SHAMRAO TUKARAM NAIK Vs. DEVCHAND COLLEGE ARJUNNAGAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner admittedly hails from Mattiwade in Hukkeri Taluka, Belgaon District in Karnataka State. He has been appointed as lecturer in Devchand College, Arjunnagar, Taluka Kagal, District: Kolhapur in the year 1978 against the post reserved for N. T. candidate after he completed his post graduation. It is petitioners case that he was confirmed in the said post in Junior College by order dated 15-10-1984. The petitioners appointment and confirmation in Junior College is said to have been approved by the Deputy Director of Education. Thereafter in the year 1992, the petitioner was appointed in the senior wing of the first respondent college. That post was too reserved for N. T. candidate. In the appointment order dated 14-7-1992 whereby the petitioner was appointed in the senior wing of first respondent college, an endorsement was made that his appointment was on temporary basis and approval was granted only for the academic year 1992-93. It was also clarified that since the petitioner hails from Karnataka he cannot take advantage of reservation of Maharashtra State. Thereafter, for the academic year 1993-94, the Selection Committee found the petitioner suitable for appointment to the post of lecturer in English in the senior wing. However, one of the members of the said Committee representing university put up a remark against the petitioners name that he was not eligible for being treated as N. T. candidate in Maharashtra and should be treated as an open category candidate. The petitioner is aggrieved by the endorsement contained in the appointment letter dated 14-7-1992 to the extent the endorsement was made that petitioner was not entitled to any benefit of reservation in Maharashtra State and the report of the Selection Committee dated 10-6-1993 wherein a remark has been put up by the representative of the university against the name of the petitioner that he was not eligible for being treated as N. T. candidate in Maharashtra and should be treated as open category candidate. By this writ petition, the petitioner prays for declaration that he was lawfully appointed as a candidate belonging to the backward category in the seat reserved for the N. T. candidate and direction to respondents 3 and 4 to recognise and approve the appointment of the petitioner in the post of lecturer in English in that category.

(2.) MR. R. S. Apte, learned Counsel for the petitioner, urged before us that the petitioner hails from Mattiwade, in Hukkeri Taluka in Belgaon District, State of Karnataka which was earlier part of Province State of Bombay before the State Re-organisation in 1956 on linguistic basis. The learned Counsel submitted that the petitioner belongs to Berad Denotified Tribe (Vimukta Jati) which is backward tribe both in the State of Maharashtra as well as State of Karnataka and, therefore, the petitioner is entitled to the benefit of reservation under Government Resolution dated 21-11-1961. In support of his submission, he relied upon the Constitution Bench judgment of the Apex Court in action Committee on issue of castes certificate to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the (State of Maharashtra and another v. Union of India and another) 1994 (5) S. C. C. 244.

(3.) ON the other hand, the learned A. G. P. submitted that the judgment of the Apex Court in action Committee (supra) does not support the case of the petitioner at all and rather, on the basis of the law laid down by the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court in (Marri Chandra Shekhar Rao v. Dean, Seth G. S. Medical College) 1990 (3) S. C. C. 130, and the judgment in action committee (cited supra) which has affirmed and followed Marri Chandra, the petitioners contention is wholly and squarely negated.