501-wp-11583-2026.doc jsn IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.11583 OF 2026 Aryan Vijaykumar Panhale ...Petitioner Versus State of Maharashtra & Ors. ...Respondents ---------- Mr. R.K. Mendadkar with Mr. Siddhant Sawai, Ms. Priyanka Shaw and Jagdish Kawale for the Petitioner. Mr. P.P. Kakade, Addl. G.P. with Mr. S.H. Kankal, AGP for the State. Mr. Nikhil Chavan for Respondent No.3 – CET Cell. ---------- CORAM : R.I. CHAGLA AND FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, JJ. DATE : 1ST SEPTEMBER, 2026. O R D E R: 1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard by consent of parties. 2. By this Writ Petition, the Petitioner is seeking quashing and setting aside of the impugned Order dated 3rd August 2022 passed by the Respondent No.2 – Scrutiny Committee with further directions to Respondent No.2 – Scrutiny Committee to issue certificate of validity to the Petitioner. 3. Mr. Mendadkar the learned Counsel appearing for the 1/7 JITENDRA SHANKAR NIJASURE Digitally signed by JITENDRA SHANKAR NIJASURE Date: 2026.09.02 12:47:38 +0530 501-wp-11583-2026.doc Petitioner has referred to the Order passed by this Court viz. Order dated 20th April 2022 in Writ Petition No.3507 of 2022, by which this Court had set aside the order dated 7th March, 2022 passed by the Respondent No.2 Scrutiny Committee invalidating the claim of the Petitioner’s real sister belonging to ‘Mannervarlu’ Schedule Tribe. 4. Mr. Mendadkar has submitted that the said order of this Court though referred to in the impugned Order of the Scrutiny Committee has been not given effect to despite the Petitioner in that Writ Petition being the real sister of the Petitioner. 5. Mr. Mendadkar has submitted that the Petition has been moved on the ground of urgency in view of the CAP Round 1 having already ended on 30th August, 2026, and that in the event the impugned Order is not set aside, the Petitioner will suffer grave prejudice in that he will not be able to participate in the subsequent CAP rounds under the reserved category. 6. The learned AGP appearing for Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 - State has opposed the Petition on the ground of delay, in that the impugned order was passed on 8th August 2022, and the Petitioner has moved after a period of four years from the passing of the 2/7 501-wp-11583-2026.doc impugned order. He has submitted that the Petitioner should not now be granted relief, as the Petitioner had made no attempts to challenge the impugned order, and it is only during the present CAP rounds for the admission process for MBBS/BDS (Group A) courses that the Petitioner has sought to impugn the order passed by Respondent No. 2 - Scrutiny Committee. 7. Mr. Nikhil Chavan, the learned Counsel appearing for Respondent No. 3 has referred to the schedule of CAP Round 1 wherein the candidates who had taken part were to submit their documents, which would include the Caste Validity Certificates, by 21st August 2026. He has submitted that the period for online submission of the documents has already expired. 8. Having considered the submissions, though a preliminary objection has been raised on the ground of delay in filing the Writ Petition, a statement has been made in paragraph 2 of the Writ Petition that the Petitioner received the impugned order only on 24th August 2026. Reference is made to the order passed by this Court on 24th August 2026 in Writ Petition No.11037 of 2026, filed by the present Petitioner for a direction to Respondent No. 2 - Scrutiny Committee to forthwith decide the case of the Petitioner for grant of 3/7 501-wp-11583-2026.doc a Validity Certificate in accordance with law. It was only at that hearing that the learned AGP for the Respondent - State stated that the case of the Petitioner for grant of a Validity Certificate had already been decided on 3rd August 2022 and communicated on 8th August 2022. 9. Further, from the documents on record, it appears that the Petitioner has been following up with Respondent No.2 - Scrutiny Committee to ascertain whether the Caste Validity Certificate claim of the Petitioner has been decided by the Scrutiny Committee. 10. It is pertinent to note that the real sister of the Petitioner, namely Kumari Aditi Vijaykumar Panhale, had filed Writ Petition No. 3507 of 2022, impugning the order dated 7th March 2022 passed by the Respondent No. 2 - Scrutiny Committee, which had invalidated her claim as belonging to Mannervarlu (Scheduled Tribe). This Writ Petition has been allowed by the Division Bench of this Court vide order dated 20th April 2022, setting aside the order of the Scrutiny Committee by directing the Scrutiny Committee to issue a Validity Certificate within a period of four weeks from the date of the said Order. 4/7 501-wp-11583-2026.doc 11. The present Petitioner, being the blood relative of the Petitioner in Writ Petition No.3507 of 2022, had also referred to the said order dated 20th April 2022 in the proceedings before Respondent No. 2 - Scrutiny Committee. However, the said Order has not been followed. 12. In that view of the matter, we are inclined to set aside the impugned order passed by Respondent No. 2 - Scrutiny Committee by following our Order in Rushank Sitaram Kataskar, Minor, Thru. Father and Natural Guardian Sitaram Vitthal Kataskar v. State of Maharashtra & Anr1, which in turn relied upon the decision of the Supreme Court in Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti v. State of Maharashtra & Ors2. It has been held by the Supreme Court that where Caste Validity Certificate has been granted to the blood relative of the Petitioner and lawful inquiry has been conducted before the Scrutiny Committee, the Validity Certificate will have to be issued to the Petitioner. 13. In the present case, it appears from the impugned order of the Respondent No.2 – Scrutiny Committee that a show cause notice has been issued to the Petitioner’s blood relative to whom the 1 Writ Petition No.10712 of 2026 decided on 27th August 2026. 2 (2023) 16 Supreme Court Cases 415. 5/7 501-wp-11583-2026.doc validity certificate has been granted alleging fraud. However, this position has also been considered by this Court in Rushank Sitaram Kataskar (Supra) which relies upon Shweta Balaji Isankar v. The State of Maharashtra3, which in turn has been relied upon in Smt. Shilpa Jay Wagh v. State of Maharashtra & Ors4. This Court has held that mere issuance of a show-cause notice alleging fraud would not suffice where a Validity Certificate has been issued by the Scrutiny Committee to blood relatives on the paternal side. 14. We also note that CAP Rounds have already commenced and CAP Round 1 has concluded on 30th August 2026. However, there are subsequent CAP Rounds, and the Petitioner should be in a position to participate in the subsequent CAP Rounds in respect of admission to MBBS/BDS (Group A) Health Science Courses. 15. Accordingly, the following order is passed: (i) The Writ Petition is partly allowed. (ii) The impugned order dated 3rd August 2022 passed by Respondent No. 2 - Scrutiny Committee is quashed and set aside. 3 2018 SCC OnLine Bom 10363. 4 Writ Petition No.18841 of 2024 dated 17th February 2026. 6/7 501-wp-11583-2026.doc (iii) A Caste Validity Certificate in respect of Mannervarlu (Scheduled Tribe) shall be issued by Respondent No. 2 - Scrutiny Committee to the Petitioner within one week from the date of this Order. (iv) If any of the validity holders on whom the Petitioner before this Court have relied upon for claiming validity, suffer invalidation in the reopened cases, the Respondent No. 2 - Scrutiny Committee would be at liberty to reopen the Petitioner's case as well, and the consequences suffered by those candidates whose claims are invalidated (after reopening of the case), would befall on this Petitioner as well. (v) The Writ Petition is disposed of in the above terms. There shall be no order as to costs. [ FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, J. ] [ R.I. CHAGLA J. ] 7/7