The Supreme Court has quashed a Bombay High Court order and directed the issuance of a Scheduled Tribe Caste Validity Certificate to a medical aspirant, holding that his pre-Independence school record showing his grandfather’s caste as “Koli Mahadev” carried greater probative value and should not have been disbelieved on presumptions.
A bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, and Justice K. Vinod Chandran allowed the appeal filed by Yogesh Madhav Makalwad against the July 23, 2024 judgment of the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, which had upheld the order of the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee invalidating his and his father’s caste certificates.
Background of the Case
In 1943, the appellant’s grandfather, Jalba Malba Makalwad, was admitted to Zilla Parishad Primary School, Narangal, Nanded district, with his caste recorded as “Koli Mahadev.” School records of the appellant’s uncle (1975) and father (1979) also reflected the same caste entry. The appellant’s own school records from 2005 and his school leaving register in 2010 continued to record the caste as Koli Mahadev.
On May 21, 2010, the State of Maharashtra issued a circular implementing certain schemes in villages having Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe populations exceeding 40%, based on the 2001 census. The appellant’s village was included in the list of eligible villages.
In 2019, after scoring 334 out of 720 marks in NEET-UG, the appellant sought early scrutiny of his caste certificate to secure admission to a medical college. During the pendency of his writ petition before the High Court, the Scrutiny Committee, on June 24, 2019, invalidated the caste claim of the appellant and his father, disbelieving the 1943 school record of the grandfather, as well as the school records of the father and uncle. The certificates were cancelled and impounded.
The High Court upheld the Scrutiny Committee’s decision, holding that the school records of relatives were neither reliable nor conclusive.
Arguments
Senior advocate Uday Bhaskar Dube, appearing for the appellant, contended that the 1943 school record clearly indicated the caste as Koli Mahadev and, being a pre-Independence document, had greater probative value. He argued that both the Scrutiny Committee and the High Court erred in disregarding this evidence.
Counsel for the State, Shrirang B. Varma and Varad Kilor, opposed the appeal, submitting that the 1943 document was doubtful due to inconclusive handwriting analysis regarding interpolation, and that the appellant had failed the affinity test by being unable to depose about the customs and traditions of the Koli Mahadev Tribe.
Supreme Court’s Analysis
The Court referred to Anand v. Committee for Scrutiny & Verification of Tribe Claims (2012) 1 SCC 113, which laid down that greater reliance may be placed on pre-Independence documents, and that the affinity test should be used only to corroborate documentary evidence, not as a sole basis to reject a claim.
Examining the 1943 entry with a magnifying glass, the bench found the words “Koli Mahadev” written in the same ink and handwriting, leaving “no scope for interpolation.” It noted that subsequent school records of the appellant’s father and uncle also recorded the caste as Koli Mahadev.
The Court observed:
“In view of the pre-Independence document which certifies that the appellant’s grandfather, Jalba Malba Makalwad, to be belonging to Koli Mahadev Tribe, we are of the considered opinion that a greater probative value ought to have been given to the said document. However, on the basis of presumptions and assumptions, the said document has been disbelieved.”
On the affinity test, the bench reiterated from Anand that migration, modernisation, and integration into mainstream society may cause tribal members to adopt new traits, and inability to recall traditional customs cannot be the sole ground to deny a caste claim.
The Court also referred to Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti v. State of Maharashtra (2023) 16 SCC 415, which affirmed that the affinity test is not conclusive either way.
Decision
Holding that the Scrutiny Committee and the High Court’s findings were unsustainable in law, the Supreme Court ordered:
- The appeal is allowed.
- The High Court’s July 23, 2024 judgment is quashed and set aside.
- It is declared that the appellant belongs to the Koli Mahadev Tribe.
- The Scrutiny Committee shall issue a Caste Validity Certificate to the appellant within six weeks.
