- (1.) Leave granted. The appellants are Suchita and Madhuri, daughters of Laxman Pandurang Patil. Their grandfather was Pandurang Patil. Laxman Patil was admitted in the school in the year 1943. In his school admission register and his school and college certificates his caste was shown as "Hindu-Koli". Suchita had applied through her father, Laxman Patil to the Tahsildar, Andheri on November 30, 1989 for issuance of caste certificate as "Mahadeo Koli" a Scheduled Tribe. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Bombay a Sub-Urban Dist. by his proceeding dated June 22, 1989 refused to issue caste certificate sought for by Ms. Suchita and informed her that she was not a Scheduled Tribe "Mahadeo Koli". She filed an appeal before the Addl. Commissioner, Konkan Division, Bombay. As she had applied for admission into the M.B.B.S. course and the time for her admission was running out, she filed Writ Petition No. 3516 of 1990 in the High Court to direct the Addl. Commissioner to dispose of her appeal and to further direct to the Dean of D.Y.C. Naik Medical College to permit her to appear for interview and admit her in the college if she was found fit. It is not in dispute that she filed a copy of the judgment in Subhash Ganpatrao Kabade v. State of Maharashtra (Writ Petition No. 438 of 1985), wherein 'Koli' was held to be 'Mahadeo Koli', before the Addl. Commissioner and also in the High Court. Because of the directions of the High Court she was admitted in the M.B.B.S. course and she is continuing here studies. The Addl. Commissioner directed the Tahsildar to issue the certificate and accordingly issued to Miss Suchita the certificate as Scheduled Tribe. Miss Suchita applied to the Verification Committee for confirmation of her status as Scheduled Tribe. Madhuri applied for the issuance of Scheduled Tribe certificate before the Divisional Executive Magistrate, Greater Bombay, enclosing the order passed by the High Court in Writ Petition No. 3516 of 1990, dated December 4, 1990, in favour of her sister Suchita, which was issued on August 23, 1990 declaring her status to be "Mahadeo Koli'' and then she got the admission into B.D.S. in the year 1992. Thereafter, she applied to the Verification Committee for confirmation. The proceeding by the Verification Committee was jointly conducted into the claims of the appellants, initiated on December 8, 1989, the father of the appellants was called upon to furnish in the prescribed form the detailed information regarding his family back-ground, ancestry; and anthropology of "Mahadeo Koli'', Scheduled Tribe, to verify the veracity of his claim of status as S.T.
(2.) Mahadeo Koli was declared to be a Scheduled Tribe by Bombay Province as early as 1933 and the President of India declared in 1950 under Art. 342, in consultation with the Govt. of Bombay (Maharashtra) and as amended from time to time. Laxman submitted the particulars along with his school and college certificates, Junior College Certificate and school certificates of the appellants, the certificates of his sister and appellants' maternal aunt, Jyotsana Pandurang Patil dated March 3, 1978 and maternal uncle Balakrishna Pandurang Naik dated October 22, 1954 and a statement by the Caste Association. The Committee in their order dated June 26, 1992 considered the entire evidence placed before them, the particulars furnished by their father in the proforma on their ancestry and other anthropological particulars and after hearing their counsel, found that the appellants are "Koli'' by caste which is recognised as Other Backward Class, i.e. O.B.C. in the State and that they are not 'Mahadeo Koli', the Scheduled Tribe and their claim for that social status was accordingly declared untenable. The certificates issued by the respective Executive Magistrates were cancelled and confiscated. Their appeal provided under the Rules too was heard by the Addl. Commissioner in Caste Appeal No. 11 of 1992 who by an elaborate order dated April 30, 1993 found that the certificate issued in favour of Balakrishna Pandurang Naik, maternal uncle, was from a Magistrate, Greater Bombay, who had no jurisdiction and was issued social status certificate without proper scrutiny. The certificate issued to Jyotsana by the Judicial Magistrate was on the basis of the school leaving certificate, ration card etc. and that, therefore, it does not provide any probative value to their status as Scheduled Tribe, the entries in school and college certificates of the appellants are not conclusive.
(3.) It is obvious that Judicial Magistrate has no jurisdiction to issue caste certificate and it is a void certificate. The entries in the school certificate of the father of the appellants, Laxman Patil, being pre-independence period, it bears "great probative value" wherein he declared himself to be "Hindu Koli'' which is now recognised as a backward class. The caste-affirmation certificate issued by the Samaj "Caste Association'' consists of these very communities who seek to get the status as Scheduled Tribes. It also does not, therefore, bear any probative value. School certificates and college certificates in favour of the appellants are the subject of enquiry, therefore, do not bear any value and independently their status is to be considered.;