Allowed

Santosh Nathrao Shinde v. the State of Maharashtra through Secretary and Others

Bombay HC2 May 2024WP/3393/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court Bench allowed a writ petition seeking correction of the petitioner's caste record from 'Kumbhar' to 'Nhavi'. Relying on prior precedent, the court held that obvious clerical errors in caste entries can be corrected in General Registers and school certificates even after a student leaves school via a footnote.

What did the court decide?

Direction to the Headmaster and Education Officer to rectify the school record change caste from Kumbhar to Nhavi and issue a fresh certificate with a specific footnote citing this order.

Santosh Nathrao Shinde Vs the State of… — Pension and Retirement Benefits | Bombay HC (2024)

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2024:BHC-AUG:9509-DB

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911-WP-3393-2024.odt

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD

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WRIT PETITION NO. 3393 OF 2024

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Santosh Nathrao Shinde

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VERSUS

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The State Of Maharashtra
Through Secretary And Others

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...

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Ms. J. G. Nawale, Advocate for the Petitioner
Mr. R. K. Ingole, AGP for Respondent No. 1/State
Mr. S. P. Urgunde, Advocate for Respondent nos. 2 and 3

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...

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CORAM:RAVINDRA V. GHUGE &
R. M. JOSHI, JJ
DATE:MAY 02, 2024

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PER COURT :

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1.The Petitioner is before us seeking correction

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in his social status. His school record of 1987
indicates his caste as Kumbhar which would fall in the
Other Backward Class Category (OBC). He has a caste
certificate dated 30.07.2001, which indicates his caste
as Nhavi (108), which is recognized as OBC category.
His biological brother Sunil also has a caste
certificate dated 02.08.2001, which indicates his caste

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as Nhavi. Aditya son of Sunil, also has a caste
certificate indicating his caste as Nhavi. According to
the Petitioner, it is an obvious mistake that the
school recorded his caste as Kumbhar which also falls

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Page 1 of 4

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911-WP-3393-2024.odt

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in the OBC category, in 1987 when he was admitted in
the 1st standard. The Petitioner’s mother also has a
caste certificate dated 04.10.2001, indicating her
social status as Nhavi.

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2.We have perused the judgment of the Full Bench
of this Court in Janabai d/o. Himmatrao Thakur Vs.
State of Maharashtra & Others, 2019(6) Mh.L.J. 769
(FB), wherein this Court has concluded that if there is
an obvious mistake, such mistake can be corrected,
notwithstanding that the candidate has left the school.
For the sake of brevity, we are reproducing paragraph
39 of the said judgment here under:

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39.This being the position, We answer
Question Nos.(A) & (C) in the following
terms:

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(a) An application for alteration in the
entries in the General Register is
permissible, with the previous permission
of the appropriate authority at any time
when the pupil is attending the school.

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(b) No application for alteration in the
figure of date of birth is permissible,
after the student has left secondary
school, except correction in the nature of
'obvious mistakes' as indicated in Clause
26.3 i.e. of a nature where the date of a
particular month which does not exist in

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Page 2 of 4

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911-WP-3393-2024.odt

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the calendar and likewise.

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(c) Thus, in light of the above, an
application for change in the name, surname
or caste, either due to reasons / cause
unnoticed before or even occurring
subsequently, being errors which fall
within the category of 'obvious mistakes',
can be made, even after the student has
left school in light of the language of
Clause 26.3 in the manner as indicated by
Appendix Six in the forms as prescribed in
the S.S. Code.

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(d) For the purposes like admission to
another educational institution, in cases
of obvious mistakes as prescribed in Clause
26.4, a change/ correction in the school
leaving certificate, so as to make the
entry consistent with the corresponding
entries in the General Register of the
School is permissible, which in fact is in
consonance with (c) above.

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3.In view of the above, this Writ Petition is
disposed off with a direction to Respondent no. 2 to
consider the above factors and pass an appropriate
order. We also direct the Headmaster of the Municipal
Corporation School, Begumpura, Aurangabad to carryout
such correction in the school record by specifically
mentioning a footnote “*” (asterisk) clause at the
bottom of the freshly issued school certificate that
the caste of the Petitioner has been changed from

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Page 3 of 4

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911-WP-3393-2024.odt

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“Kumbhar” to “Nhavi” under the order of this Court
dated 02.05.2024, passed in this Writ Petition No.
3393/2024. The same direction is also issued to
Respondent No. 2 – Education Officer.

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4.We make it clear that if the Petitioner or his
biological brother or any relative approaches the
Competent Committee for seeking validity certificate of
Nhavi OBC, it would be open to the Competent Committee
to follow the due procedure laid down in law and fully
investigate the claim in the light of the judgment of
the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur
Jamat Swarakshan Samiti vs. The State of Maharashtra

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and others, AIR 2023 SC 1657, under the The Maharashtra
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-Notified Tribes
(Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes
And Special Backward Category (Regulation Of Issuance
And Verification Of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000.

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(R. M. JOSHI, J) (RAVINDRA V. GHUGE, J)

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Malani

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Santosh Nathrao Shinde v. the State of Maharashtra through Secretary and Others

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Santosh Nathrao Shinde v. the State of Maharashtra through Secretary and Others

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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