Court rejected writ petition challenging Scheduled Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee's decision denying petitioner's claim of belonging to 'Mahadeo Koli' tribe, upholding Committee's factual findings.
Writ petition rejected summarily.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. 7826 OF 2007
Rajendra Eknath Gavare .. Petitioner
V/s
State of Maharashtra & Ors. .. Respondents
Mr.R.K. Mendadkar for the petitioner.
Mr.R.D. Rane, Government Pleader, for respondents no.1,
2 and 4.
CORAM : S.B. MHASE &
D.G. KARNIK, JJ.
DATE : 23RD OCTOBER 2007
P.C. :
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner.
2. By this petition, the petitioner challenges the
order dated 18th August 2007 passed by the Scheduled
Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Pune Region
rejecting the petitioner’s claim that he belongs to the
"Mahadeo Koli" tribe.
3. The petitioner having obtained the certificate
from the Sub-Divisional Officer that he belongs to
"Mahadeo Koli", applied to the Tribe Scrutiny Committee
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for validation of the certificate. After considering
the evidence on record, the Scrutiny Committee came to
the conclusion that the petitioner does not belong to
"Mahadeo Koli" tribe. The Committee took into
consideration various entries in respect of the
petitioner’s paternal blood relations regarding their
caste recorded in the school register at the time of
their admission. The documents have been recorded in
paragraph 3 of the order of the Scrutiny Committee. The
persons at serial nos.1 to 11 are the relatives of
petitioner’s father, uncles, real brother, real sisters,
cousin brothers and cousin sisters. Their castes were
recorded as Koli or Hindu Koli in the school register at
the time of admission. The entries in the school
register are from 1st March 2927 to 1st 22nd June 1973.
At least four of three entries are pre-constitutional,
i.e. of the years prior to 1950. On the basis of these
entries and considering all other relevant evidence, the
Scrutiny Committee has come to the conclusion that the
petitioner failed to prove that he belongs to Mahadeo
Koli tribe.
4. In paragraph 14 of the decision in the case of
Kumari Madhuri Patil v. Additional Commissioner, Tribal
Development, reported in AIR 1995 SC 94, the Supreme
Court held that the High Court exercising writ
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jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India is not a court of appeal nor required to
reappreciate the evidence. The jurisdiction of the High
Court is limited to ensure that the Caste Scrutiny
Committee has considered all the relevant facts. The
Caste Scrutiny Committee is a final authority of facts
and the decision reached by it is final and binding. We
find that the Caste Scrutiny Committee has considered
all the relevant evidence and on appreciation of all
relevant evidence has recorded its finding of fact.
There is no reason to interfere in exercise of our writ
jurisdiction in the said findings. Writ petition is
accordingly rejected summarily.
(D.G. KARNIK, J.) (S.B. MHASE, J.)
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the High Court should interfere with the Scheduled Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee's rejection of the petitioner's claim to belong to the 'Mahadeo Koli' tribe.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Kumari Madhuri Patil v. Additional Commissioner, Tribal DevelopmentApplied¶19
AIR 1995 SC 94 · Who else cites this
1 provisions across 1 enactments
Rajendra Eknath Gavare
State of Maharashtra
S.B. MHASE
D.G. KARNIK
As recorded by the court registry
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