The High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee's order quashing a Malhar Koli caste certificate on grounds of social traits not matching the category.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. 7827 OF 2007
Kum. Nikita Mohan Koli
... Petitioner
V/s
State of Maharashtra & ors.... Respondents
Mr. R.K.Mendadkar for the petitioner.
Mr. V.A.Gangal with Mr.R.D.Rane, Govt. Pleader for the
respondents.
CORAM:J.N.PATEL AND
SMT. NISHITA MHATRE, JJ.
DATED: 10TH DECEMBER, 2007.
P.C.:
1. Heard.
2. The petitioner has impugned the order dated 7.8.2007
passed by the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny
Committee, Konkan Division, Thane, which has found that
the claim of the petitioner that she belongs to Malhar
Koli, Scheduled Tribe, is not established and was held
to be invalid and the caste certificate issued to her by
the Deputy Collector and Special Land Acquisition
Officer No.7, Mumbai Suburban District, bearing
No.ST/K/23/2001, dated 14.2.2002 came to be cancelled
and confiscated.
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3. It is the contention of the learned counsel for the
petitioner that the caste scrutiny committee has not
taken into consideration the fact that the caste of the
petitioner’s father and uncle has been recorded as
Malhar Koli and when the petitioner was admitted, her
caste has been recorded as Malhar Koli. Further it is
contended that Malhar Koli is one of the branches of
Koli and has original affinity to that community and,
therefore, the Caste Scrutiny Committee has not properly
examined the caste claim of the petitioner. It has
summarily rejected the customary and social traits which
would indicate affinity towards the caste Malhar Koli by
observing the traits, characteristics, customs, etc.
which does not match with Malhar Koli, Scheduled Tribe
and, therefore, the impugned order deserves to be
quashed and set aside.
4. We have gone through the impugned order. The
Scrutiny Committee has examined the caste claim of the
petitioner by going through the documents placed by her
on record in support of her caste claim. The matter was
got verified by the Vigilance Cell and the Police
Inspector of the Vigilance Cell has attached the extract
of the school register from the Head Master of Raigad
Zilla Parishad School, Bori, Tal. Pen, Dist. Raigad,
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wherein it has been found that the caste of the
grandfather and his two cousins has been recorded as
Hindu (Koli), which is prior to 1957.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioner is unable to
explain as to how and in what manner the petitioner’s
father and uncle became Malhar Koli. Koli by itself is
recognised as Backward Class by the Government of
Maharashtra. So far as Malhar Koli is concerned, it is
recognised as Scheduled Tribe. We have also gone
through the proforma in which the petitioner has given
information about the social characteristics and traits
and her tribe and as rightly observed by the Committee,
it does not match with Malhar Koli, Schedule Tribe.
6. We are, therefore, of the view that the Caste
Scrutiny Committee has not committed any error or
illegality in invalidating the caste claim of the
petitioner.
7. Petition is, therefore, dismissed.
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(SMT.NISHITA MHATRE, J.)
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the impugned order quashing the petitioner's Scheduled Tribe caste certificate due to mismatch in social traits was erroneous or illegal.
Kum. Nikita Mohan Koli
State of Maharashtra
J.N.PATEL
NISHITA MHATRE
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court