Bombay High Court
AMOL KALYAN SALUNKHEversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THROUGH SECRETARY AND ORS
- Disposal
- Allowed
Holding
The Court quashed the Scrutiny Committee’s order and directed issuance of a validity certificate to the petitioner as a member of the ‘Thakar’ Scheduled Tribe.
Summary
The petitioner, a government employee, claimed belonging to the ‘Thakar’ Scheduled Tribe and sought a validity certificate. His claim was examined by the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, which, after a vigilance inquiry, invalidated his claim. The petitioner argued that his siblings' similar claims had been upheld by this Court, and under the applicable tribal scrutiny rules, a certificate should be issued to him without further proof if a paternal relative holds one. The Court noted that the Committee had applied identical reasoning to the petitioner and his siblings, and that the siblings' certificates had been ordered by this Court. Consequently, the Court quashed the Committee’s order and directed issuance of the validity certificate to the petitioner within two weeks, allowing the writ petition.
Issues considered
- Whether the Scrutiny Committee's order invalidating the petitioner's claim to the ‘Thakar’ Scheduled Tribe is legally sustainable in view of the Court's earlier orders granting certificates to his siblings.
Subjects
- Scheduled Tribe
- Thakar tribe
- Validity certificate
- Tribal scrutiny
- Writ petition
- Maharashtra
Judgment
WP-3029-2025-1.doc
Digitally signed
by HARISH
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
VITHAL
HARISH
VITHAL
CHAUDHARI
Date:
CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR
CHAUDHARI 2026.10.05
12:18:07
+0530
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. 3029 OF 2025
Amol s/o Kalyan Salunkhe.
Age :34 years. Occ: Service
R/o, Patole Galli, At Post. Wafale Tq. Mohol.
Dist. Solapur. ...Petitioner.
Versus
1. The State of Maharashtra
Department of Tribal Development.
Mantralaya. Mumbai-32.
through its Secretary.
2. Sub Divisional Oicer.
Pandharpur. Tq. Pandharpur.
Dist. Solapur
3. Scheduled Tribe Certiicate
Scrutiny Committee.
Pune.
Through its Member Secretary.
4. Supdt. of Post Olices, Solapur.
Sub Division inspector Posts.
Barshi, Solapur. ...Respondents.
——————
Mr. Saurabh P. Tandale a/w Jitendra Arun More & Onkar P. Ghatge for the
Petitioner.
Ms. Tejas J. Kapre, AGP for the Respondent-State.
——————
Coram : Sharmila U. Deshmukh &
Neeraj P. Dhote, JJ.
Date : October 5, 2026.
Harish 1 of 5
WP-3029-2025-1.doc
FINAL ORDER : (PER NEERAJ P. DHOTE, J.)
1. By consent of both the sides, heard inally at the admission stage.
2. Impugned in this writ Petition is the order dated 3 rd October 2024
passed by the Respondent No.3-Scrutiny Committee invalidating the
claim of the Petitioner towards ‘Thakar’-Scheduled Tribe.
3. The Petitioner is in the services of the Respondent No.4-Post
Oice. He claims to be belonging to the ‘Thakar’-Scheduled Tribe. His
caste certiicate as belonging to the ‘Thakar’-Scheduled Tribe came to
be referred for veriication to the Respondent No.3-Scrutiny
Committee. In support of his claim, the Petitioner relied on several
documents of his blood relatives from the paternal side. The Committee
referred the Petitioner's claim for vigilance inquiry. The vigilance inquiry
submitted its report. The Petitioner submitted the reply to the show
cause notice. Considering the documents on record, the impugned
order came to be passed by the Respondent No.3-Scrutiny Committee.
4. It is submitted by learned counsel for the Petitioner that, there is
no dispute about the genealogy. The Respondent No.3-Scrutiny
Committee, by diferent orders dated 3rd September 2024, invalidated
the Tribe claim as belonging to the ‘Thakar’-Scheduled Tribe of the
Harish 2 of 5
WP-3029-2025-1.doc
Petitioner's brother and sister. The said orders were challenged by the
Petitioner's brother and sister before this Court in Writ Petition Nos.
12900 of 2024 and 12899 of 2024 which came to be allowed and the
said orders invalidating their Tribe claim came to be quashed and set
aside, and the Respondent No.3-Scrutiny Committee is directed to issue
the validity certiicates to them as belonging to ‘Thakar’-Scheduled
Tribe. He tenders across the bar the copy of the common Order passed
in the said writ petition and the copies of the Orders invalidating the
Tribe claims of his brother and sister. He submits that as per the
relevant rules framed under the statute governing the tribe scrutiny
provides that, if the blood relative of the applicant from the paternal
side is having the validity certiicate, the validity certiicate is to be
issued to the applicant without any further proof. He submits that the
Petition be allowed in terms of its prayer clauses.
5. Learned AGP appearing for the Respondent Nos.1 to 3 submits
that no fault can be found with the impugned Order as the same is
based on the documents on record. She fairly submits that this Court set
aside the orders passed by the Respondent No.3-Scrutiny Committee
invalidating the tribe claim of the Petitioner's brother and sister.
6. Perusal of the impugned Order and the orders passed by the
Respondent No.3-Scrutiny Committee invalidating the tribe claim of the
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WP-3029-2025-1.doc
Petitioner's brother and sister goes to show that, the documents
submitted by the Petitioner and his siblings before the Respondent No.
3-Scrutiny Committee were the same and Respondent No.3-Scrutiny
Committee recorded the identical indings and gave identical reasons
invalidating the tribe claim of the Petitioner and his siblings. The
impugned Order is subsequent to the orders of the Respondent No.3-
Scrutiny Committee passed in the matters of the Petitioner's brother
and sister. This aspect is not disputed.
7. The perusal of the common order dated 24th June 2026 passed by
this Court in the aforesaid writ petition shows that, after hearing both
the sides and considering the material on record, this Court allowed the
said writ petition and directed issuance of the validity certiicates in
favour of the Petitioner's brother and sister. This being the undisputed
factual position, the Petitioner cannot be deprived of the validity
certiicate towards the ‘Thakar’-Scheduled Tribe. Hence, the following
order:
ORDER
a) The Writ Petition is allowed.
b) The impugned order dated 3rd October, 2024 passed by
Respondent No.3-Scrutiny Committee is quashed and set
aside.
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WP-3029-2025-1.doc
c) The Respondent No.3-Scrutiny Committee is directed to
issue the validity certiicate to the Petitioner as
belonging to the ‘Thakar’-Scheduled Tribe within a period
of two (2) weeks.
8. The Writ Petition stands disposed of accordingly.
[Neeraj P. Dhote, J.] [Sharmila U. Deshmukh, J.]
Harish 5 of 5
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