909-WP-10697-26.doc Sharayu Khot. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 10697 OF 2026 Varad Jaywant Patil, Minor Through Father Jaywant Patil …Petitioner Versus State of Maharashtra & Ors. …Respondents ---------- Mr. R.K. Mendadkar for Petitioner. Mr. V.G. Badgujar, AGP for Respondent – State. Ms. Megha Gowalani for Respondent No.3 – State CET Cell through Commissioner. ---------- CORAM : R.I. CHAGLA J FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, J DATE : 27 August 2026 ORDER : 1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard by consent of the parties. 2. By this Petition, the Petitioner is seeking a direction to Respondent No. 2-Scrutiny Committee to decide the case of the Petitioner for grant of Validity Certificate, in accordance with law, as 1/5 SHARAYU PANDURANG KHOT Digitally signed by SHARAYU PANDURANG KHOT Date: 2026.08.28 15:28:47 +0530 909-WP-10697-26.doc expeditiously as possible, and in any event on or before 30th August 2026. The urgency for moving the present Petition is that the Petitioner has been granted provisional allotment status for admission to First Year Undergraduate Technical Course in Engineering and Technology by the Vidyalankar Institute of Technology, Wadala, Mumbai, and there being a requirement that the Caste Validity Certificate is required to be uploaded before the final reporting date of Fourth CAP round, which is by 7th September 2026. 3. The Application for Caste Validity Certificate had been made on 10th October 2025. There is a Certificate of Validity issued to the father of the Petitioner on 31st October 2014, and Certificate of Validity issued to the real sister of the Petitioner on 24th September 2021. 4. The learned AGP, appearing for the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, states that a Vigilance Cell Inquiry Report is awaited in the proceeding before the Scrutiny Committee for which a further period of three months is required to decide the validity claim of the Petitioner. 2/5 909-WP-10697-26.doc 5. Mr. Mendadkar, the learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner, has referred to a decision of the Division Bench of this Court (Nagpur Bench) in Nandkumar s/o Manohar More Vs. The State of Maharashtra and Ors.1, wherein a view has been taken in context of the requirement of inquiry by Vigilance Cell, where the real brother of the Petitioner has been held as belonging to Scheduled Tribe and on an earlier occasion, the real uncle of the Petitioner has been held to be belonging to Scheduled Tribe, viz. that permitting the Scrutiny Committee to again conduct an inquiry through Vigilance Cell would be nothing else, but prolonging the decision of a legitimate claim of the Petitioner before this Court. 6. Mr. Mendadkar, on instructions from the Petitioner, states that the Vigilance Cell Inquiry Report may be dispensed with in the present case. The statement is accepted. 7. Considering the law laid down by this Court in Nandkumar s/o Manohar More (supra) and the aforesaid statement, we do not accept the submission of learned AGP for the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 - State that a further period of three months would be 1 Writ Petition No. 1602 of 1998, Judgment dated 20th December 2012 3/5 909-WP-10697-26.doc required for the Vigilance Cell Inquiry Report. 8. In the present case, considering that the father and real sister of the Petitioner have Certificates of Validity, we dispense with the Vigilance Cell Inquiry Report and direct the Respondent No. 2- Scrutiny Committee to decide the validity claim of the Petitioner in light of the said Validity Certificates. The decision on the validity claim of Petitioner shall be taken within a period of one week from today, viz. on or before 3rd September 2026 in order for the Petitioner, in the event, Certificate of Validity is issued, to submit / upload the Certificate of Validity in respect of the provisional allotment of admission granted to the Petitioner by the Respondent No. 4 – Institute before the cut-off date. 9. In the event, the decision is adverse to the Petitioner, for a period of two weeks from the decision, we direct the Respondent No. 3- State CET Cell not to cancel the admission of the Petitioner granted in the Respondent No. 4-Institute due to non-submission of Certificate of Validity before the cut-off date. 4/5 909-WP-10697-26.doc 10. The Writ Petition is accordingly, disposed of with no order as to costs. [FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, J.] [R.I. CHAGLA J.] 5/5