NITIN PRAKASH PUND Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are claiming that they belong to the Scheduled Tribe "Koli Mahadev". They are aggrieved by the order dated 14 th June 2022 by which the Sub-Divisional Officer of Vita within the district of Sangli dismissed the application for Caste Certificate to the petitioner nos.2 and 3 who are the sons of the petitioner no.1 on the ground that they did not furnish any pre-1950 document and their application for the Caste Certificate for the purpose of education was not supported by any Caste Validity Certificate of their family members. The Appeal moved by the petitioners before the Scheduled Tribes Caste Scrutiny Committee was also rejected by an order dated 9 th February 2023 observing that it was for the petitioners to prove that they belong to "Koli Mahadev" but they failed to discharge the burden by producing any pre-1950 document.

(2.) In the order dtd. 14/6/2022, the Sub-Divisional Officer held as under:

(3.) The Scheduled Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee while dismissing the statutory Appeal preferred by the petitioners observed as under: