1 FARAD CONTINUATION SHEET NO. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 2604 OF 1991 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Office Notes, Office Memoranda of | Coram, appearances, Court’s orders | Court’s or Judge’s or directions and Registrar’s | orders orders | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CORAM : A.M. KHANWILKAR, AND S.S. SHINDE, JJ. DATE : 22nd JANUARY, 2010 This Writ Petition has been revived in terms of separate order passed today in Civil Application No. 5403 of 2002. 2. Counsel for the petitioner submits that the order which is impugned in this petition was passed in regard to the caste claim dated 19-08-1989 by the prescribed Authority. However, the regime regarding scrutiny of caste claim of persons belonging to the reserved category has undergone sea change after 2 exposition of the Apex Court in the matter of Kumari Madhuri Patil and another vs. Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development and others, reported in A.I.R. 1995 S.C. 94. The procedure provided under this Judgment is that the validity of certificate has to be considered by the Statutory Committee, who in turn, is obliged to take the assistance of the Vigilance Cell. The Vigilance Cell is expected to make inquiry by recording the statements of all concerned as well as regarding the authenticity and genuineness of the relevant documents. On the basis of the report submitted by the Vigilance Cell, the Scrutiny Committee is expected to examine the matter further. 3. In this background, the Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner would be content if the impugned decision is set aside on condition that the petitioner shall 3 resubmit his caste claim before the Caste Scrutiny Committee constituted under the Act of 2000 within SIX WEEKS from today, who in turn, shall follow the necessary procedure prescribed by law and decide the caste claim of the petitioner, keeping in mind the settled legal principles, in accordance with law. We have no difficulty in acceding to this request made by the petitioner. It is made clear that if the petitioner fails to resubmit his caste claim before the Statutory Committee constituted under the Act of 2000 within the specified time, the order passed by the appropriate Authority on the earlier occasion against the petitioner invalidating his caste claim, which decision is impugned in this petition, shall stand revived. 4. Needless to observe that the Caste Scrutiny Committee, on submission of the caste claim of the petitioner, shall 4 decide the same on its own merits, in accordance with law, uninfluenced by the opinion recorded in the impugned decision. 5. The petition is disposed of on the above terms. ( S.S. SHINDE, J. ) (A.M. KHANWILKAR,J.) sut/JAN10/wp2604.91