Judgment 1 WP6147of 2022.odt

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY,

NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.

WRIT PETITION NO.6147 OF 2022

Pramod s/o Mukund Sorte,

aged about 48 years,

Occ. Service as Meteorologist-A,

Resident of 126, Ma Bhagwati Nagar,

Near Shesh Nagar, Chikhli (Khurd),

Manewada, Nagpur. …..PETITIONER

Versus

1.State of Maharashtra

through its Secretary,

Ministry of Social Justice and

Tribal Welfare Department,

Mantralaya, Mumbai-400032.

2. Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate

Scrutiny Committee, Chandrapur

through its Deputy Director/Member -Secretary.

3. Government of India,

India Meteorological Department,

through its Director General

and Disciplinary Authority,

having its office at O/o Director General 2026:BHC-NAG:52-DB

Judgment 2 WP6147of 2022.odt

of Meteorology, Mousam Bhavan,

Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 ….RESPONDENTS

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shri Anil S. Mardikar, Sr. Counsel a/b Ms. Vedika Thakre,

Adv. for the Petitioner.

Ms. K.S. Bhondge, AGP for Respondent Nos. 1 and 2.

Mrs. M.R. Chandurkar, Advocate for Respondent No. 3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CORAM :MRS. M. S. JAWALKAR AND

M.W. CHANDWANI, JJ.

DATE O F RESERVING THE JUDGMENT : 16 . 12.2025

DATE OF PRONOUNCING THE JUDGMENT : 05. 01.2026

JUDGMENT:-(Per:–Smt. M. S. JAWALKAR, J.)

1) RULE. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard

finally by consent of learned Counsel for the respective

parties.

2) By this Petition, the Petitioner is challenging

the impugned order dated 22/06/2022 passed by

Respondent No. 2- Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate

Scrutiny Committee, Chandrapur (hereinafter referred to

as “the Caste Scrutiny Committee”) whereby the tribe

claim of the Petitioner of belonging to Halba Scheduled

Tribe came to be invalidated.

Judgment 3 WP6147of 2022.odt

3) The facts giving rise for filing of the present

Writ Petition are as under:-

4) The Petitioner was appointed as Senior

Observer by the Respondent No.3 on 22/04/1998. He was

confirmed in service on 15/10/2003 and promoted to the

post of Assistant Meteorologist Grade-II on 29/12/2015.

For verification of his Scheduled Tribe claim, the Petitioner

submitted his claim with supporting documents before the

Respondent No. 2 – Caste Scrutiny Committee. Owing to

non-production of a validity certificate, his services were

terminated, as a result of which, he had filed Writ Petition

No. 5331/2018 before this Court. Thereafter, by judgment

dated 18/12/2018, this Court quashed the termination

order of the Petitioner and directed his reinstatement till

final decision of the caste claim, leaving the issue of back

wages open. Thereafter, the Caste Scrutiny Committee,

intially in the process, called Vigilance Cell’s Report and

obtained three Koshti entries for the years 1943, 1951 and

Judgment 4 WP6147of 2022.odt

1957 and again invalidated the tribe claim of the

Petitioner. The Petitioner again approached this Court by

way of Writ Petition No. 8168/2019. This Court, vide

judgment and order dated 16/11/2021, again remanded

the matter back to the Caste Scrutiny Committee.

According to the Petitioner, after remand of the matter, the

Caste Scrutiny Committee, without proper verification of

the oldest entry of 1930 and only on the basis of the

communication from the Imprisonment Department of

Government of Maharashtra, once again invalidated the

tribe claim of the Petitioner vide order dated 22/06/2022.

The said order dated 22/06/2022 is the subject matter of

challenge in this Petition.

5) Shri Anil S. Mardikar, learned Senior Counsel

for the Petitioner submitted that the Petitioner’s

grandfather, Waktu, was a freedom fighter who was

imprisoned in Chandrapur District Prison on 08.10.1930.

The imprisonment certificate issued by the Superintendent

records the caste as “Halbi” and constitutes the oldest pre-

Judgment 5 WP6147of 2022.odt

constitutional document on record. The Petitioner also

produced additional documentary evidence, as listed in

the table below:-

Sr

No

Document

Type

Name on the

document

Rel’on

with

Petitioner

Tribe Date on

the docs

1.Imprisonment

Certificate

Waktu Lodia

Halbi

Grand

father

Halbi6.10.1930

2.College

leaving

certificate

Pramod

Mukunda

Sorte

PetitionerHalba7.07.1994

3.School

leaving

certificate

Mukunda

Waktoo Sorte

Father Halba24.9.1979

4.Primary

School

leaving

certificate

Mukunda

Waktoo Sorte

Father Halba6.05.1961

5.Caste

certificate

Mukunda

Waktoo Sorte

Father Halba19.7.1980

6) Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner

submitted that the Petitioner’s Scheduled Tribe claim was

initially invalidated by the Scrutiny Committee by order

dated 25/11/2019, primarily relying on certain Koshti

entries traced by the Vigilance Cell while ignoring

consistent documentary evidence, including the crucial

1930 imprisonment certificate.

Judgment 6 WP6147of 2022.odt

7) Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner

submits that despite remand, the Scrutiny Committee

failed to conduct a fresh Vigilance Cell inquiry and merely

sought a communication from prison authorities stating

that the original 1930 record was untraceable. The

imprisonment certificate was neither found false nor

doubtful, yet was discarded solely on this ground. Ignoring

the directions of this Court at the time of remand, the

Committee again relied on the same Koshti entries of

1943, 1950–51, 1957 and 1958, rejected the pre-

constitutional 1930 Halbi entry without reasons and

passed the impugned order dated 22/06/2022 invalidating

the claim of the Petitioner.

8) It is the contention of the Petitioner that the

impugned order was vitiated for non-compliance of the

provisions of the Maharashtra Scheduled Tribes

(Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste

Certificate Rules, 2003, inasmuch as, no fresh vigilance

Judgment 7 WP6147of 2022.odt

enquiry was conducted after remand, despite production

of additional and crucial evidence.

9) It is further submitted that the Caste Scrutiny

Committee relied on the documents collected by itself but

supplied an illegible and untranslated form to the

Petitioner thereby denying effective opportunity of rebuttal

and violated the principles of natural justice. Reliance on

the Koshti entries is legally impermissible, the last such

entry being of 1958, beyond the deemed date. Certified

revenue records show no caste entry for 1949–50 in

respect of Waktu Lodia, and the sudden appearance of

Koshti entries in 1950–51 and 1951–52, recorded in

identical handwriting, raises serious doubt of

manipulation, as confirmed by the Village Development

Officer’s certificate dated 21.09.2019.

10) It is also submitted that the alleged school

entry dated 12.09.1943 in the name of Kisandas Waktu

has been categorically denied by the Head Master, Zilla

Judgment 8 WP6147of 2022.odt

Parishad Primary School, Khed (Makta), who certified that

no such entry exists and that relied-upon extract is

unauthenticated and unreliable.

11) Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner, in

support of his contentions, relied on the following

citations-

a) Writ Petition No. 1710 of 2018 (Vijay

Wasudeo Gadikar Vs Scheduled tribe Scrutiny

committee and others);

b) Writ Petition No. 5164 of 2022 (Vinayak

Marotrao Mahajan Vs Scheduled Tribe Caste

Certificates Scrutiny Committee and others);

c)Writ Petition no. 5095 of 2021 (Dr.

Parasram Kisan Nanadankar VS Vice Chairman,

Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny

Committee and others);

d)Writ Petition No. 7256/2024 (Saurav

Sunilkumar Katole VS Scheduled Tribe Caste

Certicate Scrutiny Committee) and

e)Writ Petition No. 2363 of 2024 (Sunil

Gunwantrao Headoo Vs Scheduled tribe Caste

Certicate Scrutiny Committee and others)

Judgment 9 WP6147of 2022.odt

12) Per contra, learned AGP for the Respondent

Nos. 1 & 2 submitted that upon receipt of the verification

proposal on 18.02.2019, the Scrutiny Committee

conducted a detailed enquiry as per the Act and Rules,

including a Vigilance Cell investigation. On the basis of the

documentary evidence and Vigilance Cell report, the

Petitioner’s “Halba” Scheduled Tribe certificate dated

13.06.1990 was found to be illegally obtained, confiscated,

and directions were issued for withdrawal of service

benefits and initiation of action under the Maharashtra

Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-Notified Tribes,

(Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes

and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance

and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000.

13) It is further contended that pursuant to the

remand by this Court to consider the 1930 imprisonment

certificate, a re-vigilance enquiry was conducted, during

which, the jail authorities reported that the original record

was untraceable. The Committee also relied on adverse

Judgment 10 WP6147of 2022.odt

“Koshti” entries of blood relatives, including a school

record of 1943. Despite several opportunities, the

Petitioner failed to produce any reliable pre-constitutional

document in support of his Halba Scheduled Tribe claim.

The table below enlists the adverse entries against the

Petitioner –

Sr.

No

Document

type

Name on

the

doc’nt

Relation

with the

Petitioner

Tribe Date

1.Tax assessment

register

Waktu

Rolu

GrandfatherKoshti31.03.1950

2.School

affidavit

Kisandas

Waktu

Uncle Koshti12.09.1943

3.Birth

Register

extract

Kisandas

Waktu

Uncle Koshti05.04.1951

4.Kotwal

panji

Waktu

Rolu

having a

female

child Mira

Aunt Koshti07.08.1958

14) Learned AGP for the respondent Nos. 1 and 2, in

support of her contentions, relied on the following citations-

a)Maroti Vyankti Gaikwad Vs Deputy

Director and Member Sccretary The Scheduled

Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee,

2023(6) ABR 419.

Judgment 11 WP6147of 2022.odt

b)Writ Petition No 2871 of 2024, Sakshi

Govindrao Narnaware Vs The Scheduled Tribe

Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee.

15) Learned counsel for Respondent No. 3

submitted that the Petitioner was appointed as Senior

Observer on 22.04.1998 against a Scheduled Tribe vacancy

on the basis of his claim “Halba” status. In view of the

directions issued by this Court in Writ Petition No.

275/2016 and the law laid down in the judgment of

Kumari Madhuri Patil vs Additional Commissioner, 1994

SCC (6) 241, it was mandatory for the Petitioner to obtain

caste validity from the competent Scrutiny Committee.

16) It is also brought to our attention that despite

repeated directions, the Petitioner failed to secure a validity

certificate, compelling the Respondent No. 3 to initiate

disciplinary proceedings under the CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965,

resulting in dismissal of the Petitioner from service.

Although the dismissal was quashed by this Court on

18.12.2018 in Writ Petition No. 5331/2018, liberty was

Judgment 12 WP6147of 2022.odt

expressly reserved to the employer to take appropriate

action upon invalidation of the caste claim.

17) Heard learned Counsel for the respective

parties at length, perused the documents placed on record

and relied on the citations relied on by both the parties.

18) It is a matter of record that in the first round of

litigation, this Court though observed that the order cannot

be faulted with, however, in view of the new document

produced by the Claimant, the matter was remitted back to

the Caste Scrutiny Committee to verify the document

placed by the Claimant on record i.e. the certificate of

imprisonment issued in respect of Shri Waktu S/o Lodia

Halbi, grandfather of the Petitioner. The Caste Scrutiny

Committee was directed to verify this document after

supplying it to the vigilance cell along with the other

documents. There is only document which is produced in

the Writ Petition later on placed on record before the Caste

Scrutiny Committee was the certificate of imprisonment

Judgment 13 WP6147of 2022.odt

issued by the Superintendent, Chandrapur District Prison.

Copy of the said certificate was issued on 24/12/1966.

This certificate was given to Kashibai W/o Lodia. It appears

that it was issued in pursuance to her Application dated

07/12/1966.

19) It is the contention of the Petitioner that said

Waktu Lodia is shown as ‘Halbi’ in the certificate. The

mention of the word ‘Halbi’ is not clear, but on reading, it

appears to be ‘Halbri’. Learned Senior Counsel for the

Petitioner placed on record the magnified copy of the

words ‘Lodia Halbi’. It is the contention of the learned

Senior Counsel for the Petitioner that there is a mistake in

spelling, however, it is ‘Halbi’.

20) On perusal of the certificate issued by Tahsildar,

Brahmapuri (record page 73), it appears that Kashibai W/o

Waktu Sorte shown as resident of Kharbi. The copy is

supplied to Kashibai W/o Lodia. She is resident of Kharbi,

Brahmapuri, District Chandola. The other entries which the

Judgment 14 WP6147of 2022.odt

Caste Scrutiny Committee had not relied on, as all are

pertaining to post 1957 showing the caste of the relatives

of the Petitioner as ‘Halba’. The Caste Scrutiny Committee

collected documents showing the caste of the Petitioner’s

predecessor as ‘Koshti’. Those are of the years 1943, 1951

and 1958. Similarly, the Caste Scrutiny Committee relied

on the document of 1943 which is affidavit filed by Waktu,

father of Kisandas shown in the affidavit as ‘Koshti’.

Similarly, in the documents of 1951 and 1958, the caste of

the fore-father of the Petitioner is shown as ‘Koshti’.

21) It is the contention of the Caste Scrutiny

Committee that subsequent to 1950, in the school record,

deliberately the caste is shown as ‘Halba’ by the ancestors

of the Petitioner suppressing the fact that they have shown

themselves as ‘Koshti’. However, in our considered opinion,

the Vigilance Cell has not taken proper efforts to verify the

document filed subsequently of 1930. Though the copy of

the certificate was issued on 24/12/1966 bearing No.

4044/1966, the same was forwarded to Smt. Kashibai W/o

Judgment 15 WP6147of 2022.odt

Lodia at Kharbi. Thus, the two dates are relevant in the

said certificate i.e. 24/12/1966 and the date of the

Application i.e. 07/12/1966. The said document though

showing Waktu S/o Lodia Halbi, the spelling of Halbi is not

as per the pronunciation, there is one letter ‘r’ after the

letter ‘b’. If the Vigilance Cell succeeds in getting the record

of the Outward number of 1966, they may get the entry of

the certificate, if at all, it is issued by the Superintendent,

Chandrapur District Prison. Otherwise, the entry is of caste

Koshti of 1943. If the copy of the certificate is issued in

1966, the record of the same ought to be there in the office

of the Chandrapur District Prison.

22) As such, we are of the considered opinion that

the matter needs to be remitted back to the Caste Scrutiny

Committee. As we are proposing to remand the matter

back to the Caste Scrutiny Committee, the citations relied

upon by the parties do not require any discussion.

23) Hence, we proceed to pass following order:-

Judgment 16 WP6147of 2022.odt

O R D E R

(a) The Writ Petition is partly allowed.

(b)The impugned order dated 22/06/2022 passed

by the Respondent No. 2 – Scheduled Tribe Caste

Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Chandrapur in Case

No. JC/TCSC/GAD/III/20/34/2019 is hereby

quashed and set aside.

(c)The matter is remitted back to the Respondent

No. 2 – Caste Scrutiny Committee for taking

necessary steps to verify the certificate dated

24/12/1966 by conducting vigilance and directing

the Vigilance Cell to conduct an enquiry with

reference to the dates mentioned in the copy of the

aforesaid certificate. This exercise shall be done

within a period of eight weeks.

The Writ Petition stands disposed of in the above

terms. Pending Application(s), if any, stand(s) disposed of.

(M.W.CHANDWANI, J.) (SMT. M.S.JAWALKAR, J.)

Ansari