Shantaram Pralhad Nalgire vs Scheduled Tribe Certificate ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 1906 Bom

                                                                      10WP-7837.odt
              IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                         BENCH AT AURANGABAD
                         WRIT PETITION NO. 7837 OF 2016

        Shantaram s/o Pralhad Nalgire, ...  Petitioners 
        Age 30 years, Occu: Service,
        R/o Pandurang Nagar, Nanded
        Taluka & Dist. Nanded.

        VERSUS

1.  Scheduled Tribe Certificate 
    Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad
    Through its Member Secretary

2.      Sub Divisional Officer, 
        Nanded, Dist. Nanded

3.      Mahatma Phule High School,                 ...        Respondents.
        Baba Nagar, Nanded
        Through its Head Master.


Mr. Sagar S. Phatale, Advocate for Petitioner
Mr. P. S.Patil, AGP for Respondent Nos. 1 and  2

                                    CORAM   :  R. M. BORDE & 
                                                K. L. WADANE, JJ.
                                     DATE   :   20th April, 2017

JUDGMENT (Per R. M. Borde, J.):                        

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith.

2. With the consent of the parties, taken up for

final disposal.

3. Petitioner has assailed the order passed by Sub

Divisional Officer, Nanded dated 14.06.2016 rejecting

his request to issue tribe certificate that he belongs

to 'Koli Mahadev' Scheduled Tribe. The petitioner was

10WP-7837.odt already issued with the tribe certificate by the Sub

Divisional Officer, Nanded on 14.05.2012 certifying

that he belongs to 'Mahadev Koli' Scheduled Tribe. The

description of tribe was wrongly recorded in the

certificate issued in the year 2012. The said

certificate was referred for verification to the

Scrutiny Committee, Aurangabad. The Scrutiny

committing, noticing that description of the tribe

recorded in the certificate is not in consonance with

the Constitutional Order, directed quashment of the

certificate and granted liberty to the petitioner to

get proper certificate from the Sub Divisional Officer.

The petitioner tendered an application for issuance

tribe certificate to the Sub Divisional Officer,

Nanded, however, the application tendered by him has

been rejected by the concerned authority.

4. As has been recorded above, there is merely an

inadvertent error in recording the name of the tribe

in the certificate issued earlier on 14.05.2012 and as

such, the petitioner was required to apply afresh for

issuance of tribe certificate, recording correct

nomenclature of the tribe. This Court, while dealing

with the identical issue in Writ Petition No. 4536/2014

and other companion matters, has issued detailed

10WP-7837.odt guidelines/directives to the respondent authorities. In

the said order, this Court directed the Sub Divisional

Officer to issue tribe certificate recording correct

description of the tribe in consonance with the

Constitutional Order, without holding further enquiry

into the matter, on perusal of attested xerox copy of

the tribe certificate issued in favour of the

respective applicants, at an earlier point of time.

5. In the instant matter, it is an admitted

position that the petitioner was possessed of the

tribe certificate issued by the competent authority,

however, recording incorrect description of the

tribe. It was not at all warranted for the Sub

Divisional Officer, Nanded to conduct a detail enquiry

to ascertain as to whether prima facie the petitioner

belongs to a particular tribe or not. The evidence in

the form of the certificate issued in favour of the

petitioner earlier by the same authority is sufficient

prima facie proof of his belonging to the aforesaid

tribe. It is a matter of record that in hundreds of

identical cases, this Court has issued directives to

the Sub Divisional Officers to issue tribe certificate

without holding enquiry, on the basis of tribe

certificate issued earlier. However inspite of

10WP-7837.odt issuance of repeated directions, the Sub Divisional

Officers with adment attitude, are showing disregard to

the orders passed by this Court. In the facts and

circumstances, the writ petition deserves to be allowed

and the same is accordingly allowed.

6. The order passed by the Sub Divisional Officer,

Nanded dated 14.06.2016 is quashed and set aside. The

Sub Divisional Officer, Nanded is directed to issue

Tribe Certificate as requested by the petitioner, as

expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period

of one week from today.

7. Rule is made absolute accordingly. Writ

petition disposed of. In the facts and circumstances of

the case, there shall be no order as to costs.

(K. L. WADANE, J.)                   (R. M. BORDE, J. ) 


JPC