Full Judgment Text
2025:BHC-NAG:13964-DB
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH AT NAGPUR
WRIT PETITION NO.4382 OF 2025
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.3260 OF 2025
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.4353 OF 2025
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.3262 OF 2025
….
WRIT PETITION NO.4382 OF 2025
Manthan Ranjeet Mungalkar
Aged about 21 years, Occ: Student,
R/o Mahvir Nagar, Near Gupta
Provision, Badnera Road, Amravati,
Tq. and District Amravati. ...PETITIONER
...V E R S U S...
Scheduled Tribe Caste Scrutiny Committee,
Yavatmal, Distt. Yavatmal, through its
Research Officer and Member Secretary. ...RESPONDENT
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.3260 OF 2025
1. Bhumika D/o Sunil Mungalkar,
Age 20 years, Occ: Student,
2. Yash S/o Sunil Mungalkar,
Age 21 years, Occ: Student,
Both R/o Rajpura, Karanja Lad,
Tahsil Karanja (Lad)
District – Washim. ...PETITIONERS
...V E R S U S...
Scheduled Tribe Caste Scrutiny Committee,
Yavatmal, Distt. Yavatmal, through its
Research Officer and Member Secretary. ...RESPONDENT
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WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.4353 OF 2025
Pratik Ganesh Mungalkar
Aged about 25 years, Occ: Student,
R/o Bhagwati Apartment No.09,
Asha Nagar, Near BYTCO Point,
Nashik Road, Nashik. ...PETITIONER
...V E R S U S...
Scheduled Tribe Caste Scrutiny Committee,
Yavatmal, Distt. Yavatmal, through its
Research Officer and Member Secretary. ...RESPONDENT
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.3262 OF 2025
Pooja D/o Rajendra Mungalkar
Aged about 29 years, Occ: Private Job,
R/o Damini Nagar, Near Dhabekar Sabhagruha,
Karanja Lad, Tq. Karanja Lad,
Dist. Washim. ...PETITIONER
...V E R S U S...
Scheduled Tribe Caste Scrutiny Committee,
Yavatmal, Distt. Yavatmal, through its
Research Officer and Member Secretary. ...RESPONDENT
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Shri T.U. Tathod, Advocate for petitioners.
Shri A.V. Palshikar, Assistant Government Pleader for respondent.
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CORAM : SMT. M.S. JAWALKAR & M.W. CHANDWANI, JJ.
RESERVED ON : 01.12.2025
PRONOUNCED ON : 10.12.2025
JUDGMENT: (Per : M.W. Chandwani, J.)
1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally
with the consent of both the parties.
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2. The petitioners in all these petitions are descendants of
one Sonba. The caste claim of the petitioners in each petition has
been invalidated by the respondent–Scheduled Tribe Caste
Scrutiny Committee, Yavatmal (for short “Committee”) more or
less on the same grounds. The petitioners are related by blood and
therefore, these petitions are being disposed of by this common
judgment and order.
3. The petitioners in each petition are pursuing education
in different educational institutions and claim that they belong to
‘Raj’ which is a Scheduled Tribe enlisted at serial no.18 of the
Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. Therefore, their
caste claim was forwarded by the respective colleges to the
respondent – Committee for verification alongwith their caste
certificates. In all the petitions, the petitioners submitted various
documents dating way back to the year 1915 and onwards
showing that they as well as their forefathers belong to ‘Raj’
(Scheduled Tribe). The matter was then referred to the Vigilance
Cell for enquiry. The Vigilance Cell found some contra entries
showing the caste of their forefathers which was different from
‘Raj’ (Scheduled Tribe). The vigilance report also raised doubts
with regard to the documents relied upon by the petitioners. To
support their claim, the oldest document which was relied upon by
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the petitioners is the gift-deed dated 22.06.1915 in the name of
Sonba, the great-great-grandfather, which has been discarded only
on the ground that the record was not available with the relevant
department. The respondent – Committee, relying on the vigilance
report, discarded the oldest document of 22.06.1915 and also
relied on the contra entries collected by the Vigilance Cell to
invalidate the caste claim of the petitioners in each petition by
different impugned orders dated 05.06.2024, which are assailed in
the instant petitions.
4. We have heard Shri Tathod, learned counsel for the
petitioners as well as Shri Palshikar, learned Assistant Government
Pleader for the respondent – Committee. We have also perused the
record and proceedings of the respondent - committee.
5. Before proceeding to deal with the orders impugned,
we must state that indisputably, the cousin brother of the
petitioner namely Gaurav Mungalkar challenged the invalidation
of his caste claim before this Court in Writ Petition No.5040 of
2021. By order dated 25.01.2022, this Court allowed the writ
petition filed by Gaurav, the cousin brother of petitioner and
directed the respondent-committee to issue validity certificate in
his favour. Thereafter, another cousin brother of the petitioner
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namely Nishant Mungalkar also approached this Court by filing
Writ Petition No.2402 of 2022 challenging the invalidation of his
caste claim of ‘Raj’ (Scheduled Tribe). This Court by order dated
21.06.2022, relying on the earlier decision in Writ Petition
No.5040 of 2021 directed the respondent – Committee to issue
validity certificate to Nishant. Likewise, one Vidhya Pinjarkar, the
cousin aunt of the present petitioners also approached this Court
by filing Writ Petition No.1588 of 2022 and by order dated
07.12.2022, the petition filed by Vidhya met with the same fate as
that of Gaurav and Nishant. Consequently, Vidhya Pinjarkar was
also granted validity certificate of her caste claim of ‘Raj’
(Scheduled Tribe).
6. Perusal of the orders impugned reveals that the
petitioners have relied on various documents dating way back to
the year 1915 showing consistent entries in respect of the caste of
their forefathers as ‘Raj’ (Scheduled Tribe). No doubt, some
contra-entries were found by the Vigilance Cell in the birth entry
certificate of a son born to the great-grandfather / cousin great-
grandfather, Zombya Sonba Marathi wherein, his caste is shown as
‘Marathi’. What we find is that, ‘Marathi’ is not a caste but it is a
language. The other documents dated 13.07.1982 and 21.06.1991
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found in the vigilance enquiry which the respondent– Committee
believes to be contra-entries shows the caste as ‘Hindu Rajgond’.
Even if that is so, the fact remains that ‘Rajgond’ is also included in
the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 as a Scheduled
Tribe. Therefore, the Committee should not have relied on these
documents to reject the caste claim of the petitioners.
7. What remains is the document dated 06.07.1974
wherein, the caste of the cousin uncles/uncles of the petitioners is
shown as ‘Beldar’ As against this, there are consistent entries in the
voluminous documents since the year 1915 till date showing their
caste as ‘Raj’. The respondent – Committee also failed to consider
that the 1915 document i.e. the gift-deed which was discarded by
the Committee was duly considered by this Court in Writ Petition
No.5040 of 2021 i.e. in the case of Gaurav Mungalkar, the cousin
brother of the petitioners. In the said writ petition, this Court
directed the Committee to grant validity certificate to Gaurav, the
petitioner in the said petition. Surprisingly, this document of the
year 1915 has again been discarded in the case of the present
petitioners who are blood relatives of Gaurav.
8. Having granted validity certificate to Gaurav, a blood
relative under the dictum of this Court on the same set of
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documents, coupled with the subsequent validity certificates
granted to another cousin and the cousin aunt of the aforesaid
petitioners namely Nishant and Vidhya, the respondent –
Committee should not have rejected the caste claim of the
petitioners. Having the oldest entry of 1915 showing the caste of
forefathers of the petitioners as ‘Raj’, the subsequent contra-entry
of 1974 will not take away the case of the petitioners, since the
oldest documents have more probative value than recent ones.
Apart from this, there are consistent entries of ‘Raj’ (Scheduled
Tribe) in the voluminous documents of the forefathers of the
petitioners. Therefore, the findings recorded by the Committee in
each petition do not stand to the reason. Hence, we are of the view
that the orders impugned do not sustain and the same are liable to
be set aside. Consequently, we pass the following order:
9. The writ petitions are allowed.
10. The impugned order dated 05.06.2024 passed by the
respondent–Scheduled Tribe Caste Scrutiny Committee, Yavatmal
in Case No.11/502/Edu/072022/1279 challenged in Writ Petition
No.4382 of 2025; the impugned order dated 05.06.2024 passed by
the respondent – Committee in Case Nos.11/502/Edu/042022/
734 and 11/502/Edu/042022/745 challenged in Writ Petition
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No.3260 of 2025; the impugned order dated 05.06.2024 passed by
the respondent - Committee in the case No.11/502/Edu/102022/
2697 challenged in Writ Petition No.4353 of 2025; and the
impugned order dated 05.06.2024 passed by the respondent -
Committee in Case No.5/502/Edu/072019/148783 challenged in
Writ Petition No.3262 of 2025 are hereby quashed and set aside.
11. It is hereby declared that the petitioners belong to ‘Raj’
Scheduled Tribe.
12. The respondent– Committee is directed to issue Validity
Certificate to the petitioner in each petition within two months
from the date of receipt of this order.
Rule is made absolute in the abovesaid terms. No order
as to costs.
(M.W. CHANDWANI, J.) (SMT. M.S. JAWALKAR, J.)
Wagh