1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO.8582 OF 2010. Rajani Bhagwansingh Pardeshi - PETITIONER VERSUS 1) The State of Mah. & Ors. - RESPONDENTS ***** Mr.AG Magare,Advocate for Petitioner; Mr.KG Patil,AGP for Resp.Nos. 1, 3 and 4; Mr.MS Deshmukh, Adv. for Respondent No.2; Mr.AB Girase, Adv. for Respondent No.5. ----- CORAM : B.R.GAVAI & K.U.CHANDIWAL,JJ. DATE : 23rd September, 2010. COURT’S ORDER (PER:-B.R.GAVAI,J.) 1) Heard. 2) By this petition, the petitioner challenges the Judgment and order dated 11th August, 2010, passed by the Respondent No.2- Committee, thereby invalidating the caste claim of the petitioner as belonging to Other Backward Class (OBC). 3) The petitioner originally belongs to 2 Madhya Pradesh. She has married with Bhagwansingh Pardeshi, who resides in Akkalkuwa District Nandurbar. The petitioner, on the basis of the caste certificate issued in her favour by the competent authority, successfully contested the election as a member of panchayat samiti, Akkalkuwa from the constituency reserved for OBC (female) category. 4) At the behest of Respondent No.5, the caste claim of the petitioner as belonging to OBC category came to have been referred to the Respondent No.2-Committee. The Respondent no.2- Committee, vide order impugned, invalidated the caste claim of the peitioner as belonging to OBC category. Hence, the present petition. 5) Shri Magare, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, submits that husband of the petitioner belongs to OBC category and as such the Respondent No.2-Committee ought to have validated the caste claim of the petitioner as belonging to OBC. 6) The question is no more res integra. The Apex court in the matter of Mrs. Valsamma Paul Vs. Cochin University and Ors., reported in AIR 1996 SC 1011, has held that, merely by virtue of marriage, wife does not acquire the status of 3 backwardness of her husband. The Apex Court in the said judgment further held that, backwardness of a particular person is attributable by birth in the family, which is of a backward class and merely if the person gets married with a person belonging to backward class, the wife does not automatically gets the status of belonging to backward class. In that view of the matter, no merit is found in the petition and, the same is dismissed. (K.U.CHANDIWAL) (B.R.GAVAI) JUDGE JUDGE bdv/