Bombay High Court
Himanshu S/O Sanjay Ghodmare vs Vice President And Member Secy., The ... on 17 November, 2025
Author: M.S. Jawalkar
Bench: M.S. Jawalkar
2025:BHC-NAG:12254-DB
Judgment 1 15wp7003.22.odt
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY,
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.
WRIT PETITION NO. 7003/2022
Mr. Himanshu S/o Sanjay
Ghodmare,
Aged about 18 years, Occ.
Student, R/o. Shivaji Square,
Malipura, Yavatmal, Tah. &
District Yavatmal
.....PETITIONER(S)
// VERSUS //
(1) Vice President & Member
Secretary, The Scheduled Tribe
Caste Certificate Scrutiny
Committee, Yavatmal, Sai
Uttam Villa, House No. 3, Near
Rangoli Ground, Shastri Nagar,
Yavatmal 445001
(2) State Common Entrance Test
Cell, Maharashtra State, 8th
Floor, New Excelsior Building,
AK Nayak Marg, Azad Maidan,
Fort, Mumbai 400001 (M.S.).
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(3) The Principal,
Pipri Chichwad Education
Trust, Pipri Chichwad College
of Engineering, Sector-26,
Pradhikaran, Nigdi Near Akurdi
Railway Station, Pune 411055
(4) Savitribai Fule Pune University,
Ganeshkhind Road, Pune
(Maharashtra)
(5) Commissioner,
Adiwasi Research and Training
Institute, Pune, 28, Queen
Garden, Pune 411001
.....RESPONDENT(S)
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Shri A. Ramteke, Advocate for the Petitioner(s)
Ms. Prachi Joshi, AGP for the Respondent/State
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CORAM : M.S. JAWALKAR & M.W. CHANDWANI, JJ.
NOVEMBER 17, 2025
ORAL JUDGMENT :- (PER:- M.S. JAWALKAR, J.)
. RULE. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally
by consent of learned Counsel for the respective parties.
(2) By this Petition, the Petitioner is challenging the
order dated 02/11/2022 passed by the Respondent No. 1 - The
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Judgment 3 15wp7003.22.odt
Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Yavatmal
(hereinafter referred to as "the Caste Scrutiny Committee")
thereby invaliding the tribe claim of the Petitioner.
(3) The contention of the Petitioner is that he has placed
on record as many as 17 documents before the Respondent No. 1
- Caste Scrutiny Committee showing the 'Mana' entry, out of
which, the oldest document is of the year 1944. This document
of 1944 is in respect of Punjaram Daulat Mana (great-
grandfather of the Petitioner), which is discarded only on the
ground that the Petitioner has not filed any other document in
respect of Punjaram Daulat Mana. Though in the family tree of
the Petitioner, the name of his grandfather is shown as Damodar
(Dattu), however, the Caste Scrutiny Committee recorded a
finding that there is no independent evidence placed on record
showing that these two names are of only one person.
(4) It needs to be noted here that the Petitioner has duly
filed affidavit (Page No. 65) wherein he has clearly stated that
Dattu and Damodar is one and the same person. The said
affidavit is not at all considered by the Committee and it has
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recorded reasons adverse to the Petitioner. The second
document relied on by the Petitioner is of the year 1956, in
which, according to the Caste Scrutiny Committee, there is a
discrepancy in the date of birth of Ashok, wherein the date of
report is shown as 23/01/1956 and the date of birth is shown as
05/02/1956.
(5) In respect of the above observations, we have perused
wherein the date of birth is shown as 04/02/1956 and the report
is shown as 23/01/1956. However, there is endorsement below
the date of report that it is not clear. Therefore, there is
possibility of mistake in recording the date of report/birth.
However, there is an entry of 'Mana' in the said document and
in view of the remark of the Issuing Authority on the certified
copy, we do not see any reason to discard these documents. It
appears that the Petitioner mentioned the reporting date as the
date of document.
(6) Learned Counsel for the Petitioner, in support of his
contentions, relied on the following citations:-
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(a) Mana Adim Jamat Mandal vs. State of Maharashtra &
others, 2003(3) Mh.L.J. 513; &
(b) Gajanan S/o Pandurang Shende vs. Headmaster,
Govt. Ashram School, Dongargaon Salod & others, 2018(2)
Mh.L.J. 460.
(7) In the judgment in Mana Adim Jamat Mandal (supra),
it is held that 'Mana' is entitled to be treated as Scheduled Tribe
throughout the State of Maharashtra and the decision of the
Government holding only 'Gond Manas' as Scheduled Tribe
under Entry No. 18 was struck down. Insofar the judgment in
Gajanan Shende (supra) is concerned, the same is under
challenge before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, for being declared
as bad in law as per the Full Bench judgment of this Court in
Writ Petition No. 12/2022 (Maroti Vyankati Gaikwad & others
vs. Deputy Director & Member Secretary, Scheduled Tribe Caste
Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Amravati). The Full Bench held
that the judgment in Gajanan Shende (supra) does not lay down
the correct law and militate against what has been held in B.
Basavalingappa vs. D. Munichinnappa and other judgments.
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(8) Even on perusal of the documents submitted by the
Petitioner before the Caste Scrutiny Committee, it appears that
there are consistent entries of 'Mana' Scheduled Tribe in the said
documents. As such, the reasons recorded by the Caste Scrutiny
Committee do not sustain the scrutiny of law, and hence, the
impugned order passed by the Caste Scrutiny Committee, being
perverse and erroneous, is liable to be quashed and set aside.
(9) Hence, we proceed to pass the following order:-
ORDER
(a) The Writ Petition is allowed.
(b) The order dated 02/11/2022 passed by the
Respondent No. 1 - Vice-President & Member Secretary,
the Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee,
Yavatmal, in Case ID No. 11/510/Edu/092022/2220 is
hereby quashed and set aside.
(c) It is declared that the Petitioner has duly
established that he belongs to 'Mana' Scheduled Tribe. The
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Respondent No. 1 - Caste Scrutiny Committee is directed
to issue the validity certificate to the Petitioner as he
belongs to 'Mana' Scheduled Tribe, within a period of
three weeks.
(d) The Petitioner can rely on this judgment till the
validity certificate is issued to him.
Rule is made absolute in the above terms. Pending
Application(s), if any, stand(s) disposed of.
(M.W. CHANDWANI, J.) (M.S. JAWALKAR, J.)
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