(1) 967 WP-8086.2023.odt IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD 967 WRIT PETITION NO. 8086 OF 2023 Ramesh Onkar Thakur Petitioner Versus 1. State of Maharashtra 2. Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Nandurbar 3. Civil Surgeon, District Civil Hospital, Thane Respondents … Mr. S.C. Yeramwar, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. G.A. Kulkarni, A.G.P. for respondents–State. ... CORAM : SANDIPKUMAR C. MORE AND ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, JJ. DATED : 24 MARCH 2026. Oral order (Per Abasaheb D. Shinde, J.) : 1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With consent of the parties, writ petition is heard finally at the stage of admission. 2. By this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks to challenge the order dated 21.12.2028 passed by respondent No.2-Scrutiny Committee, by which the tribe claim of the petitioner of belonging to “Thakur” Scheduled Tribe, has been invalidated (2) 967 WP-8086.2023.odt 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that in support of his tribe claim the petitioner has placed on record the oldest documents of pre-constitution era pertaining to his father in the nature of school record dated 01.07.1926 and birth register extract of his real aunt dated 25.10.1932. The Scrutiny Committee, however, has discarded the said documents on the ground that these documents does not speak about the social status of the petitioner’s forefathers. He would further submit that respondent No.2 – Scrutiny Committee has given unnecessary emphasis on the necessity of satisfying affinity test. He, therefore, submits that in the light of the fact that the petitioner has placed on record the oldest documents pertaining to the years 1926 and 1932, the Scrutiny Committee ought to have validated tribe claim of the petitioner. 4. Per contra, learned A.G.P. would submit that the respondent-Scrutiny Committee has rightly invalidated tribe claim of the petitioner as the Scrutiny Committee has considered the aspect with regard to necessity of satisfying the affinity test. 5. After having heard learned counsel for the petitioner as (3) 967 WP-8086.2023.odt well as learned A.G.P. for the State and after having gone through the reasoning assigned by the Scrutiny Committee while invalidating tribe claim of the petitioner, we find that admittedly there are number of documents pertaining to pre- constitution era which have been placed on record by the petitioner and the same have been discarded by the Scrutiny Committee without any reason. As far as the aspect with regard to necessity of passing affinity test is concerned, this Court has already considered the aspect as to whether in the light of oldest documents available on record, the claimant is required to pass the affinity test in the case of Abasaheb Gulabrao Thakur vs The State of Maharashtra and others in Writ Petition No.7472 of 2021 alongwith other connected writ petitions by judgment dated 25.02.2026, holding that if the claimant has placed on record the oldest documents of pre-independence era, the Scrutiny Committee cannot insist for an affinity test, nor it is a Litmus Test in deciding the tribe claim. 6. In that view of the matter and in the light of observation made by this Court in the case of Abasaheb Thakur (supra), we are of the considered view that the writ petition deserves to be allowed. We, therefore, pass the following order. (4) 967 WP-8086.2023.odt ORDER (i) Writ Petition is allowed. (ii) The impugned dated 21.12.2018 passed by respondent No.2-Scrutiny Committee is hereby quashed and set aside. (iii) The respondent No.2-Scrutiny Committee is directed to issue validity certificate to the petitioner of belonging to “Thakur” Scheduled Tribe, within a period of four weeks from today. (iv) Rule is made absolute in above terms with no order as to cost. (ABASAHEB D. SHINDE) (SANDIPKUMAR C. MORE) JUDGE JUDGE VD_Dhirde