Bombay High Court

GUNAJI JANU DHAWADEversusGRIEVANCE REDRESSAL COMMITTEE AND ORS

Decided: 4 March 2026
Disposal: Disposed Off
Bench: SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN

Holding

The court remanded the matter to the Additional Collector to establish the petitioner’s identity and grant statutory benefits despite name variations.

Summary

The petitioner, Gunaji Janu Dhawade, challenged a July 26, 2024 order that rejected his appeal against a November 13, 2021 order denying him statutory benefits because of inconsistencies in how his name appeared in various documents. He argued that the variations—such as Gunaji Janu Dhawade, Janu Gunaji Dhawade, and Dhawade Gunaji Janu—should not prevent him from receiving benefits. The court noted that the petitioner had not been given notice of the proceedings before the Additional Collector, violating procedural fairness. It held that the matter should be remanded to the Additional Collector to re‑examine the records, confirm the petitioner’s identity, and ensure he is not denied benefits due to name discrepancies. Accordingly, the petition was disposed of with directions to the Additional Collector to fix a hearing date and resolve the identity issue.

Issues considered

Whether variations in the spelling and order of the petitioner’s name in official documents justify denial of statutory benefits
Whether the petitioner was denied procedural fairness by not being given notice of the proceedings before the Additional Collector

Subjects

name discrepancy
statutory benefits
identity verification
procedural fairness
remand
administrative law

Judgment

                                                                                    37-WP-17700-2024.doc



                                    IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                                 CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                                                WRIT PETITION NO. 17700 OF 2024

                       Gunaji Janu Dhawade                                             …Petitioner
                                  Versus
                       Grievance Redressal Committee And Ors                           …Respondents


                           Mr. P.G. Parkar, for the Petitioner.
                           Mr. Nishigandh N. Patil, for Respondent Nos.1 & 2.
                           Ms. Sulbha Chipade, AGP for Respondent-State.


                                                 CORAM        : SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN, J.
                                                 DATE         : March 4, 2026

                      ORDER :

                      1.                  This Petition impugns an order dated July 26, 2024, by which

                      an Appeal against the order dated November 13, 2021, was rejected. The

                      Petitioner’s prime grievance is that the stipulated documents which

                      evidence his residence in the subject slum unit, along with his photo

                      pass, record his name as Janu Gunaji Dhawade, whereas in the receipt

                      of the cooperative housing society, his name is shown as Gunaji Janu

                      Dhawade.


                      2.                  Documents forming part of the record indicate, for example,

ASHWINI               that the electricity bill and the ration card all contained his name in
JANARDAN
VALLAKATI
Digitally signed by
ASHWINI JANARDAN
VALLAKATI
Date: 2026.03.10
11:47:15 +0530
                                                              Page 1 of 3
                                                             March 4, 2026
                      Ashwini Vallakati
                                                              37-WP-17700-2024.doc



varying combinations; in the ration card, his name is shown as Dhawade

Gunaji Janu, whereas in the electricity bill his name is shown as Gunaji

Janu Dhawade, as is the case with the receipt issued by the cooperative

society.


3.                  In these circumstances, having heard the parties, it would be

appropriate to remand the matter to the Additional Collector, i.e.

Respondent No.2, to establish the identity of the Petitioner and ensure

that he is not denied the statutory benefits due to him merely in view of

the combination in which his name is contained in the records. It is also

stated by the Petitioner that, throughout the proceedings before the

Additional Collector, he had no notice of the conduct of the proceedings,

which stance is consistent with the order dated November 13, 2021

which indicates that the parties were absent throughout the proceedings

before the Learned Additional Collector.


4.                  Therefore, the matter is remanded to the Learned Additional

Collector, requesting him to examine the matter afresh and consider the

records produced by the Petitioner, establish his identity and grant him

his statutory benefits once the variation in name combinations are

reconciled.



                                         Page 2 of 3
                                       March 4, 2026
Ashwini Vallakati
                                                                 37-WP-17700-2024.doc



5.                  With the aforesaid directions, the Petition is disposed of,

remanding the matter to Respondent No.2, and requesting Respondent

No. 2 to examine all available records and fix a date for hearing the

Petitioner, to enable him to identify himself and establish that the

variation in combination of how his name is spelled does not lead to an

avoidable denial of his statutory rights.


6.                  This Petition is finally disposed of in the aforesaid terms.


7.                  All actions required to be taken pursuant to this order shall

be taken upon receipt of a downloaded copy as available on this Court’s

website.


                                         [ SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN, J.]




                                          Page 3 of 3
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Ashwini Vallakati

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