Pramod S/O Kanhu Dhadse vs The Scheduled Tribe Cast ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 8434 Bom

                               1
                                                         wp1396.13.odt

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

                  Writ Petition No.1396 of 2013

  Pramod s/o Kanhu Dhadse,
  Aged about 24 years,
  Occupation - Service,
  R/o Khambada,
  Tah. Chimur,
  Distt. Chandrapur.                              ... Petitioners


       Versus


  1. The Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate
     Scrutiny Committee,
     Gadchiroli.

  2. The Deputy Conservator of Forest,
     Wadsa Forest Division, Wadsa,
     Distt. Gadchiroli.                           ... Respondents



  Ms P.D. Rane, Advocate for Petitioner.
  Shri   S.S.   Doifode,   Assistant   Government   Pleader   for 
  Respondents.



                Coram : R.K. Deshpande & M.G. Giratkar, JJ.

rd Date : 3 November, 2017

wp1396.13.odt

Oral Judgment (Per R.K. Deshpande, J.) :

1. The claim of the petitioner for 'Mana', Scheduled Tribe

Category, which is an entry at serial No.18 in the Constitution

(Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, has been rejected by the

Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Gadchiroli

Division, Nagpur, by its order dated 1-2-2013, which is the

subject-matter of challenge in this petition.

2. The petitioner filed about five documents before the

Scrutiny Committee indicating the caste of his blood relatives as

'Mana', Scheduled Tribe Category, and the oldest document

therein is of 1948-49 in the name of his great grandfather

Dhondu Rama Mana. Subsequently, the petitioner also produced

before the Committee a school leaving certificate in the name of

one Tukaram Dhondu Dhadse, said to be a cousin grandfather of

the petitioner, showing his case as 'Mana'. From the police

vigilance cell report, we do not find that this document was

forwarded for enquiry. If the document is proved, it will have a

probative value, as it pertains to the date of 6-8-1945, when an

wp1396.13.odt

entry was made in the school admission register, showing the

caste of the petitioner's cousin grandfather as 'Mana'. In our

view, therefore, a fresh enquiry is required to be made by the

Committee in respect of the claim of the petitioner. Ms Rane,

the learned counsel for the petitioner, informs us that there were

also other documents placed before the Committee, which have

not been considered.

3. In view of above, the petition is allowed. The order

dated 1-2-2013 passed by the Scheduled Tribe Certificate

Scrutiny Committee, Gadchiroli Division, Nagpur, is hereby

quashed and set aside. The matter is remanded back to the said

Committee to decide it afresh in the light of the observations

made by this Court. The Committee to permit the petitioner to

place on record the additional documents, if any. The enquiry be

conducted through the police vigilance cell in respect of all such

documents produced by the petitioner and after following the

procedure, the order shall be passed. The petitioner to appear

before the Committee on 27-11-2017. The Committee to decide

wp1396.13.odt

the matter within a period of six months thereafter.

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

costs.

(M.G. Giratkar, J.) (R.K. Deshpande, J.)

Lanjewar, PS