1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE, BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO.5913 OF 2010 Kapil Baliram Totawar, Age 18 years, Occ. Education, R/o Degloor, Taluka Degloor, District Nanded. ... PETITIONER VERSUS 1. Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad Division, Aurangabad through its Member Secretary. 2. Sub-Divisional Officer, Degloor, Taluka Degloor, District Nanded. (Copies of respondent Nos.1 & 2 to be served in the office of Govt. Pleader, Bombay High Court, Bench at Aurangabad) ... RESPONDENTS ..... Shri S.S. Phatale, Advocate for the petitioner Shri P.S. Patil, Advocate for respondent No.1. Shri S.K. Kadam, A.G.P. for respondent No.2. ..... CORAM: P.V. HARDAS & N.D. DESHPANDE, JJ. DATED: 21st July, 2010 ORAL JUDGMENT (PER HARDAS, J.): 1. Rule. Rule returnable forthwith. With the consent of 2 learned counsel for the parties, this petition is heard finally at the stage of admission. 2. We have heard Mr. Phatale, learned counsel for the petitioner Mr. P.S. Patil, learned counsel for respondent No.1 and Mr. S.K. Kadam, learned A.G.P. for respondent No.2. 3. The petitioner was desirous of obtaining a caste certificate as belonging to Mannerwarlu – Scheduled Tribe, submitted an application before the Sub-Divisional Officer, Degloor. The petitioner relied upon the caste certificate issued to his father. The Sub- Divisional Officer rejected the application of the petitioner on the ground that the Census record of 1951 clearly indicated that the caste of the relatives of the petitioner was recorded as Manurwar. 4. The petitioner, being aggrieved by the order of the Sub- Divisional Officer, preferred an appeal before the Scrutiny Committee. The Scrutiny Committee, by order dated 23.4.2010, dismissed the said appeal. 5. Since the father of the petitioner has been issued with the caste certificate, according to us, the petitioner ought to have been issued with the caste certificate. Merely because none of the relatives have obtained a validity certificate, is no ground for rejecting the application. For the aforesaid reasons, therefore, we are inclined to 3 allow this petition. 6. We, accordingly, allow this petition and quash and set aside the impugned orders and direct the Sub-Divisional Officer to forthwith issue caste certificate to the petitioner as belonging to Mannerwarlu – Scheduled Tribe. 7. Rule is thus made absolute on the above terms with no order as to costs. (N.D. DESHPANDE, J.) (P.V. HARDAS, J.)