Premlal S/O Poonamsingh Marai vs State Of Mah. And Another
2017 Latest Caselaw 4498 Bom

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

                  WRIT PETITION NO.4533 OF 2005


Premlal s/o Poonamsingh Maria,
Aged about 36 years,
Occupation - Service,
R/o Quarter No.1/13, Vidarbha Housing 
Board Colony,
Near Shitala Mata Mandir,
Sadar, Nagpur.                                           ... Petitioner


     Versus


1.   State of Maharashtra,
     through its Secretary,
     Tribal Development Department,
     Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.

2.   Committee for Scrutiny &
     Verification of Tribe Claims,
     Maharashtra State, through
     its Secretary, Adivasi Vikas Bhawan,
     2nd Floor, Giripeth, Nagpur.                        ... Respondents



Shri P.V. Thakre, Advocate for Petitioner.
Shri S.M. Ukey, Assistant Government Pleader for Respondent Nos.1 
and 2.




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   CORAM : R.K. DESHPANDE & MRS. SWAPNA JOSHI, JJ.

   DATE OF RESERVING THE JUDGMENT       :   20-6-2017

   DATE OF PRONOUNCING THE JUDGMENT :   14-7-2017


   JUDGMENT (Per : R.K. DESHPANDE, J.) :

1. The caste certificate dated 21-6-1988 issued by the Executive

Magistrate, Nagpur, is held to be valid by the Committee for

Scrutiny and Verification of Tribe Claims at Nagpur and certificate

validity dated 27-8-2003 is granted stating that the claim of the

petitioner belonging to Gond (Scheduled Tribe) is held valid.

However, the certificate of validity further incorporates a clause

that as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes,

Scheduled Tribes De-Notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic

Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category

(Regulation of Issuance and Verification) Caste Certificate Act,

2000 (Maharashtra Act No.XXIII of 2001), the petitioner is not

entitled to any concessions/facilities extended to the Scheduled

Tribes by the Government of Maharashtra. This petition is,

therefore, filed by the petitioner challenging the condition and

seeking a declaration that the petitioner is entitled to get

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concessions/facilities available to the Scheduled Tribes in the State

of Maharashtra.

2. The father of the petitioner Poonamsingh Marai was born

on 1-7-1932 in Dongargarh, District Rajnandgaon, in the erstwhile

Central Provinces and Berar, of which Nagpur City was the capital.

Presently, Rajnandgaon District is in the State of Chhatisgarh and

adjoining to or touching the boundary of Bhandara District (now to

Gondia District) in the State of Maharashtra. It is the statement

made in the petition that the father of the petitioner came to

Nagpur in search of employment and he was appointed as Tractor

Cleaner in the year 1961 in the office of Superintending

Agricultural Officer, Nagpur. Then, in the year 1977, the father of

the petitioner was appointed as Chowkidar in the office of Deputy

Commissioner of Sales Tax, Nagpur. After his retirement on

superannuation in the year 1992, he died due to old age on

3-1-2000.

3. The petitioner was born on 4-9-1968 at Nagpur. In the

year 1995, he was selected by the duly constituted Selection

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Committee for the Class-IV post of Peon in the office of Deputy

Commissioner of Sales Tax, Nagpur, and since then he is working

on the said post till this date.

4. On 18-7-2002, the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax,

Nagpur referred the caste certificate produced by the petitioner for

scrutiny by the Committee for verification and validity. The

petitioner submitted all the relevant documents to the said

Committee and after due investigation and enquiry, the certificate

of caste validity dated 27-8-2003 has been issued, incorporating the

condition that the petitioner shall not be entitled to any

concessions/facilities in the State of Maharashtra. The petitioner

has, therefore, approached this Court in this petition. The matter

was admitted on 14-2-2006.

5. The learned counsels appearing for the parties have

referred to the following decisions of the Apex Court as well as of

this Court :

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(1) (2000) 2 SCC 20 Union of India and others v. Dudh Nath Prasad.

(2) 2004(4) Mh.L.J. 784 Sudhakar Vithal Kumbhare v. State of Maharashtra and others.

(3) 2007(5) Mh.L.J. 454 Hitesh Dasiram Murkute v. State of Maharashtra and others.

(4) (2009) 2 SCC 109 Sau Kusum v. State of Maharashtra and others.

(5) 2010(2) Mh.L.J. 904 Shweta Santalal Lal v. State of Maharashtra and others.

(6) 2010(6) Mh.L.J. 401 Apporva d/o Vinay Nichale v. Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee No.1 and others.

(7) 2013(5) Mh.L.J. 946 Bharat s/o Bhimrao Malakwade v. Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee No.3, Nagpur and another.

6. The certificate of validity dated 27-8-2003 issued by the

Committee for Scrutiny and Verification of Tribe Claims, Nagpur,

annexed to the petition, is reproduced below :

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"TRIBAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE MAHARASHTRA STATE

28, QUEEN'S GARDEN, PUNE-411 01

Committee for Scrutiny and Verification of Tribe Claims, Maharashtra State, Nagpur

CERTIFICATE OF VALIDITY

Ref : Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-Notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000 (Mah.XXIII of 2001).

Case No.DD/TCSC/NGP/III-624/31/2002-03 Date: 27-8-2003

After considering the documents and associated facts, the Scrutiny Committee certifies that Shri Prem S/o Punamsingh belongs to Gond, Scheduled Tribe, by birth and migrated to the State of Maharashtra from Rajnandgaon District/Division of State/Union territory Madhya Pradesh and the Caste Certificate issued by the Executive Magistrate, Nagpur, Distt. Nagpur vide R.C. No.1493/MRC/81/87-88 dated 21-06-88 is held valid.

As per Maharashtra Government Act quoted at Sr.No.2 in the preamble, the holder of this Validity Certificate is not entitled to any concessions/facilities of any nature whatsoever extended to Scheduled Tribe by the Government of Maharashtra.

Member-Secretary Scrutiny Committee and Dy. Director (R)"

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It seems that the petitioner is treated as migrant in the State of

Maharashtra. Rule 5 of the Maharashtra Scheduled Tribes

(Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Certificate Rules, 2003

deals with the grant of Scheduled Tribe certificate to migrated

persons. Forms "C" and "C-1" under the said Rules prescribe the

formats for issuance of caste certificate. Form "G" prescribes the

format in which a certificate of validity is required to be issued

under Rules 12(7) and 12(9)(a) of the said Rules.

7. Perusal of the certificate of validity issued in the present

case shows that it is not in Form "G". The Rules no where prescribe

issuance of conditional certificate of validity. In para 2 of the

certificate of validity, reproduced above, it is stated that "As per

Maharashtra Government Act quoted at Sr.No.2 in the preamble,

the holder of this Validity Certificate is not entitled to any

concessions/facilities of any nature whatsoever extended to

Scheduled Tribe by the Government of Maharashtra". We fail to

understand as to how such condition can be incorporated in the

certificate of validity in the absence of any rule or provision in

Form "G" under the said Rules. There are no reasons stated for

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imposing such condition. The certificate of validity does not state

as to how the petitioner is treated as migrant. It nowhere shows

the date on which the petitioner migrated from the State of

Madhya Pradesh to the State of Maharashtra. It is not known as to

whether the petitioner was an "ordinarily resident", as defined

under Section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, of

the State of Maharashtra prior to 6-9-1950. It is not known as to

whether a person is to be treated as migrant if he was an ordinarily

resident of the State of Maharashtra as on 1-5-1960, which is the

"appointed day", as defined under Section 2(a) of the Bombay

Reorganization Act, 1960.

8. We find that no reasons are recorded by the Scrutiny

Committee for imposing such condition. There is no adjudication

to deny the petitioner the benefits available to the recognized

Scheduled Tribes in the State of Maharashtra. The claim is

required to be judged in the light of the several decisions cited

before this Court. Hence, the certificate of validity in this petition

will have to be quashed and set aside with an order of remand.

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9. In the result, we allow the petition and quash and set

aside the certificate of validity dated 27-8-2003 issued in the name

of the petitioner. Since the certificate incorporates the condition,

we set it aside in its entirety. Though the certificate validates the

caste certificate issued by the Scrutiny Committee in the name of

the petitioner, we send the matter back to the said Committee for

decision on merits of the claim in accordance with law. The

petitioner to appear before the Committee on 28-8-2017. The

Committee thereafter to decide the claim of the petitioner within a

period of one year by following the procedure prescribed for that

purpose.

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

costs.

                         JUDGE.                            JUDGE.

   Lanjewar