Bombay High Court
Vilas vs The State Of Maharashtra on 8 October, 2012
Bench: R. M. Borde, S. S. Shinde
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD
WRIT PETITION NO.3266 OF 2012
Vilas s/o Dattatraya Ransubhe,
Age: 44 Years, Occ: Service,
R/o. Osmanabad, Tq. Osmanabad,
District Osmanabad. ...PETITIONER
VERSUS
1. The State of Maharashtra,
Through the Secretary,
School Education and Sports
Department, Mantralaya,
Mumbai.
2. The Deputy Director of Education,
Latur Division, Latur.
3. The Education Officer (Primary),
Zilla Parishad, Osmanabad,
District Osmanabad.
4. The Head Master,
Nutan Primary School,
Osmanabad,
Tq. & Dist. Osmanabad. ...RESPONDENTS
...
Mr. Satish S. Manale, Advocate for petitioner.
Mr. S.D. Kaldate, A.G.P. for respondent Nos.1&2.
Mr. K.J. Ghute Patil, Advocate for respondent
No.3.
Mr. S.A. Wakure, Advocate for respondent No.4.
...
CORAM: R.M. BORDE &
S.S. SHINDE, JJ.
DATE : 8TH OCTOBER, 2012
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ORAL JUDGMENT : [ PER R.M. BORDE, J.]
. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith.
With consent of the parties, the petition is taken
up for final disposal at admission stage.
2. The petitioner claims to be belonging to
Bhavsar Kshetriya caste which is included in Other
Backward Class category. The petitioner is serving
as Conductor in Maharashtra State Road Transport
Corporation. The school record of the petitioner
records caste as 'Hindu Maratha'. According to
the petitioner, while securing admission in
school, his father has erroneously recorded the
entry as 'Hindu Maratha'. He further contends
that old record pertaining to his father, uncle
and other near relatives show that they belong to
'Bhavsar Kehstriya caste'. The petitioner has also
been issued caste certificate by the competent
authority. The son of the petitioner has also
been issued caste certificate by the competent
authority certifying that he belongs to 'Bhavsar
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Kshetriya caste' and his caste claim has been
validated by the competent Committee. The
petitioner, therefore, tendered application to
school where he was studying for onward
transmission to the Education Officer (Primary),
Zilla Parishad, Osmanabad for issuing directions
for affecting necessary corrections. The school
authority forwarded the application with
favourable recommendation to the Education
Officer. The Education Officer (Primary) by his
order dated 1st November, 2011 was pleased to
reject the application recording that since the
petitioner has left the school, the application is
not maintainable.
3. The petitioner tendered appeal to the
Deputy Director of Education, Latur Division,
Latur,which was heard and disposed of by Deputy
Director of Education, Latur Division, Latur on
30th January, 2012 and appeal came to be
dismissed. The appellate authority has recorded
in the order that rule 26.4, Appendix-Six of the
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Secondary Schools Code-2006 does not permit to
make correction in the entries in respect of caste
in the school record after pupil has left the
school. According to the petitioner, reasons
recorded by both the authorities for turning down
his claim are erroneous and against the provisions
of Secondary Schools Code, 2006. Rule 26.4 of the
Secondary Schools Code, 2006 prescribe that
application for change or correction of date of
birth, name, surname, caste etc., as entered in
the General Register shall be entertained from or
on behalf of a pupil who is attending a school. It
further provide that such application shall not be
entertained from or on behalf of a pupil, who has
left the school, as the same amounts not only to a
change in the entries in the General Register but
also to a change in the School Leaving
Certificate. It has been further prescribed that,
however, for the purposes like an admission to
another educational institution the School Leaving
certificate is relied upon as an evidence for
name, surname, caste, date of birth etc., and in
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bonafide cases where wrong spelling of a word or
an obvious mistake of the type mentioned in sub-
rule 3 above is noticed any time after issue of
the School Leaving Certificate and the same is
required to be corrected so as to be consistent
with the corresponding entries in the General
Register of the school or those in the School
Leaving Certificate issued by the previous school,
such applications shall be entertained. The
procedure to be followed in such cases is laid
down in Appendix Six.
4. Rule 26.4 of the Secondary Schools Code,
2006 has been interpreted by the Division Bench of
this Court in the matter of Shaikh Shafi Ahmed
Khadarsab vs. The State of Maharashtra and others
in Writ Petition No. 1138 of 2009 decided on 13th
March, 2012. In paragraph-11 of the judgment cited
supra, the Division Bench of this Court has
observed thus :
"11. For all these reasons, we
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hold that the instructions contained
in para 26.4 of the S.S.Code that an
application for change of an entry in
the General Register of a school
shall be entertained only on behalf
of the pupil who is attending the
school meaning thereby that it shall
not be entertained on behalf of the
pupil who has left the school, are
directory and not mandatory. In our
view, such an application can be
entertained even after the pupil has
left the school, provided the
application is bona-fide and the
pupil is able to satisfy that the
original entry in the General
Register of the school is erroneous.
The application can be rejected if
the entry is not shown to be
erroneous and wrong. It, however,
cannot be rejected without it being
considered on merits, only on the
technical ground that the application
has been made after the pupil has
left the school."
5. Appendix Six of the Secondary Schools
Code, 2006 lays down the procedure in respect of
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making correction and change in names, surnames,
caste/sub-caste, date of birth etc., Paragraph
Nos.12 to 15 of Appendix Six reads thus :
" Change in Caste or Sub-Caste
(in respect of B.C. pupils only):
(12) For making changes in caste
or sub-caste of Backward Class
pupils the guardian of the pupil
shall make an application in
Form No. 3 accompanying these
rules.
(13) Permission may be given to
change the entries in the
General Register of the school
in respect of "caste" or "sub-
caste" of Backward Class pupils
in the following circumstances.
(i) due to wrong entries made
initially;
(ii) due to change in religion;
(iii) if the caste previously
treated as non-backward was
subsequently declared by
Government as Backward or
vice-versa.
(iv) due to adoption;
(v) due to inter-caste or inter-
religion marriage;
(14) For this purpose, the necessary
certificates from the following
authorities must accompany the
application for change of caste
or sub-caste:
(a) For Reasons, (i),(ii) and (iii)
above:
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In Greater Bombay (a) The Chief
Presidency
Magistrate or the
Presidency
Magistrate
authorised by him;
or
(b) Justice of Peace;
or (Deleted)
(c) Social, Welfare
Officer, Greater
Bombay, Bombay.
In other areas (d) The District
Magistrates or
Executive
ig Magistrates
authorized by them;
or
(e) Honorary
Magistrates; or
(Deleted)
(f) The Social Welfare
Officer of the
district concerned.
(b) Due to adoption :
The original adoption-deed or a
certified copy of that deed or a
certificate from stipendiary
Magistrate showing the change in name
(if any) and the caste or sub-caste
changed as a result of adoption
should accompany the application for
change in caste or sub-caste.
(c) Due to inter-caste or inter-
religion marriage :
A declaration by the parent or
guardian attested by two witnesses
and the student himself/herself or
certified copy of the certificate of
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registration of marriage should
accompany the application for change
in caste or sub-caste along with the
certificate from the concerned
competent authority mentioned in (a)
above showing that the caste or sub-
caste has changed as a result of the
marriage.
(d) Due to any other reason :
An affidavit made before a
stipendiary Magistrate by the parent
or guardian should accompany the
application for change in caste of
sub-caste.
N.B.: The term "Backward Class" means
and includes the following
categories.
1 Scheduled castes and As per Scheduled
Schedule Caste Castes and
converts to Scheduled Tribes
Buddhism. Lists Modification
Order, 1956, as
adopted for
Maharashtra State.
2 Scheduled Tribes Vide Part VII-A
including those out- of the Seventh and
side specified Eighth Schedule of
areas. the Bombay
Reorganisation
Act, 1960 and
orders issued by
Government in this
behalf from time
to time.
3 Denotified As per Government
Tribes and Resolution,
Nomadic Tribes. Education and
Social Welfare
Deptt. No. CBC.
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1361-M, dated 21st
November 1961 and
Government from
time to time.
4 Other Backward Castes which have
Classes. been declared as
belonging to the
other Backward
Classes by
Government from
time to time.
General :-
(Please also see Annexure 36).
15. An appeal against the decision
of the Educational Inspector,
Greater Bombay or as the case
may be, the Education Officer,
Zilla Parishad concerned, who
has not sanctioned the change
shall be submitted to the Deputy
Director concerned within 30
days of the receipt of the
order."
6. On fulfillment of requirements laid down
under Appendix Six, the application tendered for
effecting change in the entries recorded in school
record can be entertained. Respondents were
therefore not justified in turning down the
application tendered by the petitioner on the
ground that the entries recorded in the school
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record cannot be corrected after pupil has left
school. The petition, therefore, deserves to be
allowed and Education Officer (Primary), Zilla
Parishad, Osmanabad is required to be directed to
consider the application tendered by the
petitioner to the school authorities and which has
been forwarded to the Education Officer (Primary),
Zilla Parishad, Osmanabad, in accordance with
provisions of Secondary Schools Code, 2006. The
orders passed by respondent Nos. 2 and 3 impugned
in this petition, are quashed and set aside and
the matter is remitted back to the Education
Officer (Primary), Zilla Parishad, Osmanabad for
reconsideration. The Education Officer (Primary),
Zilla Parishad, Osmanabad shall proceed to take
decision on the application in accordance with
provisions of Secondary Schools Code, 2006 and the
observations made in this judgment. The petitioner
shall cause appearance before the Education
Officer (Primary), Zilla Parishad, Osmanabad on
29th October, 2012 and as such, no separate notice
requiring petitioner's appearance before
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respondent No. 3 shall be essential. Respondent
No. 3 shall decide the application, as
expeditiously as possible, preferably within eight
(8) weeks from date of appearance of petitioner
before him. Rule is accordingly made absolute. No
order as to costs.
7. Pending civil application, if any, does
not survive, same stands disposed of.
sd/- sd/-
[S.S. SHINDE, J.] [ R.M. BORDE, J.]
sut/OCT12
