SHRIKANT MADHUKAR PANADI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner claims to belong to Scheduled Tribes by name "Mannerwarlu". The petitioner states that mannerwarlu community was migrated from Andhra Pradesh many decades ago in search of food and employment. The petitioner applied to the Dean of the Miraj Medical College Miraj for a seat from the reserve quota from Scheduled Tribes. The petitioner was selected provisionally subject to the condition that his caste certificate shall be sent to the scrutiny committee appointed by the State of Maharashtra for verification of his caste or tribe. However, ultimately the petitioner took admission for engineering course in Walchand college of Engineering Sangli and at the time of filing of the petition the petitioner was studying for the 4th year of the engineering course.

(2.) THE scrutiny of the caste of the petitioner was undertaken by the Directorate Social Welfare, Maharashtra State, Pune. The petitioner was interviewed by the committee on 20.8.1983. After considering the documents produced by the petitioner and replies given by the petitioner to the questions and also personal interview of the petitioner, the committee came to the conclusion that the candidate does not belong to either Kolam or Mannerwarlu tribe. The committee's conclusion was based on the following facts:

(3.) WE have heard Shri Deshpande learned counsel for the petitioner and Shri Zambre AGP for the respondents. It is relevant to notice that so far as Maharashtra is concerned for the first time by Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act,1976, entry 27 mentioning 'Kolam Mannerwarlu' was inserted. The Apex Court in the matter of Kumari Madhuri Patil and another vs. Addl.Commissioner Tribal Development and ors. reported in (1994) 6 Supreme Court Cases 241 has observed that entries in the school register preceding the Constitution do furnish great probative value to the declaration of the status of a caste. It is also observed in the said case that the High Court should not act as a court of appeal to appreciate the evidence. The committee which is empowered to evaluate the evidence placed before it when records a finding of fact, it ought to prevail unless found vitiated by judicial review of any High Court subject to limitations of interference with findings of fact. Considered in this light it is clear that all prior record shows that the petitioner is Hindu Telgu and in fact does not belong to backward class. The change in the school record of Sidheswar High School Solapur showing him as belonging mannerwarlu was brought about by an order in the year 1978 while Mannerwarlu was included in Scheduled Tribe at srl no. 27 by Amending Act on 20.9.1976. On consideration of all the facts coupled with the reasoning given by both the authorities below, we do not find any justification at all to disagree with the ultimate finding recorded by both the authorities concurrently. In the result petition fails and Rule is discharged with no order as to costs.