Ku. Geeta Mangalsingh Chavhan vs State Of Mah. Thr. Secy., Ministry ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 4668 Bom

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

                          WRIT PETITION NO. 3680 OF 2010

            Ku. Geeta Mangalsingh Chavhan,
            aged about 35 years, Occ. Service as
            Assistant Teacher in the School run 
            by Respondent No.4 Zilla Parishad,
            R/o. Gandi Ward, Tiroda,
            Distt. Gondia              ......                                PETITIONER

                                 ...VERSUS...

 1.         The State of Maharashtra,
            through its Secretary,
            Ministry of Tribal Welfare Department
            Mantralaya, Mumbai-400 032.

 2.         Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny
            Committee No.1, Nagpur Division,
            Nagpur through its Chairman,

 3.         Panchayat Samiti, Tiroda, Distt. Gondia,
            through its Block Education Officer,

 4.      Zilla Parishad, Gondia, thrugh its
         Chief Executive Officer  ......                                 RESPONDENTS
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Shri N.C.Phadnis, Advocate for Petitioner.
 Shri V.P.Maldhure, Asstt. Govt. Pleader for R-1 and 2
 Shri A.Y.Kapgate, Advocate for R-3
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          CORAM: R. K. DESHPANDE, AND
                                        Mrs. SWAPNA JOSHI, JJ.

th DATE : 18 JULY, 2017 .

ORAL JUDGMENT (Per DESHPANDE, J)

1] The claim of the petitioner for 'Rajput Bhamta -

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Vimukta Jati-A' was rejected by the Divisional Caste

Certificate Scrutiny Committee, by its order dated

13.07.2010, which is the subject matter of challenge in this

petition.

2] With the assistance of the learned counsels

appearing for the parties, we have gone through the order of

the Committee and the documents placed on record at

Annexure-F and Annexure-G, pertaining to the period from

15.03.1950 to 01.04.1956 in relation to the father of the

petitioner showing his caste as Rajput Bhamta. The

Committee appears to have called one S.G.Bais, a teacher

in the Zilla Parishad Secondary School at Bora (Tiroda), Zilla

Parishad, Gondia, and his statement was recorded that the

old record is not available and hence new record has been

prepared, in which there is an entry at Sr.No. 356 in the

name of the father of the petitioner showing him as ' Rajput',

which is made as 'Raajput' and the word 'Bhamta' is added

subsequently. The Committee has acted on the basis of this

statement and invalidated the caste claim of the petitioner.

          3]               The   specific   amendment   in   the   petition   in   the



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amended para is that, such statement was recorded by the

Scrutiny Committee showing some interpolation and the copy

of such statement was never supplied to the petitioner, nor

the original entry was shown to the petitioner. In the Police

Vigilance Cell report, there is no reference to this aspect of

the matter about the tampering of entry and unless the

petitioner is confronted with such evidence, which is to be

acted against him, the Committee committed an error in

recording the findings to reject the claim of the petitioner. The

order passed by the Committee cannot, therefore, be

sustained and it will have to be set aside with an order of

remand.

4] In the result, the writ petition is allowed. The

order dated 13.06.2010 passed by the Divisional Caste

Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Nagpur Division, Nagpur,

invalidating the caste claim of the petitioner for Rajput-

Bhamta (Vimukta Jati-A) is hereby quashed and set aside.

The matter is remitted back to the Committee to decide the

claim afresh in accordance with law after giving the petitioner

an opportunity to explain such entry or to cross examine the

teacher whose statement is being relied upon. The petitioner

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to appear before the Committee on 28.08.2017. The

Committee to decide the matter within a period of six months

thereafter.

5] It is informed that in 2016, a separate District

Caste Scrutiny Committee for Gondia District has been

constituted. Hence, the matter is remanded back to the said

Committee and the petitioner to appear before the said

Committee. No order as to costs.

                                JUDGE                              JUDGE

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