1 903-wp-12157- 2026.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 12157 OF 2026 Sanskruti Sachin Thakur ...Petitioner Vs. State of Maharashtra through its Secretary and Others ...Respondents ----------------- Mr. Chintamani K. Bhangoji a/w. Mr. Vishwajit S. Sharma, for the Petitioner. Dr. Dhruti Kapadia a/w. Ms. Kavita Dhanuka, for the Respondent / CET Cell. Mr. Nitin Dhumal, for Respondent No.3. Mr. P. P. Kakade, Addl.G.P. a/w. Mr. S. H. Kankal, AGP, for the Respondent / State. ----------------- CORAM : R. I. CHAGLA AND FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, JJ. DATED : 17th SEPTEMBER, 2026 P.C.:- 1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard by consent of the parties. 2. By this Petition, the Petitioner is seeking quashing and setting aside of the impugned Order of Respondent No.2 dated 7th September 2026 cancelling the admission of the Petitioner in B.E.- Computer Engineering Degree Course for the Academic Year 2026-2027 with further direction to Mamta Kale 1/7 MAMTA AMAR KALE Digitally signed by MAMTA AMAR KALE Date: 2026.09.21 17:45:59 +0530 2 903-wp-12157- 2026.doc Respondent Nos.2 and 3 to restore the admission of the Petitioner. 3. The Petitioner was granted admission by Respondent No.3 College provisionally under Reserved Category of Scheduled Tribe and the Petitioner had also paid necessary fees. This is pursuant to the Petitioner appearing for Entrance Examination conducted by Respondent No.2 CET as candidate of Scheduled Tribe and Respondent No.2 CET allotting the seat to the Petitioner for Second Year of B.E. Computer Engineering Degree Course for the Academic Year 2026-2027 under the category of Scheduled Tribe in the College of Respondent No.3 on 14th August 2026. 4. The Respondent No.4 Scrutiny Committee was seized of the proceedings of the Caste Validity Claim of the Petitioner and the Petitioner was granted a Tribe Certificate as belonging to Thakar Scheduled Tribe Category on 2nd September 2026. 5. The Respondent No.4 Scrutiny Committee had called the Petitioner for hearing on 7th September 2026 and after hearing the father of the Petitioner, the matter was closed for Orders. 6. The Petitioner received a text message from Respondent No.2 CET Cell at 10:44 a.m. on 7th September 2026 stating that the Petitioner had failed to produce the Caste Validity Certificate and hence her admission was converted to Open and the benefit of the Scheduled Tribe Category had been cancelled and that she was now eligible for Institute Level Admission. 7. On the very next date viz., 8th September 2026, Respondent Mamta Kale 2/7 3 903-wp-12157- 2026.doc No.4 Scrutiny Committee granted Validity Certificate in favour of the Petitioner as belonging to Thakar Scheduled Tribe. It was upon receipt of the Validity Certificate that the Petitioner, along with father, approached the Office of Respondent No.2 CET and apprised them of the Validity Certificate granted by Respondent No.4 Scrutiny Committee and requested restoration of the Petitioner’s admission in the Second Year of B.E. Computer Engineering in the College of Respondent No.3. However, Respondent No.2 CET Cell informed the Petitioner that, in view of her not producing the Validity Certificate on the stipulated date viz. 7th September 2026, her admission cannot be restored. Accordingly, the present Writ Petition has been filed. 8. Mr. Bhangoji, the learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner, submitted that the present case is covered by the Judgement of this Court in Anisa Arashad Diwan Vs. The State of Maharashtra in Writ Petition No.9579 of 2022 dated 22nd February 2024, wherein a Division Bench of this Court considered a similar case where there was delay in submitting the Validity Certificate by the Petitioner. This Court had considered the delay in non submitting the Caste Validity Certificate on or before the admission date in the facts of that case could not be attributed to the Petitioner and, accordingly, cancellation of admission by Respondent No.2 CET cannot be justified. This Court was conscious of the fact that, after the cut-off date, the seats cannot be filled up, but in the facts of the present case it was not a Mamta Kale 3/7 4 903-wp-12157- 2026.doc case of filling up the seat after the cut-off date. The issue was regarding issuance of the caste validity certificate after the cut-off date. 9. This Court had observed that the cancellation of the Petitioner’s admission in her third year of studies would only result in the said seat going vacant thus depriving a candidate from the Other Backward Class (OBC) category for whom it was reserved from pursuing the course. No other candidate from the OBC category can now be admitted in the said course. 10. This Court had quashed and set aside the cancellation of the admission of the Petitioner and the Respondents were directed to permit the Petitioner to complete her course of B.Tech. Mechanical Engineering by permitting her to appear for the exams, and, if, for any year, the marksheet was not issued, then the same was directed to be issued forthwith. 11. Mr. Bhangoji has accordingly sought a similar Order as was passed in the aforesaid decision. 12. Ms. Dhruti Kapadia, the learned Counsel for Respondent No.4 CET Cell, has not denied that the cancellation of the Petitioner’s admission was on the ground of non submission of Caste Validity Certificate as per the Schedule of the CAP Rounds which had been issued by Respondent No.4 CET Cell. She submitted that, in the event, seats are available in the Respondent No.3 College, upon the Petitioner submitting the Caste Validity Certificate, it would be open to the Respondent No.3 College to grant the Mamta Kale 4/7 5 903-wp-12157- 2026.doc admission. 13. Mr. Nitin Dhumal, the learned Counsel appearing for Respondent No.3 College states, on instructions, that seats are in fact available in B.E.- Computer Engineering Degree Course for the Academic Year 2026-2027, in the Scheduled Tribe Category, and upon the Petitioner submitting the Caste Validity Certificate, the admission of the Petitioner, which had been cancelled, can be restored and a seat can be made available to the Petitioner in that category. The statement is accepted. 14. Having considered the submissions as well as the statement made by the Respondent No.3 College that a seat is in fact available in the Schedule Tribe Category, we are of the view that facts of the present case are similar to the case which was before this Court viz. Anisa Arashad Diwan (supra). Here also the fault does not lie with the Petitioner in non submission of Caste Validity Certificate and delay in non submission of Caste Validity Certificate could not be attributed to the Petitioner. On this ground cancellation of the Petitioner’s admission cannot be justified. 15. The Petitioner had obtained Caste Validity Certificate one day after the stipulated date viz. 8th September 2026 and that was due to Respondent No.4 Scrutiny Committee failing to decide the Caste Validity Claim of the Petitioner within the prescribed period of six months as laid down by the Supreme Court in Kumari Madhuri Patil Vs. Additional Commissioner, Tribal Department, 1994 SCC(6) 241. Mamta Kale 5/7 6 903-wp-12157- 2026.doc 16. In view thereof and considering that the Petitioner had secured admission in Respondent No.3 College provisionally under Reserved category of Scheduled Tribe and also paid necessary fees on 5th August 2026 and that the Petitioner’s admission had been cancelled on 7th September 2026 due to non submission of Caste Validity Certificate and which was furnished on the very next day, viz., 8th September 2026, we are inclined to allow the present Petition by setting aside the cancellation of the Petitioner’s admission and restoring her admission. This is particularly because there is a seat available in the Scheduled Tribe Category, which fact has been confirmed by Respondent No.3 College. 17. Accordingly, the following Order is passed ORDER 1. The impugned Order of Respondent No.2 dated 7th September 2026 cancelling the admission of the Petitioner in the B.E. Computer Engineering Degree Course, for the Academic Year 2026-27, is quashed and set aside. 2. Respondent Nos.2 and 3 shall restore the admission of the Petitioner in B.E. Computer Engineering Degree Course for the Academic Year 2026-27 in Respondent No.3 College upon the Petitioner submitting the Caste Validity Certificate belonging to the Scheduled Mamta Kale 6/7 7 903-wp-12157- 2026.doc Tribe Category. 3. The Petition is disposed of in the above terms. However, there shall be no order as to costs. 4. This Order is passed in the peculiar facts of the present case and it should not be treated as precedent. 5. Needless to state that, in the event the fees have been refunded to the Petitioner, the same shall be paid again by the Petitioner towards restoration of her admission in Respondent No.3 – College. [FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, J.] [R.I. CHAGLA, J.] Mamta Kale 7/7