Bombay High Court
Ayushi D/O Sunil Hedaoo vs The Schedule Tribe Caste Certificate ... on 11 August, 2025
Author: M. S. Jawalkar
Bench: M. S. Jawalkar
2025:BHC-NAG:7857-DB
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY,
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.
WRIT PETITION NO. 2360 OF 2024
PETITIONER : Ayushi D/o Sunil Hedaoo,
Aged about 19 Years, Occ.-Student,
R/o Vasti Vandan Apartment,
Ashiyad Colony, Amravati,
Tq. and Distt. Amravati.
VERSUS
RESPONDENT : The Schedule Tribe Caste
Certificate Scrutiny Committee,
through its Member Secretary and
Deputy Director, Opp. Govt. Rest
House, Camp Amravati - 444 601.
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Shri Ashwin Deshpande, Advocate for petitioner.
Mrs. S. V. Kolhe, Assistant Government Pleader for respondent.
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CORAM: SMT. M. S. JAWALKAR AND
PRAVIN S. PATIL, JJ.
JUDGMENT RESERVED ON : 05/08/2025
JUDGMENT PRONOUNCED ON : 11/08/2025
JUDGMENT :
(PER : PRAVIN S. PATIL, J.)
1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. By consent of
learned Counsel for the parties, the matter is taken up for final
disposal.
2. By this petition, petitioner is questioning the order
dated 21/03/2024 passed by respondent - committee of
invalidation of her caste claim as "Halbi" Scheduled Tribe.
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3. It is pointed out during the course of hearing that the
impugned order dated 21/03/2024 passed by the respondent -
committee is a common order by which along with petitioner, the
caste claim of Sunil Gunwantrao Hedaoo, who is father of
petitioner, Manish Gunwantrao Hedaoo, uncle of the petitioner
and Ku. Sunita Gunwantrao Hedaoo - aunt of the petitioner was
decided. The documents and evidence relied upon by all those
applicants was the same and they are the descendants of one
Tilluji, and documents of pre-independence era were commonly
relied upon by them to support their caste claim.
4. It is further pointed out that this Court by Judgment
dated 31/07/2025 decided the caste claim of the applicants
namely; Sunil Gunwantrao Hedaoo, Savita Gunwantrao Hedaoo
and Manish Gunwantrao Hedaoo. This Court while deciding the
caste claim, considered the pre-independence era documents as
well as other material aspects and by recording reasons, held that
all the three applicants belong to caste "Halbi" Scheduled Tribe
Category and directed the respondent - committee to issue Caste
Validity Certificate to those applicants.
5. As such, once this Court held that the order passed by
the Caste Scrutiny Committee dated 21/03/2024 being illegal and
set it aside, certainly petitioner who was party to the said order as
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one of applicant is also entitled to get the benefit of the same
finding.
6. The learned counsel appearing for Committee fairly
conceded the factual position. It is stated by her that once
impugned order is set aside by this Court, she has no ground to
raise any objection in the matter.
7. In this regard, it will be appropriate to refer the
Judgment in the case of Apoorva d/o Vinay Nichale Vs. Divisional
Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee No.1 and others, reported in
2010 (6) Mh.L.J. 401, this Court has laid down the law by
recording the specific finding in Para 4 as under :-
"4. We have considered the matter and we are of the view that
the petitioner's caste claim that she belongs to Kanjar Bhat-
Nomadic Tribe ought to have been accepted by the Committee
merely on the basis that identical caste claim of her sister that
she belongs to Kanjar Bhat has been allowed by the Committee,
even apart from the Government Resolution. We are of the
opinion that the guidelines provided by the said Govt.
Resolution are sound and based on sound principles. It would
indeed be chaotic otherwise. If the relationship by blood is
established or not doubted, and one such relative has been
confirmed as belonging to a particular caste, there is no reason
why public time or money should be spent in the committee
testing the same evidence and making the same conclusion
unless of course the Committee finds on the evidence that the
validity of the certificate of such relation has been obtained by
fraud."
8. Hence, considering the overall factual as well as legal
position of the present matter, we are of the considered opinion
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that the petitioner is also entitled for the same relief, which we
have granted in Writ Petition No.2363/2024 on the basis of
reasons recorded therein. Hence, we proceed to pass the following
order :-
ORDER
i] The writ petition is allowed.
ii] The impugned order dated 21/03/2024 passed by
the respondent - committee is hereby quashed and set
aside.
iii] It is held and declared that the petitioner belongs
to "Halbi" Scheduled Tribe Category.
iv] The respondent - committee is hereby directed to
issue "Halbi" Scheduled Tribe Category Certificate to
the petitioner within a period of four weeks from the
date of receipt of this order.
v] Rule is made absolute in above terms with no
order as to costs.
[PRAVIN S. PATIL, J.] [SMT. M. S. JAWALKAR, J.]
Choulwar
Signed by: V.M. Choulwar (VMC)
Designation: PS To Honourable Judge
Date: 12/08/2025 10:12:59
