- 1 - IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.4313 OF 2007 ... Suresh Madhukar Gangan ...Petitioner v/s. Caste Certificate Verification Committee & ors. ...Respondents ... Mr.Y.S.Jahagirdar i/b Mr.L.M.Acharya for the Petitioner. Mr.C.R.Sonawane, AGP for Respondents Nos. 1 to 4. Mr.A.J.Bhor for Respondents Nos. 2 & 3. ... CORAM: D.K.DESHMUKH & V.M.KANADE, JJ. DATED: 5TH MARCH, 2008 P.C.: - 2 - 1. By this petition the Petitioner challenges the order passed by the Divisional Caste Scrutiny Committee dated 2-6-2007 holding by majority that the caste certificate issued in favour of the Petitioner that he belongs to Vaishya Wani (OBC) caste is not valid. The Chairman of the Committee, however, has not agreed with the view of the two members of the committee and has held that the certificate issued in favour of the Petitioner that he belongs to Vaishya Wani caste is valid. As required by the directions of the Supreme Court in the case of Kumari Madhuri Patil & anr. v/s. Addl.Commissioner, Tribal Development and ors. (1994) 6 Supreme Court Cases 241, the Committee had called for a report of the vigilance cell. The vigilance cell submitted the report dated 25-5-2007 concluding that on the basis of the material produced before it, it appears that the Petitioner belongs to Hindu Vaishya-Wani caste. The report is thus, in favour of the Petitioner. The two members of the Scrutiny Committee, however, wrongly recorded in paragraph 10 of their order that the report of the vigilance cell is not in favour of the Petitioner and held that the Petitioner’s caste certificate is invalid. - 3 - . However, the Chairman disagreed with this. He recorded that the vigilance cell report is in favour of the Petitioner and therefore, in view of the directions contained in the judgment of the Supreme Court in Kumari Madhuri Patil’s case, he held that the certificate issued in favour of the Petitioner that he belongs to Vaishya-Wani caste is valid. The majority order of the Scrutiny committee holding that the caste certificate issued in favour of the Petitioner that he belongs to Vaishya-Wani is invalid is contrary to the record and has also been made in violation of the directions issued by the Supreme Court in Kumari Madhuri Patil’s case, where the Supreme Court has said that if the report of the vigilance cell is in favour of the candidate and the Committee proposes to disagree with the same, then a show cause notice is required to be given to the candidate. It is obvious, therefore, the majority order of the Scrutiny Committee is invalid and is liable to be set aside. 4. In our opinion, therefore, following order would meet the ends of justice. O R D E R - 4 - (i) The order impugned in the petition passed by the Scrutiny committee is set aside. (ii) The matter is remitted back to the Scrutiny Committee for denovo consideration and decision in accordance with law. (iii) Rule made absolute accordingly. No order as to costs. (iv) As the majority order passed by the Scrutiny committee holding that the certificate of the Petitioner that he belongs to Vaishya-Wani caste is set aside, the consequential order passed by the Bombay Municipal Corporation will not survive and the Petitioner will continue to occupy his elective office in accordance with law. (D.K.DESHMUKH, J.) (V.M.KANADE, J.)