Bombay High Court Restrains Caste Scrutiny Committee Members From Discharging Duties; Says Ignoring HC Orders May Amount To Contempt
The Bombay High Court has restrained three members of the Nashik Caste Scrutiny Committee from discharging their duties, observing that their conduct in disregarding several orders passed by the High Court and setting at naught caste validity certificates granted pursuant to those orders raised a grave doubt as to whether they were competent to discharge such important statutory functions. The Court further observed that such conduct showed gross impropriety, discarded the rule of law, and may also amount to contempt of the several orders passed by the High Court.
A Division Bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice M. M. Sathaye was hearing a writ petition challenging an order of the Nashik Caste Scrutiny Committee invalidating the petitioner's claim to belong to the Thakur–Scheduled Tribe. The petitioner pointed out that the Committee itself had recorded in the impugned order that about 35 members of his family had been granted caste validity certificates between 2001 and 2026. It was also pointed out that in the case of 13 family members, the High Court had directed the Committee to issue caste validity certificates, yet those orders had been discarded by the Committee on the ground that certain materials had not been brought to the notice of the High Court.
The Court observed that it did not appreciate such an approach on the part of the Caste Scrutiny Committee.
“We do not appreciate such an approach on the part of the Caste Scrutiny Committee, and more particularly, considering the settled principles of law that once the family members or blood relatives are granted the Caste Validity Certificates, normally, it would not be the situation that the claim of other family members would be required to be rejected,” the Court remarked.
The Court further noted that show-cause notices had been issued to annul validity certificates even though no power of review was available at the relevant time. The Court observed that these circumstances were relevant to infer extraneous reasons in the manner in which the Committee had proceeded while passing the impugned order.
Finding that the petitioner had made out a strong prima facie case, the Court stayed the operation of the impugned order invalidating the caste certificate and directed that the time prescribed by the State Government for submission of the caste validity certificate would stand extended till disposal of the writ petition.
The Court further expressed strong displeasure at the conduct of the Caste Scrutiny Committee, observing:
“… considering the manner in which the Caste Scrutiny Committee has discarded several orders passed by this Court… shows gross impropriety on the part of the members of the Caste Scrutiny Committee… we have a grave doubt as to whether the three members of the Caste Scrutiny Committee are at all competent to discharge such important duties of the Caste Scrutiny Committee. We are thoroughly disturbed by the manner in which the orders of the High Court have been dealt by the committee, and in fact it has set at naught the caste validity certificates granted to other members of the petitioner's family under the orders of the Court. The rule of law itself has been discarded by these statutory functionaries. In fact such conduct may also amount to contempt of the several orders passed by this Court.”
Accordingly, the Court directed that, in public interest, the three members of the Committee—Shalini Raut, Pradeep Khot and Kiran Mali—shall stand restrained from performing their duties as Members of the Caste Scrutiny Committee.
Case Title: Kiran Vasantrao Rajwade v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. [Writ Petition No. 7696 of 2026]