Full Judgment Text
2026:BHC-NAG:283-DB
Judgment 1 J-WP-285.25.odt
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY,
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.
WRIT PETITION NO. 285 OF 2025
PETITIONER: Deep S/o Shyam Nandanwar, Aged about 18
years, Occupation – Student, R/o. Goroba
Nagar, Mahagaon Road, Umarkhed, Tq.
Umarkhed, District – Yavatmal.
-Versus-
RESPONDENT: The Scheduled Tribe Certificate Verification
Committee, Yavatmal, District – Yavatmal,
Through its Member Secretary.
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Mr. K. S. Narwade, Adv. for petitioner.
Ms. Mrunal Naik, AGP for respondents-State.
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CORAM : S MT . M. S. JAWALKAR &
NANDESH S. DESHPANDE , JJ .
th
DATE : 6 JANUARY, 2026.
JUDGMENT : (Per – SMT. M. S. JAWALKAR, J.)
1. Heard.
2. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. The petition is
heard finally with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties.
3. The present petition is filed challenging the order passed
by the Caste Scrutiny Committee, Yavatmal dated 10/12/2024. The
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petitioner is claiming issuance of validity certificate of ‘Halbi’
Scheduled Tribe. He has placed on record as many as 21 documents
showing his caste as Halbi. In these documents few documents are
prior to 1950, which are as under:
Sr. No. Description Date Caste
1. (Sr.
No.14)
School admission entry of Motiram
Gangaram s/o Bapuji Satvaji
01/08/1927 Halbi
2. (Sr.
No.15)
School admission entry of Dattatraya
Gangaram s/o Bapuji Satvaji
05/07/1934 Halbi
3.(Sr.
No.16)
School admission entry of Shankar
Gangaram s/o Bapuji Satvaji
14/10/1938 Halbi
4. Extract of Birth of one girl child to
Gangaram Satva-
23/02/1919 Halbi
5. Extract of Birth of one boy child to
Gangaram Satva
02/12/1926 Halbi
The Scrutiny Committee disbelieved these documents for the
extraneous reasons, which are not sustainable at all. So far as
documents at Sr. Nos.1 to 3 (mentioned at Sr.Nos.14 to 16 (Page-
292) in the order dated 10/12/2024) were duly verified by the
Vigilance Cell, however, they were discarded on the ground that there
is no supporting affidavit of parents to the extract of school record.
The extracts of birth register of 1919 and 1926 are discarded by the
Scrutiny Committee on the ground that there is no further
corroborative documents of revenue or school record of the child
born in 1919 and 1926. Therefore, the Scrutiny Committee
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raised doubt about these documents. The documents pertaining to
pre-independence era are having more probative value and there is
no necessity of corroboration of these documents. Surprisingly, the
Scrutiny Committee relied on the documents of persons, who are not
in relation with the petitioner or appearing in the family tree. In
some documents, it is alleged by the Scrutiny Committee that the
caste is mentioned as ‘Marathi’ and in some documents it is ‘Koshti’.
However, it is not established by the Scrutiny Committee how these
persons are in relation with the petitioner. Moreover, there is no
caste by name ‘Marathi’, which is the language.
4. The Caste Scrutiny Committee failed to appreciate reply
filed by the petitioner, wherein he specifically denied relationship
with the persons whose documents are collected by the Vigilance Cell
showing adverse entries. Those are not in blood relation. It is also
observed by the Scrutiny Committee that one of the cousins has
obtained caste certificate as he belongs to SBC. However, it would
not come in the way of the petitioner. As this Court time and again
and specifically in Mangesh Panditrao Thakur v. The State of
Maharashtra and others (Writ Petition No.14111/2021) held that
validity binds only claimant, not relatives, for the simple reason that
they are not party to such adjudication. He can establish his claim
independently. It is also held in Anand v. Committee for Scrutiny and
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Verification of Tribe Claims and others, (2012) 1 SCC 113 that pre-
independence documents have great probative value.
5. It appears that the Scrutiny Committee has not given any
consideration to the reply filed by the petitioner to show cause,
wherein the petitioner has specifically denied the relationship in
paras-8 and 9. The Scrutiny Committee appears to bent upon to
invalidate the caste claim of the petitioner and doubted the genuine
documents for erroneous reasons. As such, the impugned order dated
10/12/2024 is liable to be quashed and set aside.
6. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed.
7. The order dated 10/12/2024 passed by the respondent-
Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Yavatmal in Case
No.11/510/Edu/122023/47682 is hereby quashed and set aside.
8. It is declared that the petitioner has duly established that
he belongs to the “Halbi” Scheduled Tribe.
9. The respondent-Scrutiny Committee to issue caste
certificate to the petitioner as he belongs to “Halbi” Scheduled Tribe
within a period of four weeks.
10. Rule is made absolute in the above terms. No costs.
(NANDESH S. DESHPANDE, J.) (SMT. M.S. JAWALKAR, J.)
Signed by: Mr. G.S. Khunte
Designation: PS To Honourable Judge
Date: 09/01/2026 17:34:35
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