1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 7618 OF 2008 Vishwas Anand Bachhav 4, Krishna Apartment, Kathe Galli Ganesh Nagar, Dwarka, Tal. & Dist. Nashik .. Pettioner Versus 1. State of Maharashtra Through its Secretary, Tribal Development Dept. Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 2. Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Nashik Division, Nashik Through its Deputy Director and Member Secretary, Adivasi Vikash Bhavan, Old Bombay Agra Road, Nashik 3. Executive Magistrate, Nashik 4. The Colloector & District Magistrate Nashik .. Respondents Shri R. K. Mendadkar, for the petitioners Shri C. R. Sonawani, AGP for respondent -State CORAM: J. N. PATEL & MRS. MRIDULA BHATKAR,JJ. DATED: 20th July, 2009 J U D G E M E N T (Per Mridula Bhatkar, J.) Rule, returnable forthwith. By consent of the learned counsel for the parties, heard. 1. The petitioner has filed this petition challenging the Judgement & Order dated 08.09.2008 passed by the Respondent No.2- the Scheduled Tribes 2 Certificate Scrutiny committee, Nashik Division, ( Scrutiny Committee), invalidating the caste certificate of the petitioner. 2. The petitioner claims that he belongs to Mahadeo Koli- Scheduled Tribe. The Executive Magistrate, Nashik had granted caste certificate of Mahadeo Koli in favour of the Petitioner on 01.7.1992. The caste certificate of the petitioner was forwarded to the Respondent no.2 Committee for verification alongwith the documents including validity certificate of his real brother Milind Anand Bachhav. The Police inspector of Vigilance cell conducted detailed school and home enquiry and recorded statement of the father of the petitioner regarding traits characteristics, customs and rituals followed by them and submitted his report to the Committee. The petitioner filed his say to the said enquiry report pointing out merits of his case. Ultimately, the Respondent NO.2 Committee, on the basis of evidence before it, invalidated the caste certificate of the petitioner vide order dated 8.9.2009. 3. The Respondents have filed affidavit in reply denying the submissions and contentions of the petitioner. It was contended that the claim of the petitioner was rightly invalidated by the committee. The Committee has properly appreciated the enquiry report and the documents and record before it while invalidating the claim of the petitioner. It was argued that the brother of the petitioner had obtained the validity by suppressing the fact that caste of his father was recorded as Koli which is not Scheduled tribe as per 3 the enquiry report, and, hence this petition be dismissed 4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has submitted that the documents produced by the petitioner in support of his caste claim were not considered and specifically the school record of his father and caste certificate of his brother disclosing caste as Mahadeo Koli were not properly appreciated. Learned Counsel Shri Mendadkar, in the course of his argument, has highlighted that one of the members of the Caste committee i.e. Mr. More was not present at the time of hearing of his caste claim and yet the order invalidating the caste claim is signed by the Chairman and two other members including Mr. More. The learned counsel has produced Certified Xerox copy of the minutes of the hearing, disclosing signatures of chairman and one member and the signature of Mr. More is absent. This particular document was obtained by the petitioner under Right to Information Act. Based on this document it was argued that if Mr. More was absent on that particular day, how he could pass and sign the order, so this has vitiated the enquiry made by the caste scrutiny committee. Learned Counsel has submitted that the decision of the committee is arbitrary, irrational and perverse. The petitioner prays to quash and set aside the impugned order dated 08.09.2008 with direction to the Respondent No.2 committee to issue Caste validity Certificates in favour of the petitioners as belonging to Mahadeo Koli- Scheduled Tribe. 4 5. The caste committee, in its order dated 8.9.2008 has discussed and considered all the documents produced by the petitioner including the school leaving certificate of his father Ananda Bhikaji. All the documents produced by the petitioner are after the first Presidential (Scheduled Tribe) Order, 1950. The school leaving certificate of his father discloses caste as Hindu Koli and not Mahadeo Koli. It is to be noted that Mahadeo Koli and Koli are two independent castes and the Mahadeo Koli is not a sub caste of Koli. Therefore, the submission of the petitioner that due to illiteracy sub caste Mahadeo Koli was not mentioned does not stand to reason. Moreover, this correction was made by his father by obtaining the certificate from the Sarpanch, Grampanchayat, Lohaner Tq. Deola, subsequently. Hence, the committee has rightly discarded the same. 6. The caste committee had validated the caste claim of brother, cousin brother and other relatives of the petitioner and, therefore, the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner, while arguing the matter, has placed reliance on the case of Varsha Dhanwat, reproted in 2006(4), MLLJ 676, in which it is laid down that the validity granted to the blood relative from paternal side can not be brushed aside lightly and it should be given due weightage while deciding the caste claim of the subsequent member of the family. The ratio of this case is not helpful to the petitioner as the scrutiny committee has considered the caste certificate of his brother Milind Anand Bachhav and has 5 held that the original school leaving certificate of their father Ananda disclosing the caste as Hindu Koli was not appreciated by the the committee while deciding that earlier case. In the case of Kumari Madhuri Patil & Anr. Vs. Additional Commissioner Tribal Development & Ors. (1994) 6 SCC 241, it is held that merely because one of family member s caste ’ has been validated by the committee, it would not, by itself, be a sufficient ground to claim validity of other member. Each and every case has to be decided on its own merit, if fresh evidence is produced. Thus, the committee has to verify independently, the case of each candidate. 7. We asked the respondent to produce original minutes of the caste scrutiny committee who heard the matter and passed the order. The signatures of the three Members including Shri More were found on the original minutes and, therefore, the information submitted by the petitioner which is obtained under Right to information Act cannot be accepted as genuine as original record produced in the Court does not appear to be suspicious. 8. Further the committee has given opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. The petitioner could not clear the affinity test and has failed to prove his affinity and ethnic linkage towards Mahadeo Koli and the Scrutiny committee has rightly held the petitioner does not have affinity to Mahadeo Koli Tribe. On appreciating the evidence of genealogy, ethnological 6 and customary traits, and the report of the Vigilance officer, the Scrutiny Committee has rightly given finding that the petitioner does not belong to Mahadeo Koli and has rightly invalidated the caste certificate. We find no fault in the finding of the committee and hence no interference is required. In the result, the petition stands dismissed with no order as to costs. (MRIDULA BHATKAR, J.) (J. N. PATEL, J.) jpc/-