The Bombay High Court has held that the exclusion of Scheduled Tribe students from a Government Circular extending the time for submitting caste validity certificates to other reserved categories is prima facie discriminatory. The Court held that the benefit of the three-month extension under the Circular dated 4 September 2026 should also be extended to Scheduled Tribe students whose caste validity certificates were pending.

A Division Bench of Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh and Justice Neeraj P. Dhote was hearing a petition filed seeking direction not to cancel the admission of the Petitioner for B.Sc. Honors (Agricultural) course for the academic year 2026-27 from the seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category and for extension of time to submit the Tribe Validity certificate within a period of three months.

The petitioner had submitted a proposal for verification of Tribe Claim on 30 March 2026. However, the Caste Scrutiny Committee had not decided her tribe claim, while the last date for submitting the caste certificate was 4 September 2026 at 6 p.m.

During the hearing, the Court was informed that the Government Circular dated 4 September 2026 had extended the time for submitting the Caste Validity Certificate by three months in respect of Scheduled Castes, Nomadic Tribes, V.J. & N.T., Other Backward Class and Special Backward Class. However, the Circular did not specifically mention Scheduled Tribes.

The Court observed that there was no reason why the time for submitting the caste validity certificate should not be extended identically in respect of an ST student. It held that the non-inclusion of Scheduled Tribes in the Circular was prima facie discriminatory and expressed the view that the benefit of the Circular should also be extended to Scheduled Tribes.

“Though, there is no specific mention of Scheduled Tribe in the Circular dated 4th September 2026, there is no reason as to why the time for submitting the caste validity certificate should not be extended identically in respect ST student. The non-inclusion, if any, in the Circular dated 4th September 2026 is prima facie, discriminatory,” the Court remarked.

Since the petitioner had already secured admission and her caste validity was pending before the Caste Scrutiny Committee, the Court held that the petitioner was entitled to the three-month extension for submitting the caste validity certificate.

The Court accordingly directed the Scrutiny Committee to decide the petitioner's proposal within six weeks. It also directed the respondents not to cancel the petitioner's admission to the B.Sc. Honors Agriculture Course for the academic year 2026-27 until the next date of hearing.

Case Title: Snehal Anandrao Bhosale v. The State of Maharashtra [Writ Petition No. 4410 of 2026]

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