1 MSS IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE APPELLATE SIDE APPELLATE SIDE WRIT PETITION NO. 4679 OF 2005 ASMITA ANIL BHOIR .. PETITIONER Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS. .. RESPONDENTS Mr. R. K. Mendadkar for petitioner Mr. P.P. Kakade, AGP CORAM: SMT. RANJANA DESAI & SMT. R. S. DALVI,JJ. DATE: 29/1/2008 P.C. . The petitioner claims to belong to Dongar Koli Tribe which is recognized as Scheduled Tribe under the Presidential Notification issued under Article 342(1) of the Constitution of India. 2. The petitioner has challenged in this petition order dated 21/5/05 passed by the Scheduled Tribe Certificates Scrutiny Committee ("Scrutiny Committee" for short) invalidating her caste certificate certifying her as a person belonging to Dongar Koli Scheduled Tribe. 2 3. The petitioner had earlier filed Writ Petition No. 6758 of 2004 challenging the order dated 30/4/04 passed by the Scrutiny Committee invalidating her caste certificate. By order dated 20/9/04 the Division Bench of this court remanded the case to the Scrutiny Committee. It appears that attention of the court was drawn to certain documents, some of which were as old as 24/2/1915. Two primary school leaving certificates of Dharma Babaji Bhoir showing his caste as Dongar Koli were produced in this court. Similarly a primary school extract in respect of another blood relative of the petitioner i.e. Sitaram Babaji Bhoir was also shown to the court stating his caste to be Dongar Koli. In view of the documents produced before this court, this court remanded the matter with a direction to dispose of the application afresh in the light of the documents produced by the petitioner. 4. Accordingly on remand the Scrutiny Committee heard the matter afresh. The Scrutiny Committee noted that in the school record the petitioner’s grand father’s brother (i.e. petitioner’s grand uncle) Dharma Babaji Bhoir’s caste is shown as 3 Dongar Koli in the year 1915. School record shows the caste of Sitaram, another grand uncle of the petitioner as Dongar Koli in the year 1919. Another grand uncle Laxman’s caste is shown as Son Koli in 1921. Harishchandra yet another grand uncle’s caste is shown as Son Koli in 1925. The Scrutiny Committee, however, was of the opinion that the school entry of the petitioner’s great grandfather Babaji Govind Bhoir shows his caste as Koli. This entry is of 1894. This being the oldest available entry from public record, the Scrutiny Committee did not accept the petitioner’s case that she belongs to Dongar Koli, Scheduled Tribe. This order is challenged in this petition. 5. We have heard Mr. Mendadkar, learned counsel for the petitioner at some length. He has drawn our attention to the abovementioned documents. These documents pertain to the period 1921 and 1925. All these documents are Pre-Presidential order documents and they will have probative value as stated by the Supreme Court in Kum. Madhuri Patil & Anr. v. Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development, Thane & Ors., AIR 1995 SC 94. He has also pointed out the school leaving certificate of Shantaram Nathu Bhoir which shows the caste of 4 Shantaram Bhoir as Dongar Koli. He has also drawn our attention to the 7/12 extract and mutation entry which show that Nathu is the son of Govind Bhoir. Our attention is also drawn to a copy of the extract from revenue record which shows that Babaji is the son of Govind Bhoir. These two documents together show that Nathu and Babaji are brothers and they are sons of Govind Bhoir. Therefore, school leaving certificate of Shantaram Nathu Bhoir showing his caste as Dongar Koli assumes importance because Shantaram Nathu Bhoir is related to the petitioner from paternal side. Copies of four certificates issued by the Scrutiny Committee certifying that Rupesh, Mangala, Pragati and Prachi, who are descendants of Nathu belong to Dongar Koli Scheduled Tribe are produced before us. 6. In view of the above, in our opinion, the Scrutiny Committee, ought to have held that the petitioner belongs to Dongar Koli, Scheduled Tribe. In the facts of this case entry of 1894 should not have weighed with the Scrutiny Committee to hold that the petitioner’s case that she belongs to Dongar Koli is not substantiated. In this connection, we may refer to a judgment of this court in Mr. Ravi Janardhan Chalmela, Minor 5 through his father a natural Guardian Dr. Janardhan N. Chalmela v. State of Maharashtra dated 22/8/2002 passed in Writ Petition No. 1668 of 2002 where paternal aunt of the petitioner was held to be belonging to Mannewar Committee, Scheduled Tribe. This court held that once paternal aunt was held to be belonging to Mannewar Community, the petitioner therein must be held to be belonging to the Mannewar Community Scheduled Tribe. It was held that the petitioner cannot be of different caste or tribe. Similar view was taken by this court in Varsha Ramsing Dhanavat v. State of Maharashtra & Ors., 2006(4) Mh. L.J. 676. 7. In view of the above, we quash and set aside the impugned order dated 21/5/05 passed by the Scrutiny Committee. We direct the Scrutiny Committee to issue validity certificate to the petitioner in respect of the caste certificate dated 7/1/03 granted by the 3rd respondent. 8. Petition is disposed of. JUDGE 6 JUDGE