Writ Petition No. 8654 of 2016. Case: Dnyaneshwar Baliram Thakare Vs The State of Maharashtra and Ors.. High Court of Bombay (India)
| Case Number | Writ Petition No. 8654 of 2016 |
| Counsel | For Appellant: Mr. Vijay Killedar, Adv. and For Respondents: Ms. R.A. Salunkhe, A.G.P., Mr. Vishal Patil, Adv. |
| Judges | Naresh H. Patil & Dr. Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi, JJ. |
| Issue | Constitution of India - Article 226 |
| Judgement Date | April 25, 2017 |
| Court | High Court of Bombay (India) |
Judgment:
Dr. Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi, J.
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Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally, by consent of the parties.
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By this Petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, Petitioner is challenging the Judgment and Order dated 2nd April 2016 passed by the Caste Scrutiny Committee, Mumbai Division No.1, Konkan Bhavan, Navi Mumbai, thereby invalidating his Caste Certificate dated 1st December 2013 and directing initiation of criminal prosecution against him for producing false and fabricated evidence relating to his caste.
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Brief facts of the Petition are to the effect that, the Petitioner claims himself as belonging to "Hindu-Kunbi Caste", which is notified at Serial No.83 of the Government Resolution No.CBC-1467-M dated 13th October 1967, issued by Respondent No.1, to be "Other Backward Caste (OBC)".
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To substantiate his claim, the Petitioner has relied upon the school record of his uncle, namely, Shri. Vishnu Appa Thakare. According to him, in the School Leaving Certificate of his uncle Vishnu Appa Thakare, his caste is mentioned as "Kunbi" since prior to the date of 13th October 1967.
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On the basis of this caste claim, Petitioner contested the Election of Posari Village Panchayat. In the said Election, he was elected as a 'Member' and thereafter elected to be the 'Sarpanch' of the said Village Panchayat. Along with his nomination paper, he has produced the Caste Certificate as belonging to "Kunbi". Respondent Nos.4 and 5, however, contested the caste claim of the Petitioner by making complaint to the Caste Scrutiny Committee. As a result, when the Caste Certificate of the Petitioner was sent to the Caste Scrutiny Committee for validation, on the basis of the Vigilance Cell Report dated 14th January 2016, showing interpolation and overwriting in the caste column of the school record of the Petitioner's uncle Vishnu Appa Thakare, the Petitioner's Caste Certificate came to be invalidated by the impugned order dated 2nd April 2016. Being aggrieved by the same, the Petitioner has approached this Court.
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The submission of Mr. Vijay Killedar, learned counsel for the Petitioner, is to the effect that, in addition to the entry in General Register of the Z.P. School at Shirdon of the Petitioner's uncle Vishnu Appa Thakare, which was much prior to the relevant date of 13th October 1967, Petitioner is also having School Leaving Certificate of his uncle issued on 4th August 1999. In both these documents, the caste is mentioned as "Hindu-Kunbi". It is submitted that the Caste Scrutiny Committee has, however, ignored this material piece of evidence and solely relying on the Report of the...
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