NUPUR PRASHANT SURVE THR. FATHER PRASHANT G. SURVEversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THR. ITS SECRETARY GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT AND ANR

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                                   IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                             CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION


                                            WRIT PETITION NO. 10954 OF 2026

                      Nupur Prashant Surve                               .. Petitioner

                              Versus

                      The State of Maharashtra & Anr.                    .. Respondents
MANSI
DHANANJAY
SHELKE                     Adv. R. K. Mendadkar a/w Adv. Priyanka Shah, Adv. Siddhant S., Adv.
Digitally signed by
                           Jagdish Kawale for the Petitioner.
MANSI DHANANJAY
SHELKE
Date: 2026.09.01
10:43:38 +0530             Ms. Savina R. AGP for State.

                                                 CORAM:       R.I CHAGLA &
                                                              FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, JJ.
                                                 DATE:        AUGUST 31, 2026

                      P. C.

                      1.             Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard by consent of

                      parties.



                      2.             By this Petition, the Petitioner seeks quashing and setting aside

                      of the impugned Order dated 30th June, 2026 passed by Respondent No.2

                      Scrutiny Committee, by which the Petitioner’s claim of validity of her caste

                      certificate has been rejected.




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3.             The Petitioner has placed reliance upon the proceedings in

respect of her father before Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee, which

had, after calling for Vigilance Cell Enquiry Report, granted the Caste Validity

Certificate vide its Order dated 22 nd March, 2022, in respect of the

Petitioner’s father.



4.             The Petitioner had applied for verification of Caste/Tribe

Certificate as belonging to Thakur Schedule Tribe on 12th December, 2024.

The Petitioner placed reliance upon the Validity Certificate granted to the

Petitioner’s father vide Order dated 22 nd March, 2022 passed by Respondent

No.2 Scrutiny Committee.



5.             The Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee had called for

Vigilance Cell Committee Report and which Report was filed on 16 th June,

2025, which was the same as the Vigilance Cell Committee Report in case of

the Petitioner’s father.



6.             The Petitioner had placed reliance upon the oldest documentary

evidence of the year 1924 and the year 1945 viz, the pre-Constitutional

documents. Further, reliance was placed on the reasoned order of



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Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee validating the tribe claim of the

Petitioner’s father.



7.             The Respondent No.2 Committee, despite of the aforesaid, had

passed the impugned Order dated 30th June, 2026 invalidating the

Petitioner’s tribe claim on the ground that the tribe claim of the Petitioner’s

father and validity obtained in respect thereof was on alleged ground of

fraud.



8.             Mr. Mendadkar, the learned counsel appearing for the

Petitioner, states that the Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee, having

granted a Tribe Validity Certificate to the Petitioner’s father, could not have

passed the impugned Order rejecting the tribe claim of the Petitioner by

placing reliance upon the Vigilance Cell Committee Report which had formed

the basis of the Order passed by Respondent No. 2 Scrutiny Committee

validating the Tribe Claim Certificate of the Petitioner’s father. Mr.

Mendadkar submitted that this matter is covered by a decision of this Court

dated 27th August, 2026 in Rushank Sitaram Kataskar Vs. State of

Maharashtra & Anr. in Writ Petition No. 10712 of 2026.




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9.             This Court, in the said decision, had considered a similar case

where the Petitioner had placed reliance upon Caste Validity Certificates

issued to the Petitioner’s paternal blood relatives, and where a stand has been

taken by Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee to oppose the Petition on the

ground that a vigilance cell enquiry had not been conducted in the respect of

Petitioner’s paternal blood relatives at the time of issuance of their Caste

Validity Certificates.



10.            Mr. Mendadkar submitted that in the above decision also, as in

the present case, the Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee had placed

reliance upon Show Cause Notices which had been issued to the Petitioner’s

blood relatives alleging fraud in obtaining their Caste Validity Certificates,

which have been validated by the Scrutiny Committee. This Court had

considered the decision of the Supreme Court in Maharashtra Adiwasi

Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti Vs. State of Maharashtra (2023) 16 SCC

415 and the Division Bench of this Court in Shweta Balaji Isankar Vs. The

State of Maharashtra 2018 SSC Online Bom 10363, which, in turn, placed

reliance upon the Judgement passed by this Court in Smt. Shilpa Jay Wagh

Vs. State of Maharashtra and Ors. in Writ Petition No. 18841 of 2024 dated

17th February, 2026 and had held that where the Petitioner’s paternal blood

relatives had been granted Caste Validity Certificates, and the Petitioner’s

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caste validity claim is being opposed on the ground of Show Cause Notices

alleging fraud having been issued to the Petitioner’s paternal blood relatives,

this would not suffice to refuse to grant a Validity Certificate to the Petitioner.

The Writ Petition had been allowed by this Court with the caveat that, if the

validity holders on which the Petitioners before this Court have relied upon

for claiming validity, suffer invalidation in the reopened cases, Respondent

No.2 Scrutiny Committee would be at liberty to reopen the Petitioners’ case

as well, and the consequences suffered by those candidates whose claims are

invalidated (after reopening of the case) would apply to the Petitioner as well.

Mr. Mendadkar has accordingly sought for a similar Order to be passed in the

present case.



11.            Having considered the submissions, including the response of

Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 Scrutiny Committee, we consider it fit to pass a

similar order as passed in the aforesaid case of Rushank Sitaram Kataskar

(supra). In the present case as well, the Petitioner has relied upon the

Tribe/Caste Validity Certificate having been issued by Respondent No.2

Scrutiny Committee in case of Petitioner’s father. It appears from the record

that Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee has placed reliance upon certain

documents which they allege are fabricated by the Petitioners’ father to

obtain the Tribe Validity Certificate. A Show Cause Notice has been issued in

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that context after the passing of the order granting the Tribe Validity

Certificate to the Petitioner’s father, wherein allegations of fraud have been

made.



12.            This Court, in the aforesaid decision has considered similar

opposition by the Scrutiny Committee and by placing reliance upon the

aforesaid decisions in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan

Samiti (supra), Smt. Shilpa Jay Wagh (supra) and the Shweta Balaji Isankar

(supra), which relies upon Smt. Shilpa Jay Wagh (supra), has held that since

Caste Validity Certificates had been issued to the Petitioner’s blood relatives,

reliance on Show Cause Notices issued to the Petitioner’s blood relatives

alleging fraud would not suffice to refuse to grant Validity Certificate to the

Petitioner.



13.            We, accordingly, allow the present Petition and set aside the

impugned Order dated 30th June, 2026 passed by Respondent No.2 Scrutiny

Committee.



14.            We direct the Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee to issue the

Tribe Validity Certificate in respect of Thakur Schedule Tribe to the

Petitioner within a period of one week from the date of this Order.
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15.            If any of the validity holders on whom the Petitioner before this

Court has relied upon for claiming validity, suffer invalidation in the

reopened cases, the Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee would be at liberty

to reopen the Petitioner’s case as well, and consequences suffered by those

candidates whose claims are invalidated (after reopening of the case) would

also apply to the Petitioner as well.



16.            The Writ Petition is disposed of in the above terms. There shall

be no order as to costs.




[FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, J.]                         [R. I. CHAGLA, J.]




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