1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD. WRIT PETITION NO. 8368 OF 2009 Madhav Ramrao Meghmale, Age 24 years, Occu. Education, R/o At post Biloli, Tq. Biloli, Dist. Nanded .. PETITIONER. VERSUS 1) Sub Divisional Officer, Degloor, Tq. Degloor, Dist. Nanded. 2) Scheduled Tribe Certificate, Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad, Division, Aurangabad Through it’s Member Secretary. RESPONDENTS. ... Shri S.S. Phatale, Advocate for Petitioner. Shri K.J.Ghute Patil, A.G.P. for respondent No.1. Shri R.P. Phatake, Advocate for respondent No. 2. CORAM : P.V. HARDAS AND S.V. GANGAPURWALA, JJ. DATE : 20th April, 2010. ORAL JUDGMENT: (Per S.V. GANGAPURWALA,J.) 1. Rule. Rule returnable forthwith. With the consent of the learned counsels for the parties, the petition is taken up for final hearing at the stage of admission. 2 2. The Petitioner vide this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, takes exception to the judgment and order dated 23/03/2009 passed by the Sub Divisional Officer, Degloor, rejecting the application of the petitioner for issuance of a caste certificate as belonging to Koli-Mahadev-Scheduled Tribe’, and the judgment and order in appeal dated 26/10/2009, confirming the order of the Sub Divisional Officer, Degloor. 3. The petitioner had submitted his school record, service book/record of his father, wherein the caste is mentioned as Koli-Mahadev- Scheduled Tribe’. The petitioner has also submitted validity certificate of his cousin brother namely Gajanan Narsing Meghmale as belonging to a Koli-Mahadev-Scheduled Tribe’, so also had submitted validity certificate issued in favour of his uncle namely Narsingh Hanmantrao Meghmale,thereby validating caste certificate as belonging to Koli-Mahadev-Scheduled Tribe. The Sub Divisional Officer, Degloor rejected the 3 application of the petitioner on the count that, on his inspection of field book, the caste ‘Koli’ is recorded as that of the grand mother of the petitioner namely Renukabai. 4. At the stage of issuance of caste certificate, the authority is expected to get himself prima-facie satisfied. The petitioner produced his school record. The service book of his father shows caste as ‘Koli-Mahadev-Scheduled Tribe’. The validity certificates are issued in favour of his uncle and his first cousin, validating their caste as belonging to ‘Koli- Mahadev-Scheduled Tribe’. In the light of such evidence, we are prima-facie satisfied that the material produced by the petitioner is sufficient for issuance of caste certificate as belonging to Koli-Mahadev-Scheduled Tribe’. 5. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed. The impugned Judgment and order dated 23/03/2009 passed by the Sub Divisional Officer, Degloor and the Judgment and order dated 26/10/2009 passed by the Scrutiny Committee are 4 hereby quashed and set aside. The Respondent No. 1-Sub Divisional Officer, Degloor is hereby directed to forthwith issue the caste certificate to the petitioner as belonging to ‘Koli Mahadev- Scheduled Tribe’. 6. Rule is thus made absolute in the above terms, with no order as to costs. [S.V. GANGAPURWALA, J ] [ P.V. HARDAS, J ] SDM* WP8368.09(J)