VIJAY JAYSING BHOJE AND ANR.versusSTATE OF MAHARASHTRA, THROUGH ITS SECRETARY AND ORS.

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         IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                 CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
                  WRIT PETITION NO.10678 OF 2017
Vijay Jaysing Bhoje
and antoher                                  … Petitioners.
         Versus
State of Maharashtra,
and others                                   … Respondents.
                               ….
Mr. Y.S. Jahagirdar, Senior Counsel a/w Mr. vishnu A. Madane for
the Petitioners.
Mr. N.C. Walimbe, AGP for Respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 4.
                               ….
                      CORAM : Smt. Vasanti A Naik &
                             Riyaz I. Chagla, JJ.
                      DATE : 17th November, 2017.
P.C. :
         By this writ petition, the petitioners are challenging the order
of the scrutiny committee dated 21.08.2017, invalidating the claim
of the petitioners of belonging to 'Tokre Koli' scheduled tribe.

         The petitioners who are real brothers, were appointed as
Assistant teachers in the schools in Kolhapur district and their
caste claim was referred to the respondent­scrutiny committee for
verification. The scrutiny committee invalidated the claim of the
petitioners by the impugned order dated 21.08.2017 that is
challenged in the instant petition.

         Mr. Jahagirdar, the learned senior counsel for the petitioners
submitted that the scrutiny committee was not justified in rejecting
the caste claim of the petitioners by holding that there was some
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interpolation and overwriting in the entries of the years 1917,
1953 and 1958 in the caste column in the documents pertaining to
the near relatives of the petitioner. It is submitted that since the
vigilance cell has observed in its report that there was some
overwriting in the five documents tendered by the petitioners in
support of their caste claim, the scrutiny committee had served a
notice on the petitioners to show cause in that regard and the
petitioners had replied to the scrutiny committee that the
petitioners cannot be held responsible for the alleged over writing
in the said entries, as the old records were in possession of the
Tahasildar and only the Tahasildar could make an appropriate
statement in regard to the same. It is submitted that though a
query was made to the Tahasildar, the scrutiny committee did not
receive any reply. It is stated that in the aforesaid set of facts, the
scrutiny committee ought not have rejected the caste claim of the
petitioners by referring to the overwriting and interpolation in the
five documents.

        On hearing the learned counsel for the parties and on a
perusal of the original record and proceedings tendered by the
learned Assistant Government Pleader in the Court today, as also
the impugned order, it appears that there is no scope for
interference with the impugned order in exercise of the writ
jurisdiction. We find that the in most of the old documents of the
pre­independence era, the caste of the near relatives of the
petitioners was recorded as 'Hindu Koli' or 'Koli'. Only in the five
documents in which the vigilance cell and the scrutiny committee
had found some overwriting and interpolation, the caste of the
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grandfather and the cousin grandfather of the petitioners was
recorded as 'Tokre Koli'. The scrutiny committee, therefore, rightly
rejected the documents in which the scrutiny committee found
some overwriting and interpolation. We have perused the said
documents in the original record and proceedings. We find that
the word 'Tokre” appears to have been subsequently inserted in the
said documents. The scrutiny committee has rightly rejected the
documents in which there was overwriting/interpolation and has
invalidated the caste claim of the petitioners after finding that in
the other old documents tendered by the petitioners, 'Tokre Koli'
was not recorded in the caste column and caste 'Hindu Koli' or
'Koli' was recorded in the same.         We find that the scrutiny
committee has appreciated the material on record in the right
perspective before invalidating the caste claim of the petitioners.
The order of the scrutiny committee does not call for any
interference in the circumstances of the case.

        In the result, the writ petition fails and is dismissed with no
order as to costs.

        At this stage, the learned senior counsel for the petitioners
seeks the continuation of the ad­interim relief granted by this
Court on 06.10.2017 for a period of eight weeks.             Since the
petitioners are working as teachers, the prayer is granted. The ad­
interim relief would operate only for a period of eight weeks.
Order accordingly.




       (Riyaz I. Chagla J)              (Smt. Vasanti A Naik, J)