Ku. Avanti Malti Upadhye Through ... vs District Caste Certificate ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 5920 Bom

Judgment

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

                   WRIT PETITION NO.8381 OF 2019

Ku.Avanti Malti Upadhye,
Aged about 17 years, occupation student,
Through Natural Guardian Mother
Ku.Malti d/o Haridasji Upadhye,
Aged about 54 years, occupation service,
R/o Pragati Colony, Water
Filtration Plant Road, Sendurwafa
(Sakoli), District Bhandara.            ..... Petitioner.

                          :: V E R S U S ::

District Caste Certificate Scrutiny
Committee, Wardha, through its Chairman.       ..... Respondent.

=========================================
Shri S.R.Narnaware, Counsel for the Petitioner.
Ms N.P.Mehta, Assistant Government Pleader for the Respondent.
=========================================

CORAM         : A.S.CHANDURKAR & URMILA JOSHI-PHALKE , JJ.
DATE          : JUNE 27, 2022

ORAL JUDGMENT (Per : A.S.Chandurkar, J.)

1.            Heard Shri S.R.Narnaware, the learned counsel for the

petitioner and Ms N.P.Mehta, the learned Assistant Government

Pleader for the respondent. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith.

Heard finally by consent of the learned counsel for the parties.


2.            The petitioner has challenged the order passed by the

Scrutiny Committee on 31.10.2019 whereby refusing to issue

Validity Certificate to the petitioner on the ground that the

petitioner failed to submit documents of her father for the purposes

of verification.



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3.           The parents of the petitioner married on 12.1.2001.

After petitioner's conception, her parents mutually separated by

obtaining divorce on 29.12.2001.          The petitioner was born on

21.5.2002 and was brought up by her mother. The petitioner was

issued the Caste Certificate on 24.7.2019 bearing the name of her

mother.    When the petitioner sought verification of the said Caste

Certificate of belonging to 'Mahar' Scheduled Caste, the Scrutiny

Committee held that since the petitioner failed to supply documents

of her father, it was not possible to grant the Validity Certificate. It,

therefore, proceeded to invalidate the Caste Certificate.          Being

aggrieved, the petitioner has challenged the said order.


4.           Shri   S.R.Narnaware,     the   learned   counsel   for   the

petitioner submits that the petitioner's mother has been issued

Validity Certificate by the Scrutiny Committee on 29.10.2013. Since

the petitioner was not in possession of the documents pertaining to

her father, this Court has directed the Scrutiny Committee to

conduct an enquiry with regard to the school record of the

petitioner's father.   This was done and as per the report dated

20.7.2021 the Vigilance Cell has found that even the petitioner's

father belongs to 'Mahar' Scheduled Caste. It is submitted that the

order of the Scrutiny Committee is liable to be set aside and the

Validity Certificate deserves to be issued in favour of the petitioner.


5.           The    learned   Assistant      Government    Pleader     Ms


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N.P.Mehta for the respondent has referred to the affidavit-in-reply

and has submitted that the prayer for issuance of Validity Certificate

would be required to be considered in the light of the petitioner's

father documents.


6.            It is undisputed that when the petitioner was born, her

parents had already divorced. The petitioner was brought up by her

mother   who    has   been   issued     Caste   Validity   Certificate   on

29.10.2013.    Perusal of the order dated 24.2.2021 passed by this

Court indicates that the Scrutiny Committee was directed to carry

out an enquiry with regard to the school record of the petitioner's

father. The same has been done and as per that report even the

petitioner's father belongs to 'Mahar' Scheduled Caste.            In this

factual backdrop, we do not find any reason for denying the

petitioner's Validity Certificate indicating that she belongs to 'Mahar'

Scheduled Caste.      Her mother having been issued the Validity

Certificate and the Scrutiny Committee having found that the

petitioner's father also belongs to the same caste, the following

order is passed:


                                ORDER

(1) The writ petition is allowed.

(2) The order passed by the Scrutiny Committee dated 31.10.2019

invalidating the petitioner's caste claim is set aside.

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Judgment

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(3) It is directed that the Scrutiny Committee shall issue the Validity

Certificate to the petitioner in terms of her Caste Certificate dated

24.7.2019 which bears name of the petitioner "Kumari Avanti Malti

Upadhye". The same be done within a period of four weeks from

the production of this judgment before the Scrutiny Committee.

The writ petition is allowed. Rule is made absolute in

aforesaid terms with no order as to costs.

       (URMILA JOSHI-PHALKE, J.)               (A.S.CHANDURKAR, J.)


!! BrWankhede !!         Digitally signed
                         by BHUSHAN
 BHUSHAN                 RANA
 RANA                    WANKHEDE
 WANKHEDE                Date:
                         2022.06.29
                         18:29:37 +0530




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