Bombay High Court
SHRIRAM DEVIDAS FULSUREversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THRU SECRETARY AND ORS
- Decided
- Disposal
- Disposed Off
Holding
The Court ordered that the petitioner be granted provisional admission as an ST candidate pending the final certificate and directed the State to extend the government resolution to Scheduled Tribes.
Summary
The petitioner, Shriram Devidas Fulsure, sought urgent relief to obtain provisional admission to a B.E./B.Tech program as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate, despite the pending decision of the Scheduled Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee on his caste validity. The State CET Cell required submission of a valid ST certificate by a deadline that had passed, but the Scrutiny Committee had been granted a six‑month period to decide the claim. The Court noted earlier orders granting six months to the Committee and a government resolution extending a three‑month submission period to other reserved categories, but not to STs. Relying on a Nagpur Bench decision in Aditi D/o Ramsing Jadhao, the Court found no reason to exclude STs from the benefit. Consequently, the Court directed the State to apply the government resolution to STs and ordered the CET Cell to grant the petitioner provisional admission pending the final certificate. The petition was disposed without costs.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to provisional admission in the ST category pending the final decision of the Scheduled Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee.
- Whether the government resolution granting a three‑month period for submission of caste validity certificates should be extended to Scheduled Tribes.
- Whether the six‑month period granted to the Scrutiny Committee can justify dispensing with the certificate requirement for provisional admission.
Subjects
- Scheduled Tribe
- Caste Certificate
- Provisional Admission
- Government Resolution
- Writ Petition
- Urgency
- Amendment
- Reservation
Judgment
919-WP-11986-26.doc
Sharayu Khot.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. 11986 OF 2026
Shriram Devidas Fulsure …Petitioner
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. …Respondents
----------
Mr. Sahil Choudhari for the Petitioner.
Smt. Vaishali S. Nimbalkar, 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. 4 – The Scheduled
SHARAYU
Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Kinwat, Headquarter at
PANDURANG
KHOT
Digitally
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, as well as prayer clause ‘E’ to the
signed by
SHARAYU
PANDURANG
KHOT
Date:
2026.09.09
18:19:08
+0530 Petition.
2. Accordingly, leave is granted.
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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. 3 – MIT Academy of
Engineering, Pune.
6. The Tribe Validity claim of the Petitioner has not yet been
decided by the Scheduled Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee. By
an order dated 29th July 2026 passed by this Court (Aurangabad
Bench) in Writ Petition No. 8464 of 2026 filed by the present
Petitioner, this Court has granted the Scrutiny Committee a period of
six months to decide the Tribe Validity claim of the Petitioner.
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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.
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
1 Writ Petition No. 6545 of 2026 order dated 24th August 2026
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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
29th 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.
12. Accordingly, we direct the State CET Cell to consider the
admission of the present Petitioner from the Scheduled Tribe
category to the B.E. / B.Tech course in the Respondent No. 3 -
College and grant provisional admission without insisting upon
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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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