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wp4150.04.odt
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR
Writ Petition No.4150 of 2004
Balkrishna Gunvantrao Bopte,
Aged about 26 years,
Occupation - Service,
Live Stock Supervisor,
Panchayat Samiti,
Pandharkawda, Yavatmal District. ... Petitioner
Versus
1. The State of Maharashtra,
through its Secretary,
Tribal Welfare Department,
Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
2. Chairman Committee for Scrutiny
and Verification of the Tribes Claims,
Amravati.
3. Zilla Parishad, Yavatmal,
through its District Health Officer.
4. Commissioner, Animal Husbandry,
Pune.
5. Executive Magistrate, Daryapur,
District Amravati. ... Respondents
Ms Akshaya Kshirsagar, Advocate, holding for Shri Anil Mardikar,
Senior Advocate, for Petitioner.
Shri N.S. Rao, Assistant Government Pleader for Respondent
Nos.1, 2, 4 and 5.
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Coram : R.K. Deshpande & Mrs. Swapna Joshi, JJ.
st Dated : 21 July, 2017 Oral Judgment (Per R.K. Deshpande, J.) :
1. The petitioner was appointed as Live Stock Supervisor in Panchayat Samiti, Pandharkawada, District Yavatmal, where he joined on 21-9-2001. His appointment was against a post reserved for a Scheduled Tribe candidate. The petitioner produced the caste certificate dated 8-12-1990 issued by the Executive Magistrate, Amravati, showing that he belongs to Koli Mahadev, Scheduled Tribe. It is on the basis of this certificate, the petitioner was granted appointment. The matter was referred to the Scrutiny Committee for verification of the caste claim, and by an order dated 13-4-2004, the claim has been invalidated by the Committee. Hence, this petition challenging the said order.
2. The petitioner was provided protection in service by virtue of an interim order passed by this Court on 2-9-2004, which was continued after granting Rule on 13-11-2006. Since ::: Uploaded on - 21/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 08/08/2017 00:52:51 ::: 3 wp4150.04.odt then, the petitioner is working on the post.
3. With the assistance of the learned counsels appearing for the parties, we have gone through the order impugned invalidating the caste claim of the petitioner for Koli Mahadev, Scheduled Tribe, which is at Entry No.5 of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. There is not even a single document pertaining to the period prior to 1950 having a probative value indicating the tribe of the petitioner as Koli Mahadev placed on record. On the contrary, the document at serial No.3, which is a school transfer certificate in the name of the petitioner dated 9-7-1974, and the another document at serial No.4, which is a certificate issued by the Head Master of the School on 6-3-2000, record that the petitioner belongs to caste Koli, which came under the Special Backward Class category. The Committee has applied the affinity test, and on appreciation of the evidence on record, a possible view is taken that the petitioner has failed to establish his claim for Koli Mahadev, Scheduled Tribe. We do not find any perversity in ::: Uploaded on - 21/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 08/08/2017 00:52:51 ::: 4 wp4150.04.odt the findings recorded, and hence no interference is called for in the order impugned.
4. It is urged that the petitioner has rendered the service for a period of about 16 years. However, in view of the decision of the Apex Court in Civil Appeal No.8928 of 2015 [Chairman and Managing Director FCI and others v. Jagdish Balaram Bahira and others], delivered on 6-7-2017, which we have recently followed in Writ Petition No.3373 of 2002 [Dattakishor Jagannath Kumbhare v. State of Maharashtra and others] and other similar matters, the protection is not available in service upon invalidation of the tribe claim, and we are unable to prevent the consequences provided under Section 10 of the Maharashtra Act No.XXIII of 2001.
5. The petition is dismissed. Rule stands discharged. No order as to costs.
JUDGE. JUDGE.
Lanjewar
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