Gajanan S/O Balaji Selukar vs Vice-Chairman And Joint ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 2154 Bom

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          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                    NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR
                        Writ Petition No. 1954 of 2017


 Gajanan son of Balaji Selukar,
 aged about 41 years,
 occupation - service,
 resident of at Post Gaula,
 Tq. Arni,
 Distt. Yavatmal.                                      .....     Petitioner.


                                   Versus


 1.      Vice-chairman & Joint
         Commissioner,
         Scheduled Tribe Certificate
         Scrutiny Committee,
         Amravati Division,
         Amravati.

 2.      Chief Executive Officer,
         Zilla Parishad,
         Yavatmal.

 3.      Education Officer [Primary],
         Distt. Yavatmal.

 4.      Block Education Officer,
         Panchayat Samiti,
         Arni,
         Distt. Yavatmal.                       ....         Respondents.




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                                *****
 Mr. S. R. Narnaware, Adv., for the petitioner.

 Mr. Balpande, Asstt. Govt. Pleader for respondent no.1.
 None for respondent nos. 2 to 4, though served.

                                       *****



                               CORAM    :      B. R. GAVAI AND
                                               A. S. CHANDURKAR, JJ.

                               Date     :      03rd May, 2017


 ORAL JUDGMENT [Per B.R. Gavai, J.]:



 01.            Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith.        Heard finally by

 consent.

02. In spite of service of notice for final disposal of this Writ

Petition, none appears for respondent nos. 2 to 4.

03. The petitioner was appointed as Assistant Teacher on 29th

June, 1995 against the vacancy reserved for Scheduled Tribes on the

basis of his claim of belonging to "Halba" - Scheduled Tribe.

04. However, the petitioner's claim of belonging to "Halba" -

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Scheduled Tribe came to be rejected on the ground that some of the

documents had shown his parents' caste to be "Koshti."

05. The issue as to whether "Halba Koshtis" are entitled to be

treated as a Scheduled Tribe or not was pending for a considerable

time. It came to be resolved for the first time in the year 2000 after

the Constitution Bench decided the case of State of Maharashtra

Vs. Milind Katware [2001 (1) Mah. L. J. 1].

06. Apart from that, the Larger Bench of this Court in the case

of Arun Vishwanath Sonone Vs. State of Maharashtra & others

[2015 (1) Mh. L.J. 457] has also held that the employees who have

been appointed upto 28th November, 2000 are also entitled for

protection of their services if there is no finding of fraud in the order of

the Scrutiny Committee. In that view of the matter, we find that the

petitioner, who has put in more than twenty-two years of service, is

entitled for protection of his services.

07. Rule is made absolute in terms of Prayer Clause [I] of the

Writ Petition. No costs.

08. Accordingly, it is declared that the services of the petitioner

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as Assistant Teacher with the respondent nos.2 to 4 shall stand

protected subject to the petitioner filing an undertaking in this Court in

the second week of June, 2017 stating that neither he nor his progeny

shall claim any benefit of belonging to "Halba" - Scheduled Tribe.

           Judge                                               Judge
                               -0-0-0-0-



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