1 mmj IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY IN ITS CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.8040 OF 2009 Hemant Bhagwat Abhangrao & Anr. ..Petitioners Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors. ..Respondents Shri R.K.Mendadkar for the Petitioner Shri S.R.Sonawane AGP for Respondent Nos.1 to 3 Coram: P.B.MAJMUDAR AND R.M. SAVANT, JJ. 8th July, 2010 P.C. 1. Rule, made returnable forthwith by the consent of the parties and heard. 2. The petitioner who claims to belong to Mahadeo Koli Scheduled Tribe, has challenged the order of the Caste Scrutiny Committee dated 4-8-2008 (Exhibit-A to the Petition). The principal ground of challenge is that, the scrutiny committee was not properly constituted in as much as Shri Hankare who was one of the members, was asked to double up as the Research Officer as and by way of stop gap arrangement. The said issue whether Shri Hankare who was a member of the committee could also act as a Research Officer, of the Caste Scrutiny Committee, is no more res integra and is covered by the order dated 1-9-2009 passed by a Division Bench of this Court to which one of us (R.M.Savant, J.) was a member. 2 The said order came to be passed in a group of petitions wherein identical issue was raised and the said petitions were allowed on the ground that the caste scrutiny committee was not properly constituted. The orders impugned of the Caste Scrutiny Committee in the said petitions were set aside and the matters were remanded back to the Caste Scrutiny Committee for a de-novo consideration after constituting a proper scrutiny committee. 3. In the light of the said order dated 1-9-2009, the above petition would also have to be allowed and is accordingly allowed, the impugned order of the Caste Scrutiny Committee is accordingly set aside and the matter is remanded back to the Caste Scrutiny Committee for de-novo consideration before a properly constituted Caste Scrutiny Committee. A proper scrutiny committee should be constituted within three weeks (if not already constituted so far) from date and after such constitution the scrutiny committee shall dispose of the case of the petitioner for validation within a period of 8 weeks thereafter, on its own merits and in accordance with law. 4. With the aforesaid direction the above petition is disposed of by making the Rule absolute to the aforesaid extent. (R.M.SAVANT, J.) (P.B.MAJMUDAR, J.)