1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 6825 OF 2009 Dineshkumar S/o.Digamber Dahe, Age-20 years, Occu-Education, R/o.Lad Galli, Kranti chowk, Manwat, Tq.Manwat, Dist. Parbhani. PETITIONER VERSUS 1. The State of Maharashtra Through Social Welfare Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai 2. The Committee for Scrutiny of the Caste Certificates, through its Member Secretary At Aurangabad, Division Aurangabad 3. Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Tq.Selu, Dist. Parbhani RESPONDENTS WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 6838 OF 2009 Priyanka D/o.Digamber Dahe, Age-17 years, Occu-Education, Minor U/G of her real father Digambar S/o.Bhagoji Dahe, Age-50 years, Occu-Service, R/o.Lad Galli, Kranti chowk, Manwat, Tq.Manwat, Dist. Parbhani. PETITIONER VERSUS 2 1. The State of Maharashtra Through Social Welfare Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai 2. The Committee for Scrutiny of the Caste Certificates, through its Member Secretary At Aurangabad, Division Aurangabad 3. Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Tq.Selu, Dist. Parbhani RESPONDENTS Mr.H.V.Patil, learned counsel for the petitioners Mr.V.B.Ghatge, learned AGP for respondent no.1 and 3 Mr.B.L.Sagar, learned counsel for respondent no.2 (CORAM : P.V.HARDAS, AND A.V.POTDAR, J.J.) DATE : 12/10/2009 COMMON ORAL JUDGMENT : (Per A.V.Potdar, J.) 1. Both these writ petitions are filed by real brother and sister based on the same set of facts and raised the common question of Law, hence to be disposed of by common judgment. 2. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, these petitions are heard finally at the stage of admission. 3. By the present writ petitions under Article 226 of The Constitution of India, the petitioners herein have challenged the judgment and order passed in appeal No.VJNT-1/Judgment/SDM- 3 Appeal-2009/2009-10/Dahe/Aurangabad/4212, dated 31/07/2009 and in appeal No. VJNT-1/Judgment/SDM-Appeal-2009/ 2009-10/ Dahe/Aurangabad/4213, dated 31/07/2009, which appeals were filed by the respective petitioners to challenge the order passed by the Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Dist. Parbhani by which he has rejected the applications filed by the petitioners for issuance of caste certificate dated 22/05/2008. 4. The facts which gave rise to file the present writ petitions can be summarized as : the petitioners have filed an application on 14/11/2006 before Setu Suvidha Kendra, Tahsil Office, Manwat, for issuance of caste certificate as they claimed that they belongs to Rajput Bhamta, (BJNT). Tahsil Office, Manwat forwarded these applications to the office of Sub Divisional Officer, Selu alongwith the documents annexed with the applications alongwith the annexure received in the office of Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Dist. Parbhani on 16/10/2007. It appears that these applications were filed alongwith various documents including the caste certificate issued to the father of the petitioners way back in the year 1979 by Tahsildar, Pathari that he belongs to VJNT Rajput Bhamta. The petitioners have also produced the affidavit filed by their father alongwith the genealogy showing interse relationship between them. Father of the petitioners is in the Government Service and accordingly his caste was entered in his service record. Accordingly the petitioners have also produced the first page of the service book of their father. It appears that the Learned Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Dist. Parbhani was not satisfied with this documentary evidence produced on behalf of the petitioners and pleased to reject the applications filed by the 4 petitioners vide his order dated 22/05/2008. It appears that these orders passed by the Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Dist. Parbhani were challenged before the Divisional Scrutiny Committee Aurangabad Division Aurangabad in appeal by these petitioners. These appeals were dismissed by the judgment and order dated 31/07/2009 impugned in the present writ petitions and confirmed the order passed by the Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Dist.Parbhani. 5. We have heard the submissions of learned counsels appearing for the respective parties. During the course of submissions across the bar, our attention is straightway drawn towards the facts recorded in the order passed by the Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Dist. Parbhani, in comments against the document at Sr.No. 8. This document at Sr.No.8 is in respect of the caste certificate issued by the competent authority to the father of the petitioners wherein caste of the father of the petitioners was recorded as Rajput Bhamta (VJNT). It is but natural that the children are entitled for the caste of their father as the caste is acquired by birth. It appears that apart from these documents, the petitioners have also produced the caste validity certificate issued to their real uncle, which caste validity certificate is on record alongwith the requisite affidavit of this real uncle of the petitioners and also this real uncle of the petitioners has produced the detailed genealogy disclosing the interse relationship between these petitioners and the caste validity certificate holder. Prima-facie, this documentary evidence is sufficient to hold that the petitioners are entitled for the caste certificate for which they have prayed for. On the face of it, it is apparent that this documentary evidence was not properly appreciated by the Sub 5 Divisional Officer, Selu, Dist. Parbhani as well as the Divisional Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad Division Aurangabad and erroneously drawn the wrong conclusion that the documentary evidence produced on behalf of petitioners is not sufficient to issue the caste certificate to the petitioners as prayed for as they belongs to Rajput Bhamta (VJNT). The similar conclusion is drawn by the Divisional Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad Division Aurangabad. Thus the impugned judgment and order passed by the Divisional Scrutiny Committee as well as the order passed by the Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, Dist. Parbhani is liable to be quashed and set aside. Accordingly we quash and set aside the impugned judgment and order passed by the Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad Division Aurangabad as well as the order passed by the Sub Divisional Officer, Selu, and we hereby direct the Sub Divisional Officer, Selu to issue caste certificate to the petitioners as they belongs to Rajput Bhamta (VJNT) forthwith. 6. Needless to say that the caste certificate issued would be subject to verification by the competent Scrutiny Committee. 7. Rule is thus made absolute on the terms indicated above with no order as to costs. (A.V.POTDAR, J.) (P.V.HARDAS, J.) khs/OCT 2009/wp6825-09