JUDGMENT : M.S. JAWALKAR, J. 1. Heard. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Matter is taken up for final hearing at the stage of admission by consent and request of the parties. 2. The Petitioner by this petition is challenging the order dated 12/11/2018, passed by the Respondent No. 2 District Caste Certificate Verification Scrutiny Committee, Akola, thereby invalidating the tribe claim of the Petitioner that he belongs to ‘Chapparband’ tribe recognized as Vimukta Jati (VJ) and enlisted at Serial No. 14 as per the Government Resolution dated 21/11/1961 and 20/03/1978. 3. The Petitioner is a Medical Student and has obtained a Caste Certificate from Respondent No. 3 - Sub-Divisional Officer, Akot on 24/02/2011 and forwarded the caste claim to the Respondent No. 2 Caste Scrutiny Committee for obtaining the Validity Certificate. The Police Vigilance Cell submitted its report dated 30/10/2018 to the Respondent No. 2 Caste Scrutiny Committee and consequently the Respondent No. 2 Caste Scrutiny Committee vide its order dated 12/11/2018, invalidated the tribe claim of the Petitioner. 4. In support of his tribe claim, the Petitioner has submitted following documents of pre-constitutional period: 5. It is pertinent to mention here that, apart from the Pre-constitutional period documents, the Petitioner has also submitted two validity certificates granted to paternal cousins of the Petitioner namely Shabbir Ahmed Shah S/o Usman Shah of the year 2007-08 and Mazhar Ahmad Shah S/o Usman Shah, dated 21/12/2011 respectively. 6. The counsel for Petitioners relied upon the following Citations: (i) Writ Petition No. 8253/2019, Arshad Faizan Shah Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Anr. dated 05.11.2020 (ii) Writ Petition No. 5163/2018, Ms. Iftesam D/o Rajjak Shaha Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Anr. dated 16.10.2019 (iii) Writ Petition No. 1683/2018, Riyaz Rashid Shaha Usman Shaha Fakir Vs. The Chairman of Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Wardha & Anr. dated 08.01.2020 (iv) Writ Petition No. 11863/2015, Ku Shah Nida Afrin Nawab Nizamuddin Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. dated 25.11.2021 (v) Writ Petition No. 3386/2022, Soyab Shah Rustam Shah Vs. District Caste Scrutiny Committee, Amravati & Anr. dated 03.11.2025 7. Per Contra, the Respondent No. 2 Caste Scrutiny Committee in its reply, contended that, there are 4 documents submitted by the Petitioner of the years 1945, 1924, 1926 and 1981 belonging to the ancestors of the Petitioner and none of the above documents shows the caste/tribe as ‘Chhapparband’. 8. District Caste Scrutiny Committee, Amravati & Anr. dated 03.11.2025 7. Per Contra, the Respondent No. 2 Caste Scrutiny Committee in its reply, contended that, there are 4 documents submitted by the Petitioner of the years 1945, 1924, 1926 and 1981 belonging to the ancestors of the Petitioner and none of the above documents shows the caste/tribe as ‘Chhapparband’. 8. It is submitted by the Respondent Scrutiny Committee that the entry dated 11/07/1945 of the grandfather of the Petitioner so also the entry dated 03/07/1981 of the father of the Petitioner, both shows the caste as ‘Musalman’ whereas the birth entry dated 11/04/1926 and the school extract dated 25/06/1924, both shows the caste as ‘Fakir’. Therefore, the order passed by the Respondent Committee is well-reasoned and not perverse. 9. Heard learned Counsel for the respective parties at length. Perused the record and proceedings with the assistance of the learned Additional Government Pleader and considered the citations relied on by the learned Counsel for the respective parties. 10. For the sake of convenience, family tree is reproduced as under : 11. The Petitioner placed on record two valadities issued in favour of his blood relatives namely Shabbir Shah S/o Usman Shah of the year 2007-08 and Mazhar Shah S/o Usman Shah dated 21/12/2011. Both these validity certificates were duly verified by the Vigilance Cell and appears to be genuine. The certified copy of the same was enclosed with the Report of the Vigilance Cell. 12. On perusal of the impugned order, the document pertaining to year 1945 in respect of Bashir Shah Bismilla Shah, the caste is shown as ‘Musalman’. In the document of 1924 in respect of Bismilla Shah Abdulla Shah, the caste is shown as ‘Fakir’ and in the document of 1926 pertaining to daughter born to Abdulla Shah, the caste is shown as ‘Fakir’. The other documents pertaining to the subsequent year of 1961, showing caste as ‘Chhaparband Fakir’ or ‘Chhaparband’ were not considered as those documents are recent one. 13. So far as discarding the evidence of validity certificates is concerned, the Caste Scrutiny Committee came to the conclusion that those were issued in view of the Circular issued by Government dated 21/06/2006 and 23/03/2011 and the same were withdrawn by the Government vide in Circular dated 16.02.2015. 13. So far as discarding the evidence of validity certificates is concerned, the Caste Scrutiny Committee came to the conclusion that those were issued in view of the Circular issued by Government dated 21/06/2006 and 23/03/2011 and the same were withdrawn by the Government vide in Circular dated 16.02.2015. This issue is already covered in the decision of Writ Petition No. 3386/2022, Soyab Shah Rustam Shah vs. District Caste Scrutiny Committee, Amravati (supra). 14. The Caste Scrutiny Committee has refused to rely on the said documents, as there was nothing before them as to on what basis the said certificates are issued. It is a matter of fact that in many matters, this issue is already discussed that the Caste Scrutiny Committee cannot sit as an Appellate Authority to consider that the validity issued earlier was proper or not. The Caste Scrutiny Committee further held that the caste ‘Fakir’ is enlisted in the list of OBCs at Serial No. 335. Therefore, the documents showing the caste as ‘Fakir’ cannot claim that they belong to ‘Chhapparband’ tribe. 15. It is a matter of record that on 05/01/1999, after representation of the Shah Community to the Government, one Circular was issued by the Chief Secretary, Department of Social Welfare, Mumbai. By this Circular, the President of the Indian Chhapparband Muslim Samaj Sudharak, Jalgaon requested the Government that the persons against whom ‘Shah’ word is suffixed, they should be given the certificate of Muslim ‘Chhapparband’ and should be included in the Nomadic Tribes. After considering their request and giving a considered thought, the Government directed that whosoever is claiming to be a ‘Chhapparband’ Muslim, the certificate will be issued to them, after due verification whether there is Shah suffix to his/her name, so also verification of the documents of their relatives would be conducted as to whether there is any such entry of ‘Shah’. In the said Circular, it is also mentioned that Fakir used to wander and used to circulate the fake currency. If any person is having such specific characteristic and proper evidence before the Competent Authority, they should be given that certificate of ‘Chhapparband’. However, apart from these persons, any other person using Shah as suffix, they should not be included in the ‘Chhapparband’ Tribe. If any person is having such specific characteristic and proper evidence before the Competent Authority, they should be given that certificate of ‘Chhapparband’. However, apart from these persons, any other person using Shah as suffix, they should not be included in the ‘Chhapparband’ Tribe. It is also made clear that ‘Chhapparband’ is also a caste in Hindu religion and only those Muslims, who suffix Shah after their names and those who are having the relevant documents, are entitled to be granted with the certificate of ‘Chhapparband’ Tribe. It is also a matter of record that the State Government on 20/03/1978 issued an order whereby the Government Resolution dated 21/11/1961 came to be amended and Entry No. 14 is included in 1978 as “Entry No. 14 - ‘Chhapparband’ (including the Muslims). 16. The claim of the Petitioner was rejected on the ground that there are documents prior to 1961 showing the caste as ‘Fakir’, the said caste is enlisted in the list of OBCs at Serial No. 335, therefore, this evidence cannot be considered. 17. The Caste Scrutiny Committee rejected the claim of the Petitioner on the ground that the Petitioner has failed to produced the documentary evidence depicting his tribe as ‘Chhapparband’ Vimukta Jati prior to the cut off date i.e. 21/11/1961. In fact, the ‘Chhapparband’ entry was included in the year 1978. Therefore, the cut off date would be 1978 and not 1961. Thus, the only ground for rejection by the Caste Scrutiny Committee is that there is no entry of ‘Chhapparband’ prior to 21/11/1961, which would not be there. It is a matter of record that in Writ Petition No. 4506/2004, this Court, on 12/07/2010, directed the learned AGP to verify the circumstances and authority under which letter dated 29/06/2006 is issued by the Secretary, Government of Maharashtra. On 07/10/2010, the learned AGP stated on instructions from the Department of Social Justice, Cultural Affairs and Special Assistance that the Circular dated 29/06/2006 stands withdrawn and that an appropriate circular will be issued in accordance with the law. It was directed by this Court that as the number of matters on this point are pending with the Caste Scrutiny Committees, fresh circular shall be issued within a period of one week from the date of passing of the order. However, no Circular was issued by the State Government. 18. It was directed by this Court that as the number of matters on this point are pending with the Caste Scrutiny Committees, fresh circular shall be issued within a period of one week from the date of passing of the order. However, no Circular was issued by the State Government. 18. Again, this Court, vide its order dated 27/01/2011 in Civil Application (W) No. 3272/2010 in Writ Petition No. 4506/2004 recorded the casual attitude of the State Government and directed to issue fresh Circular within 15 days. As these facts were not properly placed before this Court in Writ Petition No. 2802/2014, this Court recorded as under:- “1. Learned counsel for the petitioner has pointed out Circular dated 23rd March 2011 issued by the Government of Maharashtra, through Social Justice and Special Assistance Department in supersession of the earlier letter dated 29th June 2006. 2. Letter dated 29th June 2006 was in the nature of guidelines and directions to the Caste Scrutiny Committees as to how caste claim in respect of “Chhapparband” caste should be decided and to issue validity certificate accordingly. The said letter though was issued by the Secretary in his personal capacity, was shown in the name of Government. That was quashed and set aside by this Court by judgment and order dated 27th January 2011 passed in Writ Petition No. 4506 of 2004. It took about five years for the Government to withdraw the said letter dated 29.6.2006, but still it is this Court which was required to quash the said letter issued by the Secretary. In the meanwhile several certificates must have been issued as per the direction contained in the said letter dated 29th June 2006 for which the said officer was fully responsible. 3. Now, there is further development, in that, Shri J. N. Rathor, Joint Secretary, Social Justice and Special Assistance Department has issued Government circular dated 23rd March 2011. Thus, the said letter has now been replaced by Government circular dated 23rd March 2011. Reading the contents of said Circular, in items 1,2 and 3, it is clear that what was stated in letter dated 29th June 2006 has again been repeated in the circular except for issuing direction to act. Thus, the said letter has now been replaced by Government circular dated 23rd March 2011. Reading the contents of said Circular, in items 1,2 and 3, it is clear that what was stated in letter dated 29th June 2006 has again been repeated in the circular except for issuing direction to act. However, we find that the act of issuance of circular dated 23.2.2011 clearly amounts to interference in the administration of justice since the Caste Scrutiny Committees are constituted in accordance with the State Act and not under the influence of the Government. Such Authorities are also called “quasi judicial authorities” whose orders are amenable only to the extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court, that too, before the Division Bench and therefore, no Government has any authority to lay down guidelines as to how the caste claims should be decided by the committees constituted under the Act of 2001.the Committees have to function independently under the concept of independent judiciary. Such Authorities are also called “quasi judicial authorities” and, therefore, no Government has any authority to lay down guidelines as to how the caste claims should be decided by the committees. 4. We, therefore, call upon the Principal Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Special Assistance, Government of Maharashtra to clarify the stand of the Government as to whether the Government wants to continue with this Circular dated 23rd March 2011 or would like to withdraw it. Let the stand be communicated to this Court by 17th December 2014 failing which this Court will proceed to initiate contempt proceedings against the concerned Government officer....” 19. As per the order dated 07/10/2010, a statement was made by the learned Additional Government Pleader that the Circular dated 29/06/2006 stands withdrawn and that an appropriate circular will be issued in accordance with the law. Having regard to this fact, the Government was directed to issue a fresh Circular within one week. However, there is no such order of quashing of the said letter dated 29/06/2006 by the Court. The said Circular was replaced by the Circular dated 23/03/2011. However, on perusal of the contents of the said Circular, this Court found that it is the same Circular as of dated 29/06/2006. Therefore, the State Government issued another Circular dated 16/02/2015. By that Circular, the earlier Circular dated 23/03/2011 has been withdrawn. The said Circular is taken on record vide order dated 18/02/2015. However, on perusal of the contents of the said Circular, this Court found that it is the same Circular as of dated 29/06/2006. Therefore, the State Government issued another Circular dated 16/02/2015. By that Circular, the earlier Circular dated 23/03/2011 has been withdrawn. The said Circular is taken on record vide order dated 18/02/2015. 20. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner relied on the judgment in Apoorva Vinay Nichale vs. Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee No. 1 & Ors., 2010 (6) Mh. L.J. 401, wherein this Court held as under:- “7. We thus come to the conclusion that when during the course of enquiry the candidate submits a caste validity certificate granted earlier certifying that a blood relation of the candidate belongs to the same caste as that claimed by the applicant, the committee may grant such certificate without calling for Vigilance Cell Report. However, if the committee finds that the earlier caste certificate is tainted by fraud or is granted without jurisdiction, the Committee may refuse to follow and may refuse to grant certificate to the applicant before it.” 21. In the present matter, it is nowhere contention of the Scrutiny Committee that the earlier caste certificates were obtained by fraud or granted without jurisdiction. As there is no dispute that the validity holders are in relation to the Petitioner and having validity certificates declaring them as ‘Chhaparband’ rejection is unsustainable. There is a document of 1961 also showing suffix ‘Shah’ and caste is shown as ‘Fakir’. Therefore, the certificates issued on the basis of Circular cannot be discarded as the validity already exists in the family of the petitioner and it is necessary to avoid any anomalous situation arising, we are of the view that even this Petitioner would be entitled to receive the validity of his tribe claim. 22. This Court in Writ Petition No. 5163/2018 (supra), after discussing the manner in which the whole issue has been dealt with by the State of Maharashtra, observed as under:- “5. ….. This Court then observed that the said letter though issued by the Secretary in his personal capacity, was shown in the name of Government. This Court then also found that the letter dated 29.6.2006 was quashed and set aside by this Court in judgment and order dated 27.1.2011 passed in Writ Petition No.4506/2004…… 6. ….. This Court then observed that the said letter though issued by the Secretary in his personal capacity, was shown in the name of Government. This Court then also found that the letter dated 29.6.2006 was quashed and set aside by this Court in judgment and order dated 27.1.2011 passed in Writ Petition No.4506/2004…… 6. It is seen from the Circular dated 16.2.2015 that now the Government has taken its stand in the matter and accordingly has withdrawn the Circular dated 23.3.2011. But, while doing so, the Government also has taken its stand regarding validity certificate already granted to the various persons before 16.2.2015. The Circular dated 16.2.2015 is silent on this aspect of the matter. We are of the view that the State of Maharashtra must decide its further course of action as regards the validity certificate already granted to different persons on the basis of 2006-letter and subsequent Circular. We hope that in future, definite decision would be taken by the State of Maharashtra.” (Emphasis supplied) 23. The learned Counsel for the Petitioner also placed reliance on the other citations, wherein the similar view is taken by this Court. 24. In view of the above law position and as the validity certificates was already issued in favour of the paternal relative of the Petitioner, the Petitioner is also entitled to get the validity certificate of ‘Chhapparband’ Tribe. Even if the Communication of 2006, which is just the guidelines for issuance of certificate of ‘Chhapparband’ in respect of the Muslim persons having entry of Fakir in his old documents and surname ‘Shah’, this letter is withdrawn after period of 9 years in 2015. Till then, there was no clear guidelines or Circular by the State Government either to the Caste Scrutiny Committee or to the Competent Authority for issuance of caste certificate. Needless to mention that there was earlier Circular dated 04/01/1999 is neither superseded nor cancelled. 25. This Court, in Writ Petition No. 5163/2018 (supra), specifically observed that the State Government has not taken any stand in respect of the validity certificate already granted to the different persons on the basis of the letter dated 29/06/2006 and subsequent Circular. While withdrawing the Circular, the Government also has not taken its stand regarding the validity certificate already granted to the various persons before 16/02/2015. The Circular dated 16/02/2015 is silent on this aspect of the matter. While withdrawing the Circular, the Government also has not taken its stand regarding the validity certificate already granted to the various persons before 16/02/2015. The Circular dated 16/02/2015 is silent on this aspect of the matter. Therefore, this Court observed that the State Government must decide the further course of action as regards the validity certificate already granted to the different persons. In spite of this observation, the State of Maharashtra has not taken any decision on that. The learned Additional Government Pleader vehemently submitted that the communication on the basis of which such certificate are issued, the same came to be withdrawn. In view thereof, the certificates issued are without jurisdiction and nullity in the eyes of law. 26. In our considered opinion, there has to be a specific order declaring that these certificates are cancelled or nullity by the State of Maharashtra. Till then, the persons having the validity certificates in favour of their blood relatives, they cannot be denied the certificate of belonging to ‘Chhapparband’ Tribe. 27. As such, the impugned order passed by the Caste Scrutiny Committee is patently erroneous, perverse and is liable to be set aside. Accordingly, we proceed to pass following order : (i) The Writ Petitions is allowed. (ii) The impugned order dated 12/11/2018, passed in case No. ED/AKL/2017/1349, passed by the Respondent – District Caste Certificate Verification Committee, Akola is hereby quashed and set aside. (iii) It is declared that the Petitioner duly established that he belongs to “Chhapparband” Vimukta Jatis (VJ). (iv) The Respondent District Caste Certificate Verification Committee, Akola is hereby directed to issue the validity certificate of “Chhapparband” Vimukta Jatis (VJ) to the Petitioner within a period of eight weeks. Rule is made absolute in the above terms. No order as to costs. Pending application(s), if any, stand(s) disposed of.