WP6937.15 (J).odt 1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR
WRIT PETITION NO.6937 OF 2015
Ku. Sneha d/o Chhagan Gaikwad,
Aged 17 years, Occupation-Student,
through natural guardian father
Chhagan Nitaram Gaikwad,
Aged 56 years, R/o. Amgaon (Khurd),
Post-Ghonad, Tahsil-Sakoli,
District-Bhandara. .. Petitioner
.. Versus ..
1] Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee,
Nagpur, through its Chairman, Committee
for Scheduled Tribe Claims, Office at
Second Floor Adiwasi Vikas Bhawan,
Giripeth, in front of R.T.O. Nagpur.
2] State of Maharashtra, through its
Secretary, Tribal Development
Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3] The Director of Medical Education &
Research, Fort, Mumbai.
4] The Principal, R.J.V.S. Bhaiyyasaheb
Sawant Ayurvedic Mahavidyalaya,
Sawantwadi, Office at Sutikagruha
Parisar, Khaskilwada, Sawantwadi,
Tah. Sawantwadi, Distt. Sindhudurg.
5] The Registrar, Maharashtra University
of Health Science, Nashik, Wani Road,
Mashrul, Nashik-422 004. .. Respondents
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WP6937.15 (J).odt 2
Shri Prashant P. Dhok, Counsel for the petitioner,
Shri N.S. Rao, Assistant Government Pleader for respondent nos.1 to 3,
Shri N.D. Thombre, Counsel for the respondent no.5.
..........
CORAM : SMT. VASANTI A. NAIK AND
A.S. CHANDURKAR, JJ.
DATED : FEBRUARY 25, 2016.
ORAL JUDGMENT : (Per : SMT. VASANTI A. NAIK, J.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. The petition is heard finally with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties.
By this petition, the petitioner seeks a direction to the respondent-Scrutiny Committee to decide the caste claim of the petitioner within a time frame. The petitioner seeks a direction to the respondent-University and the college-management to protect the education of the petitioner till her caste claim is decided.
The petitioner claims to belong to "Mana", Scheduled Tribe and the caste claim of the petitioner was referred to the Scrutiny Committee for verification on 10.7.2013. The Scrutiny Committee has not decided the caste claim of the petitioner till date. The petitioner was admitted to the B.A.M.S. Degree Course in the year 2015-2016, on a seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. According to the petitioner, though the petitioner is not at fault in not producing the caste validity ::: Uploaded on - 29/02/2016 ::: Downloaded on - 31/07/2016 06:37:20 ::: WP6937.15 (J).odt 3 certificate, the college-management and the University are proposing to take adverse action against the petitioner for not producing the caste validity certificate. It is submitted that a direction may be issued to the Scrutiny Committee to decide the caste claim of the petitioner and the education of the petitioner should be protected till then.
Shri Rao, the learned Assistant Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the Scrutiny Committee states, on instructions, that the caste claim of the petitioner is pending before the Scrutiny Committee and the same would be decided as early as possible.
Shri Thombre, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent no.5, states that the caste certificate of the petitioner is not verified till date and, therefore, the University has not received the proposal for granting registration and eligibility. It is stated that in view of the failure on the part of the petitioner to produce the caste validity certificate, adverse action was proposed against the petitioner.
On the statement made by the learned Assistant Government Pleader that the caste claim of the petitioner is pending, we allow the writ petition and direct the respondent-Scrutiny Committee to decide the caste claim of the petitioner as early as possible and positively within a period of one year from the date of appearance of the petitioner before the Scrutiny Committee. The petitioner undertakes to appear before the Scrutiny Committee on 7.3.2016. Since the petitioner was not at fault ::: Uploaded on - 29/02/2016 ::: Downloaded on - 31/07/2016 06:37:20 ::: WP6937.15 (J).odt 4 in not producing the caste validity certificate, the education of the petitioner is protected till her caste claim is decided. The college-
management and the University should permit the petitioner to prosecute her studies and to appear at the examination, if there is no other impediment in doing so, till her caste claim is decided.
Rule is made absolute in the aforesaid terms with no order as to costs.
JUDGE JUDGE
Gulande
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