(1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Mahadeo Koli was declared to be a Scheduled Tribe by Bombay Province as early as 1933 and the President of India declared in 1950 under Art. 342, in consultation with the Govt. of Bombay (Maharashtra) and as amended from time to time. Laxman submitted the particulars along with his school and college certificates, Junior College Certificate and school certificates of the appellants, the certificates of his sister and appellants' maternal aunt, Jyotsana Pandurang Patil dated March 3, 1978 and maternal uncle Balakrishna Pandurang Naik dated October 22, 1954 and a statement by the Caste Association. The Committee in their order dated June 26, 1992 considered the entire evidence placed before them, the particulars furnished by their father in the proforma on their ancestry and other anthropological particulars and after hearing their counsel, found that the appellants are "Koli'' by caste which is recognised as Other Backward Class, i.e. O.B.C. in the State and that they are not 'Mahadeo Koli', the Scheduled Tribe and their claim for that social status was accordingly declared untenable. The certificates issued by the respective Executive Magistrates were cancelled and confiscated. Their appeal provided under the Rules too was heard by the Addl. Commissioner in Caste Appeal No. 11 of 1992 who by an elaborate order dated April 30, 1993 found that the certificate issued in favour of Balakrishna Pandurang Naik, maternal uncle, was from a Magistrate, Greater Bombay, who had no jurisdiction and was issued social status certificate without proper scrutiny. The certificate issued to Jyotsana by the Judicial Magistrate was on the basis of the school leaving certificate, ration card etc. and that, therefore, it does not provide any probative value to their status as Scheduled Tribe, the entries in school and college certificates of the appellants are not conclusive.
(3.) It is obvious that Judicial Magistrate has no jurisdiction to issue caste certificate and it is a void certificate. The entries in the school certificate of the father of the appellants, Laxman Patil, being pre-independence period, it bears "great probative value" wherein he declared himself to be "Hindu Koli'' which is now recognised as a backward class. The caste-affirmation certificate issued by the Samaj "Caste Association'' consists of these very communities who seek to get the status as Scheduled Tribes. It also does not, therefore, bear any probative value. School certificates and college certificates in favour of the appellants are the subject of enquiry, therefore, do not bear any value and independently their status is to be considered.