Committee on 12/10/2021 in respect of Akshay Ashok Sonkusare and others, wherein the Scrutiny Committee rejected caste claims of Sonkusare on the basis of the documents of Punjaji dated 13/07/1920 and 11/07/1924 mentioning the entry ‘Koshti’. Thus, it is contended that the Scrutiny Committee bent upon anyhow to reject the claim of the petitioner by considering the same documents of the persons not related to the petitioner to invalidate the caste claim. On the basis of the same documents, the claim of the petitioner came to be rejected.

8. The learned counsel for petitioner relied upon the following citations:

(i) Judgment of this Court in Writ Petition No.7256/2024 (Sauravkumar s/o Sunilkumar Katole v. The Schedule Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee) and one connected matter.

(ii) Judgment of this Court in Writ Petition No.6500/2022 (Pratibha d/o Prabhakar Sonkusare and others v. The Schedule Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee).

(iii) Judgment of this Court in Writ Pe