IN THE JUDICATURE OF HIGH COURT AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD 966 WRIT PETITION NO. 3558 OF 2025 Vishnu Pandit Gavali VERSUS The State Of Maharashtra Through Its Principal Secretary And Others ... Advocate for the Petitioner : Mr. Thorat Chandrakant R. AGP for Respondents-State : Mr. S. B. Pulkundwar ... CORAM : R. G. AVACHAT & ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, JJ. Dated : OCTOBER 16, 2025 ORAL JUDGMENT : - (Per ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, J.) 1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. By consent, heard both sides for final disposal. 2. The petitioner is challenging the common judgment and order dated 05/03/2025 passed by the respondent No.4 – Caste Scrutiny Committee, invalidating the caste claim of the petitioner as belonging to ‘Koli Mahadev’. The learned Counsel for the petitioner invited our attention to the order dated 23/04/2025 passed in Writ Petition No.3556 of 2025 in the case of Gajanan Pandit Gavali, who also challenged the same common judgment and order passed by respondent No. 4/ Caste Scrutiny Committee, and this Court had allowed the said writ petition partly by setting aside the common judgment and order dated 05/03/2025. Page 1 of 2 2025:BHC-AUG:30055-DB 966 WP 3558-2025 3. In view of the above, we are inclined to pass a similar order. 4. The writ petition is partly allowed. The impugned order dated 05/03/2025 passed by respondent No. 4 is quashed and set aside. Respondent No. 4 / Scrutiny Committee shall immediately issue a tribe validity certificate to the petitioner as belonging to the ‘Koli Mahadev’ Scheduled Tribe, which shall be subject to the decision to be taken by the Committee in re-opened matters. Rule made absolute in above terms. ( ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, J. ) ( R. G. AVACHAT, J. ) vj gawade/-. Page 2 of 2