PRAVIN NARAYAN DEVARE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. By consent heard forthwith.

(2.) The petitioner by the present petition seeks to impugn the order of the Divisional Caste Certificate Verification Committee No. 3, Mumbai Suburban and the order dated 24th August, 2009. By the said order the learned Committee cancelled the certificate issued in favour of the petitioner as belonging to Caste "Sutar" as he was not able to establish the same. It is this order which is the subject matter of the present Petition.

(3.) The State of Maharashtra had issued a Notification listing the Other Backward Class. Under Entry No. 174 is the Entry of 'Sutar' and under Entry No. 182 is shown the caste 'Mali' with various sub-castes including 'Panchkalsi'. The law of reading the entries in such Notification is settled by the judgment of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in State of Maharashtra vs. Milind and ors., 2001 1 SCC 4, where the Constitution Bench reiterated the view earlier taken that it is not possible to amend the order issued under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution by the State Government and further it is not possible to adduce evidence nor an enquiry can be made that the particular caste or part or group within tribes or tribe is included in Presidential Order if they are not expressly included in the Orders. Though the said Constitution Bench judgment is in the context of orders issued pursuant to the powers to be exercised under Article 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India, in our opinion the same would also apply to a Notification issued by the State Government setting out the caste or sub-caste which is entitled to reservation amongst others. It is for the State Government to include or exclude caste or sub-caste or Tribes from the list of Other Backward Class notified by it. In other words it will not be possible for a Court to make an enquiry or permit leading of evidence to show that a caste or sub-caste not referred to in the Notification forms part of the caste not already shown in the Notification. We may only refer to the following observation in Milind and ors. (supra):