The High Court dismissed the writ petition challenging the rejection of the petitioner's caste certificate. UPholding the Caste Scrutiny Committee's finding that supporting birth records were tampered with, the Court held it could not interfere with these factual findings in a writ petition.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.7066 OF 2004
Sachin Jairam Koli .. Petitioner
Versus
1. State of Maharashtra & Ors. .. Respondents
Mr.R.K.Mendadkar for the petitioner
Mr.C.R.Sonawane, A.G.P. for respondent no. 1 to 4
CORAM: A.P.SHAH &
S.U.KAMDAR, JJ
DATED: 2ND SEPTEMBER, 2004
ORAL JUDGMENT (PER S.U.KAMDAR, J.):
1. The petitioner is challenging the order passed
by the Caste Scrutiny Committee dated 16th August,
2003. By the said order the caste certificate of
the petitioner has been declared as invalid and
caste claim is rejected. Some of the facts briefly
stated are as under:
2. On 30th April 2002, the respondent no.2
invalidated the caste certificate of the petitioner
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as belonging to Mahadev Koli, Scheduled Tribe.
Against the said order of the respondent no.2
Committee, the petitioner filed the writ petition
in this Court being Writ Petition No.5345 of 2002.
By and order and judgment dated 16th October 2002
the said order was set aside and the matter was
remanded back to the authorities particularly with
a direction to consider the case of the petitioner.
3. The said writ petition was essentially granted
on the ground that the Committee has committed an
error in comparing the birth register maintained by
the Thane Municipal Corporation with the register
maintained by the Civil Hospital to determine the
caste of the petitioner. By the said order, this
court directed the respondent no.2 Committee to
decide the said matter afresh in accordance with
law.
4. Pursuant to the said remand, the Caste Scrutiny
Committee has considered the case of the petitioner
afresh and by the impugned order dated 16th August
2003 rejected the claim of the petitioner and
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invalidated the caste claim of the petitioner for
validation of caste certificate issued in his
favour. It is this order which the petitioner has
challenged in the present writ petition.
5. We have heard the learned counsel for the
petitioner and perused the order. The Caste
Scrutiny Committee has given the findings of facts
in the impugned order which reads as under:
"3. Since, the applicant and the Hon’ble
High Court have relied upon a birth record of
Thane Municipal Corporation in respect of
applicant’s father vigilance enquiry was
conducted by the vigilance officer and he
submitted his report to the committee on
5/2/2002 along with the remarks. It was
stated in the enquiry report that no entry of
persons bearing surname Koli except the entry
of applicant’s father from 1921 to 1948 was
made to the effect of belonging to Mahadeo
Koli Community. Similarly, it was also
disciphered that on particular page of the
birth register where applicant’s father’s
entry appear entries No.130 to 138 were
re-written by erasing earlier entries.
4. The report of vigilance enquiry was
served the applicant and he was asked to
appear for personal hearing on 17/4/2003.
The applicant furnished his written reply on
7/3/2003 and appeared for personal hearing on
17/4/2003 along with his father. Similarly,
Shri A.S.Khot, Sub registrar, birth and
death, Thane Municipal Corporation was also
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present along with original birth register.
The committee perused the record and affirmed
the finding of the vigilance officer that all
entries from entry No. 130 to 138 of the
particular page were re-written by erasing
earlier entries. However, entry No.129 i.e.
initial entry on this page is inside the
binding part of the register which only was
remained intact i.e. in original ink and
hand writing. This fabrication is visible
even to naked eyes but Thane Municipal
Corporation has denied it in their letter,
dated 20/6/2003. Thus, the birth record in
respect of applicant’s father is clearly
manipulated one and it can not have any
positive effect on his Scheduled Tribe claim.
"NOTE:-
1) It comes to notice that the word So.Ko are
erased.
2) The Head Master has mentioned in remarks
column against the entry at register no.192
that, the words So.Ko are erased against the
register no.2 the words Mahadeo is mentioned
in different handwriting in caste column.
3) Against the entry at register no.492 the
Mahadeo Koli words are written by
overwriting.
III) An extract of school admission register,
issued by the Head Master, Brahman Shikshan
Mandal Maharashtra Vidyalay, Veer Savarkar
Path, Thane related to the following
persons."
6. On the aforesaid finding of facts, the claim of
the petitioner has been rejected. The learned
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counsel appearing for the petitioner strenuously
argued before us that the Caste Scrutiny Committee
had no reason to go into the validity of the birth
certificate produced by the Thane Municipal
Corporation particularly in view of the order
passed by the Division Bench of this court on 16th
October 2002. According to the learned counsel for
the petitioner the issue as to the validity of the
birth register has been concluded by the Division
Bench order dated 16th October 2002.
7. We have perused the said order dated 16th
October 2002 which is annexed as Exhibit (D) to the
petition. We do not find any such finding in the
said order. On the contrary the entire issue has
been left open for the Committee to decide afresh
in accordance with law. Obviously while
reconsidering the matter afresh, the Committee was
required to consider the validity or otherwise of
the documents produced before it for considering
the caste claim of the petitioner. In the light of
the fact that the Committee has found that the
documents produced before them are tampered with
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and / or of highly doubtful character, the
Committee has refused to rely upon the same. The
findings of the Committee that the documents are
tampered with are findings of facts. It is not
open for us in writ jurisdiction under Article 226
of the Constitution of India to re-appreciate and
or reconsider the said findings and or to call for
the original documents and examine documents
ourselves. We have no reason to interfere with the
finding arrived at by the Scrutiny Committee as the
finding of facts by the committee are final. We do
not see any reason to come to the different
findings then that arrived at by the Committee. We
are of the further view that if the said documents
are eliminated from the consideration then in that
event there is nothing on the basis of which the
claim of the petitioner can be sustained at all.
8. In the light of the aforesaid facts, we are of
the opinion that the present petition requires to
be dismissed and we accordingly dismiss the same.
There shall be no order as to costs.
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the High Court can re-appreciate findings of fact regarding tampered documents by the Caste Scrutiny Committee under Article 226.
Whether the petitioner has any evidence to sustain his caste claim after the Committee rejected the tampered birth records.
Sachin Jairam Koli
State of Maharashtra
A.P.SHAH
S.U.KAMDAR
As recorded by the court registry
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