The Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench has quashed orders of the Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Yavatmal, which had invalidated the ‘Halbi’ Scheduled Tribe claims of 19-year-old student and his father.
A division bench of Justices M.S. Jawalkar and Pravin S. Patil noted that the petitioners had produced multiple pre-constitutional documents from 1915, 1936, 1938, 1942, and 1944 showing their paternal ancestors recorded as ‘Halbi’. The Court observed that the Committee had given undue weight to later documents and to the father’s previously surrendered “Halba Koshti” Special Backward Class certificate, while ignoring old verified records and the fact that the petitioner’s real brother had already been granted a ‘Halbi’ validity in 2019.
Citing precedents such as Apoorva Vinay Nichale and Priya Pravin Parate, 2010 (6) Mh.L.J, the bench emphasised that caste validity granted to a blood relative on the same evidence cannot be lightly disregarded, and that “Halbi Koshti” entries linked to weaving profession do not negate Scheduled Tribe status. The Court found the Committee’s findings perverse and unsustainable, and ordered issuance of validity certificates within two weeks.
The ruling affirms that both petitioners “duly established” their belonging to the ‘Halbi’ Scheduled Tribe, allowing them to rely on the judgment until formal certificates are issued.
Appearances:
Shri Anil Mardikar, Senior Advocate a/w Shri Ashwin Deshpande, Advocate for petitioners
Shri P.P. Pendke, AGP for respondent/State in both petitions
Shri V.M. Kulsange, Advocate for respondent No.3 in W.P. No. 7257/2024