Ladda 1 wp-4123-11.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL WRIT PETITION No. 4123 of 2011. Shamrao Maruti Koli (Belkude) ...Petitioner. Versus The State of Maharashtra & ors ...Respondents. ...... Mr S.R.Ganbawale i/by Abhijit M.Adagale, Advocate for the Petitioner. Mr C.R.Sonawane, Assistant Government Pleader, for the State. Mr D.V.Sutar, Advocate for Respondent No.2. CORAM: D.D. SINHA AND A.R.JOSHI, JJ. DATED:­ 13th June, 2011. P.C. 1. Heard learned counsel for the respective parties. 2. Writ petition is directed against the order dated 15.3.2011 passed by the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Pune Region, Pune, whereby the caste claim of the Petitioner as belonging to Mahadev Koli (Scheduled Tribe) came to be rejected. 3. Considered the contentions canvassed by the learned counsel for the parties. 4. The stand of the petitioner is that Caste Scrutiny Committee failed Ladda 2 wp-4123-11.doc to take into consideration the caste certificate of the father of the petitioner, issued by the competent authority, wherein the caste mentioned is Mahadev Koli. It is contended that the caste is inherited by birth and not otherwise. It is further contended by the learned counsel for the petitioner that there was no reason for the Caste Scrutiny Committee to discard the caste certificate of the father of the petitioner while considering the caste claim of the petitioner. It is further contended that the Caste Scrutiny Committee considered documents i.e. copies of school record in respect of the applicant and his real brother wherein the caste is recorded as Hindu Koli and, therefore, only on the basis of this documentary evidence invalidated the caste certificate of the petitioner issued by the competent authority. It is, therefore, contended that the findings recorded by the Caste Scrutiny Committee are unsustainable in law and the impugned order is liable to be quashed and set aside. 5. The learned Assistant Government Pleader as well as the counsel for the other respondent supported the impugned order. 6. Perusal of the impugned order shows that the document pertains to the applicant and his brother i.e. school record, the caste mentioned is Hindu Koli and, therefore, the Caste Scrutiny Committee has come to the conclusion that Koli and Mahadev Koli are two different castes Ladda 3 wp-4123-11.doc having no ethnic link with each other. It is not in dispute that except the caste certificate issued by the Competent Authority in favour of the father of the petitioner, wherein the caste mentioned was Mahadev Koli, was only placed on record and no other documentary evidence pertaining to either father or grand­father of the petitioner was placed before the Caste Scrutiny Committee. It is no doubt true that the caste certificate pertaining to the father of the petitioner does show his caste as Mahadev Koli. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the said caste claim is subject to verification by the Caste Scrutiny Committee and till such time it is validated, cannot be treated to be a conclusive proof nor can be relied upon to hold that the petitioner belongs to Mahadev Koli Scheduled Tribe. 7. On the backdrop of the above referred facts, we are of the view that the findings recorded by the Caste Scrutiny Committee are just and proper, need no interference. Writ petition suffers from lack of merit. Same is dismissed. (D.D. SINHA, J) (A.R.JOSHI, J.)