Rashmi D/O Gopalrao Mahitkar vs The Scheduled Tribe Caste ...
2016 Latest Caselaw 6453 Bom

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                IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                          NAGPUR BENCH AT NAGPUR




                                                                                        
                              WRIT PETITION NO.3115/2005




                                                                
            Ku. Rashmi d/o Gopalrao Mahitkar, 
            aged about 27 years, Occ. Service, 
            r/o Dapori, Tq. Morshi, 
            Dist. Amravati.                                      .....PETITIONER




                                                               
                                   ...V E R S U S...

     1.     The Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate




                                                
            Scrutiny Committee, Amravati.

     2.
                             
            The Zilla Parishad, Amravati, through
            its Chief Executive Officer.          ...RESPONDENTS
                            
     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Mr. S.N. Tapadia, Advocate holding for Mr. M. G. Bhangde,
     Advocate for petitioner.
     Mrs. Kulkarni, A.G.P. for respondent no.1-State.
     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      


                     CORAM:-  B. R. GAVAI &    V. M. DESHPAND E, JJ.

DATED :- NOVEMBER 15, 2016

ORAL JUDGMENT (Per : B. R. GAVAI, J.)

1. The petitioner challenges the order passed by respondent

no.1-Scrutiny Committee thereby invalidating the claim of the

petitioner of belonging to Halba-Halbi Scheduled Tribe.

2. The petitioner claiming to be belonging to Halba

Scheduled Tribe, was appointed with respondent no.2 as Assistant

Teacher against a seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category.

Since, the petitioner's appointment was against a post reserved for

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the Scheduled Tribe, her caste claim came to be referred to the

respondent no.1-Committee for verifying the same. By the impugned

order, the claim is rejected. Hence, this petition.

3. Heard Mr. Tapadia, learned counsel for the petitioner and

Ms Kulkarni, learned A.G.P. for respondent no.1. Perusal of the

impugned order would reveal that the claim of the petitioner has

been rejected on two grounds. Firstly, that the petitioner has failed

the validity test and secondly that some of the documents of the

petitioner's forefathers show the profession to be weaving.

4. We find that the issue is no more res integra.

5. The Apex Court in the case of Anand vs. Committee for

Scrutiny and Verification of Tribe Claims and others; 2011 (6)

Mh.L.J.919, has held that the pre-Constitution documents showing

the caste/tribe of the petitioner will have more probative value. It

has been held that by efflux of time, it is unreasonable to expect the

persons in the new generation to know as to what were the trades

etc. of the earlier generations.

6. In the present case, the petitioner has placed on record

voluminous documents pertaining to her father, her father's brother

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and her aunt showing their caste to be Halbi. The Admission/Leave

Register of the Municipal Primary School, Sarmaspura, Achalpur

would show that the petitioner's father was admitted in the said

school on 02.04.1948 and left the school on 29.04.1957. The caste is

shown as Halbi.

Govinda Kisan is the petitioner's father's real brother.

Even the extract of Admission/Leave Register issued by the same

school i.e. Municipal Primary School, Sarmaspura, Achalpur also

shows the the date of admission as 24.08.1943 whereas the date of

leaving the school is 12.03.1948. In the said document, the caste is

shown as Halbi.

Rukhma Krushnaji is the sister of the petitioner's father.

The extract of Admission/Leave Register issued by the Municipal

Primary School, Sarmaspura, Achalpur shows the date of admission

as 06.04.1949 whereas the date of leaving the school is 12.08.1953.

Here also, the caste is shown as Halbi.

Thus, it can be clearly seen that the pre-Constitution

documents pertaining to the petitioner's father, her father's brother

and her father's sister show the caste to be Halbi.

7. Insofar as the second ground i.e. the profession of the

petitioner's forefathers being shown as Weaver and on that basis,

rejection of the claim is concerned, in our view, the same is also not

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sustainable in view of the Division Bench judgment of this Court in

Priya Pravin Parate vs. Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificates Scrutiny

Committee, Nagpur and others; 2013 (1) Mh.L.J. 180. The

Division Bench, relying on the Gazetteer for Amravati District as well

as from the authoritative work of R. V. Russell on the Tribes and

Castes of the Central Provinces of India published in 1916, found that

the original Halba/Halbi who had migrated from Bastar to various

parts of Berar including Achalpur, have taken the profession of

weaving. Thus, merely mentioning of the profession as Weaver

cannot be said to be a factor adverse to the claim of the candidates

who are having documents showing their caste to be Halbi.

8. In that view of the matter, the impugned order is invalid

in law and the same is, therefore, quashed and set aside. It is held

and declared that the petitioner belongs to Halba-Halbi Scheduled

Tribe. The respondent no.1-Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate

Scrutiny Committee, Amravati shall issue Caste Validity Certificate to

the petitioner within a period of four weeks from today.

Rule is made absolute in the above terms. No order as to

costs.

                          (V. M. Deshpande, J.)              (B. R. Gavai, J.)

     kahale