Hitesh Sapkale vs The State Of Maharashtra & Ors.

(PER NITIN B. SURYAWANSHI, J) :-

. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with consent of learned Advocates for the parties.

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This petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenges the decision of the Committee dated 03.08.2019, thereby invalidating the tribe claim of the petitioner as belonging to Tokre Koli, Scheduled Tribe.

Heard learned Advocate for the petitioner and learned A.G.P. for State assisted by learned Law Officer of the Committee. Perused the original record.

Before the Committee, the petitioner relied upon the validity certificate issued to his father, Ishwar Pundlik Sapkale by respondent no.2 – committee on 11.09.2007 and the validity certificate issued to his real uncle namely Mahesh Pundlik Sapkale dated 13.02.2006 by respondent no.2. Reliance is also placed on the validity certificate dated 09.06.2005 issued to Prakash Hari Sapkale, second cousin uncle of the petitioner. All the three certificate holders have filed affidavits in support of the claim of the petitioner.

The Committee has rejected the claim of the petitioner by observing that all along in the pre-constitutional documents, the caste of the petitioner’s blood relatives mentioned as “Koli, Hindu Koli, Hindu Suryawanshi, Hindu Suryawanshi Koli, Suryawanshi Koli and Hindu Suryawanshi Koli Backward. Caste Koli/Suryawanshi Koli is included in Special Backward Class in the year 1995. Prior to that the said castes were in Other Backward Class. These castes are, therefore, not included in the Scheduled Tribe.

The validity certificates issued in favour of father, real uncle and cousin uncle are discarded by the Committee on the reason that mentioning of the caste as Koli, Hindu Koli, Hindu Suryawanshi Koli, Suryawanshi Koli, Hindu Suryawanshi Koli Backward are suppressed by these persons while obtaining the validity certificates.

We called upon the Committee to verify whether any show-cause notices are issued to the validity holders referred above, the Committee could not produce any record to show that any show-cause notices are issued to the father, real uncle or cousin uncle of the petitioner.

In Writ Petition No.5611/2018, this Court at Principal Seat in similar facts has observed that, "mere issuance of a show-cause notice in the present case would not suffice for there are two certificates of validity relied upon. The only reason assigned in the impugned order to discard them, cannot be sustained". These observations are squarely applicable to the facts of the petitioner’s case.

In the light of the decision in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti Vs. The State of Maharashtra and Ors, 2023 SCC Online SC 326, if the blood relatives are granted validity certificates on the ground of parity, the petitioner is also entitled for the validity.

In the result, Writ Petition is allowed. The impugned order is quashed and set aside. The Respondent – Committee is directed to issue validity certificate to the petitioner that he belongs to Tokre Koli, Scheduled Tribe within a period of eight weeks from today.

Rule is made absolute in the above terms.