Bombay High Court
Ku. Rajni Krishnaswamy Kale vs Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate ... on 21 December, 2023
Author: Anuja Prabhudessai
Bench: Anuja Prabhudessai
2023:BHC-NAG:17599-DB
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR
WRIT PETITION NO.241/2018
Ku. Rajni Krishnaswamy Kale,
aged 41 Yrs., Occ. Senior Assistant,
VNIT, R/o Gaddigodam, Nagpur. ... Petitioner
- Versus -
1. Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate
Scrutiny Committee, through its
Member Secretary, Adiwasi Bhavan,
Giripeth, Nagpur.
2. Visvesvaraya National Institute of
Technology, through its Director,
North Ambazari Road, Abhyankar Nagar,
Nagpur 440 010. ... Respondents
-----------------
Mr. R. S. Parsodkar with Mr. P.R. Parsodkar, Advocates for the
Petitioner.
Ms. Prachi T. Joshi, Assistant Government Pleader for
Respondent No.1.
----------------
CORAM :- SMT. ANUJA PRABHUDESAI &
MRS. VRUSHALI V. JOSHI, JJ.
DATED :- 21.12.2023
ORAL JUDGMENT (Per Smt. Anuja Prabhudesai, J.)
Heard. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith.
Heard finally by consent.
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2. The petitioner has challenged the order dated
29.12.2017 passed by respondent No.1 Caste Scrutiny Committee
invalidating the caste claim as belonging to "Mannewar"
Scheduled Tribe.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that the
school leaving certificate dated 24.6.1947 of the father of
petitioner shows his caste as Telgu Mannewar. He states that the
said document has been discarded stating that Telgu Mannewar is
different from Mannewar caste.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that this
issue is squarely covered by the judgment of this Court dated
4.4.2016 in Writ Petition No.4432/2003 (Balayya alias Balraj S/o
Hiralal Pagade (Pagale) V/s. State of Maharashtra and others)
wherein the Division Bench of this Court referring to the
previous decision of Anil Ramdas Mede V/s. State of Maharashtra
and others reported in 2004 (0) BCI 384 has observed that Telgu
is not a caste, but official language declared under 8 th Schedule of
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the Constitution. Under the circumstances, the Caste Scrutiny
Committee could not have discarded the document on the sole
ground that official language is mentioned in the said document
along with caste.
5. The present case is squarely covered by the decision
in Balayya alias Balraj S/o Hiralal Pagade (Pagale) (supra). The
pre-independence documents show that the petitioner belongs to
Mannewar caste. In the circumstances, the decision of the Caste
Scrutiny Committee cannot be sustained. Hence the petition is
allowed.
The impugned order dated 29.12.2017 is quashed and set
aside. Respondent No.1 Caste Scrutiny Committee shall issue
validity certificate of Mannewar Scheduled Tribe to the petitioner
with a period of one month.
Rule is made absolute in the above terms.
(MRS. VRUSHALI V. JOSHI, J.) (SMT. ANUJA PRABHUDESAI, J.)
Signed by: MR. N.V. TAMBASKAR
Designation: PA To HonourableTambaskar.
Judge
Date: 22/12/2023 17:45:25
