6.wp.4847-03 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.4847 OF 2003 Rafique Mahiboob Mukeri. ..Petitioner. Versus The State of Maharashtra and another. ..Respondents. ... Mr.S.G. Kudle, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr.S.R. Nargolkar, AGP, for the respondent – State. ... CORAM : BILAL NAZKI AND SMT. V.K.TAHILRAMANI,JJ. DATE : 26th JUNE, 2009. P.C. :- 1. The petitioner seeks quashing of government order passed on 3rd June, 1996 on the ground that it is without any authority of law. This Government Order states that a person who claims to be from the Scheduled Caste can be either Hindu, or Sikh or Boudh Religion. The power is only with the President to notify scheduled castes and scheduled tribe and after the President notifies a caste as scheduled caste or scheduled tribe it can only be amended by the parliament. There is no dispute on this proposition of law. But the Counsel for the respondent states that this Government Order is passed in pursuance of a Presidential Order which was later modified and also by an act of parliament. He refers to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (C.O. 19), in which the President has stated in clause-3 of the said order that “notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, no person who professes a 6.wp.4847-03 2 religion different from the Hindu or the Sikh religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.” Later on it appears that it was substituted by Act 108 of 1976. Hence, Writ Petition is misconceived and is dismissed as such. [BILAL NAZKI,J.] [SMT.V.K.TAHILRAMANI,J.]