1 Lrs IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION No.5878/2009 Mahendra Sheshanna Sattellu ..Petitioner. vs. State of Maharashtra and Ors ..Respondents. Mr R. K. Mendadkar, Advocate for the Petitioner. Mr C.R.Sonawane, A.G.P.,for Respondent Nos.1,2 and 4. CORAM: D.K. DESHMUKH AND A.R.JOSHI,JJ DATED: 5TH JANUARY,2010 P.C.:- 1. By this petition, the petitioner challenges the order dated 26.3.2009 passed by the Scrutiny Committee holding that the claim of the petitioner that he belongs to Mannewar Scheduled Tribe is not valid. The order of the Committee shows that it has 2 considered old documents. None of them shows that caste of any of the relatives, including his father, is mentioned as Mannewar,scheduled tribe. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner initially submitted that this is an ex parte order and that when he received notice for hearing by the Committee, his father had gone missing and, therefore, he was under tension and therefore he sent his relative to appear before the Committee. Admittedly, there is no written application made before the Committee. The averments in that regard are found only in paragraph no. 7 of the petition. Neither the name of the relative is mentioned nor it is mentioned that the said relative actually appeared before the Committee. In our opinion, in the absence of specific averments being made, vague averments cannot be accepted. Then the learned counsel submitted, relying on the Full Bench judgment in the Shilpa Vishnu Thakur vs. State of Maharashtra and ors, 2009 (3) Mh.L.J. 995 that the Committee should have applied the affinity test. In 3 our opinion, it was not necessary in the present case to apply the affinity test in view of the clear finding that the caste of the petitioner is not Mannewar scheduled tribe, at all. The question of applying the affinity test arises when a finding is recorded that the caste of the candidate is similar to the caste which is mentioned in the Scheduled Tribes Order. In our opinion, in view of the material on record no fault can be found with the Committee regarding finding that the petitioner has failed to prove that he belongs to Mannewar caste. Petition is, therefore, rejected. (D.K. DESHMUKH,J) (A.R.JOSHI,J)