Full Judgment Text
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NONREPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4500 OF 2022
(ARISING OUT OF SLP(C) NO. 2075 OF 2018)
TERRAFORM MAGNUM LIMITED
(FORMERLY KNOWN AS
EVEREST BUILDCON LIMITED) .....APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
AND OTHERS .....RESPONDENT(S)
J U D G M E N T
B.R. GAVAI, J.
1. Leave granted.
2.
IA No.71779 of 2022 has been filed to bring on record the
subsequent developments, which have taken place during the
pendency of the appeal.
3. It is not necessary for us to go into the factual scenario in detail.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
GEETA AHUJA
Date: 2022.06.08
15:56:03 IST
Reason:
Suffice it to say that the land in question originally belonged to one
Hira Komb. Subsequently, it changed various hands and finally it
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came in the hands of the present applicant/appellant.
4.
After the Maharashtra Restoration of Lands to Scheduled Tribes
Act, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as the “said Act”) came into effect, an
application came to be filed for restoration of the said land in favour of
the legal heirs of deceased Hira Komb. There were various rounds of
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litigation. Finally, the State Government by order dated 18 April 2016
impugned before the High Court, held that the land was liable to be
restored to the legal heirs of deceased Hira Komb. The same was
challenged by the present appellant before the High Court. The
learned Single Judge of the High Court, by the impugned order dated
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15 December 2016, dismissed the writ petition being Writ Petition
No. 7602 of 2016 filed by the appellant and maintained the order
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dated 18 April 2016 passed by the State Government.
5. The same is challenged by way of the present appeal.
6. The main ground on which the respondents have been found to
be entitled to restoration is a caste certificate issued in favour of
respondent No.9Dinesh Kishan Komb. During the pendency of the
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appeal, the Caste Scrutiny Committee, vide order dated 24 February
2020, has invalidated the claim of respondent No.9Dinesh Kishan
Komb.
7. In the present premises, the appellant has filed I.A. No. 71779 of
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2022 in the present appeal for placing on record the order dated 24
February 2020 passed by the Caste Scrutiny Committee invalidating
the claim of respondent No.9Dinesh Kishan Komb. By the said I.A.,
the appellant has also prayed for allowing the appeal since the very
foundation on which the claim of respondents rested, no more exists.
8. We have heard Mr. Vinay Navare, learned Senior Counsel
appearing for the appellant, Mr. Sachin Patil, learned counsel
appearing for the State of Maharashtra and Mr. Arpit Rai, learned
counsel appearing for respondent Nos.4 to 18.
9.
Mr. Patil submitted that the said Act is a beneficial/ welfare
legislation and merely because a claim of one of the legal heirs of Hira
Komb is invalidated, it cannot be a ground to deny the benefit of said
welfare legislation to the other legal heirs.
10. Incidentally, this argument is coming from the State and not
from respondent Nos.4 to 18 who are the legal heirs of Hira Komb.
11.
No doubt, that the said enactment is a beneficial/ welfare
legislation enacted with the benevolent purpose of restoring the land
to poor tribals whose lands were snatched away by the land grabbers.
12. However, the enactment is for the benefit of those tribals who
really belong to the Scheduled Tribe. By the Maharashtra Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Denotified Tribes ( ), Nomadic
Vimukta Jatis
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Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category
(Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000,
a mechanism has been provided to consider the genuineness of the
claim of the persons claiming to belong to the Scheduled Tribe. Such a
claim is required to be scrutinized by the Caste Scrutiny Committee.
Unless the claim is validated by the Caste Scrutiny Committee, a
person cannot be treated to be put into the Scheduled Tribe.
13. Undisputedly, it is only respondent No.9Dinesh Kishan Komb,
who was having a certificate belonging to Scheduled Tribe. No other
legal heir of deceased Hira Komb is having a certificate of belonging to
Scheduled Tribe.
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14. By the Caste Scrutiny Committee’s order dated 24 February
2020, the very foundation of respondent No.9Dinesh Kishan Komb
belonging to a Scheduled Tribe has been found to be invalid.
Therefore, we find that no purpose would be served in keeping the
matter pending.
15.
We have specifically put a query to Mr. Rai as to whether any of
the legal heirs of deceased Hira Komb propose to challenge the order
of the Caste Scrutiny Committee. Learned counsel has emphatically
stated that none of the legal heirs desire to do so.
16. In that view of the matter, since the very foundation that
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respondent Nos.4 to 18 belong to Scheduled Tribe is no more in
existence, we are inclined to allow the application as well as the
appeal.
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17.
The order dated 24 February 2020 passed by the Caste Scrutiny
Committee is placed on record. The application being I.A. No. 71779 of
2022 is allowed.
18. The appeal is allowed. The impugned order passed by the High
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Court dated 15 December 2016 and the order dated 18 April 2016
passed by the State Government are quashed and set aside. There
shall be no orders as to costs.
19. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
……....................J.
(B.R. GAVAI)
……....................J.
(HIMA KOHLI)
NEW DELHI;
MAY 30, 2022.
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ITEM NO.2 COURT NO.5 SECTION IX
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No. 2075/2018
(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 15-12-2016
in CWP No. 7602/2016 passed by the High Court of Judicature at
Bombay)
TERRAFORM MAGNUM LIMITED
(FORMERLY KNOWN AS EVEREST BUILDCON LTD) Appellant(s)
VERSUS
THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS. Respondent(s)
( IA No. 71779/2022 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION)
Date : 30-05-2022 This matter was called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B.R. GAVAI
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI
(VACATION BENCH)
For Petitioner(s) Mr. Vinay Navare, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Gwen Karthika, Adv.
Ms. Abha R. Sharma, AOR
For Respondent(s) Mr. Arpit Rai, Adv.
Mr. Aviral Kashyap, AOR
Mr. Shadab Choudhary, Adv.
Mr. Sachin Patil, AOR
Mr. Rahul Chitnis, Adv.
Mr. Aaditya A. Pande, Adv.
Mr. Geo Joseph, Adv.
Ms. Shwetal Shepal, Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
Leave granted.
The appeal as well as I.A. No. 71779 of 2022 is
allowed in terms of the signed Non-Reportable Judgment.
Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
(Geeta Ahuja) (Ranjana Shailey)
Assistant Registrar-cum-PS Court Master
(Signed Non-Reportable Judgment is placed on the file)