Bombay High Court

VARAD SANJAYKUMAR KANTEWARversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THR ITS SECRETARY AND ORS

Decided: 8 September 2026
Disposal: Disposed Off

Holding

The six‑month deadline for submitting validity certificates applies to Scheduled Tribe candidates, and the petitioner is entitled to provisional admission pending the final determination of his tribe claim.

Summary

The petitioner, a Scheduled Tribe candidate, sought urgent relief after the State CET Cell failed to cancel his admission despite the expiry of the deadline for submitting a Scheduled Tribe Validity Certificate. The Court noted earlier orders granting a six‑month period to the Scrutiny Committee to decide the petitioner’s tribe claim and a government resolution extending a six‑month deadline to reserved categories, but the latter did not initially include Scheduled Tribes. Relying on a Nagpur Bench decision that the six‑month benefit should apply to all reserved categories, the Court directed the State to extend the resolution to Scheduled Tribes. Consequently, the Court ordered the State CET Cell to provisionally admit the petitioner to the Bachelor of Planning course without the certificate, subject to the final outcome of the tribe‑validity claim. The petition was disposed without costs.

Issues considered

Whether the six‑month period for submission of caste/tribe validity certificates under the Government Resolution of 2 July 2026 applies to Scheduled Tribe candidates.
Whether the petitioner is entitled to provisional admission pending the final decision of the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Verification Committee.

Subjects

Scheduled Tribe
Caste Certificate
Validity Certificate
Provisional Admission
Government Resolution
Reservation
CET
Reservation Categories

Judgment

908-WP-11963-26.doc

Sharayu Khot.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION NO. 11963 OF 2026

Varad s/o Sanjaykumar Kantewar …Petitioner

Versus

The State of Maharashtra & Ors. …Respondents

----------
Mr. Chandrakant R. Thorat a/w Mr. O.D. Totawad, Mr. Yashraj Joshi
and Mr. Satyam Kumar for the Petitioner.
Mr. B.V. Samant, Add.G.P. a/w Mr. V.M. Mali, AGP for the Respondent-
State.
Mr. Nikhil Chavan, for the Respondent No. 2-CET Cell.
----------

CORAM : R.I. CHAGLA J
FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, J

DATE : 8 September 2026

ORDER :

1. The learned Counsel for the Petitioner has sought leave

to amend the Petition by deleting Respondent No. 3 - Scheduled Tribe
SHARAYU
PANDURANG
KHOT

Certificate Verification Committee, Kinwat-1, Headquarter
Digitally
signed by
SHARAYU
PANDURANG
KHOT
Date:
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, as well as prayer clause ‘C’ to the
2026.09.09
10:56:41
+0530

Petition.

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908-WP-11963-26.doc

2. Accordingly, leave is granted.

3. The Petitioner shall carry out the amendment to the

Petition in the course of today. Re-verification is dispensed with.

4. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard by consent

of the parties.

5. This Petition has been filed on the grounds of urgency in

view of the Petitioner, as per the schedule of Respondent No. 2 - State

CET Cell, requiring to submit the Scheduled Tribe Validity Certificate

on or before 7th September 2026. Although this date has expired, the

Respondent No. 2 - State CET Cell has till date not cancelled the

allotment to the Petitioner in Respondent No. 4 - College of

Engineering Pune.

6. The Tribe Validity claim of the Petitioner has not yet been

decided by the Scheduled Tribes Certificate Verification Committee.

By an order dated 28th July 2026 passed by this Court (Aurangabad

Bench) in Writ Petition No. 8342 of 2026 filed by the present

Petitioner, this Court has granted the Scrutiny Committee a period of

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908-WP-11963-26.doc

six months to decide the Tribe Validity claim of the Petitioner. This

was upon taking into consideration that the Tribe Certificate was

obtained by the Petitioner on 21st July 2025, and it took him at least

ten months to lodge the claim with the Committee.

7. This Court in Writ Petition No. 11628 of 2026, by an

order dated 3rd September 2026, considered the Government

Resolution dated 2nd July 2026, which had granted a period of six

months from the date of admission to the candidates belonging to

reserved categories, viz. SEBC and OBC, for submitting Caste

Certificates and Caste Validity Certificates.

8. This Court relying upon a decision of this Court (Nagpur

Bench) in Aditi D/o Ramsing Jadhao Vs. The Vice-Chairman/Member

Secretary, Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee,

Yavatmal & Anr.1, had not found any reason as to why the benefit of

six months should not be granted to other categories such as

Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta

Jatis), and Nomadic Tribes.

1 Writ Petition No. 6545 of 2026 order dated 24th August 2026

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9. This Court had accordingly, considered it appropriate, in

these circumstances and in the interest of the students, to direct the

Respondent-State to take a decision on making the said Government

Resolution dated 2nd July 2026 applicable to the aforesaid

categories. Thereafter, the Respondent-State issued a Government

Resolution dated 4th September 2026 granting benefit to the

aforesaid categories other than Scheduled Tribes and revising the

time period from six months to three months for submission of the

Caste Validity Certificate to the Institutions.

10. Considering that the Petitioner claims to belong to the

Scheduled Tribe and the aforesaid Government Resolutions have not

been made applicable to Scheduled Tribes, we direct the Respondent-

State to take a decision on making these Government Resolutions

applicable to Scheduled Tribes as well.

11. The Aurangabad Bench of this Court, vide order dated

28th July 2026, granted six months to the Scrutiny Committee to

decide the Tribe claim of the Petitioner, in view of which the

Petitioner has not been able to submit the Tribe Validity Certificate as

per the requisites of the Respondent No. 2 - State CET Cell.

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908-WP-11963-26.doc

12. Accordingly, we direct the State CET Cell to consider the

admission of the present Petitioner from the Scheduled Tribe

category to the Bachelor of Planning course in the Respondent No. 4 -

College and grant provisional admission without insisting upon

submission of the Tribe Validity Certificate. This provisional

admission shall be subject to the final outcome of the Tribe Validity

claim of the Petitioner before the Scrutiny Committee.

13. The Writ Petition is disposed of in these terms. No order

as to costs.

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

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