Bombay High Court
Jayesh S/O Premchand Dante vs The District Caste Certificate ... on 12 December, 2023
Author: Anuja Prabhudessai
Bench: Anuja Prabhudessai
2023:BHC-NAG:17195-DB
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR
WRIT PETITION NO.4294/2022
Jayesh S/o Premchand Dante,
aged about 19 Yrs., Occ. Student,
R/o in front of P.W.D. Office,
Achalpur Road, Paratwada,
Tq. Achalpur, Dist. Amravati 444 805. ... Petitioner
- Versus -
The District Caste Certificate
Scrutiny Committee, Amravati
Division, through its Deputy
Director and Secretary,
Amravati, Tq. and Dist. Amravati. ... Respondent
-----------------
Ms. Rashi R. Nagrare with Mr. Ashwin Deshpande, Advocates for
the Petitioner.
Ms. S.S. Jachak, A.G.P. for the respondent/State.
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CORAM :- SMT. ANUJA PRABHUDESAI &
MRS. VRUSHALI V. JOSHI, JJ.
DATED:- 12.12.2023
ORAL JUDGMENT (Per Mrs. Vrushali V. Joshi, J.)
Heard. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith.
Heard finally by consent.
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2. The petitioner has challenged the order dated
30.6.2022 passed by the District Caste Certificate Scrutiny
Committee, Amravati invalidating the caste certificate of Koli
Special Backward Class.
3. The petitioner belongs to Koli Special Backward Class
which is recognized as Special Backward Class in the State of
Maharashtra and is included at serial No.4(1) of the
Constitutional Scheduled Tribe Order, 1950. Koli Special
Backward Class was included in the list of Maharashtra State on
13.10.1967. The petitioner has obtained the caste certificate of
Koli from competent authority on 24.6.2008.
4. The petitioner filed online application form dated
30.10.2021 for verification of caste certificate dated 24.6.2008
along with the following documents:-
Copy of caste certificate of the petitioner dated 24.6.2008,
copy of the family tree of the petitioner on affidavit dated
21.9.2021, copy of the certificate given by the college of the
petitioner dated 15.9.2021, copy of the birth certificate of the
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petitioner issued by Municipal Council, Achalpur dated 1.7.2010,
copy of birth certificate of the petitioner dated 18.11.2006, copy
of the school transfer certificate of the petitioner dated 30.4.2014,
copy of school leaving certificate of the petitioner dated
14.8.2020, copy of the caste certificate of the petitioner's father
(Premchand Tekchand Dante) dated 6.10.2001, copy of the
school leaving certificate of the petitioner's father (Premanand
Tekchand Dante) dated 19.6.1978, copy of the affidavit of the
petitioner dated 2.11.2021 and copy of the extract of the birth
and death register of the petitioner's great grandfather (Narayan
Koli Hirapura) dated 12.5.1921, copy of the affidavit of the
petitioner's father.
5. The police vigilance cell conducted the enquiry and
forwarded the report to respondent No.1 Committee. The
petitioner has given his oral statement before respondent No.1 on
1.6.2022. The respondent Committee passed an order and
invalidated the caste claim of the petitioner dated 30.6.2022 only
on the ground that the document at Annexure 11 belongs to the
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petitioner's father shows the caste P.Koli and that there is no such
entry of P.Koli in the Constitutional Scheduled Tribe Order,
1950. The Committee has completely ignored the document at
Annexure 13 which is document of 1921 belonging to the
petitioner's great grandfather which shows the caste as Koli.
Despite of 1921 document, the Committee has invalided the caste
claim of the petitioner.
6. During the pendency of the petition the real brother
of the petitioner has received the validity certificate. Relying on
the judgment of Apoorva Vinay Nichale V/s. Divisional Caste
Certificate Scrutiny Committee No.1 and others reported in
2010(6) Mh.L.J. 401 the petitioner has stated that as there is a
validity certificate in blood relative the petitioner is entitled to the
validity and the respondent Committee is under obligation to
issue validity certificate in favour of the petitioner.
7. The Scrutiny Committee has filed reply and opposed
the petition stating that school leaving certificate of father of the
petitioner Premchand Tekchand Dante is issued by Headmaster
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Rao Higher Secondary School, Achalpur dated 25.2.1988 in
which the caste is mentioned as P.Koli and as this document is
prior to deemed date it could not be considered for caste claim of
the petitioner. Document of Pardesi Koli and the Pardesi
document is not included in the Special Backward Class,
therefore, the documentary evidence could not be considered
while deciding the caste claim of the petitioner. The findings
recorded by the respondent Committee are just, legal and proper.
The petitioner has not submitted any document pertaining to the
date prior to 1967. The latest document pertains to year 1978
which is school leaving certificate of the father of petitioner. The
other documents which are filed on record does not show his
relationship with the holders of document, therefore, the order
passed by the respondent Committee is just, legal and proper.
8. Heard both sides. Perused the record.
9. During the pendency of this petition, by way of
amendment, it is brought on record that the real brother of the
petitioner has received validity certificate and he has brought it on
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record as the validity certificate is issued by the same Committee
to the real brother i.e. Bhavesh Ramchand Dante which is
sufficient to prove that the petitioner is from Koli community.
The documents which are filed by the petitioner are of Koli caste
and are not denied by the Scrutiny Committee. Only on the
ground of one document which shows that caste is P.Koli the
validity is rejected. As the real brother of the petitioner has
received the validity certificate and as per Apoorva Vinay
Nichale's case (supra) the issuance of validity certificate to the
blood relatives has to be considered by the Committee while
issuing the validity certificate, the petition is allowed. Direction is
given to the Scrutiny Committee to issue validity certificate of
Koli Special Backward Class to the petitioner within a period of
six weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this judgment.
(MRS. VRUSHALI V. JOSHI, J.) (SMT. ANUJA PRABHUDESAI, J.)
Tambaskar.
Signed by: MR. N.V. TAMBASKAR
Designation: PA To Honourable Judge
Date: 15/12/2023 12:20:22
