Bombay High Court
Shubham Sanjay Yenchewad vs The State Of Maharashtra And ... on 16 October, 2023
Bench: Mangesh S. Patil, Shailesh P. Brahme
2023:BHC-AUG:22366-DB
1 WP / 13505 / 2019+
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD
WRIT PETITION NO. 13505 OF 2019
Nandkishor S/o Sanjay Yenchewad .. Petitioner
Versus
1] The State of Maharashtra,
Through its Secretary,
Tribal Development Department,
Mantralaya, Mumbai - 32.
2] The Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate
Verification Committee, Aurangabad
Through its Dy. Director (R),
Aurangabad .. Respondents
AND
WRIT PETITION NO. 4542 OF 2020
Shubham S/o Sanjay Yenchewad .. Petitioner
Versus
1] The State of Maharashtra,
Through its Secretary,
Tribal Development Department,
Mantralaya, Mumbai - 32.
2] The Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate
Verification Committee Aurangabad,
Through its Dy. Director (R),
Aurangabad .. Respondents
...
Advocate for petitioner in both WPs : Mr. S.M. Vibhute
Addl. GP for the respondent - State : Mr. S.B. Yawalkar
...
CORAM : MANGESH S. PATIL &
SHAILESH P. BRAHME, JJ.
DATE : 16 OCTOBER 2023
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JUDGMENT (MANGESH S. PATIL, J.) :
Heard. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. At the
joint request of the parties, the matters are heard finally at the stage of
admission.
2. The petitioners who are the real brothers, are challenging
the common order of the respondent scrutiny committee in their
respective matters, confiscating and cancelling their Koli Mahadev
scheduled tribe certificates.
3. We have heard both the sides.
4. The learned advocate for the petitioners would advert our
attention to the genealogy and the fact that the petitioners' father -
Sanjay possesses a certificate of validity and so does their first degree
paternal uncle Navnath. He would also point out that a distinct paternal
aunt - Savita Baburao Yenchewad also possesses a certificate of
validity. This Court had directed certificate of validity to be issued to
one Omkar Gopal Yenchewad and Shantanu Gopal Yenchewad who
are their distinct cousins and happen to be the first degree nephews of
validity holder - Savita Baburao. He would submit that since it is not
the stand of the committee that the certificates of validity were issued
to Savita Baburao, Sanjay Janardhan and Navnath Janardhan without
following due process of law in the light of the decision in the matter of
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Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti Vs. State
of Maharashtra and others; 2023 SCC Online SC 326, the
petitioners are entitled to have the conditional validity as was granted
to Omkar and Shantanu. They are ready to run the risk of facing the
consequences as observed in the matter of Shweta Balaji Isankar Vs.
State of Maharashtra and others (writ petition no. 6320 of 2017).
5. Mr. Vibhute would further submit that the oldest contrary
entry of petitioners' grandfather Janardhan Mahadu Yenchewad of
1958 relied upon by the committee in the impugned order to draw
adverse inference against the petitioners was also relied upon by the
scrutiny committee which had invalidated claims of Omkar and
Shantanu and still this Court had directed certificates of validity to be
issued to them and the petitioners be granted the conditional validity.
6. The learned AGP would submit that admittedly the
petitioners grandfather's contrary entry of 1958 describing him to be
'Koli' being the oldest entry, would carry greatest probative value and
would outweigh the subsequent favourable entries. He would submit
that the committee has expressly assigned the reasons as to how the
validity holders had obtained certificates of validity by resorting to fraud
and the committee has decided to undertake review for which notices
were to be issued to Sanjay and Navnath.
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7. Having considered both the sides, suffice for the purpose
to observe that admittedly, the petitioners' father and paternal uncle
both possess certificates of validity. Besides, even certificate of validity
is possessed by Savita Baburao who is a distant cousin sister of
petitioners' father - Sanjay. In writ petition no. 1469 of 2022, by the
order dated 22.08.2023, Savita's nephews Omkar and Shantanu have
been directed to be issued with certificates of validities subject to the
final outcome of the decision to be taken by the committee in respect of
the validity holders. When it is not the stand of the committee that
these certificates of validity were issued without following due process
of law, the petitioners would be entitled to certificates of validity in the
light of the decision in the matter of Maharashtra Adiwasi Jamat
(supra).
8. Even if the committee has now made certain observations
by referring to circumstances indicating that it is entitled to undertake a
review of the certificates of validity since those were obtained by fraud,
we do not intend to make any comment on the powers of the
committee to undertake a review and the facts which according to the
committee constitute fraud or misrepresentation. We are doing so for
two reasons; firstly the validity holders are not before us and we do not
intend to cause any prejudice to them by making observations in this
matter behind their back and secondly, any observation made by us
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could have a bearing on the matters which the committee has decided
to re-open.
9. In the result, the following order :-
I) The writ petitions are partly allowed. The impugned order
is quashed and set aside. The respondent - committee shall
immediately issue tribe validity certificates to the petitioners as
belonging to 'Koli Mahadev' scheduled tribe in the prescribed format
without adding anything. The validities shall be subject to the final
outcome of the matters which the committee has decided to re-open.
II) The petitioners shall not be entitled to claim equities.
III) Rule is made absolute accordingly.
[ SHAILESH P. BRAHME ] [ MANGESH S. PATIL ]
JUDGE JUDGE
arp/
