Where a committee has given a finding about the validity of the caste of a candidate, another committee ought not to refuse the same status to a blood relative who applies

Lisa Coutinho | Pravin Gandhi College of Law | 15th March 2020

Milind Bhimsing Shirsath v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. Writ Petition No. 7950 of 2018

Facts of the case:

The Petitioner belongs to the Tokre Koli tribe by birth, which is recognised as Scheduled tribe by the SC/ST Orders (Amendment) Act. The Caste Scrutiny Committee constituted under the Government Resolution dated 29.10.1980 had initially invalidated the case certificate of the petitioner’s father, but after the father had filed an appeal before the then appellate authority, the appellant authority adjudicated the tribe claim and allowed the appeal, setting aside the decision of the scrutiny committee. Thereafter, the scrutiny committee, after detailed and elaborate enquiry, issued the caste validity certificate to the paternal uncle of the petitioner. It is the case of the Petitioner, that the caste validity certificate which was granted to him by the Deputy Collector was referred to Respondent No. 2, i.e. The Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee for verification through SSTNS Base School and Jr. College, Pune. The committee passed an order holding that the said caste certificate is not in the prescribed format, therefore they cancelled and confiscated the same. The Petitioner again approached the Deputy Collector who after holding due enquiry reissued the caste certificate to the petitioner. After the petitioner himself verified the certificate from the committee, the petitioner submitted application for admission in B.sc (Agriculture) degree course. The college also forwarded his caste certificate for verification to Respondent 2 committee. Since the admission of the petitioner in the degree course was apprehended, he was constrained to file Writ Petition in the High Court. The said petition came to be disposed with direction to the committee to decide tribe claim of the petitioner expeditiously and pass an appropriate order. Inspite of receiving two remand orders from the court, Respondent 2 discarded the tribe claim of the petitioner. Aggrieved, the petitioner approaches the High Court under section 226 of the constitution, challenging the order passed by the committee thereby invalidating the caste certificate of the petitioner for the second time.

Issue:

Whether a committee can refuse to validate the caste certificate of a person after it has issued the caste validity certificate to the close relative of that person.

Order:

The Court held that the matters pertaining to validity of caste have a great impact on the candidate as well as on the future generations in many matters varying from marriage to education and enjoyment, and therefore where a committee has given a finding about the validity of the caste of a candidate, another committee ought not to refuse the same status to a blood relative who applies. A merely different view on the same facts would not entitle the committee dealing with the subsequent caste claim to reject it.

While disposing off the writ petition, the Bombay High Court directed Respondent 2 i.e. The Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee to furnish the caste validity certificate to the Petitioner.