VENU Vs. DISTRICT LEVEL CASTE VERIFICATION COMMITTEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ appeals have been preferred by the appellants being aggrieved by the order of the learned Single Judge dated 08.03.2017 in W.P.No.63960/2010 and W.P.No.64158/2010 respectively disposing the writ petitions filed by the appellants with a direction to appear before the Committee within a period of four weeks.

(2.) We have heard Sri F.V.Patil, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the appellants and Sri C.Jagadish, learned Special Counsel for respondents 1, 3 and 4 and we have also heard Smt.Anuradha Deshpande, learned counsel for respondent No.2.

(3.) The contention of the appellants is that they belong to Hindu Valmiki community and their school records also indicate that they belong to Hindu Valmiki community and thereafter they filed applications for appointment to the post of Peon in Railway Divisional Office at Hubballi and they were appointed to the said posts under the said category on 22.04.1999. It is their further submission that the appellants produced the caste certificates issued by the Tahsildar to show that they belong to Hindu Valmiki community which comes within the Schedule Tribe. The authorities sent the caste certificate produced by the appellants for validation before the 1st respondent. The 1st respondent on verification of the records held that the appellants belong to Hindu Valmiki community and it has been classified as Schedule Tribe and issued validation certificates. It is further submitted that the appellants were promoted as Junior Clerks and working in the department of respondent No.2 over a period of eight years. Then, thereafter an order was issued to review and accordingly the said order has been reviewed and the caste validation certification issued on 16.07.2001 has been withdrawn and the same was challenged before the Appellate Authority. The Appellate Authority by exercising the power held that reasonable opportunity has not been given and the matter was remitted back to the jurisdictional Tahsildar. Being aggrieved by the said order, the appellants preferred Writ Petitions before the learned Single Judge in W.P.Nos.64158/2010 and 63960/2010.