Kashinath Raghunath Bagul vs State Of Maharashtra Thr. ...
2021 Latest Caselaw 11718 Bom

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                                IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                                       WRIT PETITION NO. 4459 OF 2021

                     Kashinath Raghunath Bagul                         ..Petitioner
                           Versus
                     State of Maharashtra & Ors.                       ..Respondents

                                                 __________
                     Mr. R. K. Mendadkar for Petitioner.
                     Ms. Rupali M. Shinde, A.G.P. for Respondent-State.
                                                 __________

                                              CORAM : SMT. SADHANA S. JADHAV &
                                                      SARANG V. KOTWAL, JJ.

DATE : 24th AUGUST 2021.

PC :

1. Learned A.G.P. shall place on record the guidelines issued by the Tribal Development Department dated 24/04/1985.

2. Learned A.G.P. submits that the petitioner herein could not fulfill the so called affinity test to substantiate his claim as he is belonging to Scheduled Tribe Thakur.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the Judgment of this court in the case of Vaibhav Dharma Pawar and others, decided on 09/08/2019, wherein, this court has observed as follows:-

Digitally signed by "The 2nd Respondent Committee seems to have VINOD VINOD BHASKAR BHASKAR GOKHALE proceed almost entirely on the basis that the GOKHALE Date:

2021.08.25 10:57:28 +0530 Gokhale 1 of 2 2 20-wp-4459-21

Petitioners did not fulfil the so-called 'affinity test', meaning that they could not clearly and unequivocally attest to the various established customs, traits and traditions said to be common to the Thakur Scheduled Tribe. This finding completely overlooks the decision of the Supreme Court in Anand. The affinity test is not a litmus test. That is now settled law."

4. In view of this, without going further into the merits of the matter, no coercive steps be taken against the petitioner till the next date.

5. Stand over to 07/09/2021.

(SARANG V. KOTWAL, J.) (SMT. SADHANA S. JADHAV, J.)

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