Bombay High Court
SUNILKUMAR R GAHEversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
- Decided
- Disposal
- Disposed Off
- Bench
- M S KARNIKS M MODAK
Holding
The petitioner is entitled to a validity certificate confirming his belonging to the ‘Thakur’ Scheduled Tribe.
Summary
Sunilkumar Rameshwar Gathe filed a writ petition seeking a validity certificate confirming his belonging to the ‘Thakur’ Scheduled Tribe. The petitioner relied on a previously validated caste certificate issued to his son, Suyash Sunil Gathe, and submitted a genealogy verified by the Vigilance Cell to establish their father‑son relationship. The Court examined the three prerequisites laid down by the Supreme Court in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti v. State of Maharashtra for granting weight to a relative’s certificate, and applied the principle from Apoorva d/o Vinay Nichale v. Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee that a proven blood relationship obviates the need for a fresh enquiry. Relying on the Nagpur Bench’s earlier order in Suyash Sunil Gathe v. Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee (2023), the Court held that the petitioner satisfied the requirements. Consequently, the impugned order was quashed, and the Scrutiny Committee was directed to issue the validity certificate within four weeks. The petition was disposed of.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner can be granted a validity certificate for Scheduled Tribe status based on the certificate issued to his son and the established father‑son relationship.
- Whether the three prerequisites laid down by the Supreme Court for reliance on a relative’s certificate are satisfied.
Subjects
- Scheduled Tribe
- Caste Certificate
- Validity Certificate
- Genealogy
- Scrutiny Committee
- Tribal Welfare
- Supreme Court Guidelines
- Blood Relationship
Judgment
2026:BHC-AS:32439-FB
Bhogale 4.wp-9668-2007.odt
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.9668 OF 2007
Sunilkumar Rameshwar Gathe
Age 26 years, occ. Nil
r/o At & PO Asalgaon
Tq. Jalgaon Jamod
Dist. Buldhana … Petitioner
Versus
1. The State of Maharashtra
Dept. of Tribal Welfare,
Mantralaya, Mumbai
[Copy to be served on
Govt. Pleader, High Court
Building at Nagpur]
2. The Committee for Scrutiny &
Verification of Tribe Claims
Amravati – Through its Chairman
3. The Sub Divisional Officer
Jalgaon Jamod, Dist. Buldhana
4. The Maharashtra State Electricity Board
Through its Superintending Engineer
[Sanchalan & Suwyawastha Mandal]
Vidyut Bhavan, Chikhli Road
Buldhana, Dist. Buldhana.
5. The Collector,
Collectorate, Buldhana .… Respondents
****
Adv. R. K. Mendadkar, for the petitioner.
Mr. N. C. Walimbe, Addl.G.P. a/w Smt. R. M. Shinde, AGP for the
respondent-State.
****
1
Bhogale 4.wp-9668-2007.odt
CORAM : M. S. KARNIK &
S. M. MODAK, JJ.
DATE : 6th AUGUST 2026
ORAL JUDGMENT (PER M. S. KARNIK, J.) :
1. Heard learned counsel for the parties.
2. Learned Additional Government Pleader for the
respondent-State submitted that for verifying father and son
relationship between the petitioner–Sunil and his son-Suyash, the
matter may be remitted back to the Scrutiny Committee. This was
on the basis of the decision of the Nagpur Bench of this Court in
Suyash Sunil Gathe vs. The Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate
Scrutiny Committee in Writ Petition No.2411 of 2023 dated
04/08/2023, whereby the claim of Suyash Sunil Gathe as
belonging to ‘Thakur’ Scheduled Tribe has been validated by a
reasoned order passed by this Court.
3. The petitioner has filed an additional affidavit dated
03/08/2026, wherein he has referred to the genealogy which was
produced before the Scrutiny Committee when the claim of his son
Suyash Sunil Gathe was being verified. The genealogy has been
verified by the Vigilance Cell. In the said genealogy Suyash is
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Bhogale 4.wp-9668-2007.odt
shown to be the son of the petitioner herein, that is Sunil. In such
view of the matter, since the validity certificate has been issued in
favour of the petitioner’s son Suyash, in view of the law laid down
by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur
Jamat Swarakshan Samiti vs. State of Maharashtra and Others 1 the
following three prerequisites have to be satisfied while giving
weightage to the certificate of validity issued in favour of the close
blood relative:-
(i) The applicant must establish a clear and specific
relationship with the person in whose favour the validity
certificate has been issued;
(ii) The Scrutiny Committee must verify whether the
validity certificate was granted to the applicant’s blood
relative after due enquiry and in accordance with prescribed
procedure; and
(iii) The Scrutiny Committee must ascertain the
genuineness of the validity certificate relied upon.
4. This Court in Apoorva d/o Vinay Nichale vs. Divisional
Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee No.1 and others2 has, in
paragraph 4 held thus :-
“4. We have considered the matter and we are of the
view that the petitioner's caste claim that she belongs to
Kanjar Bhat-Nomadic Tribe ought to have been accepted by
the Committee merely on the basis that identical caste claim
1 (2023) 16 SCC 415
2 2010(6) Mh.L.J. 401
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Bhogale 4.wp-9668-2007.odt
of her sister that she belongs to Kanjar Bhat has been allowed
by the Committee, even apart from the Government
Resolution. We are of the opinion that the guidelines
provided by the said Govt. Resolution are sound and based on
sound principles. It would indeed be chaotic otherwise. If the
relationship by blood is established or not doubted, and one
such relative has been confirmed as belonging to a particular
caste, there is no reason why public time or money should be
spent in the committee testing the same evidence and making
the same conclusion unless of course the Committee finds on
the evidence that the validity of the certificate of such
relation has been obtained by fraud.”
5. For the very same reasons recorded in the order dated
04/08/2023 passed by the Nagpur Bench of this Court in Writ
Petition No.2411 of 2023 in Suyash Sunil Gathe vs. The Scheduled
Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee, the present writ
petition also deserves to be allowed. Accordingly, the impugned
order is quashed and set aside. It is declared that the petitioner has
proved that he belongs to ‘Thakur’ Scheduled Tribe. The Scrutiny
Committee is directed to issue the validity certificate to the
petitioner within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of
this order.
6. The writ petition is disposed of.
(S. M. MODAK, J.) (M. S. KARNIK, J.)
Signed by: Pradnya Bhogale
Designation: PA To Honourable Judge
Date: 06/08/2026 19:51:25 4
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