Mrunalini Sitaram Thakur v. State of Maharashtra

2. Brief background of the matter is as follows: The rejection of the caste claim of the Petitioner by the Caste Scrutiny Committee was challenged by the Petitioner by filing a Writ Petition before this Court, which came to be dismissed. Aggrieved by the said order, the Petitioner preferred an Appeal before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Vide order dated 12th December 2025, the Hon’ble Supreme Court partly allowed the Appeal, set aside the order passed by this Court, and remanded the matter for fresh consideration. The relevant paragraphs from the order dated 12th December 2025 are reproduced hereinbelow for ready reference. “1. The applications for substitution are allowed after condoning the delay and setting aside abatement, if any, subject to all just exceptions. Applications for intervention/impleadment are also allowed, subject to all just exceptions.

2. The issue that falls for consideration in these cases is whether the appellants or other similarly placed persons, who claim themselves belonging to ‘Thakur’ Scheduled Tribe, are entitled to claim the benefits as would enure to the said Scheduled Tribe. It may be noticed that the Nagpur Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay has, vide the impugned judgment, upheld the cancellation of caste certificates of a large number of persons because they did not fulfil the ‘affinity test’ for being considered as part of the Scheduled Tribe.

3. It is not in dispute that a three-Judge Bench of this Court, vide judgment dated 24.03.2023 (passed in the instant proceedings). reported in (2023) 16 SCC 415, has held as follows: “ 36. Thus, to conclude, we hold that: (a) Only when the Scrutiny Committee after holding an enquiry is not satisfied with the material produced by the applicant, the case can be referred to Vigilance Cell. While referring the case to Vigilance Cell, the Scrutiny Committee must record brief reasons for coming to the conclusion that it is not satisfied with the material produced by the applicant. Only after a case is referred to the Vigilance Cell for making enquiry, an occasion for the conduct of affinity test will arise. (b) For the reasons which we have recorded, affinity test cannot be conclusive either way. When an affinity test is conducted by the Vigilance Cell, the result of the test along with all other material on record having probative value will have to be taken into consideration by the Scrutiny Committee for deciding will the caste validity claim; and

(c) In short, affinity test is not a litmus test to decide a caste claim and is not an essential part in the process of the determination of correctness of a caste or tribe claim in every case.”

4. It may be seen from the above that this Court has categorically ruled that only when the Scrutiny Committee after holding an inquiry is not satisfied with the material produced by applicant/claimant (like the appellants), the case can be referred to the Vigilance Cell. For doing so, the Scrutiny Committee is obligated to record brief reasons in support of the conclusion that it was not satisfied with the material produced by the applicant. The occasion for holding a further fact-finding inquiry by the Vigilance Cell, would arise only when preliminary test prescribed for the Screening Committee has been met with.

5. In light of the cited decision, we are satisfied that all these cases require a fresh consideration at the hands of the High Court, especially to determine whether the procedure adopted by the Scrutiny Committee, the consequential further inquiry, if any, by the Vigilance Cell, and the final conclusion arrived by the Scrutiny Committee are in consonance with the parameters laid down by this Court. These appeals are, accordingly, partly allowed, the judgment and orders of the High Court are set aside, and the cases are remanded to the High Court. The Writ Petitions filed by the appellants/claimants shall stand revived for being heard and decided afresh.

6. It is clarified that the questions of law, which are not answered by the above-cited judgment, as well as other subsequent decisions of this Court, are kept open, and the parties will be at liberty to raise all their contentions before the High Court. It also goes without saying that in this renewed consideration, the parties may rely upon additional documents, if any, and the High Court may accord them an opportunity for the same.”

3. The impugned order passed by the Scrutiny Committee dated 16th April 2010 invalidating the caste certificate of the Petitioner as belonging to Thakur Scheduled Tribe is under challenge.

4. The Petitioner has relied upon the validity certificate of her blood brothers Milind Sitaram Thakur and Hitendra Sitaram Thakur who have been granted certificate of validity by the Scrutiny Committee on 31st October 2003 and 21st July 2005 respectively. Though the certificates were produced before the Scrutiny Committee, the Scrutiny Committee invalidated the caste claim of the Petitioner observing that even Milind and Hitendra were issued certificate of validity despite having failed to prove the affinity test.

5. The caste claim of the Petitioner is invalidated principally on the ground that the Petitioner has failed to prove the affinity test. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Maharashtra Adiwasi Jamat Saurakshan Samiti v/s. State of Maharashtra[1] has held that affinity test is not a litmus test to decide a caste claim and is not an essential part in the process of the determination of correctness of a caste or tribe claim in every case.

6. It is pertinent to note that during the pendency of the proceedings before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Respondent

No.2- Committee issued certificate of validity to Bhuvaneshwari Hitendra Thakur, the daughter of the blood brother of the Petitioner, Hitendra Thakur, dated 28th August 2023. There does not appear to be much dispute on this fact. This Court in the case of Apoorva d/o Vinay Nichale v/s. Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee No.1 and others[2], in Paragraph No.4 held thus:

7. In Maharashtra Adiwasi (supra), the following three essential prerequisites for granting caste validity certificates were outlined by Their Lordships at the paragraph 24 of the judgment quoted above: 2 2010 (6) Mh.L.J.

(i) The applicant must establish a clear and specific relationship with the person in whose favour the validity certificate has been issued;