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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR
Writ Petition No.6874 of 2013
Nitesh s/o Krushnarao Chudre,
Aged about 28 years,
Occupation - Service,
R/o Saptashrungi Society,
Ganesh Nagar, Akola. ... Petitioner
Versus
1. The State of Maharashtra,
through its Secretary,
Department of Tribal Development,
Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
2. The State of Maharashtra,
through its Secretary,
Public Works Department,
Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3. The Superintendent Engineer,
Public Works Department,
Amravati Division,
Amravati-03.
4. The Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate
Scrutiny Committee,
Amravati Division, Amravati,
through its Member Secretary. ... Respondents
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Shri R.J. Mirza, Advocate for Petitioner.
Shri D.P. Thakre, Assistant Government Pleader for Respondents.
Coram : R.K. Deshpande & M.G. Giratkar, JJ.
Date : 15th November, 2017 Oral Judgment (Per R.K. Deshpande, J.) :
1. The challenge in this petition is to the order dated 21-11-2013 passed by the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Amravati Division, Amravati, invalidating the claim of the petitioner for 'Mana', Scheduled Tribe Category, which is an entry at Serial No.18 in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 and cancelling and confiscating the caste certificate dated 15-7-2006 issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Kelapur, District Yavatmal, in the name of the petitioner.
2. Before the Committee, the petitioner produced about twenty documents in support of his claim for 'Mana', Scheduled Tribe Category. Out of those documents, we find about twelve documents as relevant, containing the entry 'Mana'. Of these ::: Uploaded on - 20/11/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 21/11/2017 01:13:18 ::: 3 wp6874.13.odt twelve documents, three documents at Serial Nos.8, 9 and 10 contain the entry 'Mana' made in the birth register extract in respect of the petitioner's paternal grandmother on 16-9-1913, the extract of birth register in respect of paternal grandfather issued on 27-1-1916, and the extract of birth register in respect of paternal grandfather on 22-4-1929. The other documents though indicate the caste 'Mana' pertain to the period subsequent to 1950. All these documents indicate the caste of the petitioner and his blood relatives as 'Mana'.
3. The Committee accepts these documents, but rejects the same on the ground that 'Mana' is also an entry in the list of Other Backward Class category or Special Backward Class category. The Committee holds that the entry 'Mana' shows similarity with 'Kunbis' and 'Malis', and taking the benefit of similarity in nomenclature, the claim for 'Mana', Scheduled Tribe, has been made. The Committee relies upon the decision of the Apex Court in the case of Dadaji v. Sukhdev Babu, reported ::: Uploaded on - 20/11/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 21/11/2017 01:13:18 ::: 4 wp6874.13.odt in (1980) 1 SCC 612.
4. It is not possible for us to sustain the findings recorded in the order of the Scrutiny Committee. In the decision of the Apex Court in the case of State of Maharashtra & Ors. v. Mana Adim Jamat Mandal, reported in (2006) 4 SCC 98, it is held that 'Mana' is a separate Scheduled Tribe by itself, included in Entry No.18 of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Orders, 1950, and it is not a sub-tribe of 'Gond'. In the said decision itself, the earlier decision in Dadaji's case, cited supra, is held to be impliedly overruled by the decision of the Constitution Bench of the Apex Court in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Milind and others, reported in 2001(1) Mh.L.J. 1. In view of this, the Committee was in error in holding that there are 'Manas' in open category as well as in Scheduled Tribe category in State of Maharashtra, and since 'Manas' are included in the list of Other Backward Class category at Serial No.268, the claim of the petitioner cannot be validated.
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5. In the decision of this Court, which we have delivered in Writ Petition No.3308 of 2013 [Gajanan s/o Pandurang Shende v. The Head-Master, Govt. Ashram School, Dongargaon Salod, Tah. Sindewahi, Distt. Chandrapur, and others] on 8-11-2017, we have dealt with the said matter in detail and we, therefore, need not record the separate reasons in this judgment to hold that once 'Manas' throughout the State of Maharashtra are entitled to be treated as Scheduled Tribe by reason of the Scheduled Tribes Order, as it now stands, it is not open to the State Government to say otherwise, viz. that it is either in the list of Other Backward Class catetory or in the list of Special Backward Class category.
6. The petitioner has produced on record the documents of pre-Independence period showing the caste as 'Mana', and in the absence of there being any doubt or any document produced on record showing the caste of the petitioner other than 'Mana', the Committee was in error in applying the affinity test, in view of the decision of the Apex Court in the case of Anand v. Committee for Scrutiny and Verification of Tribe Claims and others, reported ::: Uploaded on - 20/11/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 21/11/2017 01:13:18 ::: 6 wp6874.13.odt in (2012) 1 SCC 113.
7. In the result, this petition is allowed. The order dated 21-11-2013 passed by the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Amravati Division, Amravati, is hereby quashed and set aside. It is held that the caste certificate dated 15-7-2006 produced by the petitioner and issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Kelapur, District Yavatmal, is valid and declared that the petitioner belongs to 'Mana', Scheduled Tribe, which is an entry at Serial No.18 in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. The Committee is directed to issue a caste validity certificate in the name of the petitioner accordingly, within a period of one month from the date of producing the copy of this judgment by the petitioner before it.
8. Rule is made absolute in above terms. No order as to costs.
(M.G. Giratkar, J.) (R.K. Deshpande, J.)
Lanjewar, PS
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