The authorities exceeded their jurisdiction in denying caste certificates, improperly evaluating the validity of caste claims contrary to statutory provisions.

JUDGMENT :

(Per – M. S. JAWALKAR, J.)

1. Heard. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Matter is taken up for final hearing at the stage of admission by consent of the parties and at the request of parties.

2. Since the issue involved in these writ petitions is similar and since the Petitioners are brothers and sister, the same are decided by this common judgment.

3. By these Writ Petitions, the Petitioners are challenging the order dated 27/09/2024 passed by the Respondent No.1 Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Amravati (for short the “Scrutiny Committee”), thereby invalidating the caste claim of the Petitioners to the “Koli Mahadeo” Scheduled Tribe enlisted at Sr. No. 29 in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Constitutional (S.T.) Order 1950 and order dated 20/05/2024 passed by the Respondent No.2 thereby rejected the caste claim of the Petitioner.

4. Learned counsel for the Petitioners submits that the Petitioners had submitted applications along with numerous documents through his father to the Respondent No.2 Sub- Divisional Officer, Akola for grant of Scheduled Tribe Certificates, which came to be rejected vide order dated 08/08/2023. Thereafter an appeal was preferred before the Respondent No.1 Committee, wherein the order dated 08/08/2023 passed by Respondent No.2 was set aside and remitted back to the authority.

5. It is further contended that the respondent No. 2, after examining the documents submitted by the Petitioners, concluded that the Petitioners have not fulfilled the requirement regarding area restriction, specifically relating to migration from Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Thane, and Raigarh to Akola. Furthermore, since the Petitioner’s grandfather Suryabhan Shankar, was recorded as belonging to the Koli caste in a sale deed dated 23/05/1947, this being a revenue record with higher evidentiary value, the respondent No. 2, by order dated 31/05/2023, refused to issue a caste certificate to the Petitioners. It is to be noted that Respondent No. 2 did not register the Petitioner’s proceeding hence, the order dated 31/05/2023 does not indicate its registration. The respondent authorities failed to consider the caste certificate issued in favour of the petitioners’ father, Santosh Suryabhan Koltakke, dated 19.03.1994, which unequivocally records his caste as Koli Mahadeo (Scheduled Tribe).

6. It is further submitted that the petitioners had submitted all requisite documents before the Respondent No.2 for issuance of the caste certificate. It was incumbent upon Respondent No.2 to issue the certificate, which would thereafter be subject to verification by the Scrutiny Committee. However, both respondents have failed to discharge their duties, thereby denying justice to the petitioner. It is further contended that this Court has recently dealt with the identical issues in W.P. No. 8327/2022, W.P. No. 11671/2021 (Aurangabad Bench), and W.P. No. 416/2023, wherein by orders dated 12/01/2023, 07/07/2023, and 06/09/2024, respectively, both the orders passed by the Scrutiny Committee and the Sub-Divisional Officer were set aside, and directions were issued to the Sub-Divisional Officer to issue caste certificates. After the Sub-Divisional Officer (Respondent No. 2) rejected the Petitioner’s caste claim on 31/05/2023, and the Scrutiny Committee (Respondent No. 1) upheld the same on 13/09/2023, the Petitioners filed W.P. No. 7913/2023 before this Court. By order dated 15/03/2024, this Court quashed and set aside both the orders and remanded the matter for fresh consideration.

7. The Petitioners further contended that pursuant to the remand, Respondent No. 2 again rejected the Petitioner’s claim by order dated 20/05/2024, which