1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD. WRIT PETITION NO. 791 OF 2010. Sangita Vitthal Koretkar, Age 32 years, Occu. Service, R/o C/o Ramchandra Dewale, S.N. 2/1 Near Datta Mandir, Dhankawadi Pune 43. .. PETITIONER. VERSUS 1) The State of Maharashtra, (Through Secretary, Tribal Department, Mumbai. 2) The Scheduled Tribe, Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad. 3) The Executive Magistrate, Bhoom, Dist. Osmanabad. 4) The Deputy Director, Industrial Training Institute, Ghole Road, Pune. 5) The Principal, Industrial Training Institute, Kolhapur . RESPONDENTS. ... Shri A.S. Bayas, Advocate for Petitioner. Shri V.H. Dighe, Assistant Government Pleader, for respondent Nos. 1,3, 4 & 5. Shri V.S. Malte, Advocate for respondent No. 2. CORAM : A.M. KHANWILKAR AND S.S. SHINDE, JJ. DATE : 9th FEBRUARY 2010. 2 PER COURT: (S.S. Shinde,J.) 1. Rule made returnable forthwith. Counsel for the respondents waives notice. With the consent of the learned counsel for the parties, this petition is heard finally at the stage of admission. 2. The principal grievance which is raised by the petitioner in this petition is that, though the old criminal record of her grand father Trimbak Malhari Kortekar relating to 1348 Fasli mentions his caste as ‘Mahadeo Koli’, was placed on record, the same has not been properly considered by the Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad. According to the learned counsel for the petitioner said record is about the grand father of the petitioner, wherein the name and caste ‘Mahadeo Koli’ has been recorded. In spite of submitting the copy of said criminal rerecord before the respondent No. 2 i.e. the Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad, the respondent No. 2 herein has utterly failed to properly consider the said vital document and, as 3 a result of which the caste claim of the petitioner as “ Mahadeo Koli” (Schedule Tribe) came to be invalidated. Therefore, the counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that, since document which were placed on record at serial No. 19 has not been properly considered by the Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad, the matter may be remitted back for fresh hearing. Learned counsel appearing for the respondent No.2 submitted that, the Committee has considered all the documents placed on record including the document at serial No. 19 and came to the correct conclusion and the caste claim of the petitioner is invalidated, and no interference is warranted under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. 3. We have heard counsel appearing for the respective parties at length. We are of the considered opinion that, the Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad has not assigned 4 any reasons while discarding the old record of 1348 Fasli in which the caste of the grand father of the petitioner is recorded as “Mahadeo Koli”. While considering the document which is at serial No. 19, the Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad, has not given any specific comments on the said document, and merely observed that, the applicant utterly failed to prove her affinity and ethnic linkage towards Koli Mahadeo, Scheduled Tribe. In fact, when the specific document was placed on record before the respondent No. 2 Scrutiny Committee, as a quasi judicial authority, it was obliged to consider the said document and offer its comment and assign reasons for not accepting the said document. The said document being the oldest amongst all other documents filed by the petitioner, the respondent No. 2 Committee should have been more careful in considering and scrutinising the said document. In our considered opinion, the respondent No. 2 Committee has not assigned any reasons in not accepting the said document in support of caste claim of the petitioner as “Mahadeo Koli” Scheduled Tribe. 5 4. Therefore, the impugned decision of the respondent No. 2 Committee, dated 29-09-2009 is not sustainable and same is quashed and set aside. The matter is remitted back to the respondent No. 2 i.e. the Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad for fresh consideration and giving appropriate decision in the light of the documents and record which formed part of the record of the respondent No. 2 Committee. The respondent No. 2 shall give personal hearing to the petitioner before taking appropriate decision afresh. The Petitioner shall appear before the respondent No. 2- Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad on 22-02-2010. The Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad shall hear the matter afresh and give its decision on the basis of the documents and material already on record before it and the documents relied upon by the petitioner in this Writ Petition, within six months from today. Needless to mention that till the caste claim of the petitioner is decided afresh by the respondent No. 2 Committee, no any 6 adverse action should be taken against the present petitioner. Rule is made absolute in the above terms. The petition is disposed of accordingly. [ S.S. SHINDE, J ] [ A.M. KHANWILKAR, J ] SDM* WP 791.10