1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY, BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO.6144 OF 2009 Kum.Mayuri d/o Shrikrishna Punjarwad, Age minor, Occupation Education, R/o At Kharatwadi, Post Digras, Taluka Hadgaon, District Nanded through father and natural guardian, Shrikrishna s/o Dasru Punjarwad, Age 36 years, Occu.Service, R/o As above .. PETITIONER VERSUS 1. The State of Maharashtra, through Secretary to Tribal Development Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai 2. The Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Verification Committee, Aurangabad, Through its Dy.Director (R), Aurangabad 3. The Sub Divisional Officer, Kinwat, District Nanded 4. The Collector, Nanded, District Nanded 5. The Principal, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Ministry of Human Resource Development Department of Science and Higher Education, Government of India, Shankarnagar, Dist.Nanded .. RESPONDENTS Shri S.M.Vibhute, Advocate for petitioner Shri N.N.Jadhav, Assistant Govt.Pleader for respondent No.1 3 & 4 Shri P.S.Patil, Advocate for respondent No.2 Shri Alok Sharma, Assistant Solicitor General for respondent No.5 2 CORAM : P.V. HARDAS AND A.V. POTDAR, JJ DATE : 15th September 2009 ORAL JUDGMENT [ PER P.V.HARDAS , J ] 1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With the consent of learned Counsel for the parties, this petition is heard finally at the stage of admission. 2. We have heard Shri Vibhute, learned Counsel for the petitioner, Shri Jadhav, learned Assistant Government Pleader for respondents 1, 3 and 4, Shri P.S.Patil, learned Counsel for respondent No.2 and Shri Alok Sharma, learned Assistant Solicitor General for respondent No.5. 3. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner prays for issuance of a writ directing respondent No.3 to issue the tribe certificate to the petitioner as belonging to Koli Mahadev – Scheduled Tribe. Learned Counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner at this juncture does not press for the reliefs prayed for at prayer clause (D) and (F). In the light of the limited relief which the petitioner has prayed for in this petition, we deem it appropriate to decide this petition finally at this stage. The petitioner submitted an application requesting 3 for issuance of a tribe certificate as belonging to Koli Mahadev – Scheduled Tribe. The Sub Divisional Officer by his order dated 16.10.2008 rejected the said application. The petitioner being aggrieved by the rejection of her application, submitted an appeal before the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Verification Committee, Aurangabad Division, Aurangabad. The respondent – scrutiny committee, by its order dated 27.2.2009 allowed the appeal. The scrutiny committee in the said order clearly opined that it did not agree with the decision of the Sub Divisional Officer, Kinwat and accordingly allowed the appeal. The petitioner thereafter appeared before the Sub Divisional Officer requesting for issuance of a tribe certificate which came to be declined by the Sub Divisional Officer by directing the petitioner to submit additional documents; failing which the application would stand dismissed. According to the petitioner, the aforesaid application now stands dismissed though the appeal has been allowed by the scrutiny committee. 4. We fail to understand as to how the Sub Divisional Officer could have declined to issue the tribe certificate to the petitioner, particularly when the appeal challenging the judgment of the Sub Divisional Officer was allowed by the scrutiny committee. The scrutiny committee, in terms expressed that it did not agree with the decision of the Sub Divisional Officer. In the light of that the 4 Sub Divisional Officer ought to have forthwith issue the certificate to the petitioner since the appeal has been allowed and his decision of rejecting the application of the petitioner was set aside by the committee. 5. Be that as it may, we allow this petition and direct the Sub Divisional Officer, Kinwat to forthwith issue the tribe certificate to the petitioner as belonging to Koli Mahadev – Scheduled Tribe. 6. Rule is thus made absolute on the above terms with no orders as to costs. ( A.V.POTDAR ) ( P.V.HARDAS ) JUDGE JUDGE vvr/6144.09wp 5