Sumit Sunil Thakur vs the State of Maharashtra through Principal Secretary and Anr. — Bombay HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Sumit Sunil Thakur vs the State of Maharashtra through Principal Secretary and Anr. — Bombay HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Writ petition partly allowed with directions: petitioner to appear before the Sub Divisional Officer, Jalgaon and surrender his original certificate on or before 10th April 2026; the SDO to verify whether the certificate is bogus or forged and, if convinced of its genuineness, issue a 'C' Format certificate within 08 days thereafter; issuance creates no equity and the order may not be cited or relied upon for the validity claim, which is to be decided on its own merits per Kumari Madhuri Patil, the Maharashtra Caste Certificate Act, 2000 and the Supreme Court's judgment dated 24.03.2023 in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti.

Issue for consideration

Whether respondent No.2, the Sub Divisional Officer, Jalgaon, should be directed to decide the petitioner's online caste claim proposal dated 16.03.2026 within a stipulated time and furnish the petitioner a Tribe certificate in Form C.

Court's answer

Both counsel were ad idem that the issue in this petition is squarely covered by this Court's orders dated 3rd April 2023 in Writ Petition No. 3748 of 2023 (Amrut Rajendra Suryavanshi) and the connected Writ Petition No. 3760 of 2023 (Harshad Devendra Suryawanshi); this writ petition is therefore likewise disposed of in the light of the directions issued in those cases.

Ratio / Principle

The petitioner shall appear before the Sub Divisional Officer, Jalgaon and surrender his original certificate to the concerned Sub Divisional Officer, Jalgaon on or before 10th April 2026.

Key takeaways

The Sub Divisional Officer would only verify whether the surrendered certificate is a bogus or forged document and, if convinced of its genuineness, shall issue a 'C' Format certificate to the petitioner within eight (08) days thereafter.ratio¶23
With the issuance of such 'C' format certificate no equity is created in favour of the petitioner, and this order cannot be cited or relied upon while considering his claim for validity.ratio¶24
If a claim for validation of the caste/tribe claim is tendered, it shall be considered on its own merits, by applying the law laid down in Kumari Madhuri Patil, the provisions of the Maharashtra Caste Certificate Act, 2000, and the view taken by the Supreme Court in its judgment dated 24.03.2023 in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti (Civil Appeal No. 2502 of 2022).

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Aurangabad Bench (Sandipkumar C. More and Abasaheb D. Shinde, JJ.; final order per Abasaheb D. Shinde, J.), 02.04.2026 — Writ Petition No. 3465 of 2026, Sumit Sunil Thakur v. State of Maharashtra and others. With both sides ad idem that the matter is covered by this Court's orders dated 3rd April 2023 in W.P. No. 3748 of 2023 (Amrut Rajendra Suryavanshi) and connected W.P. No. 3760 of 2023 (Harshad Devendra Suryawanshi), the petition — seeking a time-bound decision on the petitioner's online caste claim proposal dated 16.03.2026 before the Sub Divisional Officer, Jalgaon — was partly allowed on the same lines: the petitioner to appear before the SDO, Jalgaon and surrender his original certificate on or before 10.04.2026; the SDO to only verify whether the certificate is bogus or forged and, if convinced of its genuineness, issue a 'C' Format certificate within 08 days. Issuance of the 'C' format certificate creates no equity and the order may not be cited or relied upon for validity; any validation claim is to be decided on its own merits by applying Kumari Madhuri Patil v. Addl. Commissioner, Tribal Development, the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000, and the Supreme Court's view in its judgment dated 24.03.2023 in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti (Civil Appeal No. 2502 of 2022). Single opinion; no dissent. Neutral citation: 2026:BHC-AUG:14209-DB.

2026:BHC-AUG:14209-DB

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948- W.P. 3465-2026.odt

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD

948 WRIT PETITION NO. 3465 OF 2026

SUMIT SUNIL THAKUR VERSUS

THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THROUGH PRINCIPAL SECRETARY AND ANR

Advocate for the Petitioner : Mr. Kishor T. Shirrurkar AGP for Respondent/State: Mrs. Chaitali R. Chaudhari

CORAM : SANDIPKUMAR C. MORE AND ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, JJ.

DATED : APRIL 02, 2026

FINAL ORDER( PER ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, J):-

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned the A.G.P. for respondent/State.

The petitioner has put forth the following reliefs :-

(B) To direct the respondent No.2- Sub Divisional Officer Jalgaon, to decide the Online caste claim proposal of the petitioner, dt. 16.03.2026 as early as possible and in any case within a stipulated period one week from today. And to furnish Tribe certificate to the petitioner, in Form C

(C) Pending hearing and final disposal of this Writ Petition, the respondent No.2-S.D.O. Jalgaon may kindly be directed to take necessary steps, to decide the online Caste Claim proposal of the petitioner dated 16.03.2026.

Both the learned counsel for the petitioner and learned AGP are

ad-idem that the issue involved in this petition is squarely covered by

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948- W.P. 3465-2026.odt

the order passed by this Court dated 3^rd April 2023 in Writ Petition No. 3748 of 2023 [Amrut Rajendra Suryavanshi Through its Guardian Father Rajendra Shamrao Suryawanshi Vs. Sub Divisional Officer, Aurangabad]and with connected Writ Petition No. 3760 of 2023 [Harshad Devendra Suryawanshi Through Guardian Father Devendra Shamrao Suryawanshi and Another Vs. Sub Divisional Officer, Aurangabad] . We, therefore, find that this Writ Petition can also be disposed of in the light of the directions issued by this Court in the aforesaid mentioned cases (supra). We, therefore, pass the following order :-

(A) In view of the above, the Writ Petition is partly allowed with the following directions :-

(B) The petitioner shall appear before the Sub Divisional Officer, Jalgaon and surrender his original certificate to the concerned Sub Divisional Officer, Jalgaon on or before 10^th April, 2026.

(C) The Sub Divisional Officer would only verify, as to whether this certificate is bogus or forged document,and if convinced of its genuineness, he shall issue ‘C’ Format certificate to this petitioner, within (08) days thereafter.

(D) With the issuance of such “C” format certificate, no equity would be created in favour of the petitioner and this order would not be cited or relied upon while considering his

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948- W.P. 3465-2026.odt

claim for validity. If such claim for validation is tendered, the same shall be considered on their own merits, by applying the law, as is laid down in Kumari Madhuri Patil and Another Vs. Addl. Commissioner, Tribal Development and Others (1949)6 Supreme Court Cases 241 , the provisions of the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000, and the view taken by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the latest judgment dated 24.03.2023, in the matter of Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti Vs. State of Maharashtra and others in Civil Appeal No. 2502 of 2022 and other connected matters.

( ABASAHEB D. SHINDE ) (SANDIPKUMAR C. MORE) JUDGE JUDGE

YSK/